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Vol VI.
Darien <®asette
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[ [selected for the gazette.]
Ht TO MOUNT VESUVIUS *
the sth of January, I left Na
seven o’clock in the morning,
to Portici, The sun
away the clouds of night,
flHhe head of Vesuvious is always
#r|t in mist. 1 began mv journey
1-e mountain with a Cicerone, who
■Hded two mules, one for me and
•fjifror himself.
MBte ascent was at first on a tolera-
HHride road, between two plantations
ofvties, which vvere trained upon pop
s£| I soon began to feel the cold
air, but kept advancing, and at
JjM&h perceived a little below the va
•|Hws of the middle region, the tops of
i||w trees. They were the elms of
The miserable habi
fotffijjps nf the vine-dressers weie now
H|hblc on both sides, amidst a rich
Hftdance of Lachrymce Chris(i. In
■Hr respects, I observed a parched
na’ked vines intermixed with
trees in the form of an umbrella,
aloes in the hedge, innumerable
■Hug stones, and not a single bird.
reaching the first level ground
■Hie mountain, a naked plain lay
before me, and I had also in
|Hr the two summits of Vesuvius—
on the left the Somma, on the right the
ijHenl mouth of the Volcano. These
were enveloped in pale
finds. I proceeded. On one side
iHKSomma falls in, and on the other, I
Hpn to distinguish the hollows made
cone of the volcano, which I was
Hut to climb. The lava of 1769 and
Ho covered the plain, which I was
■H, where the lava, cast out like dross
a forge, displays its whitish scum
a black ground, exactly resem
dried moss.
the cone of the volcano to
■Bright following the road on the
Hi i cached the fool of a hill,or rather
Hill, formed of the lava, which over
dHlmcd Herculaneum. This species
is planted with vines on the bor
jjjjs of the plain, and on the opposite
HLis a deep valley, filled by a copse.
B air now began to “bite shrewdly.”
H climbed this hill in order to visit
which I perceived from
■■other side. The heavens loweied;
Hclouds descended and flew along
H surface of the earth like grey
Hpke, or ashes driven before the wind,
■ftgan to hear a murmuring sound
■■mg the elms of the hermitage.
Hrite hermit came forth to receive
H and held the bridle of my mule
I alighted. He was a tall man
Hli an open countenance and good
He invited me into his cell
H placed upon the table a repast of
■■id, apples and eggs. He sat down
Bnlosiic to me, rested both his elbows
HBhe table, and calmly began tocon-
Hpe while I eat my breakfast. The
were collected all round us, and
could be distinguished thro’
HKwindows of the hermitage. Noth
jjHlwas heard in this dreary abyss of
■Hour, huithe whistling of the wind,
SHlhe distant noise of the waves, as
broke upon the shores of Herc.u-
Hum. There was something sin
'flu’ in the situation of this tranquil
fjfuc of Christian hospitality—a small
HE at the foot of a volcano and in the
fjj|jPst of a tempest.
Hhe hermit presented to me the
Hk in which strangers, who visit Ve
ins, are accustomed to make some
■Mmorandum. In this volume I did
HLfincl one remark worthy of recof
■Ktion. The French indeed, with the
apod taste natural to our nation, had
sSg The following observations were notin
|Mded for the public eye, as will easily be
from the particular character of
J|i reflections which they contain. They
principally written in pencil as I as
|Hded to the crater of the volcano. 1 have
to eorrectany part of this short
Hrnal, that I might not in any degree in
■■ere with the truth of the narrative; but
■■the reasons mentioned the reader is re-
Bfested to peruse it with indulgence.
and akien ® gazette.
contented themselves witji mentioning
. the date of their journey, or paying a
compliment to the hermit for his hos
pitality. It would seerti that this vol
cano had no very remarkable effect
upon the visitors, which confirms me
in the idea I some time since formed,
namely, that grand objects and grand
subjects are less capable of giving
birth to great ideas than is generally
supposed; for their grandeur being evi
dent, all that is added, beyond this
fact, becomes mere repetition. The
“nascetur ridiculus mus” is true of all
nations.
I left the hermitage at half past two
o’clock, and continued to ascend the
hill oflava, on which I had before pro
ceeded. On my left was the valley,
which separated me from the Somma;
on my right the plain of the cone. Not
a living creature did I see in this hor
rible region but a poor, lean, sallow,
half-naked girl, who was bending un
der a load of faggots, which she had
cut on the mountain.
The clouds now entirely shut out
the view; for the wind blew them up
wards from the black plain, of which,
ifelear, I should have commanded the
prospect and caused them to pass over
the lava road, upon which I was pur
suing my way. I heard nothing bui
the sound of my mule’s footsteps.
At length I quitted the hill, bending
to the right, and re-descending into the
plain of lava, which adjoins the cone
of the volcano, and which I crossed
lower down on my road to the heimit
agejbul even when in the midst of these
calcined fragments, the mind can hai d
ly form to itself an idea of the appear
ance which the district most assume,
when covered with fire and molten
metals by an eruption of Vesuvius.—
Dante had, perhaps, seen it when he
describes in his Hell those showers of
ever-burning fire, which descend slow
ly and in silence, “co.vie di neve in A lpc
senza vento.”
Snow was here visible in several
places, and I suddenly discovered a>
intervals Portici, Capri, Ischia, Pausii
ipi, the sea studded with the white
sails of fishing boats, and the coast of
the gulph of Naples, bordered with
orange trees. It was a view of paradise
from the infernal regions
On reaching the foot of the cone,
we alighted ftom our mules. My
guide gave me a long staff, and we
began to climb the huge mass of cin
ders. The clouds closed in, the fog
became more dense, and increasing
darkness surrounded us.
Behold me now at the top of Vesu
vious, where I seated myself at the
mouth of the volcano, wrote down what
had hitherto ocrured, and prepared
myself for a descent into the crater. —
The sun appeared, from time to time,
through the mass of vapours, which
enveloped the whole mountain, and
concealed from me one of the most
beautiful landscapes in the world,
while it doubled the horrors of the
place I was in. Vesuvius, thus sepa
rated by clouds from the enchanting
country at its base, has the appearance
of being placed in the completest de
sert, and the sort of terror, which it in
spires, is in no degree diminished by
the spectacle ofa flourishing city at its
foot.
I proposed to my guide that we
should descend into the crater. He
made several objections, but this was
only to obtain a little more money; and
we agreed upon a sum, which he re
ceived on the spot. He then took;
off itis clothes, and we walked some
time on the edge of the abyss, in order
to find a part which was less perpen
dicular, and more commodious for our
descent. The guide discovered one,
and gave the signal for me to accom
pany him. We plunged clown.
Fancy us at the bottom of the gulph.*
I despair of describing the chaos,which
surrounded me. Let the reader figure
to himsely a basin, a thousand feet in
circumference, & three hundred high,
which forms itself into the shape of a
funnel. Its borders or interior walls
are furrowed by the liquid fiie, which
this basin has contained, and vomited
forth. The projecting parts of these
walls resemble those brick pillars, with
which the Romans supported their
enormous masonry. Large rocks are
hanging down in diffeient parts, and
theii fragments mixed with cinders in
* There is fatigue, but very little clanger
attendant on a descent into the crater of
Vesuvius, unless the investigator should be j
surprised by a sudden eruption.
DARIEN, (GEORGIA,) €qtta! anti Cjtract 3justice. THURSDAY, APRIL 22. 1824.
to a sort of paste, cover the bottom of
the abyss.
This bottom of the basin is plough
ed and indented in various manners.—■
Near the middle are three vents, or
small mouths, recently opened, which
discharged flames during the occupa
tion of Naples by the French in 1798.
Smoke proceeds from different points
of the crater, especially on the side to
wards la Torre del Greco. On the
opposite side, towards Caseste, I pef.
ceived flame. When you plunge your
hand into the cinders,you find them of a
burning heat, several inches under the
surface. The general colour of the gulph
is black as coal; but Providence, as I
have often observed, can impart grace
at his pltasure even to objects the most
horrible. The lava, in some places,
is tinged with azure, ultra-marine, yel
low, and orange. Rocks of granile
are warped and twisted by the action,
of fire, and bent to their very extremi
ties, so that they exhibit the sembatvie
of the leaves of palms and acanthus.—
The volcanic matter having cooled on
the rocks over which it flowed, many
figures are thus formed, such as roses,
girandoles, and ribbons. The rocks
likewise assume the forms of plants St
animals, and imitate the various fi
gures, which are to be seen in agates.
I particularly observed on a bliiiso
rock, a white swan modelled in so per
fect a manner that I could have almost
sworn I beheld this beautiful birtl
sleeping on a placid lake, with its hea.
bent under its wing, and its long ner,k
stretched over its back iikearoliof silk.
I found here that perfect silence
which I have, on other occasions, ex
perienced at nooq in” the forests If
America, when Lhave held my breap
and heard nothing except the heath;*’
of my heart and temporal artery. $
w as only at intervals that gusts of winjl.
descending f. om the cbne to the bot
tom of the crater, rustled through ivy
i loihes or wf .ri iound my staff. I
also heard some stones,which my guide*
kicked on one side, as he climbed
through the cinders. A contused echo,
similar to the jarring of metal or glass,
prolonged the noise of the fail, and af
terwards all was silent as death. Com
pare this gloomy silence with the
dreadful thundering din, which shakes
these very places, when the volcano
vomits fire from its entrails, and cov
ers the. earth with darkness. ,
A philosophical reflection may here
be made, which excites our pi'y for the
sad slate of human affairs. What is
it, in fact, but the famous revolutions
of Empires, combined with the con
vulsions of nature, that changes the
face of the earth and the ocean? A
happy circumstance would it at least
be, if men would not employ them
selves in rendering each other misera
ble, during the short time that they are
allowed to dwell together. Vesuvius
has not once opened its abyss to swal
low up cities, without its fury surpris
ing mankind in the midst of blood and
tears. What are the first signs of ci
vilization Sc improved humanity, which
have been found, during oui days, un
der the lava of the volcano? Instru
ments of punishment and skeletons in
chains!*
Times alter, and human destinies
are liable to the same inconstancy.—
“Life,” says a Greek song, “is like the
vveeels of a chariot.”
Pliny lost his life from a wish to con
template, at a distance, the volcano, in
the centre of which I was now tranquil
ly seated. I saw the abyss smoking
round me.—l reflected that a few
fathoms below me was a gulph of fire. I
reflected that the volcano might at once
disgorge its entrails, and launch the in
to the air with all the rocky fragments
by which I was surrounded.
What Providence conducted me
hither? By what chance did the tem
pests of the Apierica ocean cast me on
the plains ofLavinia? “ Lavinaque venit
littora .” I cannot refrain from re
turning to the agitations of this life, in
which St. Augustine says that things
are full of misery, and hope devoid of
happiness. Rem tilenam miser a, sfiem
beautitudinis inanem. Born on the
rocks of America, the first sound,
which struck my ear on entering the
world, was that of the sea, and on how
many shores have I seen the same
waves break, that find me here again!
Who would have told me, a few years
ago, that I should hear these wander
ers moaning at the tombs of Scipio and
Virgil, after they had rolled at my feet
l
* At Pompeia.
on the coasts of England, or the strand
of Canada? My name is in the hut of
the savage ot Florida, and in the her
mit’s book at Vesuvius. When shall
I lay down, at the gate of my fathers,
the’pilgrim’s staff and mantle?
How do I envy the lot of those, who
never quitted their native land, and
have no adventures to record!—Cha
teaubriand's Travels.
From the Ne-w-York Gazette, March 30.
Chancellor Sanford's 0/iinion. —We
present to our readers the decision,
with the Chancellor’s Opinion, in the
suit of Lieut. Weaver, of the Navy,
against Messrs. Whitney, Tibbits,
Hoyi, and Captain Dekoven. On this
subject, wc have no remarks of our
own to make, as the public will draw
their own conclusions. Having, how.
ever, been furnished with a statement
written by Lieut. Weaver, to one of the
Navy Commissioners, justice requires
of us to notice the contents of an official
communication, which the complain
ant in the case assures he is prepared
to prove.
1 lie statement before us, commen
ces with expression j of an acuteness of
feeling which can bs easily imagined
by an honorable man. Lieut. Weaver
seems fully aware ot the weight which
the Chanc.elioi’s Opinion will have on
the public mind, and the injury which
may result to him from the harsh
terms made use ot in his decision. He
then proceeds to state—
-1 hat the reason w by Lieut. Weaver
left the Franklin was, that Com. Stew
art had promised him the first Lieu
tenancy; a superior power, however,
declared it inadmissible, on account of
the application of senior Lieutenants
ior the situation. Being unable to ful
fil his engagement with Lieutenant
Weaver, and to avoid the indelicacy of
retaining him on board in a subordin
ate capacity, the Commodore, at Lieut.
,Weaver’s request, allowed him to en
gage in the mcichant service, with a
promise that, if he went into the Paci
fic. Ocean, that he should have his
friendly countenance and protection,
and that he might meet him at Juan
Fernandez, and receive the advantage
of his convoy, with the other ships from
New-York, the Canton and Post Cap
lain; the latter commanded by Lieut.
Baldwin, of the Navy, which vessels
availed themselves of the same convoy
offered to the America, on boat and of
which Lieut. W. was employed, but
which he did not use. With this pri
vtlege, and the proffered kindness of
Com Stewart, in company with Mr.
Wm. Porter, of this city, the plan was
submitted to Mr. Tibbits, and it was a
greed that the America should be load
ed with flour ana provisions,f no con
traband of war,) Mr. W. to lake the
management of the ship and cargo for
one forth of the profits.
This, he states, is what officers are
permitted to do every day; he dosed
the contract, and put his initials to the
agreement. That the contract, in the
present shape, was kept back until
the night before the America sailed,
when the wholeof the parties were as
assembled at the house of Mr. Tibbits,
when the present contract was produ
ced. Lieut. W. strenuously objected
to the insertion of Commodore Stew
art’s name. In reply, it is stated, the
parlies ail answered ‘there is nothing
here stated that can enjure Commo
dore Stewart—he has expressed to us
lie would do every tiling consistent with
his duty—-he has made these promis
es—what you subscribe, does not bind
Stewart.’—Lieut. W. yielded, and af
fixed his name, observing, that he
would sooner perish than injure Com.
Stewart—and here Mr. Weaver re
marks, that the insinuation of the
Chancellor that Commodore Stewart
was to reap a profit from Mr. W’s pri
vate and personal services, is totally
groundless—that he is an honorable
man, and Lieut. W. freely exonerates
him from any pecuniary interests in
this transaction.
Lieut. W. observes that the laws for
the government of the navy have been
his constant guide, and that he has never
violated these laws. That it was for
personal services that he received com
pensation on board the America, and
the term bribe does not apply to him.
He goes on to state, that the U. S.
stores were shipped on board the A
merica some time before the signing of
the contract, & by orders from govern
ment. That the contract is dated back
the 241 h Aug. and that it was not seen or
signed by him until the evening of the
3d of October, the night before he sail
ed.—Lieutenant W. acquits himself of
any intention to act incorrectly; and
bitterly laments the shape in which the
transaction is placed before the public;
and hopes with innocence on his side,
to make it appear, thauheterm of the
Chancellor do not apply to him;and the
community, ere long, will view the af
fair differently from the Chancellor:
that the remembrance of thirteen ve-irs
of honorable service, and not a trifle of
blood shed in the service of his coun
try, are not to be effaced by his unsus- *
peeling transactions with men of busi
ness; and that the stain attemted to be
cast upon his honor, will be wiped a
way.
Lieut. W. concludes his letter, with
expressing a wish for, and in fact, ebur*
ting an investigation of his conduct.
Consulate of the U. States,? \
Madeira, Feb. 4, 1824 y
Sir:—Since the date of my last des
patch, a copy of which is enclosed two
of die seamen, viz. William Snow and
Robert Edwards,at their examination,
made a voluntary confession, and very
neatly confirmed the information giv en
by the Potluguesesailor. They state
that, while in this port, they all three
agreed to commit the act for which
i they are now in prison - that, soon after
i they sailed, when, more or less, thirty
five miles from land, at about 10
o’clock at night, during the Captain’s
watch on deck, William Snow, by
surprize, struck him on the head with a
leaver knocked him down, and with
the assistance ot Gatlahar, who was at
the helm when the blow was given,
threw him overboard—that Gallahar
then shut the Companion wav, while
Snow called Edwards, on whose arrival
aft, they e&llecf up rhe Mate whom S.
struck as lie was coming up, and that
he, the Mate., finding (he Captain was
gone, and that they were determined
to kill him, jumped overboard. They
then called up the boy, whom they
knocked down and threw overboaid.
Alter wards, they called up the cook,
whom they killed in the same manner;
that they divided the money and most
valuable effects between them, and
tacked ship for the land. All this time
•he Portuguese sailor remained in the
tovecasile.
In the afternoon of the next day, they
put the money and clothes in the small
boat, having previously lost the long
one, and being near the island, scutt led
the vessel. Soon afterwards having
drank freely they left the Portuguese
sailor at the heim and fell asleep, and
waking about midnight, they found that
the sailor and boat were gone. On the
next morning, being very near the land,
and the schooner half full of water,
they hailed for assistance, when two
bpats came off ,aok them out, and
thence they were brought the next day,
to town to prison, agreeing among
themselves to deny all knowledge of
the loss of the captain, mate, cook, and
Boy. But finding that the Portuguese
had informed against them, they, al
though separately confined, concluded
voluntarily, to confess what I have now
stated to you.
Gallahar, on being confronted with
them, continued to deny all participa
tion in the act, and peisisted in declar
ing that, at his first examination he had
stated the truth.
TlieJuizde Fora informs me that
he shall forward a copy of the examin
ations to the Criminal Tribunal, at Lis
bon, and has determined that no step
shall here be taken in regaid to the
prisoners until the orders of the Crim
inal Tribunal are received
Believing that our government will
be anxious that a public example should
be made of the delinquents, the act
having been committed under its flag,
on the high seas, I shall give this fur
ther infoi mation to our Ministers at
Lisbon, and beg him to give me his in
structions as to my future proceedings.
I have the honor lobe, with the great
est respect your most obedient hunqble
servant.
FRANCIS MARCH, Pro Consul,
The Hon. John Quincy Adams,
Secretary of State , Washington,
A letter from a member of Congress
dated Washington, March 20, and
published in the Richmond Eqnirer,
says, “It is now very certain that Mr.
Crawford is safe. His cause gets
stronger daily; and his enemies know
and feel it.”
No. 14.