270 E. 0. Rovey—New Cone of Mont PelL 



Mont Pele. Morne Lacroix, the ancient summit of the 

 mountain, has lost most of its former prominence above the 

 rim of the crater, but within the old caldera a cone has risen 

 which overtops the surrounding w^alls and terminates in a spine 

 rising hundreds of feet above the main mass of the new cone. 



Prior to the beginning of the present series of eruptions,^ 

 the mountain was characterized by a great crater about a half 

 a mile across and one thousand to two thousand feet deep 

 below the level of the crater-rim. On the southwest side the 

 crater-rim was breached to tlie base by a great gash which was 

 continued into the gorge of the Riviere Blanche. J^evis and 

 Montserrat to-day stand as close analogues, on a smaller scale, 

 of Mont Pele before the eruptions. Within the great crater 

 of Mont Pele lay the small crater-lake known as L'Etang Sec, 

 and from three or more openings around this lake began the 

 uprusli of ejecta which has proved of such moment in the his- 

 tory of the island. A cone or series of cones began forming 

 at once, as is shown by the accountsf of several persons who 

 visited the crater late in April and found cones of " cinders '• 

 built up about two vents west of I'fitang Sec and one to the 

 eastward thereof. 



The photographs and sketches, taken and made by the 

 author and other observers on May 21, 1902, from the U. S. 

 tug " Potomac," show the existence of a comparatively small 

 cone in the crater at the head of the gorge of the Blanche. 

 This cone was variously estimated at from 200 to 300 feet, 

 certainly not more than 500 feet, in height, but nothing was 



* Although the eruptions frequently are spoken of as having begun in 

 May, 1902, the increasing activity of the volcano had been noted long 

 before, and in March the sulphur gases j)ouring out of the volcano were 

 causing inconvenience to the inhabitants of the coast region between Pre- 

 cheur and Ste. Philomene. The St, Pierre daily, Les Colonies, in its issue for 

 April 25, 1902, says : 



"Depuis quelques semaines, les habitants du quartier du Precheur sont 

 constamment incommodes par une forte et desagreable odeur de soufre qui 

 se degage du cratere du volcan eteint. L'odeur est si forte, parfois, que les 

 chevaux, passant sur le grand chemin du littoral, hesitent. 



" Depuis cette nuit, une fumee blanche tres epaisse se degage du cratere. 

 Elle attire de tons cotes des groups des curieux. 



''Dans les hauteurs de la Pointe-Lamarre le sol est convert d'une cendre 

 epaisse. 



" De temps en temps la fumee s'arrete pour etre vomie ensuite par masses 

 enormes. C'est sans doute alors que sont lancees les matieres solides que 1' 

 on apergoit, parait il, avec la lunette de la chambre de commerce " 



The first outthrow of cinders seems to have occurred April 23, 1902. In con- 

 versation with the author, Mr. Fernand Clerc, a prominent citizen of Marti- 

 nique, stated that he (Mr. Clerc) had visited the summit of the mountain on 

 May 8, 1901, and had observed that a new fumarole had come into vigorous 

 action in the southeastern part of the crater, while the two well-known 

 vents in the western part of the crater, west of the lake known as I'Etang 

 Sec, were more active than before. 



f See Les Colonies for May 7, 1902, as quoted in the Century Magazine for 

 August, 1902. 



