ERUPTIOK OF THE SOUb'RIERE IN ST. VINCENT. 811 



The Soufrieve Mountain forms the northern extreniity of the 

 ishind, and its g-eneral form at once suggests a comparison with Vesu- 

 vius. It is a simple cone witiiout hiteral or })arasitic craters. The 

 one at its summit is surrounded on the north side by the remains of 

 a gigantic crater ling. which has tiie same rehition to the present 

 crater as Somma has to Vesuvius. On the northeast lip of the main 

 crater there is a smaller one known as the New^ Cratei', as it is ))elieved 

 to have originated in the eruption of 1812. It is only one-third of a 

 mile in diameter. It is dou))tful whether the New Crater was active 

 duilng the late eruption, and there can ))e no doubt that it w^as from 

 the principal or ''Old Ch-ater,"" that the materials mostly were emitted. 

 Deep valleys, often with })recipitous sides, have been cut in the slopes 

 of the mountain, especially on its southern side, and it is in tlu'se — 

 and particularly in the Wallibu, Rozeau, and Ka])aca Dry River that 

 the greater part of the ejecta of the recent eruption have collected. 



The eruption of May, 19o2, though sudden in its outburst and dis- 

 astrous in its effects, was far from imexpected. In the north of St. 

 Vincent there were two settlements of the a))original Caril)s, and 

 these had been so startled by the frequent violent earthquakes, that 

 in February of last year they were considei'ing- the adxisalnlity of 

 deserting the district. But the first signs of actual \olcanic activity 

 were on Tuesday, ]\Iay 6. The inhabitants of the leeward side were 

 fortunate in having a clear view of the crater, and, warned Ijy the 

 outbursts of steam, they fled to Chateaubelair and other places along 

 the coast line to the south, so that few lives were lost in this quarter. 

 But, on the windward side, the summit of the mountain, as is fre- 

 ([uently the case, was wrapped in cloud. Here, at the base of the 

 mountain, there is an extensive stretch of flat land, known as the 

 Carib countrv, on wdiich were situated some of the largest and richest 

 estates in the island, with a dense population mostly black or colored. 

 8o little alarm was felt here that even on the morning of Wednesday, 

 May 7, when the leeward side was practically deserted, sugar making 

 was in progress on several estates, and all the operations of tropical 

 agriculture were being conducted as usual. From Kingstown tele- 

 phonic messages were sent to Georgetown, which is not far from the 

 base of the hill, stating that the Soufriere was in eruption, but they 

 appear to have occasioned little anxiet3\ And when, about midday 

 on Wednesday, the danger was too obvious to be overlooked, the 

 Rabaca Dry River, and some of the streams on the windward side, 

 usually dry except after rains, were running boiling hot, and could 

 not be crossed. Many fugitives in this way found their escape cut ofl'. 

 It was here that the loss of life was greatest, which, though many 

 escaped, is estimated to have amounted to 2,000, including about a 

 dozen white men — the overseers of the plantations. The exact luun- 

 ber will never be known, as many Avere entombed in the ashes where 

 they fell. 



