March 6, 1884] 



NA TURE 



441 



Tilbury, consisting of blue clay with peaty bands, above sand 

 and gravel, strongly resembles those given by Prof. Sollas of 

 the alluvial deposits of the estuary of the Severn ; the amount of 

 subsidence, as shown by the present position of the lower peaty 

 liand, being also nearly the same. Mr. Holmes considered the 

 notions promulgated in the brief newspaper reports regarding 

 the antiquity of the remains to be entirely misleading. If any 

 strata were entitled to be styled "recent," those at Tilbury 

 must be so ; for their deposition would now be going on but for 

 the embankment of the Thames during the Roman occupation 

 of Britain. Vet the nevvspaper reports described these beds by 

 the extremely vague term " Pleistocene," while the skeleton was 

 styled " Paleolithic." The remains of man, however, have been 

 found in alluvial deposits fifty feet above the piesent level of the 

 Thames, and remains found in such beds must be immensely 

 more ancient than any discovered in recent alluvium. Geologi- 

 cal position furnishes the only absolute test of relative age. 

 The test of association with e.\tinct mammalia is largely de- 

 pendent on negative evidence. A hint on this point was given 

 by the results of the drainage of Haarlem Lake thirty years ago. 

 Excellent sections were made in all directions across its bed, and 

 carefully examined by skilled geologists. Hundreds of men were 

 known to have perished in its waters three centuries before, and 

 it had always been the centre of a considerable population. Yet 

 no human bones were found, though works of art were. Thus 

 hundreds or even thousands of mammalia, incapable of pro- 

 ducing works of art, miijlit be interred in particular strata, and 

 yet leave no signs whatever of their former exis'.ence two or 

 three centuries afterwards. And, on tlie other hand, were 

 extinct mammalia present in the Tilliury Dock beds no addi- 

 tional antiquity would thereby be conferred on the beds them- 

 selves, but the period at which the animals became extinct would 

 be shown to be later than had been supposed. Similarly as regards 

 the rude implements known as Palaeolithic; their presence could 

 confer no antiquity on recent beds. Still, as the skeleton was 

 found thirty-two feet below the surface, in alluvium that has 

 received no additions since Roman times, it is unquestionably 

 prehistoric. And the extreme rarity of prehistoric human skele- 

 tons gives to this di-covery an interest greater than could have 

 been claimed for that of a bushel of flint implements. The age 

 of the Tilljury skeleton may possibly be not far removed from 

 that of the Neanderthal man, to which it is said to have a 

 strong resemblance : a resemblance which, if as great as it is 

 stated to be, goes far to show that we have in each a normal 

 type of prehistoric man. 



At the same meeting a communication from Mr. VVorthing- 

 ton G. Smith was read. Mr. Smith stated that he had 

 seen the skeleton, and specimens of the sand in which it 

 was found. Palaeolithic sands with fossil bones and stone im- 

 plements occur about a mile to the north of Tilbury, and with 

 these Mr. Smith was well acquainted. The Paleolithic sand is 

 quite different in colour from the Tilbury sand, and the former 

 swarms w ith fossil shells of land and freshwater moUusks. As 

 far as could be seen no such shells were present in the Tilbury 

 sand sent to the British Museum. Mr. Smith's specimens of 

 fossil bones from the Paleolithic sand were in an eniirely 

 differerit mineral condition from the bones of the Tilbury skele- 

 ton, and he could trace no resemblance whatever either in sand 

 or bones. Mr. Smith made this statement with great deference 

 to the opinion of Sir Richard Owen, and confessed that a Paleo- 

 lithic skeleton might have been washed from the high ground to 

 the low, and got into the mineral state of the Tilbury skeleton, 

 although at present there was no evidence of anything of the sort 

 having taken place. His opinion was that there was no proof of 

 the Paleolithic age of the Tilbury relic. 



NOTES ON THE VOLCANIC ERUPTION OF 

 MOUNT ST. A UGUSTIN, ALASKA, 0CT0BER6, 

 18S31 



QN the western side of the entrance to Cook's Inlet (forty-five 

 ^-^ miles wide) lies Cape Douglas ; and to the northward of 

 the cape the shore recedes over twenty miles, forming the Bay 

 of Kamishak. In the northern part of this bay lies the Island 

 of Chernaboura ("black-brown"), otherwise called Augustin 

 Island. It is eight or nine miles in diameter, and near its 

 north-eastern part rises to a peak, called by Cook Mount St. 

 Augusiin. As laid down by Tebenkoff, the island is nearly round. 

 ' From Science. 



The northern shores are high, rocky, and forbidding, and are 

 bardered by vast numbers oif rocks and hidden dangers. The 

 southern shore is comparatively low. 



Mount St. Augnstin was discovered and named by Capt. 

 Cook, May 26, 177S; and he describes it as having "a conical 

 figure, and of very considerable height." In 1794 Puget 

 describes it as — 



" A very remarkable mountain, rising with a uniform ascent 

 from the shores to its lofty summit, which is nearly perpendicular 

 to the centre of the island, inclining somewhat to its eastern side. 

 . . . Towards the .seaside it is very low, from whence it rises, 

 though regular, with a rather steep ascent, and forms a lofty, 

 uniform, ai.d cmical mountain, presenting nearly the same 

 appearance from every point of view, and clothed with snow 

 and ice, through which neither tree nor shrub were seen to 

 protrude ; so that, if it did produce any, they must either have 

 been very small, or the snow must have been sufficiently deep to 

 have concealed them." 



At that time there were native hunters, under the direction ot 

 two Russians, hunting or living .in the vicinity of the north- 

 eastern point of the island. 



Vancouver placed the peak of this mountaiivin latiiude 59" 22' ; 

 Tebenkoff places it in latitude 59° 24'. 



The peak of St. Augu-tin is distant forty-nine miles nearly 

 due west (true) from the settlement on the southern point of 

 Port Graham, or, as it is sometimes called, Ent;lish Harbour. 

 This harbour is situated on the eastern side of Cook's Inlet, near 

 Cape Elizabeth. 



In connection with the fall of pumice-dust at lliuliuk on 

 October 16, 1SS3, it may be of interest to observe that the peak 

 of Augustin is over 700 miles to .the north-eastward of Bogoslofl 

 Island off Unalashka. 



About eight o'clock on the morning of October 6, 1883, the 

 weather being beautifully clear, the wind light from the south- 

 westward (compass), and the tide at dead low water, the settlers 

 and fishing parties at Engli.sh Harbour heard a heavy report to 

 windward (Augustin bearing south-west by west three-fourths 

 west by compass). So clear was the atmosphere that the 

 opposite or north-western coast of the inlet was in clear view at 

 a distance of more than sixty miles. 



When the heavy explosion was heard, vast and dense volumes 

 of smoke were seen rolling out of the summit of St. Augustin, 

 and moving to the north-eastward (or up the inlet) under the 

 influence of the lower stratum of wind ; and, at the same time 

 (according to the statements of a hunting-party of natives in 

 Kamishak Bay), a column of white vapour arose from the sea 

 near the island, slowly ascerding, and gradually blending with 

 the clouds. The sea was also greatly agitated and boiling, 

 making it impossible for boats to land upon or to leave the 

 island. 



From English Harbour (Port Graham) it was noticed that the 

 columns of smoke, as they gradually rose, spread over the visible 

 heavens, and obscured the sky, doubtless under the influence of 

 a higher current (probably north or north-east). Fine pumice- 

 dust soon began to fall, but gently, some of it being very fine, 

 and some very soft, without grit. 



At about 8.25 a.m., or twenty-five minutes after the great 

 eruption, a great "earthquake-wave," estimated as from twenty- 

 five to thirty feet high, came upon Port Graham like a wall of 

 water. It carried off all the fishing-boats from the point, and 

 deluged the houses. This was followed at intervals of about five 

 minutes, by two other large waves, estimated at eighteen and 

 fifteen feet ; and during the day several large and irregular 

 w aves came into the harbour. The first wave took all the boats 

 into the harbour, the receding wave swept them back again to 

 the inlet, and they were finally stranded. Fortunately it was 

 low water, or all of the people at the settlement mu^t inevitably 

 have been lost. The tides rise and fall about fourteen feet. 



These earthquake-waves were felt at Kadiak, and are doubt- 

 less recorded on the register of the Coast .Survey tide-gauge at 

 that pl.Tce. Also the pumice-ashes fell to the depth of four or 

 five inches, and a specimen of the deposit was given to the tidal 

 observer at St. Paul. It will be interesting to compare these 

 ashes with those collected at lliuliuk on October 16, and which, 

 from a coiifu>ion of dates, were supposed to have come from the 

 new Bogosloff volcanic island. I am of the opinion that they 

 came from St. Augustin. 



The condition of the Island of Augustin or Chernabom-a, 

 according to the latest accounts, is this : — 



At night, from a distance of fifty or sixty miles, flames can be 



