SOUFPJEEE, AND ON A VISIT TO MONTAONE PELEE, IN 1902. 
401 
then a fall of bigger stones would crash with a loud noise on the wooden or iron roofs, 
and not unfrequently these were perforated by large stones which landed in the rooms 
among the frightened survivors. Those who ventured abroad protected their lieads 
with pillows or pieces of wood, or even with tubs. The ground was covered with a 
layer of ashes which, though warm, could without difficulty be walked upon. The 
air was charged with fine falling dust, which irritated the nasal passages, giving rise to 
coughing and sneezing. A few remarked to us that immediately after the great out¬ 
burst which took place about 2 o’clock in the afternoon, the pressure of the air seemed 
to be increased, and the effect on the tympanic membranes of their ears was such that 
the sound of the roaring of the mountain was at times acutely painful. As we shall 
see later, there can be no doubt that the eruption of the great black cloud occasioned 
j a sudden rise of barometric pressure. Dr. Dunbar Hughes, of Bariaialli, was one of 
the obsei'vers who noted this phenomenon. 
Above all resounded the roaring of the mountain, and for about two and a half 
hours in the afternoon the noise was terrible. Even at Kingstowui it was so loud tliat 
it I'esembled no sound with wdiich the observers were familiar. Some compared it to 
the discharge of an enormous gun, except that it was continuous and not intermittent, 
and we wmre I’eminded that amono- the Caribs there were old traditions regardino; the 
“Great Gun of the Soufriere.” Most people descril^ed it, however, as liaving a long, 
drawn-out, weird, uneartldv cljai’acter, recalling the roar of a wounded animal in 
intense pain. It is a curious fact tliat most observers in St. Vincent state that it did 
not seem to tliem to be made u}) of distinct detonations dr rejDorts, or if so, these were 
so numerous as to lie blended together without intermission. The sound, however, 
I'ose and fell, being at times distinctly much louder than at others. At the same 
time in Barbados, St. Lucia, Trinidad and elsewhere, the noises fiom the volcano were 
compared to the reports of distant cannonading, and the intermittent nature of the 
sound was one of its distinctive features. 
The air also was laden with sulphurous fumes. Especially was this noticeable 
during the passage overhead of the great black cloud, when tlie abundance of 
sulphurous acid (and also sulphuretted hydrogen) wms so great as to produce an 
intense feelinu of irritation and suffocation. Thereafter it seems to have been much 
O 
less, but continued more or less through the whole night. The suljjhuretted hydrogen 
attacked silver articles, and it was noticed in several cases that the silver bracelets on 
the arms of the coolie women turned rapidly black. At Kingstown the first fall of 
ash was accompanied by a sulphurous odour ; after that, however, it was much less 
marked. This was also the case at Barliados, where the sulphurous smell of the dust 
was one of the reasons which led to an early and general recognition of its volcanic 
character. 
The intense heat, however, was even more oppressive than the sulphurous vapours. 
Within the precincts of the dark cloud it was terrible. The sufferers cried for water, 
till the scorching of their throats prevented articulation, and they fell groaning to 
3 F 
VOL. cc. 
A. 
