DRS. T ANDERSON AND J. S. FLETT ON THE ERUPTIONS OF THE 
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The fish sellers who crossed the island on Tuesday morning had reported that the 
crater lake was boiling, and through the night rumbling noises had been heard and 
earth-tremors felt in several places. The black labourers, among whom evil tidings 
spread with a marvellous rapidity, were far from confident, and though sugar making 
was started as usiial on several estates, and there was no cessation of work anvwhere, 
it was thought advisable by some of the managers to send a party of white men up the 
mountain to see what was really happening there. This appears to have been deter¬ 
mined on after the receijjt of a message from Mr. Porter, the propriotor of most of 
the estates in this quarter, at Kingstown, that the leeward side had been evacuated, 
and great anxiety was felt in Chateaubelair. The party started from Turema and 
Orange Hill, and rode up the path to the back of Lot 14. There they met the fish 
sellers returning from tlie summit after their ineftectual attemjDt to cross to the 
leeward country. This must have been about 11 o’clock, and fine ash was now falling 
around the lower slopes of the hill, so, partly for this reason, and partly from the infor¬ 
mation given by the fish sellers, they returned to Orange Hill, and reported that it 
was only too true that the Soufriere, after its long quiescence, was once more in 
eruption. 
About 11 o’clock rain began to fall containing particles of ash, and the noises from 
the mountain became louder, more frequent, and more threatening. On some of the 
estates, work was then stopped, and many of the labourers took flight to Georgetown. 
Others continued to work till near 1 o’clock, when there was a sharp fall of gravelly 
stones ; this put an end to all sugar-making, and people fled to their houses, or began 
to hide in the cellars, or the rooms of the larger residences in which the managers 
lived. Smoke could now be seen ascending in vast columns from the crater. Many 
tried to escape to Georgetown, but when they got to Rabaka they found the Dry 
River there pouring down in high flood, and the water was so hot it Avas impossible 
t(^ Avade across. There is no bridge over this river, so most of these refugees gathered 
at Rabaka House, but some returned to their OAvn dwellings. 
In Georo-etown it was not till about 11 a.m. that it became knoAvn Avith certaintA^ 
c!) V 
that a catastrophe Avas impending. Mr. J. W. Clarke, teacher in the GoA-ernment 
school, has given us an excellent account of his experiences that morning, from which 
Ave take the fblloAving :— 
“ ITevious to the above-mentioned date (7th May) there were signs noticed in some places that the 
crater was in action, but at Georgetown there was no sign observed till the very day, in fact, one can 
almost say the very hour. On the morning of the 7th, reports of the Soufriere’s activity were being 
questioned for the simjrle reason above stated. Then women and children went to perform their various 
regular duties ; everything appeared as usual. I kept my regular 7 to 9 private school. ShortR after 
9 A.M., sounds resembling distant thunder were heard, but it was not until 10.15 a.m. when particular 
notice was taken of the sounds, from their long-continued detonation. I was engaged marking mj' school 
register of attendances from 10.15 to 10.30 a.m., during which time the noise increased. At about 10.40 
there was a distinct flash of lightning seen from the direction of the mountain, followed by a crackling 
peal of thunder. At 10.45 I got a little uneasy, and just at the same moment I got a message from 
