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The National Geographic Magazine 



a green sprig was visible, but utter deso- 

 lation reigned. Over all the devastated 

 region lay a thick sheet of grey debris, 

 forming a fresh page, on which the rains 

 had everywhere begun to write their 

 records in the form of rill-cut channels. 

 The newly added material, which so re- 

 cently formed a part of an ascending 

 column of lava in the throat of La Sou- 

 friere, was being rapidly removed and 

 taking its place in the sedimentary de- 

 posits of the sea. Every downpour of 

 rain witnessed the washing from the 

 land of tens of thousands of tons of this 

 fresh covering. The removal of the 

 newly fallen material is going on with 

 such rapidity that within a few months, 

 or at most a year or two, it will have 

 been completely denuded from the hills 

 and mountain side, but will long remain 

 in the valley. Outside the devastated 

 area, where the fall of dust and lapilli 

 was cold and in depth did not exceed an 

 inch or two, it had been already, at the 

 time of my visit, washed by rain so that 

 the vegetation was again green, and its 

 presence on the ground beneath incon- 

 spicuous. 



Our return from the interesting ex- 

 cursion referred to above was precipi- 

 tous, not because La Soufriere showed 

 signs of renewed activity, as did Mont 

 Pelee on a similar occasion a few days 

 before, but owing to the coming of one 

 of those sudden showers so character- 

 istic of tropical regions. A rain squall 

 swept over us. The wind caused the 

 waves to rise and break in surf on the 

 beach. Through the surf we went to 

 reach our boats, and after some diffi- 

 cult}' regained the Wear, drenched to the 

 skin. The clothing brought by the 

 Dixie was, as we understood, for the 

 benefit of all those made destitute on 

 account of the recent volcanic eruptions, 

 and soon my companions and myself 

 were arrayed in the uniform of the U. S. 

 Army, while our citizen's clothes were 

 drying. 



On leaving the site of Richmond vil- 



lage the Wear continued northward, 

 passing as near the shore as prudence 

 would permit, and gave her passengers 

 a splendid view of the blasted and ut- 

 terly desolate mountains. The north- 

 ern part of St Vincent is remarkably 

 rough and possesses some unusually 

 fine scenery. We could see far up the 

 steep trench-like valley leading to the 

 summit of La Soufriere, where palms 

 formerly lifted their plumes far above 

 the luxuriant flora of the forest, and 

 birds haunted the shadowy recesses 

 where orchids bloomed , but all was dark 

 and silent. Not a spray or a leaf re- 

 mained in all the stern, oppressive land- 

 scape to suggest the loveliness that had 

 so suddenly been blotted out. At the 

 north end of the island we passed the 

 Fancy estate, where some 50 persons 

 were killed on May 7, and obtained a 

 view of the still green strip of land and 

 projecting cape on the extreme northeast 

 portion of the island, which, strangely 

 as it seems, escaped destruction. 



On returning to Kingstown we found 

 the work of discharging the relief stores 

 brought by the Dixie still in progress, 

 and through the untiring courtesy of 

 Mr Griffith I was enabled to make an- 

 other trip on the Wear in company with 

 Drs Jaggar and Hovey and others, this 

 time to Georgetown, on the east side of 

 St Vincent. 



On passing around the southern end 

 of St Vincent and steaming northward 

 we found the usual heavy swells roll- 

 ing in from the broad Atlantic, and as 

 our course lay parallel with the waves 

 the Wear rolled heavily, much to the 

 discomfort of man}' of her passengers. 

 Arriving off Georgetown, the anchor 

 was dropped, and a landing effected by 

 means of a strong boat which put out 

 from the shore. The landing was novel, 

 and to a novice somewhat exciting. 

 Some distance out from the end of a 

 long pier was a buoy, with a cable pass- 

 ing in to the shore and alongside the 

 dock. The shore boat, manned by 



