The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-06-15

.mok- wa- already In the town and The
sulphur smell -.s -srras. whil~ . sndesn
EI-, swept over several acr~~ r"N~rrd
With ashes and carrted the hn~ d,si up IN
a Whirlins column similar Ia q ~a'~r spnu'.
moving With tr-n-ndou- sTs"d IN ~"
direction W. wer- running
rTrEcr - rms sEs
All through The catastrophe httl@ NJ no
movement in The sea vas rotirrd. sS"cp'
II course. immediately on tho beach a. ~
Pierre. where the s-a seems to have re-
ccSis-i several fsc, a. N. moment when N"
ga ,lotrs -,rirk N" surface IT III" water
Undoubtedly. however. there have gre",
chans,s at tho bottom In some parts 81
the Carhb' an. u~pheavals a. som" places
ar depr--s,ons at other
The commander 20 our ship noticed
great changes In the depth toward the
north~ -, 81 =, Pierre, and recent events
reported while I write these hn~. show that
movements are increasing In the southern
portion - the Caribl~an Sea.
Perhaps there are large tunnels below
tho solid earth crust. or az the very ron"
uherr the earth crus, becomes soft, With
openings downward from which tho boiling
lava and mud rise. Perhaps these tunnels
expand In gigantic bulbs " here accumulate
| the different ro-ks capable of exploding
when meeting oxygen from tho air. From
these bulbs then lead upward those mighty
tunnels terminating In the cra,crs.
CHANCES ~ THE LAND.
They complete this gigantic machinery
| Of Stturr's for dcst rnc,ion For destruction
but also for creation. No greater chang"s.
no NOR. sudden alterations 81 the fac" of
the globe takes place than by volcanic
e%rup,ions.
Cities are destroyed on islands which
owe their own existence 10 an eruption
Land il born under the groaning Of vol
canoes. and during the groans Of these
monsters they again disappear
Ia ST. Vincent. near the SoufrIAre. con-
spicuous alterations Ia the land have taken
place. \ sugar nall which before the
eruption was seven mules away from the
ocean now stands vii hin a couple 81 hun
drsi yards 81 the h-ach on low land. crossed
by numerous c%rcViCee.
Then again. in another place. also in s,
Vincent. and has grown from . low
meadow into an undulsting ridge. A. one
place a FIAT field has been parted In two hy
a broad creviCr One TaIt 81 the field has
bs,.n !lfted some fifty feet. while the other
par has sunk some hundred feet below
its former level
All along the teach. at :, Pierre. a. a.
the foot, 81 the Soufriere. steam columns
arose either from the hot. black mud which
filed the rivertcds and flowed into the
cool ocean. or from the lava flows which
probably reached The sea 10y sub,erranean
channels
Up To- dA,s no actual lava IL supposed 20
have been found. but undoubtedly there
have been out fovs where human eve could
not penetrate.
A. the recent eruu'ions tn" great fall II
no, ashes j. the mos, CONSPICUOUS feature.
Hundreds 81 miles away from he expioded
volcano, ashes have fallen like snow. ard
pumice stones drImmed on IN" roofs IN
Fort de France and In kingstown on 81
Vincent
TBtoRy ~ THE ERUrrioS
A preliminary comment on the recent
eruption has h4rn written by Prof " J
MCGEE, which in it, excellence. IN my opin-
ion. SURPRISES anything hitherto publishes
in regard TO the theory - the event He
writes
Briefly. II seems evident that the lava
mas # which the uppermos, portion "a
pluied ou Nav 5. had continued 10 rise in
IN. vent after the temporary shock duc 20
the rocoll Of the initial chplosipn. and that
hy the morning of tho ~h II had reached
such a he ght IN the throa' A. 20 find relief
from ia. -tupeEdou- pr"ssur" ~ the lower
earth crust
Coming up with = high temperature -
subterrnnean depths the mass Vas coming
like other rocks IN a state ~ nature. -arur-
at.d with water held IN liquid state bv the
pressure n charged with other MINERAL
substances ready 20 Fash into gns or 20
oxiii1. IN contact with air and ,he~a mora
volatile materials tying of less weight than \
the aycrag. were moro abundant In The up
pr port ions - tho mas
,s he viscid plug at red ho' rock forced
it, way upward the mighty mountain ira
walked Tie interior rocks werp rent and
tho groaning and trembling were con
vowed through the outer strata 20 the sur
face and strange shaking 81 he shores
and uulv.rings q the Sa marked the APP
preach 81 tn. elimination
.Thsn the plug passed above tho zone q
rock pressure great enough TO com
press steam into water Whatsoever the heat
. and with this nlicf Tho LIQUID
flashed into steam aud the -uJar-h"atcd
rock matter into gases. while unoxidised
compounds lcaTsd into fam" and smoke
a. they caught tho oxygen - the outer
air
N~ICARAovA'S voICANOE.
A. the state ~ the earth cius, 81 the
Wcst Indian islands with the surrounding
territory undcr the sea j. to-day. w must
ASSUME that The great prcssure- which
have accumulated and fpund -pIn. outlet
through the SoufrA-" and Mont Pc'"'
still exist and hav. hanuc very far roach
ing. a. the recent crIptinns IN Guatemala
show. II is evident that the molten mas
a, places L. 20 he found al = much greater
depth than al others and It l. only where
the ducts approach IN" crust with tho least
resistance that II breaks through
The calamity ~ Martinique and ~
Vincent must nce.ls dircr, IN" mind toward
Nicaragua and Panama What are The
th.r-9 l. there any likelihood
Of similar disturbances on the Isthmusf
These are considerations worthy To he
studied al present when tho proisct ~ n