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At The Prospector Office
EXPLORING VESUVIUS.
A Descant Into the Volcano’s Burning,
Fumes Laden Crater.
Although many tourists visit the
volcano of Vesuvius and enjoy the
grand and terrible sight, few have
the daring or the physical endur
ance to descend into the depths of
the crater. Suffocating sulphur
fumes, redhot cinders, precipitous
walls down which masses of rock
are constantly plunging, are obsta
cles that only a few explorers have
overcome. The last to accomplish
the descent was A. Console. He
was accompanied by A. Malladra,
who had been the second to explore
the crater. Their experiences are
described by Monsieur V. Forbin in
La Nature.
Tied to a long rope, which six
guides at the top lowered inch by
inch, the two began to descend the
perilous slope. The broken nature
of the wall, which was seamed with
deep crevasses, made the downward
climb extremely difficult, and the
crumbling rock offered no secure
grip or foothold. The heat soon
became almost insupportable. Mr.
Console felt that his feet were ac
tually roasting, and a thermometer
that Mr. Malladra carried register
ed 179.3 degrees F.
Finally the explorers reached the
bottom of the cliff and halted near
the Fumarole Mercalli. This hole
is probably the vent of the voloanic
chimney that has been almost en
tirely blocked by years of accumu
lated debris. It constantly vomits
forth clouds of white and yellow
fumes that rerifler the surrounding
air unbreathable. All about this
fumarole the ground is covered
with a deep layer of hdt white pow
der mixed with gravel, into which
the two adventurers sank almost to
their knees.
As Mr. Console was focusing his
camera to take a view of the crater
the ground beneath him suddenly
opened, and he sank to his waist in
the redhot cinders. As his com
panion was some distance away, he
had to effect his own rescue. Fortu
nately the end of the rope that had
been used in the descent was within
a few feet of him. He managed to
grasp it and by its aid drew himself
from his precarious and painful
situation.
Every moment of their stay at
the bottom of the crater rocks were
breaking from the wall and plung
ipg down about them. Mr. Console,
who had stayed near the foot of the
cliff, had to keep dodging these
dangerous missiles. One or two did
strike and wound him. The suffo
cating heat and the noxious gases
brought on a strange sickness that
caused him to reel in his gait and
his heart to heat rapidly and vio
lently. A terrible fit of coughing
and choking seized Mr. Malladra,
who had stayed too long near the
fumarole, and it lasted until he
reached the top again.
Naturally the ascent was far more
difficult than the descent had been.
Although they had spent only twen
ty minutes at the bottom of the cra
ter, they were so spent that they
were several times on the point of
fainting.
Once, after scaling a perpendicu
lar wall of twenty-five feet, Mr.
Console thought that, he had reach
ed the limit of his endurance. Sum
monihg all his strength and cour
age, however, he dragged himself
on. Looking back a moment later,
he saw a small avalanche sweep
over the exact spot he had just left.
When the two explorers were finally
lifted over the edge of the cliff they
were on the point of complete ex
haustion.
How to Bleach Ivory.
To bleach ivory ornaments or pi
ano keys the following method
works well: The ornaments are first
washed or “soaked” if possible in
a bath of nnslaked lime which has
in it a few ounces of bran and wa
ter. This should make a pasty solu
tion if properly mixed and will
bleach the ivory which is discolored
or stained. It should be rubbed off
wjlth a cloth and the ivory dried in
magnesia powder. After a few min
utes a few strokes with a cloth give
the ivory a brilliant polish.—Lon
don Mail.
.Past, Future and Present.
First Girl—I like a man with a
past. A man with a past is always
interesting.
Second Girl—That’s true, but I
don’t think he’s nearly as interest
ing as a man with a future.
Third Girl—The man who inter
ests me is a man with a present, and
the more expensive the present is
the more interest I take in it!
A Timely Warning.
Mr. H. was recently presented with
a handsome revolver, whose quali
ties he was testing by firing blank
cartridges into the air, when his
daughter Natalie, aged six, appear
ed upon the scene. “Oh, papa, she
exclaimed in great distress, “don’t
shoot at the 6Kj; you might kill an
angel 1*
LENGTH OFIHE DAT.
It May CHanga 8oma Tima, but Nat
For Millipna of Yaara.
Scientists have indulged in some
interesting speculations as to the
possible increase in the length of
our day.
It is pointed out that when once
the earth has started in motion
about an axis, no matter how the
motion came about, it must, of
course, continue forever and at the
same rate, thus making the day al
ways the same length, unless some
thing is happening or will happen
to interfere with that motion. Now
there are several causes in opera
tion that affect the period of the
earth’s rotation, some of which tend
to make the period less and others
to make it greater. The influence
of each of the causes is, of course,
very small. They are generally easy
to understand. A very simple ex
periment illustrates one of them.
A stone is attached to one end of
a string, the other end of which is
held in the hand. The stone is then
whirled around in a circle. When
its speed has become nearly uniform
the string is allowed to wind up on
the finger. It is noticed that as the
string shortens the. velocity in
creases. In the same way, if the
matter forming the earth should in
any way be drawn nearer the axis
of rotation, it would turn faster and
the day would be shortened.
By continual loss of heat a shrink
age of the earth is probably in prog
ress, and although the process is ex
ceedingly slow it certainly tends to
diminish the period of rotation. On
the other hand, any addition of
matter from the outside will tend
to increase that period and make
the day longer. There seems to be
no question but that slight addi
tions to the mass of the earth are
constantly made by the arrest of
meteoric bodies passing through the
atmosphere. Their influence is op
posed to and tends to neutralize
that of any earth shrinkage that
may be taking place.
The most important interference
with the rotation of the earth of
which we have knowledge is that of
the tidal waves, which are due to
the attraction of the sun and moon,
but more largely of the latter. It
is easy to see that this is a resistance
against which the earth turns, and
its effect is to increase the length
of the day.
Astronomical observations ex
tending over a period of 2,000 years
have failed to show any sensible
changes in the day, but the influ
ence of the tides must become evi
dent after the lapse of a great many
years. One authority has declared
that the day may lengthen until it is
at last fifty-five times as long as it
is at present, and that would also
be the period of the revolution of
the moon about the earth. A day of
1,320 hours is not, however, likely
to come for some millions of years.
—Harper’s Weekly.
Her Head Was Hot.
Lady Dorothy Nevill in her remi
niscences tells this story of the two
Misses Walpole, her cousins: “On
one occasion, when both of the two
were well over ninenty, Miss Fanny,
the younger, who had that day been
rather ill, only joined her sister in
the sitting room before dinner. On
her arrival downstairs the latter
(Miss Charlotte by name) remarked :
‘Fanny, I am going to be ill too. I
feel 60 hot about the head. It must
be apoplexy.’ ‘Nothing of the sort!’
exclaimed Miss Fanny, making a
dash at her sister’s head. “Your
cap’s on fire, and I’m going to put it
out.’ And so the brave old thing
did.”
He Heard the Cough.
“Muriel,” said the old gentleman
sharply, “that young man you had
in the parlor last night is dull of
comprehension. All I had to do
was to cough when the other chaps
remained too late, and they would
take the hint and depart. Did this
one say anything when I coughed
last night?”
“Yes,” replied the heautiful
daughter, “he said the next time he
called he was going to bring you
some cough drops.”
Energy.
Aubrey de Vere, an Irish poet
and gentleman, mentions in his
“Recollections” that when ten years
old he had a tutor who constantly
inculcated in him rectitude, pur
pose and energy.
The tutor’s praise of energy was
expressed by the saying:
“There are three letters of more
value than all the rest in the alpha
bet—namely, N R G.”
Consolation.,
“Steward, how long will it be be
fore we get into the harbor?”
“About an hour and a half,
ma’am.”
“Oh, dear, I shall die before
then.”
“Very likely, ma’am. But yen'll
be all right again when you've been
on shore ten minutca."
A. M. Dieringer
Valdez Transfer
Company
General Trucking and Freight
ing to all interior points
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LIVERY and FEED STABLE
STORAGE
Teaming of all kinds
Positively no coal delivered
unless paid for In advance
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Dr. H. COCKERILLE
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Waahiniton'D. C.I
DENTIST
Phone 92 Fourteen',..™ in
Office injWhaling building VAI HF7
Neat to cable office
dr. german
Phoae ,9 THE DENTIST
by appointment All work guaranteed
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LAWYER
PHONE 136 Valdez, Alaska
C. E. BUNNELL
ATTORNEY-AT-LAW
Offices Wall Street
Phone 31 VALDEZ
MINING ENGINEER
f. butterworth;
Civil Engineer and
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Blue Printing Res. Phone. 189
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Valdez, Alaska i
Reports oh Mires
Patert Surtees
QEHESAL MlHIHO EnGIHEERIHO
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_VALDEZ, ALASKA
CAMP VALDEZ No. 10
Meet every Tuesday evening at 8 o'clock In
Eagle! Hall. All members are requested to
ttend. f' S. MCNIECE. Arctio Chief
VALDEZ LODGE NO. 6,1. 0.10. F.
Meetsevery Monday at 8 p.m. in
ODD FELLOWS HALL
Visiting Brothers especially invited
Wm. Thomas. N. g. p. s. Hint, p. g„ Sec
Valdes I,odge
No 168.
Free and Accepted Masons
Regular Communications tirst Wednesday in
each month in McKinley Hall Visitors always
welcome.
_ „ James H Patterson,,W. M
C. C. Reynolds. Sec
FOE
VALDEZ AERIE Vo. 1971
Meet every Friday, 8 t>. m. Eaclc TIal
PIONEERS OF ALASKA
IGLOO NO. 7.
Meets every first and third Mon
day of each month. All visit
ing Brothers welcome.
E. O. AMES, Secretary.