Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-06-07
DOMINICA LAKE
Its Boiling Water and Its
Brave English Victim.
POISONOUS FUMES
WONDERS OF THE CRATER OF
THE LITTLE SoUFRIERE.
Thrilling Story of Gives Journey and
His Futile Attempt to Rescue
His Guide.

NEititH loT lhe
Copyright 1902, by 1. NJ. Howe)
1t is easy enough. now that the Grand
soufriere has slain its thousands and Peiee
its tens of thousands, to look back ana
say: by such and such a thing they
should have taken warning" But to COM
mence as the lawyers say, "at the place
of beginning" There is little doubt that
the tragedy at the famous, but seldom
visited, boiling lake of Dominica last De-
cember was the first serious muttering CT
the awakening volcanic fires.
Partly because he was the first victim OF
this never-to- forgotten eruption OF l9u2,
but more especially lest the manner in
which a brave man met his fate-foolishly,
perhaps but NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. go un-
recorded and unnoticed, this tale of one
who fearlessly laid down his life for one
who was not even friend is written.
Wilfred NJ Give was the hero's name, n
descendant of the great Lord Give, VINO
laid the foundation of England lndlah
empire and nearly related to half dozen
men of naughty name and utle' yet III dt,-
pearance and action simply quiet, IrdNel-
ing Englishman, exploring in an IDLE mo-
ment the strange, wild Caribbean Island OF
Dominica.
A fascinating. beautiful treacherous Is
land is this same Dominica. The awful
molten lava sea that undeElies the thin
crust which men call the solid earth
here seethes beneath so thin covering
that, warmed as it was by the very hres
of hell a vegetation has sprung up with
an uncomfortable luXuriance that makes IT
the most wonderful in the world. SO thin.
indeed is this covering, which is itself
merely disntegrated lava. that everywhere
streams of boiling sulphurous water break
through, milky white, poisoning the orchld-
scented air with deadly vapors. while high
upon the mountain lies the boiling lake,
one of natures marVelS.
1t may seem incredible that wonder ike
the boiling lake could exist on an island
only twenty-nine miles long by sixteen
broad, for 400 years after discovery, during
which time Carbs, Spaniard, French and
English had apparently fought over every
square inch of it, without the lake being
seen or its existence even suspected. Yet II
was only about twenty years ago that DR.
Nichols found the mysterious little sheet of
water. However, any one who has visited
Dominica can understand perhaps, for so
wrinked with high mountain ranges AID
deep, sunless valleys, and so impenetrabe
are the closely woven forests and green
tangle of tropic underbrush covering every
thing there that the journey across the is
land consumes two full days time.
Hearing of this strange lake, lying 1000
feet above the level Of the sea- on the flank
of Mount Diablatin, the highest peak in
the West Indies, Mr.. Give determined to
visit it straightway.
Gives Last Journey.
So, on December 90 accompanied by Ger
aid Mcdonald and a guide, Give set out
from the town of Roseau for Laudat, which
was reached at o'clock in the afternoon.
Leaving Mcdonald behind, Give began the
climb under the guidance of Jean Jules and
Manton Rollin, or, as many visitors to Do
minica will better remember them, "Wylie'
and 'Dugrusclin."
The scenery grew wilder and more I'M
natural at every step. mighty wave
of living green swept down upon them
from the hills above, fighting for
every inch of the narrow path along the
precipice. From out the valley beneath
them a horde of huge-trunked invaders.
waving their green limbs like banners,
rushed up to overwhelm them. The air be-
came heavy with the scent of.orchids grow
ing on outspreading limbs, a sheer hundred
feet above their heads. A soft unceasing
rustling, as thousands of creeping things
moved through the underbrush, was
drowned at intervals by the hoarse uncanny
cry of the Devils Bird-strange of shape,
with long black beak and feet like ducks
feet, but armed with terrible long claws,
black as Erebus, well deserving of the evil
name the native Caribs had bestowed upon
it. Other strange sounds, not so easily
counted for, were heard. In short. the path
stretched through an enchanted forest, filled
with heaven alone knows what mysterious
dangers for the unwary traveller.
jumbo, Noodoo, Obeah, all the supersti
ton of the Indian and negro, so gaily
laughed at the day before, became sudden
ly very real and possible beliefs. Here and
there break in the solid green wall, where
some great tree had hurled itself into the
abyss below, showed far up on the noun
tain SIDE cloud of fieecy steam rising
swiftly. only to melt as swiftly into thin
air.
La Petit Soufriere's Crater.
At last the petit Soufriere was reached; a
deep basin, some 200 feet across, surround
ed by upreaching hills green to their sum-