180 BULLETIN: MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY. 



carcases of wild animals, birds, and even of men that have met their fate 

 there. . . . Exhalations of carbonic acid gas occur abundantly in many 

 other districts which were the former seats of volcanic action." . . .^ 



In Death Guloh, Yellowstone National Park, a volcanic region, it rises 

 from the waters to such an extent as to suffocate wild animals, — even 

 grizzly bears. ^ 



Fouque shows that within certain limits carbonic acid is emitted about 

 volcanoes in larger proportions as one leaves the more active vents, and 

 Sainte-Claire Deville shows it to be a prominent gas of fumaroles.^ Sir 

 William Hamilton speaks of noxious gases about Vesuvius killing birds 

 and other animals, and even persons.'* Some of these gases seem to act 

 like carbon dioxide. 



Daubeny refers to these gases, and says that they are supposed to 

 consist chiefly of carbonic acid gas.^ In another place he states that 

 " carbonic acid is a common product of volcanoes nearly extinct ; it is 

 emitted, as we have seen, very abundantly from fissures in the neighbor- 

 hood of Naples, as well as near Rome, in the Vivarais, in the Eyfel, . . . 

 It is supposed that the Mofettes, which often succeed an eruption of 

 Vesuvius, consist of this gas ; but it is remarkable that during a state 

 of vigorous action this volcano does not appear to emit it." ® 



Dr. Johnston-Lavis tells of the escape of carbon dioxide from springs 

 of Sujo and from other openings in the vicinity of Eoccamofina (between 

 Rome and Naples) in sufficient quantities to suffocate human beings.'' 



Now we have satisfactory evidence in the Fernando de Noronha group 

 of islands of volcanic activities off the northeast coast of Brazil. This 

 group lies two hundred miles northeast of Cape St. Roque, and, with the 

 exception of certain small areas of soolian sandstones, is made up entirely 

 of eruptive rocks.^ 



1 G. Poulett Scrope. Volcanoes ; the character of their phenomena, etc., ed. 2, 

 p. 151-152. London, 1862. 



2 T. A. Jagger, Jr. Death Gulch, a natural bear-trap. Pop. Sci. Montlily, Feb , 

 1899. 



Ward in Science, March 24, 1899, p. 459. 



' Russell's Volcanoes, p. 52. 



* Wm. Hamilton, Observations on Vesuvius, Mount Etna, and other volcanoes 

 p. 164-167. London, 1774. 



^ Charles Daubeny. A description of active and extinct volcanoes, p. 161. 

 London, 1826. 



« Op. cit., p. 375. 



■ H. J. Johnston-Lavis. The south Italian volcanoes, p. 77-79, and plate xvi. 

 Naples, 1891. 



8 J. C. Branner. The geology of Fernando de Noronha. Amer. Journ. Sci., 

 1889, XXXVII., p. 145-161. 



