ERUPTION OF THP: SOUFEIERE IN ST. VINCENT. 325 



eonsequencos of the oruptions in that qiuirter. It was our intention 

 to make merely such I'eeonnoissance.s as would enable us in a general 

 way to ascertain the points of ditierence and of similai'ity between the 

 outburst of Mont Pelee and that of the Soufriere and to see what 

 light the phenomena in Martini([ue threw" on the e\'ents which had 

 happened in St. Vincent. 



Both volcanoes are of the same type, simph^ cones with a large vent 

 near the sunnnit, tmd without parasitic craters. They are both deeply 

 scored with ravines, and on their southwest sides there is a 1)road 

 valley — occupied at Martinique by St. Pierre City; at St. Vincent by 

 the AVallilni. It is in these valleys that the destruction has been most 

 pronounced. In both, the recent eruptions have been characterized by 

 paroxysmal discharges of incandescent ashes and a complete al)sence 

 of lava stream .. 



In St. Vincent, however, the mass of material ejected has been much 

 greater, and a consideral)ly larger area of country has \}oeu dtnastated 

 than in Martinique. That the loss of life was not so great can be 

 accounted for l)y the absence of a populous city at the foot of the 

 mountain. Had St. Pierre been planted at the mouth of the Wallibn 

 Valley, there can l)e no dou])t it would have been no less completely 

 destro3^ed. 



On Mont Pelee we understand that a fissure has opened on the south 

 side of the mountain between the summit and St. Pierre, from which 

 the blast was emitted which overwhelmed the city. But on the Sou- 

 friere the old oriiices have l)een made use of. The eruption of Pelee 

 began with the flow of mud lavas, but none such were seen in St. 

 Vincent. On the other hand, the hot blast which swept down on the 

 devoted city was essentially similar to that which we have descril)ed 

 as having taken place at the Soufriere. Both eruptions produced 

 principally hot sand and dust with a small propoi'tion of bombs and 

 ejected l)locks. The evidence of the captain of the Roddum and of 

 the survivors of the Rorahiui afl'ords a very good idea of what hap- 

 pened in St. Pierre on May 8. An avalanche of incandescent sand was 

 launched against the city. In the north end, which was nearest the 

 crater, the inhabitants were instantaneously killed, the walls of the 

 houses leveled with the ground, and the town was al)laze in a moment. 

 In the south end the ruin was less. Those Avails of the houses which 

 faced the crater were demolished; those which ran north and south 

 still stood, even when we were there, after the second eruption. In 

 this quarter also all were killed, except a prisoner who was contined 

 in an ill-ventilated cell in the j)rison, but we were told that for some 

 minutes after the blast had passed people were seen rushing about in 

 the streets, crying aloud with pain, and many threw themselves into 

 the sea to escape the agony of their burns. It must be rememl)ered 

 that a terrible conflagration followed the eruption, and for thirty -six 



