In a short time the vineyards disappeared, and the road passed over broken heaps of lava. The great cone of Vesuvius lay before us, towering over our heads. On the left we looked down into a deep, rocky gulf, beyond which rose the long, craggy, red ridge of Monte Somma, the twin peak of Vesuvius. On our right, the eye wandered over an immense field of black lava, which darkened the sides of the mountain up to the very top of the cone. The road now grew every moment steeper, and wound through a wild region, among craggy and ponderous masses of lava which covered the ground in every direction. All this tract was impassable for a long time, after the last eruption; the lava being as hard as the firmest rock, and rent into abrupt chasms and crags like a field of broken ice. A path was at length made by cutting through these masses and beating the lava up into a sort of Mac Adam. We passed a mile or two on this wild road, and at length reached the foot of the cone.
This rests upon the main body of the mountain, like a dome upon a gigantic edifice. It is too steep to be climbed, even by donkeys or mules, besides, being of too loose materials to afford a footing for these animals. It consists of coarse gravel, loose stones and cinders, thrown out by the mountain with as steep a slope as such loose materials can possibly lie in. Here we found a large number of the above mentioned animals waiting for their riders, who had gone up. Our party dismounted and began the ascent. I found it exceedingly toilsome. What with the steepness of the surface and the treacherous footing to my steps, I was constantly slipping backward, and losing by one step what I had gained in a dozen.
But what was done with our fair companion? Ladies without number had gone to the top of the mountain, and she was resolved not to be outdone by any one of them. Ladies have never been considered deficient in curiosity; and the mountaineers have a contrivance by which they can be gratified in their desire to visit the summit of Vesuvius. Three or four stout fellows harness themselves with a strong leather strap, which they pass around the lady’s waist and then march onward, drawing her after them. In this manner our fair attendant managed to ascend the steep and slippery road up to the crater. About half way up we met another party, likewise with a lady. She had less strength or resolution than our friend, for she had given out, and was on the point of returning.
This great cone, when viewed from a distance, seems to taper off almost to a point; yet, on reaching the top, we found ourselves among heaps of enormous lava crags extending widely around, with columns and jets of white smoke streaming up from the clefts and spiracles here and there. We groped our way among these black and threatening masses, and presently came upon a party of travellers, seated upon a crag, eating their dinner. The air was cool on the mountain top, and they had fixed themselves in a comfortable spot, where they were roasting eggs in a hot crack of the lava! It costs nothing for fire here. The mountaineers came round us with baskets of fruit, bottles of wine, &c., to sell. They drive a profitable trade with hungry travellers at the top of Vesuvius. People whose heads are full of curiosity, are not apt to higgle about prices, when they can purchase a comfortable mouthful in so strange a place as the summit of a volcano.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Description of the crater.—Prospect from the top.—Accident in the descent of the mountain.—Visit to Torre del Greco.—Singular life led by the inhabitants.—Remarkable situation of a powder-house.
Although we were now on the top of the mountain, yet the crater was still at some distance, and we followed a rude pathway which ran for nearly a quarter of a mile among the lava crags. Everywhere the rents and fissures sent up streams of white smoke from beneath our feet, and the smell of sulphur loaded the air. The masses of lava were heaped confusedly around us. The surface had evidently been once a smooth bed of this hard material, which had cooled on the spot after its ejection from the bowels of the mountain, and subsequently had been split up and blown into fragments by another convulsion. There would be no passing here had not a pathway been made by levelling the crags and filling up the gaps which yawn at every step. The traveller is reminded at each moment that he is walking over terrible fires which are at no great distance beneath his feet. For all this, no one need be afraid to go to the top of Vesuvius. Eruptions never break out so suddenly but that a man may escape from the top of the mountain to the foot, in season for his safety. Generally, some days before the mountain begins to burn, it gives warning by subterranean noises, slight shakings, and increased volumes of smoke. Whenever lives have been lost, it has been owing to the disregard of these symptoms, and the presumptuous curiosity of those who dare to ascend the mountain when on fire.
Heavy columns of smoke now rose before us, pouring off horizontally through the air over an abrupt and long ridge of lava. On climbing this last ascent, the view of the great crater burst upon us, with its yawning depths, puffing out smoke and steam. Here we stopped to contemplate the spectacle. We stood on the edge of the crater, which was wide enough to enable us to walk along with safety. The smoke concealed one side of it from our view. We judged it about half a mile across; but in this lofty region, with no neighboring objects for the eye to light upon and form a comparison, the measurement cannot be depended on. It goes shelving down on all sides, with a fearful steepness, showing great bright crags of brimstone and red fire-stones jutting out from the black lava surface. The great spiracle in the centre appeared to be choked up; the smoke rising through minor clefts and chinks all round the sides and bottom of the crater. The edge on which we stood, and along which we walked for a quarter of a mile, was full of holes and cracks sending out smoke; and on thrusting our sticks into them, they took fire and were drawn out blazing. The windward side of the crater only, is accessible; there is no going quite round, on account of the suffocating smoke. All the inner surface of the crater appeared to be firm and solid, and we judged, by throwing stones down, that a person might descend to the bottom in safety, were it not for the fumes of sulphur with which it is constantly filled. I tried it for some distance, letting myself carefully down upon my hands and feet from crag to crag, until I became half stifled, when, being convinced that no wise man would go any further, I seized a fragment of the rock as a trophy of my exploit, and clambered up again. The performance cost me the best part of a pair of boots, which were pretty well crisped among the hot rocks.
The distant prospect from the top of Vesuvius is most superb. The great, craggy red head of Monte Somma frowns wildly opposite, while far beneath are the blue waters of the bay, the white clustering houses of Naples, the mountainous coast of Torrento, dotted with white houses, and the sweet blue islands of Capri, Ischia, and Procida, resting on the distant ocean. All around, on the land side, the eye wanders over green fields, orchards, and gardens, fresh with flowers and herbage, even at this early season. Away in the east the long mountainous ridge of the Apennines is seen skirting the horizon with their dark sides and snow-capped peaks. The view is sublime, and worth, of itself, a voyage across the Atlantic.
We spent nearly an hour about the crater, admiring the beauty and grandeur of the scenery, and picking up curious bits of lava and other minerals, which arrest the traveller’s curiosity at every step. I found, among other things, a lump of salt, about the size of my fist, most beautifully crystallized into the shape of a tree. As we were preparing to descend, I cast my eyes downward and discovered our donkeys at the foot of the cone, standing huddled together in a cluster. They were almost directly under our feet, but at such a distance that they were diminished to the size of young rabbits. To descend the cone is quite as toilsome as to climb up, and a great deal more dangerous. In the loose soil one is apt to move downward too fast, and between walking and sliding, a great deal of care must be taken lest you go heels over head. I had got about half way down, when I heard a loud cry above; I looked up and saw a great stone coming down upon me. One of the party above had loosened it, while floundering and scrambling his way through the loose earth, and now gathering speed in its progress, it was rolling down directly over my head, bouncing from heap to heap, and ploughing up the soil in a most fearful manner. I scrambled down hill much faster than before, but again casting my eyes upward, found that the stone was overtaking me. I now began to feel seriously alarmed, for I was in imminent danger of being crushed to death. The stone came thundering onward, but fortunately, just before it reached me, it struck a little knoll and bounded off obliquely, dashing the gravel and pebbles to the right and left and ploughing the ground into a furrow, till it reached the bottom. A great avalanche of earth and stones came pouring after it, by which I was nearly carried off my legs and swept away; but by fixing my staff firmly into the ground and resisting with main force, I checked my slide till the danger was over. I reached the foot of the cone with no other mishap than to find myself completely out of breath.