200 



KNOWLEDGE 



[December, 1902. 



THE ERUPTIONS IN THE WEST INDIES. 



Soon aftor tlic firoat fiuptinus in Marlinii|iio and St. 

 N'incent last May, the tfoyal Sncii'ly a]i[)iiin1i'(l a small 

 coniiuission to invosti<jalt" the jilicnonicua in both island?, 

 and osfiocially in St. Vincent. Dr. Tempest Anderson, a 

 well-known student and pliotograplier of vol<'anoes, and 

 Dr. .lohu S. Flett, of H.M. Geological Sui-vey, left London 

 on May 2stli. Tiiey arrived at Barbadoes on June 8th, 

 and proceeded to St. Vincent, where nearly four weeks 

 were spent, chiefly at Chateaubelair and Georgetown, in 

 the neighbourhood of the Soufriere. Early in July they 

 visited Martinique for six days, in order to ascertain the 

 general points of difference and similarity between the 

 outbursts of Mont Peli'e and the Soufriere, the phenomena 

 in this island being studied by a French scientific com- 

 mission under the directorship of Prof. Lacroix. On their 

 return to England, a preliminary report was presented to 

 the Eoy.vl ISociety, and was printed immediately in the 

 Proceedings. As some time must elapse before the 

 complete report is published, we give here a summary of 

 this first paper, quoting fully from the interesting account 

 of the eruption of Mont Peli'e observed by the commission 

 on July 9th, 



THE ERUPTION OF THE SOUFRIERE. 



The island of St. Vincent is oval in form, eighteen 

 miles long from north to south, and eleven miles broad. 

 The main a.xis is occupied by a mountain chain, composed 

 entirely of volcanic materials. In the south of the island 

 volcanic action has long been extinct or dormant, but at 

 the north end stands the still active Soufriere. This 

 mountain, which is 4048 feet in height, is a simple cone 

 like Vesuvius, without lateral or parasitic craters. Its 

 principal crater, known as the Old Crater, is nearly 

 circular in form. Before the recent eruption, it was nine- 

 tenths of a mile across, and about 1100 feet deep. The 

 bottom was occupied by a lake, said to have been over 

 500 feet deep. On its north-east lip is a smaller crater, 

 one-third of a mile in diameter, called the New Crater, as 

 it is supj)03ed to have originated in the eruption of 1812. 

 The remains of a gigantic crater-ring surround the cone on 

 its north side, bearing the same relation to it that Somma 

 does to Vesuvius. Deep valleys have been cut in the 

 slopes of the mountain, especially on its southern side ; 

 and it is in these that the greater part of the ejecta of the 

 recent eruption have collected. 



For more than a year before the eruption took place, 

 tbe north part of the island was subject to frequent 

 violent earthquakes ; and, as far back as February, 1901, 

 two settlements of the aboriginal Caribs were considering 

 the advisability of deserting the district. About midday 

 on Tuesday, May 6th, the first signs of the eruption were 

 observed by residents on the south-west side of the 

 mountain. At 2.40 p.m. there was a considerable 

 explosion, and a large cloud of steam ascended into the air; 

 at 5 p.m. a red glare was visible in the steam cloud on 

 the summit ; at midnight there was a great outburst, and 

 red flames wore noticed on the lip of the crater. Next 

 morning gigantic mushroom-shaped clouds could be seen 

 rising to a height of about 30,000 feet, and drifting away 

 before the north-east trade wind. As the day advanced, 

 the eruption increased in violence ; by 10.30 a.m. enormous 

 clouds of vapour were being emitted with loud noises, 

 accompanied by much lightning ; and it could be seen 

 that the materials were mostly, if not entirely, discharged 

 from the Old Crater. The activity now became con- 

 tinuous ; huge columns of vapour ascended with frequent 

 violent outbursts, projecting showers of stones and mud 

 on all sides, and chiefly to the east. At midday on 



Wednesday, May 7th, the slopes of the mountain were 

 still green, thougli a layer of fine ash, just sufficient to 

 give tile leaves a greyish colour, had fallen over the lower 

 ground. 



About this time, it was noticed that st«am was rising 

 from some of tlie valleys on the south side of the moun- 

 tain. Soon afterwar.ls, the Rivers Wallibu and Rabaca 

 on this side were seen rushing down in raging floods of 

 boiling water, and the whole mountain became euveloped 



Fig. 1. — Mount IVk'c from tlio West. 



in a dense cloud of vapour. The crater lake seems to 

 have been driven over the lower or south lip of the crater, 

 and to have poured down the valleys as a tremendous rush 

 of boiling water to the sea. 



It is remarkable that, so far, the inhalntants on the east 

 or windward side of the island had not realised their 

 danger. As is frequently the case, the summit on this 

 side was wrapped in cloud. Even on the morning of 

 Wednesday, May 7th, sugar-making was in progress on 

 several estates. By midday, however, all were convinced 

 that the noises heard continuously were not due to a 

 thunderstorm ; but it was then too late to escape, for the 

 Rabaca and other streams, usually dry except after rains, 

 were running boiling hot and could not be crossed. It 

 was here that the loss of life was greatest, the number of 

 persons killed being estimated roughly at 2000, including 

 about a dozen white men. On the opposite side of 

 the island the loss was comparatively small. The view 

 of the crater was clear, and the early outbursts of 

 steam gave ample warning to the inhabitants, who fled 

 along the coast to Chateaubelair and other places to the 

 south. 



To return to the eruption. At 1 p.m. the roaring of 

 the volcano was tremendous, and after the large outbursts, 

 which took place every few minutes, volumes of vapour 

 might be seen covering the whole area. So far, there was 

 nothing abnormal in the eruption, and the destruction was 

 confined to the higher parts of the mountain. 



But about 2 p.m. there was a rumbling and a large black 

 outburst with showers of stones. A strange black cloud, 

 laden with hot dust, swept down the mountain side burying 

 the country in hot sand, suffocating and burning all living 

 creatures in its path, and devouring the rich vegetation of 

 the hill with one burning blast. On the west coast most 

 of the inhabitants had escaped, but a few persons over- 

 taken by the black cloud were killed or badly burned. 

 One boat was near Richmond at the time the blast swept 

 down. The heat is described as fearful. Hot sand rained 

 into the boat, and the sea around w^s hissing with it« 



