THE 
AMERICAN 
JOURNAL OF SCIENCE, &c. 
Art. I.—Ascent of Mount Etna, February, 1832; by Stoney L. 
Jounson, late tutor in Yale College, and teacher in the U. States 
squadron, in the Mediterranean. 
A wish to ascend Mt. Etna, was at first, the chief motive of our 
visit to Catania, but before departure, our hopes of reaching the 
summit: were somewhat diminished. Since the snow fell, several 
parties had attempted it, but all without success. We often gazed 
upon it from our ships in the harbor of Syracuse, where it presented 
the singular appearance of a perfect cone of snow of astounding 
size, to whose dazzling whiteness the vertex tipped with black and 
tufted with a graceful plume of smoke, afforded the only relief. From 
the more commanding heights of Epipole, we could trace the sides 
lower down; the skirts of the snow were dappled with the naked 
patches of dark rock, then disappeared and the broad green base 
presented a cheerful contrast to the cold and glittering summit. 
On our approach and entrance to Catania, the mountain was en- 
tirely veiled from view by clouds and the ratn descended in torrents. 
Had this weather continued a little longer than it did, we might have 
departed without ocular proof of the existence of elevated ground 
in that vicinity. But after two or three days, a delightful change in- 
spired us with strong hopes of accomplishing our desires, and we 
determined upon an immediate attempt. 
Our arrangements were made for riding up as far as Nicolosi, on 
the 22d. of February. Abbate, our landlord had provided every 
necessary refreshment ; and with a due supply of extra clothing, we 
mounted and were in motion by 4 P.M. Our party consisted of 
four, and was guided to the resting place for the night by our humor- 
ous and obliging host. A few steps brought us from the hotel in the 
Corso, to the Strada Emea: these are the two finest streets of Ca- 
tania, the former stretching from the sea, to the west quite through 
Vou. XXVI.—No. 1. 1 
