Morris tribune., 1902-05-17
ST. VINCENT ISLAND.
Picturesque Place Wrecked
by Volcanic Outbursts.
SCENE OF BIG ERUPTION IN 1879.

| Mount SOufriere at That Time Sent
Its Denth Dealing Fires Over the
Most Beautiful Tropical Island In
the British West Indies Group.
Climate Very Humid.
st. Vincent, which has also suffered
from the eruption Of its own Soufriere
volcano, is one Of the most beautiful
and picturesque islands Of the British
West Indian group, says the New
York Press. 1t has an area of 131
square miles and has been described
as one Of the flashing jewels that lie
like a necklace around the Caribbean
! sea. The last British census credited
it with a population Of $4,000, of which
a large majority are negroes engaged
in the cultivation of sugar cane, which
is the principal crop. Two hundred
years ago it was the home of the Carib
Indians, who were induced by the
French to join in revolution against
England. They were crushed, and
thousands were transported Hun
dreds, rather than submit, flung them
selves into the sea. \ few descend
ants Of these original owners of the
island still exist on LANDS granted to
| them by the British government.
/ St. Vincent, like all the islands in
the group, is Of volcanic origin and
eliminates in the vast crater Of Morne
| Y Garou, which in 1912 was the scene
of a tremendous eruption. Billions Of
|
! high into the air. Part as molten lava,
| flowed down into the sea: part, SILVER
| ed into thin dust, was carried high up
| into the clouds. For lhree days the
| awful c0nVulsi0ns Of nature continued.
| The dust from the crater so Obscured
the rays of the sur ana brought on a
| darkness so terrifying that the few
survivors believed the world had come
to an end. The impa!DGJIp dust was
carried by the trade winds to the is
| lands of Barbados and St. Lucia and
| turned day into night. The inhabit-
| ants became panic stricken with fear
! and abandoned their ordinary vOca-
tons and devoted themselves to pray
ers and fasting
This was the closing period Of Sc
ries Of volcanic eruptiOns which had
| lasted two years, and the direction Of
the seismic wave was not unlike that
which has devastated Martinique. The
disturbance in 1872 seemed to pass IN
der the bed Of the ocean to Venezuela.
Caracas the capital Of that country,
was partly destroyed by an earth
quake, and 10000 persons persisted
With the exception of the great Lisbon
earthquake the eruption Of the mighty
mountain was the most frightful cata-
clysm known to the world up to that |
time. The whole confguratiOn Of the
island was changed. The eastern end
sank into the sea, and where it stood
there is now a great depth Of water.
The volcanic forces remained Quiescent
until 1892 and then the warning rum
BILE was heard again, but it was false
alarm, and the terrible scenes Of the |
early part OF the century were not re-
peated.
The island of st. Vincent lies 100 |
miles west of Barbados and between |
st. Lucia and the Grenadines. From |
north to south stretches ridge of high, |
wooded hills, extending to the ser on |
either side The Soufriere, whose erup- |
ton recently started, is in the north |
west. 1t towers 5000 feet above the |
sea. Its crater is three miles in cir |
cumference and 500 feet deep. From |
the summit the view on all sides was |
superb. Eastward over the new crater |
formed in 1912. the Atlantic was Wis |
ible through the hill ranges, westward |
to the blue waters Of the Caribbean |
and on the margin Of the bay the |
quaint and curious town Of Chateau |
Beair, Travellers who have stood on |
the highest point describe the view Of |
Morne Garou as a spectacle Of awe in |
spring grandeur, with the vast forest |
clambering over lofty peak and deep |
hewn glen right to tie northern verge, |
where, twenty miles off. the island dips |
under the blue waves.
The climate of st. Vincent is unusu-
ally humid, the average rainfall being |
seven feet annually. But the mortal
ity rate is low, and the Inhabitants en-
Soy excellent health. The soil in the
valleys is a rich ioam. we'll calculated
for the growing Of cotton and cocoa
palms. as we'll as sugar cane. The av-
erage temperature is IS degrees F. in
the highlands. In the lowlands it
hovers between 80 and 95, The island
has been noted for the beauty of the
plumage of its birds and for it's rare
specimens of insect life.
It is the home Of the giant FREELY
whose phcsphorescent brilliancy is so
great that one fly will shed sufficient
light by which to read book or news
paper. A dozen of these insects will
light up large room, and the Caribs
in the olden days used them for pur-
poses of illumination. Unlike the birds
in the tropics farther south, the birds
of the forests Of st. Vincent are not
only brilliantly feathered, but are pos
sessed of melodious song. One is
sort Of mountain oriole, which has a
note of peculiar sweetness and Won
derful penetration.