On the Eruptions of the Soufridre and Mont PeUe. 433 



which carried with it a terrific blast, and piled the ashes deep in the 

 sheltered ravines, at the same time sweeping everything off the exposed 

 ridges which lay between. The rain of volcanic material, which lasted 

 for hours after the hot blast had passed, then covered the surface of the 

 country with a final sheeting of fine dust and scoria, 



When we ascended the Soufriere, the evidence of the passage of a 

 hot blast laden with sand was overwhelmingly clear. The various 

 stages of its action, and its varying intensity at different spots, are 

 most easily observed on the windward side, where the country is more 

 flat and open, and there are fewer ravines and spurs to modify the 

 course of its operations than in the Wallibu Valley. 



The track to the summit passes across the Rabaca Dry Valley near 

 the shore, then turns upwards through the sugar-cane fields of Rabaca 

 and Lot 14, These were covered with 3 or 4 feet of sand and scoria, 

 the trees all bare, their leaves stripped by the falling cinders ; but few 

 branches were broken, and no trees had been uprooted or cast down. 

 The woodwork of the houses was unburnt, though the roofs of some 

 of the verandahs, and of the labourers' huts, had collapsed from the 

 weight of ashes that had fallen on them. Many people were killed on 

 these estates. The survivors described to us how the dark cloud had 

 rolled down from the mountain, and how hot and suffocating the air 

 had been when it enveloped them. But it was evident that the 

 velocity of the blast was not above that of an ordinary gale, and the 

 dust it carried, though hot, was not incandescent. 



At Lot 14 it was seen that many trees had their limbs twisted off 

 and broken, and some of the negroes' houses had taken fire (probably 

 mostly from hot falling bombs). The blast was more violent here, 

 but not hot enough to set fire to the woodwork or char the green 

 wood of the standing timber. 



On the flat ground above the plantation buildings (at an elevation 

 of about 1000 feet), a further stage of devastation was encountered. 

 The fields were here swept bare, the trees broken down though not 

 as a rule uprooted, their smaller branches swept away ; a deep layer 

 of black sand covered the crops of sugar-cane. The blast was here a 

 violent gale. 



A little further up the effects of the blast were remarkable. Enor- 

 mous trees had been uprooted and cast down. Their leaves and finer 

 branches, of course, had disappeared. In every case the fallen trunks 

 pointed directly away from the crater. Even the great cotton-trees, 

 10 feet or more in diameter, were broken off or uprooted. The smaller 

 trees had in a few cases been swept away like straws. The larger 

 were merely cast down, and lay side by side, their tops directed down 

 the valley, their roots towards the summit of the mountain. Most 

 were charred, some deeply, but, as the wood was green, only the 

 smaller branches had been consumed. The effect was like that pro- 



