354 
DES. T. ANDEKSON AND J. S. FLETT OX THE ERUPTIONS OF THE 
Page 
Previoi's Eruptions of the Soufriere. 
The Erudition of 1718.456 
The Condition of the Crater in 1784 . 461 
The Eruption of 1812 ..462 
The “ May Dust ” in Barbados, 1812.472 
Further ActiOty in 1814 and 1880 . 475 
The Soufriere and Montagne Pelee. 
Their Resemblances and their Differences.478 
The Eruptions of Pelee.481 
The Effects of the Eruptions on St. Pierre and its Vicinity.484 
The Eruption of July 9th, 1902 ... 492 
A Comparative Study of the Pelean Type of Eruption, 
The Stages of the Erujitions . ...500 
The Avalanche of Sand and the Great Black Cloud.506 
The Cause of the Deaths.523 
The Air "Wai'es. 527 
The Sea AVaves.529 
Magnetic Disturbances.532 
The General Sequence of Volcanic Phenomena in the Antilles and Central 
America in the Early' Part of 1902. 532 
Appendix I. Acknowledgments.542 
Appendix H. Mr. McDonald’s Notes on Soufriere Eruption of May 7, 1902 . 544 
Appendix III. Letter from Mr. F. Griffiths.547 
Description of Plates.548 
INTRODUCTION. 
The islands of the Caribbean chain have been occupied by European colonists for seY^eral 
hundred years, yet they cannot eY^en at the present day he said to be thoroughly 
known or sufEciently explored. Though small, they are for the most part moun¬ 
tainous, and present usually a ridge or backbone of high land forming the main 
axis of each island, with sharp spurs on each side running dotvn to the sea. Cul¬ 
tivation is practically confined to the lower grounds, Yvhere alone there are good 
roads, and the interior is covered Yvith dense tropical forest, the aspect of which 
varies greatly with the altitude, and through which them are only rough bush paths. 
T'he Y'alleys are usually very deep and narrow, and the steeji slopes are coY'ered 
with plantations of arrowroot, limes, cocoa, coffee, banana or plantain, Yvhile most of 
the level alluYual ground in the Y'alley bottoms is giYmn up to the growth of sugar cane. 
In all the British islands, at any rate, the principal ^leaks and ridges haY'e been 
ascended, and the main features of the country are delineated on the AdmiraltY' 
charts, Yvhich are the best, and in fact the only aY'ailable maps. As regards the 
