1813.] Boyd Society. 22S 



companied by a vast column of smoke, and frequent thunder 

 and lightning. On the 1st of May a prodigious shower of stones 

 fell all over the island for about an hour, killed and wounded 

 many negroes, and did prodigious damage. Two eroptioos of 

 lava took place : one ran down the north side of the hill, and 

 reached the sea, distant about four miles, in four hours : the 

 other ran east, choked up a considerable river, and did infinite 

 damage. Much of the wood was destroyed, and several estates 

 were so much covered with stones and ashes as to render it 

 almost impossible to clear them. The ashes fell upon a ship at 

 sea, more than 200 miles distant from the island. — 



On Thursday, the 11th February, Mr. Hamilton's account of 

 the Suffriere, in St. Vincent, was concluded. 



— Some time after, a prodigious eruption of mud took place. It 

 was so immense as to fill up all hollows and precipices, and h^s 

 made the whole country so smooth that a coach and six might 

 now drive up the hill. It was attended with a violent earthquake. 

 Mr. Hamilton accounts for these phenomena, by supposing that 

 the rivers whose courses were blocked up made their vv'ay into 

 the burning mountain, and occasioned both the eruption and the 

 earthquake. The inhabitants of Nevis were informed of the 

 eruption of the SufFriere by loud and regular explosions, so like 

 an engagement at sea that several of the vessels were deceived 

 by it and the Commodore of a convoy, conceiving that priva- 

 teers were cutting olF his sternmost ships, gave chase to the 

 supposed enemy. Vessels 100 miles east from Barbadoes had 

 their decks covered with sand, while vessels much nearer St. 

 Vincent escaped without any such appearance. This Mr. Hamil- 

 ton thought at first could only be accounted for by some eruption 

 out of the sea to windward of the ships, or in some part of South 

 America ; but he seems afterwards to have altered his opinion. 



On Thursday, the 18th February, a paper was read by Sir 

 Everard Home, Bart, on the Narwal, proving that the tusk is 

 peculiar to the male. It has been believed by naturalists that the 

 narwal has two tusks, and that one of them is frequently brokeji 

 olF. A skull with two tusks was exhibited in the Leverian Mu- 

 seum. When that museum was exposed to sale, this preparation 

 was examined, and it was found that one of the tusks had beea 

 artificially fixed on. The tusk is upon the left side of the skull. 

 Oa the right side there is the mark of a mill tusk which had 

 been shed. In a conversation with Mr. Scoresby, jun. of Whilby, 

 that gentleman told Sir Everard that skulls of the oarwal were 

 often found vt^ithout tusks, and that it was a general opinion 

 among the whale-fishers that the tusk was peculiar to the male. 

 Sir Everard earnestly requested Mr. Scoresby to procure him 

 such a skull, which he promised to do. He has lately sent him 

 a skull without any tusk;, and assured him that it Wt?s taken from 



