LON 
thing they poflefled, and fled precipitately towards the 
town. The negroes became confufed, forlook their work, 
looked up to the mountain, and, as it (hook, trembled, 
with the dread of what they could neither underftand or 
defcribe—the birds fell to the ground, overpowered with 
(bowers of duft, unable to keep themfelves on the wing— 
the cattle were (larving for want of food, as not a blade 
of grafs or a leaf was now to be found. The fea was much 
difceloured, but in no wife uncommonly agitated. About 
four o’clock P. M. the noife became more alarming, and 
juft before fun-fet the clouds refiebled a bright copper co¬ 
lour, fuffufed with fire ; and at length, about the clofe of 
day, the flame burft pyramidically frcm the crater through 
the mafs of fmoke ; the rolling of the thunder became 
more awful and deafening : flafhes of lightning quickly 
fucceeded, attended with loud claps, and a great variety 
of lightning and electric flafhes, fome forked zig-zag play¬ 
ing acrofs the perpendicular column from the crater— 
others (hooting upwards from the mouth, like rockets of 
the moll dazzling luftre—others like (hells with their 
fiailing fufes lying in different parabolas. About feven 
in the evening the ebullition of lava broke out on the 
north-weft fide t this, immediately after boiling over the 
orifice, and flowing a fliort way, was oppofed by the ac¬ 
clivity of a higher point of land, over which it was im¬ 
pelled by the immenfe tide of liquefied fire that drove it 
on, forming the figure V in grand illumination. Some¬ 
times, when the ebullition (lackened, or was infufficient 
to urge it over the obftrufting hill, it recoiled back, and 
then again rufhed forward, impelled by frefli fupplies, 
and, fcaling every obftacle, carried rocks and woods to¬ 
gether in its courfe down the (lope of the mountain, un¬ 
til it precipitated itfelf into a vaft ravine. Vaft globular 
bodies of fire were feen projected from the fiery furnace, 
and burfting fell back into it, or over it, on the furround¬ 
ing bullies, which were inftantly fet in flames. In about 
four hours from the time the lava boiled over the crater, 
it reached the fea. About half-paft one in the morning, 
another ftream of lava was feen defcending to the eaft- 
vvard towards Rabacca. At this time the firft earthquake 
was felt: this was followed J>y (howers of cinders, that 
fell with the hiding noife of hail during two hours'. At 
three, a rolling on the roofs of the houfes indicated a fall 
of ftones, which foon thickened, and at length defcended 
in a rain of intermingled fire—the miferable negroes, fly¬ 
ing from their huts, were knocked down or wounded ’; 
and many were killed in the open air. Several houfes 
were fet on fire. Had the ftones that fell been heavy in 
proportion to their fize, not a living creature could have 
efcaped ; but, having undergone a thorough fufion, they 
were diverted of their natural gravity, and fell light, 
though in fome places as large as a man’s head. This 
dreadful rain of ftones and fire lafted upwards of an hour, 
and was again fucceeded by cinders from three till fix 
o’clock in the morning. Earthquake followed earthquake 
almoft momentarily, or rather the whole of this part of 
the ifland was in a date of continued ofcillation ;—not 
agitated by (hocks, vertical or horizontal ; but undulated 
like water (liaken in a bowl. Darknefs was only viiible 
at eight O’clock in the morning : a chaotic gloom enve¬ 
loped the mountain, and an impenetrable haze hung over 
the fea, with black fluggi'fti clouds of a fulphureous caft. 
The whole ifland was covered with fa villa, cinders, fcoria, 
and broken mafles of volcanic matter. It was not until 
the afternoon that the muttering noife of the mountain 
funk gradually into a folemn but fufpicious filence. 
The above is from the St. Vincent’s Gazette of the ad 
of May. The Gazette of the 18 th dates, that the moun¬ 
tain had continued to be agitated up to the 7th, when its 
more violent paroxyfms gradually fubfided. By this dread¬ 
ful calamity, the large and extenfive rivers of Rabacca 
and Wallibon were dried up, and in their places was a 
wide expanfe of barren land. The melted minerals which, 
with irrefiltible explofion, were daftred into the fea, had 
formed a promontory which jutted out fome diftance from 
Vol. XIII. No, 908. 
DON. 303 
the main lanc$, clofe to the port at Morne ilonde.—The 
merchants of Barbadoes, on hearing the calamity, loaded 
a vefiel with provifions for the fufferers at prime coft ; and 
the legiftature fubfequently voted 6400 dollars to be in¬ 
verted in the purcliafe of provifions for the fame purpofe. 
The Britiflr parliament afterwards voted 25,000k 
It is now afcertained, that a new crater has been formed 
to the north-eaft of the old one, from which it is only 
feparated by a narrow ridge. This new crater throws 
out fmoke and flames, and on the night of Tuefday the 
9th of June made a (how of another eruption ; but no¬ 
thing took place beyond an emiflion of ftones and afhes, 
mod of which fell back into the abyfs from whence they 
came. The whole appearance of the mountain is changed, 
and the afcent, where it had been mod difficult, rendered 
plain and eafy, by the filling up of ravines, and fwelling 
of precipices. The conical mount has been deftroyed, 
and an immenfe lake of boiling wat?r fupplies its place ; 
from this lake vaft quantities of black fand are perpetually 
thrown up ; and on the fcutb-weft fide there is a large 
furnace, which is conftantly feen 'to throw up red-hot 
ftones,—We are farther informed, by a letter dated July 4, 
that, “ on Sunday night, June 30, 'the Wallibon quarter 
witnefied a fcene of horror and devaluation, more terrific 
and deftru< 5 iive in its effedls than even the memorable 
night of the awful eruption of the Morne SouftVier. Pro¬ 
digious mafles of ignited fubftances were ejected from the 
mouth of the Wallibon river; and a vaft lake, in a con- 
ftant (kite of eSkrvefcer.ce, had formed near its fource, 
which continued daily to iricreafe, till it covered about 
four acres of land. On Sunday night, the diffufion of 
water, from the fall of heavy rains, became fo great, that 
the frightful refervoir overflowed, and the prodigious 
flood burft through the barriers of volcanic combuitibles 
with irreliftible fury ; and fuch was its deftrudtive impe- 
tuofity, that it completely inundated the adjacent valley - t 
and, befides its ravages in bearing down a number ofne- 
gro houfes, feveral loft their lives, and others were dread¬ 
fully fealded from the river of liquid (ire which over¬ 
whelmed them. The mountain, too, during the dreadful 
fcene, had a return of one of its terrific fever-fits ; its 
roarings caufed a general confternation ; and the follow¬ 
ing night, about eleven o’clock, a mod violent concuf- 
fion of the earth, fuch as the oldeft inhabitants never ex¬ 
perienced, was felt all over the ifland.” 
It was doubted whether thofe dreadful (bowers of dud: 
and afties, which had covered and deftroyed every thing 
on the ground, would not alfo prevent a future crop from 
being raifed. The minds of the proprietors of eftates in 
St. Vincent’s were Ixappily relieved by a fubfequent com¬ 
munication from that ifland, to the following eftedt : “At 
length our alarms about the volcano are beginning to 
fublide; the horrors of it feem part; and perhaps good 
may come out of evil: for in many of the fpots which 
appeared to fufter moft under the late dreadful erup¬ 
tion, and where the cinders, Sec. fell in moft frightful ex- 
cefs, they already begin to (how a moft fertilifing power, 
and to be exciting a vegetation of extraordinary force and 
fecundity!” 
The laft accounts from St. Vincent’s are dated the 2d 
of Auguft, 1813; by which it appears .that there have 
been feveral minor eruptions of Mount Souffrier fince 
the above dreadful vibration. The Rabacca river now 
flows again from its fprings, but not in the old direction ; 
it has poured its unwelcome torrents through Langley' 
Pa'rk, making a new bed in its wild and impetuous pro- 
grefs, and deltroying vaft quantities of fugar, Sec. Sec. 
A hurricane happened in Jamaica on the night of Oc¬ 
tober 12, 1812, which occafioned much damage in various 
parts, fweeping away out-houfes and negro-habitations, 
unrqofing buildings, tearing up trees by the roots, and 
deftroying cane and other plantations. The mifehief at 
fea was not very confiderable, the, duration of the tem- 
peftuous weather being ffiort. 
But' in South America there occurred a moft dreadful 
4 - K, calamity. 
