Volcanic Disturbances in West Indies 261 



lower crater of L'Etang Sec. To the 

 northward there are conspicuous mud 

 streams near Precheur, presumably from 

 the hot springs above that town, but it 

 is not proven. Other mud rivers out- 

 side the area of devastation are else- 

 where mentioned. 



One mile south of Precheur there 

 were two small canyons, in the bottom 

 of which were two flowing streams of 

 viscous liquid mud coming down with 

 sluggish movement, choking out the 

 small narrows within the banks and 

 then suddenly starting forward again 

 with a horrible gulping noise. In this 

 mud were many small pieces of pumice. 



Beside the mud delta forming the 

 level at the mouth of the Riviere 

 Blanche, there are many great boulders 

 of pumice on the adjacent level, brought 

 down by the preliminary eruptions of 

 water. The old mouth of the Riviere 

 Seche is filled with these bluffs. 



New- built Land fro m Sedim en tat ion. — 

 Off the mouth of the Riviere Blanche 

 the sea border is extending from the 

 deposited mud. A small islet, 50 feet 

 long, 10 feet from the shore, has ap- 

 peared above the water to the north of 

 the mouth of the Blanche, composed of 

 sedimented mud and fumarole deposits. 



Wave-cut Big/its. — From St Pierre to 

 Precheur there are many small triangu- 

 lar bights in the beach and enlargements 

 of the mouths of streams cut by the 

 force of the return wave. 



The mouth of the Riviere Mare has 

 been deeply incised and presents vertical 

 new cut bluffs, some 20 feet in depth, 

 which render the crossing of it impos- 

 sible. 



The movements producing these bights 

 consisted of an outer motion of the water 

 from the shore and a return wave. They 

 were caused by explosion within the air 

 and not by any movement of the bottom 

 of the sea. The waves were observed 

 at Fort de France. 



It was reported from St Lucia that 

 there was a strange commotion in the 



sea, as if the waters were boiling over 

 a large area, as located with a range- 

 finder from Castres, on the 7th and 8th, 

 as if two waves had met. This report 

 lacks verification. 



Changes in the Summit. — It is ru- 

 mored that toward the north the crater 

 rim has broken down, and that Morne 

 La Croix of the southwest rim has gone. 

 Admiral Servan informed me that sev- 

 eral officers had measured the altitude 

 of Pelee and had found that it had low- 

 ered 60 meters by the destructive explo- 

 sions. The Lake of the Palmistes is 

 gone, while in the old bowl of the crater, 

 through the great gap in its western side 

 (which was there in 1823), may be seen 

 a great pile of pumice, over 100 feet in 

 height. 



Neiv Geological Formations Made. — 

 With the exception of the new addition 

 to its soil of layers of mud and ashes, 

 the filling in of the lower streamways 

 of the rivieres of the amphitheater of 

 disaster, and on the east and north side 

 the fringing load of sediment along their 

 mouths, and the new pile of pumice 

 around the summit vent — new forma- 

 tions added to the mother pile — no other 

 positive topographic changes have taken 

 place in Martinique. 



Topography Ihialtered. — Otherwise 

 the configuration of Martinique today 

 shows no serious change. Every hill, 

 valley, scarp, precipice, or other surface 

 feature of the relief as laid down upon 

 the map of 1823 is distinctly recogniz- 

 able. The changes are merely the su- 

 perficial destruction of vegetation and 

 the veneering of a small triangular area 

 with a thin layer of ashes and mud, so 

 that it is converted from a green carpet of 

 cane and wood land to a barren, desert 

 mountain landscape like that of Arizona. 



Small Proportion of Island Affected. — 

 Nineteen-tiventieths of the area of Mar- 

 tinique is as green and beautiful today as 

 it ever was. 



Of the total area of Martinique, about 

 3S0 square miles, only 12.5 square miles 



