44 IOWA STUDIES IN NATURAL HISTORY 
sea and land alike, there is but one great conflagration consuming 
thirty thousand lives. 
‘“Wreckage and the up-turned keels of boats strew the road- 
stead, and this is all that is left of the thirty or forty ships 
anchored here the day previous.’’ 
Among these ships was the ‘‘Roraima’’ of the Quebec Com- 
pany. I was told by the engineer of the ‘‘Parima,’’ since dead, 
that the chief officer was one of the few survivors. As the crew 
rushed for the shelter of the deck cabin, on seeing the approach 
of the flaming mass, this officer stumbled and fell. His body 
was covered by those of twenty-odd men, every one of whom 
was killed by the blast, and the protection. afforded by these his 
comrades’ bodies saved the officer’s life. 
We were thinking of these events as our vessel steamed past 
Mt. Pelée on that bright May afternoon and saw that vast scar 
made on the mountain’s flank by the flow of mud and hot water 
from the crater. 
Captain Spinney very kindly steamed in close as we ap- 
proached the ruined city of St. Pierre, and gave us an. exceed- 
ingly fine view of the ruins, affording doubtless a better and 
more realistic impression of the city as a whole than we could 
have obtained had we actually gone ashore. The whole effect 
is remarkably similar to a general view of Pompeii, a city much 
smaller, by the way, than St. Pierre. I noticed that a good 
many new houses had been erected in the vicinity since I passed 
by before, and they say that a new city has arisen which in 
time will rival its ill-starred predecessor. 
A short distance beyond St. Pierre a big school of porpoises 
gave us an exhibition of fancy swimming, hurdling and diving 
as they followed the ship and played alongside for half an hour 
or so. One never tires of watching their aquatic acrobatics. 
Ricker secured a movie of them, of which we hope much. 
That evening at dinner the Iowa crowd almost caused a panic 
on board the ‘‘Guiana’’ in an attempt to show its appreciation 
of the courtesy of Captain Spinney in steaming in close to give 
us a better view of St. Pierre. Of course University people 
know of no better way of showing appreciation than by giving 
the ‘‘yell.”’ So when we assembled for dinner, we waited until 
the Captain, who usually came down somewhat late, entered and 
