Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1902-07-14
SCIENTIFIC SIDE OF ERUPTION
Conclusions of Prof. Hill of u. S. &C.
illogical Survey Regarding De-
struction of St. Pierre. ..
Testimony of the Witnesses to the
Disaster, and the Deductions
That Are Drawn.
Nature of the Phenomena Occurring
s.: Described From the Best
knowledge Available.


In the National Geographic Maga-
zine for the current issue is a scientific
article by Prof. Robert T. Hill, geolo-.
gist of the United States geological
survey, who made a minute and care
full investigation into the causes Of
the recent volcanic disaster at ST.
Pierre, Martinique. The article is
particularly interesting because of the
fact that Prof. Hill took the testimony
of all living available witnesses of the
eruption that destroyed st. Pierre and
from their statements based his con-
clusions as to the phenomena occur
ring at that time. While the article
is too long to reproduce in full, some
of the findings of Prof. Hill will be Of
interest to readers of the Tribune.
Prof. Hill discusses the disaster under
a number of subdivisions, and says:
A sequence of eruptions-According
to Charles Evans, the second engineer
of the Roraima, who, with another en-
gineer (killed) was looking at the
mountain from the deck, there were
three eruptions: First, there was a
big puff of smoke from the top of tie
mountain, not accompanied by noise,
which mushroomed and spread out.
Then, after a noticeable interval, there
was a second and larger eruption (the
destructive one), which did not come
from the top of the mountain, but
from the side, and which did not as
cend, but rushed down toward him and
the city in two, great horizontal puffs.
On seeing this, the fatal eruption, Mr..
Evans ran down to the engine room
from the deck. Returning on deck,
burned and suffering. he saw a third
and irrelevant eruption, which took
place in about five minutes after the
second one. Evans is positive that
the second blast destroyed the town.
Composition Of the cloud-1ts visi-
BILE composition was of dense mass
of hot, ash like lapilli, which every
where filled the air. Besides this.
gases and superheated steam were ap-
parently present as will be shown. A
ton of ashes was found in the officers
mess of the Roraima. From so to loo
tons fell upon the deck of the Roddam ;
less than a foot of ashes fell in all the
eruptions on the streets of st. Pierre
These were piled highest against the
north wall.
Density-The cloud, as seen ap-
| preaching from the sea, was dense
opaque and of a brownish black color
Its density was SO great as to cause
total darkness of positions it envelop'
ed. %Es ..
Weight-The cloud was heavier thar
the air. 1t travelled along the surface
of the earth's confguration, instead o:
ascending. Owing to this heaviness
houses, estates, trees and people or
the higher cliffs above St. Pierre were
spared, as we'll as the trees on the
| southwestern slope Of the high summit
of the area of Pelee.
/ Motion-T'he cloud advanced hori
zontally through the air, following th'
confguration at the minimum rate o
a mile minute Besides the progres
sive motion it's convolutions surget
and rolled No witnesses could testif.
positively to a revolving (cyclonic
motion. Some say that it rolled verti
cally. The priest at Precheur state'
that trees fell circularly, but all tn
fallen trees at that place lie in on
direction.
Heat-The cloud was hot. All wit
nesses spared testified to feeling it
4 heat even when beyond it's margin
The ashes were hot for hours on tn
Roddam and still warm when dug int
by me thirteen days after the eruption
The lapilli falling on the Roddam wer
z sufficiently hot to cause ignition Q
rope and bedding, but not to ignit
woodwork or the pitch pine timber O
\ its forward deck. Mile Lavenaire
seven and one half miles to the easi
felt a blast of hot air. The writer ha
personally felt the hot blasts Of al
( from subsequent eruptions.
Steam-In addition to the hot lapill
there was an invisible heated sub
stance in the cloud which penetrate
clothing without firing it and burne
/. the human skin beneath, as atteste
by the burns upon the back, Of Eng
neer Morris, the breast OF Nurse Clar