Volcanic Disturbances in West Indies 245 



plants, which produce various kinds of 

 fruit, both of the peculiar species used 

 for cooking purposes and the numerous 

 varieties of fig bananas, which are eaten 

 raw. There are also tuffs of sugar-cane, 

 which is much appreciated as a food ; a 

 .few cacao trees, and some Arabian and 

 .Liberian coffee trees. Several varieties 

 of spices also grow, and under a tunnel 

 of bamboos one finds christophine, 

 pommes-lianes, and barbadine, while in 

 inclosures are planted vegetables and 

 •the Caribbee choux (a kind of root), 



colocases or Chinese cabbage, manioc, 

 camaioc (the non-poisonous kind) , and 

 potatoes of different varieties. 



About these small places there are 

 also a few of many kinds of cattle — 

 a small Creole horse to ride, a cow for 

 milk, and a few pigs and some goats. 

 In the southern part of the island one 

 finds sheep. Near the seashore the 

 small houses occupied by fishermen are 

 surrounded by all the utensils necessary 

 for this industry, such as coils of line, 

 nets, and boats lying on the shore. 



THE DISASTER 



COMING EVENTS CAST THEIR 

 SHADOWS BEFORE 



The reader of current events is aware 

 of the general features of the great 

 tragedy which took place upon the 8th 

 of May. This article will point out,- so 

 far as can be learned from the reports 

 of today, the essential features of the 

 catastrophe and their interpretation. 



The people of Martinique looked upon 

 Montague Pelee with pride and love; 

 Its charming ravines and forests were 

 the home of myth and legend; the crater 

 •lake at its top a pleasure resort; "That 

 she would visit her children with'calam- 

 ity, the Creole could not believe.- ' 

 • Once before, in 1851 , Pelee had griim'- > 

 bled. In the Bulletin Offi'cial'oi'-ii^; 

 page 3, is recorded a tra'ditio'n inherited 

 from the Cafibs, although without' his- 

 torical foundation, that Montague Pel^b 

 had been the site of -an active ■volcano'/' 

 This tradition existed from ' the estalfr-i \ 

 lishment of the first' European, settle-' 

 merits in the island and was most strongly 1 

 impressed upon the people. .'The'-cdriical 

 form of the mountain, similar to' that- 0$ 

 other volc!anic peaks ;' the' epithet! 'of 1 

 " Pelee," or " shovelful," given to its 

 summit ; the presence of a lake— '-all 

 proved the existence of dn ancient crated 

 at that point. The pumiceous characte-f 

 of the soil for- a radius of many' leagues 



and the contour of the mountain showed 

 the people that Pelee had a secret which 

 the}' might well fear. 



It is also an important fact that in one 

 of the craters of this mountain was a 

 place where sulphur had been found, to 

 which the ominous name of La Sou- 

 friere had been given. This soufriere 

 was not the summit lake, as was the case 

 in St Vincent, but its position in one of 

 the gorges to the southwest of the crater 

 was significant. 



But there has been more visible evi- 

 dence that Pelee was a slumbering vol- 

 cano than volcanic physiography and 

 the above-mentioned Carib tradition left 

 to the French settlers. It is true that 

 Martinique had not had many earth- 

 quakes in its history. In 1S39 there 

 were some few movements that shook 

 Fort de France. On the 10th of May, 

 1851, there were earthquakes in Mar- 

 tinique — rather unusual occurrences in 

 the history of the island, although some 

 of 'its neighbors are quite given to them. 

 . .On the 5th of August, the same year, 

 St 1 Pierre awakened from its sleep to 

 asc'ertain that it had a real volcano at 

 fts' doors. Toward eleven o'clock at 

 rtight sinister rumblings came from 

 Pel£e. When day broke, the people 

 fouhd their houses covered with gray 

 ashes, which gave to the city the aspect 

 of having been visited by a hoar-frost, 



