216 J. LOGAN LOBLEY^ F.G.S.^ F.R.G.S., ON VOLCANIC ACTION 



May 8tli was not from the summit crater whicli previous 

 to these events had held a small lake, called the Lac des 

 Palmistes, but from a " lower vent which had opened on the 

 western slope of the mountain," which he appears to think was 

 that from which the mud-flow of May 5th was discharged. He 

 also considers that the " glowing cloud was mainly composed of 

 one of the heavier carbon gases brought under pressure to a 

 condition of extreme incandescence, and whose liberation and 

 contact with the oxygen of the atmosphere, assisted by electric 

 discharges,, wrought the explosion or series of explosions that 

 developed the catastrophe." 



In these accounts from highly competent observers there is 

 some ambiguity and some divergence. From what follows, the 

 phrase, " a mass of incandescent lava " cannot refer to fluid 

 lava but to solid ejectamenta in a finely divided state, or 

 properly volcanic ash, or, as it is elsewhere called in this report, 

 " dust " and " sand." To this incandescent ash one report 

 seems to attribute the appearance of a sheet of flame, and the 

 other to actual incandescent gas which may riglitly be called 

 "flame." All accounts, however, agree in recording the 

 characteristics of explosive eruptions as they have been already 

 here described.* 



The eruptions of St. Vincent were generally synchronous 

 with those of Martinique, but the principal outburst took place 

 on May 7th, a day on which La Montague PeJee was not 

 particularly active, but the day before the great explosion of 

 that volcano. The Soufriere gave a premonition of renewed 

 activity on May 5th by a disturbance of the waters of the lake 

 which then occupied its old crater. On the following day its 

 eruptions commenced, accompanied by violent earthquake action, 

 the issue of great volumes of steam, and by loud explosive 

 thunderings. Then on the next day. May 7th, St. Vincent's 

 great outburst took place. Its terrific explosions could be heard 

 throughout the Caribbean Sea, while immense volumes of steam 

 rose to great altitudes. We are told that " A huge cloud in 

 dark dense columns charged with volcanic matter rose to a 

 height of eight miles from the mountain top, and darkness like 

 midnight descended. The sulphurous air was laden with fine 

 dust, and black rain followed rain of scoriic, rocks and stones." 



Many of the phenomena here described were witnessed by Dr. T. 

 Anderson and Dr. Flett, and are described, with illustrations, by the 

 former obsei^ver in the Geographical Magazine, March, 1903. 



