56 



TtlE AMERICAX \ . I / ( K . I /./S f. [\-( u . XXXV 1 1 1. 



twisted, not only in one direction hut \n all diivciions. aiul often 

 in a direction the reverse of that atlcctcd hy the wci-ht ot the 

 mud. This brought to us the conviction that sonicthin- like an 

 explosion had taken place. The air. displacetl first by hot 

 vapors blown out of the volcano, and rushing;- into the vacuous 

 places so formed, became involved in a whirl or local tornado: 

 we say local for the signs of disturbance were onl\ in the 

 vicinity of the volcanic opening. The people wh(» Hed with 

 torches from the houses lower down the slope did not ha\ e their 

 flambeaux blown out by the wind. 



Climbing higher, the mud layer became thicker making the 

 walking difficult and woe betide those with light or ill-made 

 shoes ! At the same time the crest of the spur we were fol- 

 lowing became narrower ; a moment arri\ ed when we had on the 

 east, on the right-hand side, the ravine of the Riviere Claire. 

 It was this last we were following, guided by the vapors that 

 were rising from this gorge. Beside it we walked on a high 

 crest rising above the bottom of the valley 50 to 60 meters ; at 

 our feet the valley of the Riviere Claire was plainly visible. 

 From this point we obtained a full view of the effects of the 

 eruption of the 5th of August, in all its extent and horror. The 

 N-erdure is absolutely gone from the place which was formerly 

 the scene of densest fohage. Trees, leaves, flowers, all are 

 buried as though under a gray shroud. It is the sadness of 

 winter with the trees denuded and smutted with a black snow. 

 Though we found no dead birds, we also heard none of them 

 singing. The mountain whistler, whose sweet pipe is associated 

 with the melancholy grandeur of our "grands bois," the whistler 

 of our mountains has fled from these his former haunts ; we did 

 not even meet the deadly trigonocephalus whose home is here. 

 A dread silence, a sky obscure by vapor, an atmosphere charged 

 with a >tron- odor of sulphuretted hydrogen, complete this 

 >ccnc worth) ot I artarus. The slope of the bed of the ravine 

 m the nudst of all this desolation, is very steep ; it extends 

 from the east toward the west from the summit peak of Mount 

 IVlee called " Morne LaCroix," but the bottom is not continuous ; 

 It is interrupted by several cliffs ; here and there, in the midst 



