140 VOYAGES OF A NATURALIST 



grass and other vegetation in 1904 was again 

 showing over the sides of the Soufri^re. 



On St. Vincent the fine parrot — Chrysotis 

 guildingi — which is found nowhere else in the 

 world, has not yet become extinct, and is still 

 found in some numbers on the high peaks. 



On Martinique the havoc caused by the eruption 

 was more serious, inasmuch as St. Pierre, its 

 principal port, was entirely destroyed with its 

 inhabitants.* Little damage, however, has been 

 done to the surrounding country. The trees on 

 the top of a neighbouring range of hills have 

 been burned, but the country at the foot of these 

 hills is quite untouched. Several villages within 

 a couple of miles of the city are quite uninjured, 

 and are inhabited ; the sides of the hills up to 

 within a short distance of the summit are covered 

 with vegetation, and show no signs of injury. 



The country round Port de France is almost 

 entirely cultivated — sugar being the principal 

 crop — even to the tops of the peaks. We were 

 informed that, owing to this excessive clearance 

 of the trees, the rainfall has been considerably 

 lessened, and at times there is a considerable 

 shortage of fresh water. A strict law has, I believe 

 now been passed against the felling of timber. 

 Owing to this scarcity of trees, the land-birds 



* There is a story that one man, a black, was rescued from St. Pierre 

 owing to the fact that, being in a prison cell xinderground at the time, 

 he escaped the choking ashes which covered the town. I do not vouch 

 for this story, but mention it as it was related to us in other islands of 

 the West Indies. 



