New Hebrides, of 19 13-1 ^. . 531 



reached the sea at the south-eastern corner of the island. The old 

 crater of Mt. Benbow has apparently not been active in historic 

 times until 1913 ; it was visited by Lieut. Beresford from H.M.S. Bart 

 in 1883, when the small crater on the eastern side of Mt. Marum was 

 mildly active (Beresford, 1884, p, 131). 



3. The 1894 Eruption. 



The first great eruption of which there is adequate knowledge 

 occurred in October and November, 1894. Fortunately Commander, 

 now Admiral, Purey-Cust had just completed a survey of the island 

 in H.M.S. Bart, and he was able to observe the eruption from all 

 sides of the island and to visit the most interesting localities. He 

 published a most valuable report on the eruption, issued by the 

 Hydrographic Department of the Admiralty, with an appendix upon 

 the rocks by Professor Judd. Most of Admiral Purey-Cust's report was 

 also published in the Geographical Journal (vol. viii, pp. 585-602). 



For comparison with the recent eruption the chief features of that 

 of 1894 may be summarized from Admiral Purey-Cust's report. 

 That eruption began on the evening of October 15, though the glare 

 then was attributed to a bush fire. Early on the 16th it was obvious 

 that one of the volcanoes was in active eruption, for at daybreak 

 a high cloud was suddenly projected from the centre of the island. 

 A lava stream, marked by a line of burning bush, was flowing down 

 the northern slopes. It reached the coast at 7.45 a.m., just east of 

 Krong Point. Its entrance to the sea was watched from the Dart 

 at the distance of 300 yards. The lava stream was from 20 to 30 

 yards wide, and a pillar of steam rose to the height of 4,600 feet. 

 In the afternoon flames appeared to the south of the Mission • Station 

 of Lon-wol-wol at Dip Point, and most of the natives were transferred 

 from the settlements there to the north-western part of the island. 

 Next day, the 17th, the south-eastern crater, Volcano, was quiescent, 

 and the natives at Dip Point reported " Fire he finish " ; it continued, 

 however, further east, for at 4 p.m. a cloud pillar was shot upward 

 from Mt. Benbow to the height of 15,000 feet. On the 20th the 

 natives were taken back to the settlement at Dip Point, as the danger 

 there was over. Commander Purey-Cust landed with a party and 

 walked from Dip Point along the track southward across the island ; 

 progress on the path was barred by two narrow lava streams flowing 

 westward from a large sheet of lava to the west of the village of 

 Fo-luk. The smaller stream was 10 feet high and was flowing at the 

 rate of 4 or 5 feet per hour. The larger stream was 300 or 400 

 yards wide. On October 23 Admiral Purey-Cust visited the centre 

 of the island and reached the northern edge of the Benbow crater. 

 It had a flat floor, about a mile in diameter, surrounded by precipitous 

 sides from 800 to 1,700 feet high. On the floor of the crater was 

 a group of vents from which steam was rising to the height of 2,000 

 to 3,000 feet above the crater. On November 7 another explosion 

 from Benbow hurled a column of dust-charged steam in ten minutes 

 to the height of 26,000 feet. On November 21 the crater of Benbow 

 was revisited and it was found that a fissure vent had been opened on 

 its floor, no doubt by the explosion of November 7. Lieut. Dawson 



