2 12 



The National Geographic Magazine 



down into the huge crater. Here he 

 spent some time in taking careful obser- 

 vations. He saw a huge cinder cone 

 in the center of the crater. The open- 

 ing of the crater itself is a vast crevice 

 500 feet long and 150 feet wide. 



' ' While Professor Heilprin was on 

 the summit of the volcano several vio- 

 lent explosions of steam and cinder- 

 laden vapor took place, and again and 

 again his life was in danger. Ashes 

 fell about him in such quantities at 

 times as to completely obscure his vis- 

 ion. One particularly violent explosion 

 of mud covered the Professor from head 

 to foot with the hideous viscid and semi- 

 solid matter. He still persisted in his 

 study and observations, however, and 

 twice more was showered with mud. 

 He learned, as had been suspected, that 

 there were three separate vents through 

 which steam issued. 



" Professor Heilprin's journey down 

 the side of the mountain was fully as 

 perilous as the ascent. Mont Pelee 

 seemed to resent the intrusion of a puny 

 human being into her most awful pre- 

 cincts, and belched out huge volumes 

 ■of steam, ashes, and' boiling hot mud. 



' ' The Professor made the important 

 discovery that the crater at the head of 

 the River Fallaise has synchronous erup- 

 tions with the crater at the summit of 

 the volcano, and that it ejects precisely 

 the same matter at such times." 



ASCENT OF MOUNT SOUFRIERE 



On May 31a party consisting of Pro- 

 fessor Jaggar, of Harvard University ; 

 Dr. Hovey, of the American Museum of 

 Natural History of New York, and Mr. 

 George C. Curtis ascended to the summit 

 •of Soufriere from the western side. 

 Messrs. Jaggar and Curtis are working 

 Tunder the auspices of the National Geo- 



graphic Society. Mr. Hovey is also a 

 member of the Society, but represented 

 the American Museum of Natural His- 

 tory. The cabled report of their achieve- 

 ment is as follows : 



' ' The ascent was exceedingly diffi- 

 cult, owing to the mud that covered the 

 mountain side, but the ground was cold. 

 After a tiresome scramble up the slip- 

 pery hill, the rim of the old crater was 

 reached about midday. There was no 

 trace whatever of vegetation, but there 

 had been no change in the topographical 

 outlines of the mountain on that side, 

 and the old crater retained its tragic 

 beaut}'. The great mass of water that 

 formerly lay serenely about 500 feet 

 below the rim of the crater had disap- 

 peared, and the crater appeared to be a 

 dreadful chasm over 2,000 feet deep. 

 With the aid of a glass water was made 

 out at the bottom of this abyss. 



' ' The party did not venture across 

 the summit of the Soufriere to inspect 

 the new crater, which was then emit- 

 ting a little vapor, for the ground in 

 that direction looked to be dangerous. 



"Apparently the ridge of the moun- 

 tain, called 'The Saddle,' was intact, 

 although the old crater seemed of larger 

 circumference than before the recent 

 eruption. At the western base of the 

 Soufriere a subsidence of a depth of 100 

 feet occurred for an area of a square 

 mile. The bank of volcanic dust that 

 prevents the sea encroaching farther 

 inland at Wallibou is being gradually 

 washed away. The lava beds on the 

 eastern side of the Soufriere continue 

 to emit steam, despite the protracted 

 and heavj' rainfall that has occurred. 

 The eruption, the scientists say, was 

 obviously more violent on the eastern 

 side of the mountain, where the new 

 crater is located, than on the western 

 side. ' ' 



