Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1914-02-13

waiting for the men, / descended with
Sannino another 100 feet, without
baggage, to reconnoiter and estimate
the danger. I considered the risk a
fair one, ard, returning, we got our
loads ready. AS there was some hesi-
fancy / myself shouldered the heavi-
est load and the Others not wishing
to be outdone, Joined me in the same
spirit.
In going down we threw everything
possible ahead so that 1t should not
come down after us-on our heads
To an Alpine climber the precipices
were moderate and, without much
difficulty We, got down about half way
| to a point just above the greatest Of
the myriaoes Of sulphur fumaroles.
Then suddenly the wind shifted, driv
ing all the sulphur smoke as we'll as
the hydrochloric acid fumes Of the
main mouth directly across our path.
We saw the hot whirling masses
swirling more and more In our direc-
ton and we had one fine moment Of
supreme excitement.
I'VE hurriedly adjusted several
| thicknesses of cloth over our mouths
and noses and, lying down. we remain
ed motionless, so as to breathe as lit
| tie as possible. We could see nothing
but dense yellow mist. For some 20
minutes we were marooned on a
precipice and slowly asphyxiating. AS
we had left the $50 feet Of rope
dangling above in order to back up
the sheer crater wall, we were with
out rope in this strangest Of predica-
ments.
There was a suggestion Of retreat
and it had been arranged beforehand
that in case Of peril we were to aband-
on the cameras and flee. I was con-
vinced, however. that II only We could
move away from above the sulphur
fumarloe and descend further, we
should find the main column Of smoke
intact owing to its great heat and the
consequently smaller diffusion of
| smoke.
THE Italians accepted this theory,
and, cropping our way, we went down
instead of up to safety. My conclu-
sions were right, for as we declined
down we found free air holes. and, by
descending q steep slope between two
fercely smoking pits, we successfully
reached the floor Of the crater, 1000
feet down, and were in momentary
safety.
II was vibrating with excitement.
Here we were in an Internal pit walled
in on every side by precipices
thousand feet high. with a dense
column Of corrosive hydrochloric acid
fumes sweeping the only path to safe
ty. Our lives depended on change Of
wind.
suddenly there was a noise as OF
an explosion above. Looking up
through the smoke, / saw an avalanche
of loose lava, scoriae and volcanic acid
dust precipitated toward us. Rooted
to the spot with wonder. we saw 1t
fall short to the south, some of it re-
naming near the cone and the rest
plunging out Of the crater's mouth.
"Landslides are one Of the greatest
dangers in Vesuvlus, for the slightest
earth trelnor may upset tons OF debris,
and arguing theoretically, any one at
the bottom of hollow cone Is bound
TO receive anything falling from any
side. Not so very long ago 30 per-
sons had just left the terminal station
Of Cooks Funicular railroad to the
summit, when an earthquake recipi-
tated so much OF the rim that Vesuvi-
us lost 200 feet in height and the sta
ton crashed down into the crater.
The dust resulting was so great that
newspaper men far away in Naples
thought The mountain was in eruption
and photographed the error by tele-
graph all over the world.
Prof Perret, the famous American
vulcanologist, who came to see me az
ter my descent, said that these ave-
lanches often gave rise to false ru-
mors, and he himself had more than
once explained to alarmed people just
what had happened. l understood
that it was Prof Perret who predict
ed the Messina earthquake in advance.
But down here inside Vesuvius we
were extremely nervous. There might
be an explosion from inside, or, what
was more likely, according to Prof.
Malladra, there might be second
caye-in Of the crater floor, for the ac-
tivity below was becoming too great
| for the size of its present opening,
which is about SO feet in diameter.
1t was small wonder, therefore, that
Sannino hesitated when l asked him
to continue with me 200 feet further
down into this cone.
Unless l reached the utmost bot
tom, however, ! felt it was a failure,
and finally Sannino and Formisano-
Candino had been left at the preci-
pice above with the rope to give an
alarm If necessary-bravely consented
to go with me when l began the final
| perilous descent. We scrambled down
to the brink of the pit whence the
smoke and gas belch forth.
The rearing of the boiling lava
below the mouth was terrific, and the
sight the most awe-inspiring l have
ever beheld. The column of smoke
changed color as in kaleidoscope,
| according to the mineral gas that was
ascending, but, although no flames
were seen, the main body of the smoke
was an incandescent pink.
Then an extraordinary thing hap
pended Braving the intense heat,
estimated by Prof. Malladra at 500
degrees, centigrade, down in the
mouth Sannino went to the actual
edge. ard with his two hands scraped
up some volcanic dust and cinders to
take back to the observatory.
Each time the incandescent chasm
belched out it's pink looking
smoke little more furious than be-
fore it might have been the last of
U.S. AS proof of this Sannino found
fresh lava outside the cone, indicating