THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 



The island of Xevis culminates in a great volcanic cone con- 

 taining a pitlike crater which has been cleft to its base on the 

 northwest side. This cone, like those of Pelce and the Soufriere 

 of St. Vincent, shows the remains of an older and larger crater- 

 ring partly surrounding it, just as Monte Somma partly encircles 

 Vesuvius. The island of Saint Lucia has an ancient appearance 

 geologically and shows no great recent cone dominating the 

 island like the islands which have been cited. Dominica is a 

 large island showing hot and boiling springs and sulphurous 

 steam vents at several localities, but it also has no single dominat- 

 ing volcano, unless it be Mome Diablotin. The Boiling Lake in 

 the southern part of Dominica occurs in what may perhaps be 

 considered a badly broken-down crater. 



The questions of supreme importance to the inhabitants of 

 Martinique and St. \'incent are; "Have the eruptions ceased? 

 Ls there any danger to be feared beyond the present zones of 

 devastation?" Unfortunately the first question cannot be an- 

 swered since there is no sure way of predicting a serious outbreak 

 long in advance. Last fall certain French and American scien- 

 tists predicted that Pelee would suffer a heavy eruption on 

 December 20, 1902. This prophecy was not fulfilled at all, nor 

 was that that La Soufriere would explode again in January, 

 190,:;. Pelee has not had a great eruption since August 30, 

 1902 ; but La Soufriere had one on March 22, as already stated. 

 There seems, however, to be no real cause for alarm for the 

 islands outside the present zones of devastation, since the de- 

 struction wrought last year appears to mark the limit of the 

 present volcanic energy. No prediction can be made for the 

 other Caribbean islands, but there seems to be no ground for 

 present anxiety regarding their volcanoes, except as to Guade- 

 loupe's Grande Soufriere, the fumarole area seems to be spread- 

 ing, and to show slowlv increasing activity. 



E. (). Hoviiv. 



54 



