54-6 Notice of the Volcanic Island 



The drawings which aceompany this notice are from the 

 ])enci] of Mr. W. Russell, of His Majesty's Ship St. Vin- 

 cent, and are fac-similes of the drawings sent by the same 

 gentleman to His Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex, and 

 since published by Ackermann ; and of those transmitted to 

 the Admiralty, and published in the Journal of the Royal Geo- 

 graphical Society. In both these cases the artists have made 

 such alterations, in rounding the outline and altering the true 

 configuration of the island, as materially to affect their 

 utility in a scientific point of view. 



According to published documents ( Times, August 31. 

 1831 ; Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London, 

 1830-31) the Neapolitan schooner Psyche discovered, on 

 the 12th of July, smoke on the water between Sicily and 

 Pantellaria, where the island is now situated ; and, on the 

 1 7th of July, the master of the brig Adelaide, from London, 

 distinguished fire ; and it is probable that at this period the 

 land rose to the surface. On the 1 8th of the same month, Com- 

 mander C.H. Swinburne observed, from on board His Majes- 

 ty's ship Rapid, a long irregular column of smoke or steam, 

 accompanied by eruptions of fire, bearing south by east ; the 

 town of Marsala bearing by compass east half north 9 miles. 

 On nearing, a small hillock of a dark colour was observed a 

 few feet above the sea. The volcano was at this period in a 

 constant state of activity, discharging dust and stones with 

 vast columns of steam. The island appeared to be 70 or 80 

 yards in its external diameter, and the lip as thin as it could 

 be, consistent with its height, which might be 20 ft. above 

 the sea in the highest, and 6 ft. in the lowest part, leaving 

 the rest for the diameter of the area within. 



From information accompanying Mr. Russell's sketch, it 

 appears that the circumference of the island on the 23d was 

 I of a mile. The highest point was 80 ft. above the level of 

 the sea, and the jets of water rose to a height of from 800 

 to 1000 ft., and bore up immense quantities of cinders and 

 stones, which sometimes attained nearly double that height. 



On the 3d of August, Captain Senhouse of the St. Vin- 

 cent effected >a landing in the Hind cutter, and hoisted the 

 British flag, calling it Graham Island. The form of the 

 crater was found to be nearly a perfect circle, and complete 

 along its whole circumference except for about 250 yards 

 on its south-eastern side, which were broken and low, not 

 apparently more than 3 ft. high. The height of the highest 

 part was found, upon a rough computation, to be 180 ft.; 

 the whole circuit of the island was from a mile and a quarter 

 to a mile and a third. It bore the general appearance of 



