The southern sentinel., 1903-10-30
TIE NEW MOUNT PELEE.
a-..t Cone winch nas BeeH Thrown
U II Not Central witAiA
the Old Crater.

The new cone W4tn snS -,
NOT central within the old crater. Ane
rnost important of the openings con- :,
cerned in the present series OF erupuons
we're On the west side of the old crater
lake, EEtang Sec, and the axis OF the new
cone is northwest Of the center ol .ne
old crdhsr, writes Edmund Otis hoves'
IN s.KWonderful Change in Pelee. inis
has resulted in the complete filing 81 tne
northwest part of the crater mahns
st6e SLOPE OF the new cone continuous
with the exterior of the old crater rim
Oh that: side On the northern. eastern
and southern sides, between the new
-conef and the crater rim, there Is as snai-
low spiral valley which debayches INTO
the gorge Of the Riviere Blanche ON Tue
southwest. The deepest part OF TINS val
ley is beneath the ruins OF Morne "a, Ia
eroix, and is estimated to be ABOUT Ioo
feet deep. On the southwest the new
cone, slopes continuously into the deoris
asalnk kthe gorge of the Blanche Great
ribs OF solid rock project from severai
parts Of the new inner cone. which Is
composite affair made up of fragmentai
ejecta from the vents. lava when mas
welled up or been pushed up from oeioW'
and masses which have fallen or been
blown on from the latter. These rios
radiate more or less roughly from tue
center of the cone, and above ,tnem
towers the spine or tooth which is so
remarkable. The spine. like the rios'
evidently is composed Of solid rocK.
that is, it is not made up of fragments
which have been thrown up into the AIR
by the volcano and have fallen back into
pile.
Although rifted and profoundly MS
sured the spine is not a chimney, there
being no conduit through 1t. The place
from which have come the heaviest out
bursts since August 80 is on the south
west side of the new cone. but another
very attractive spot is on the northwest
side; both are near the base Of the spine.
The spine itself is more than 1000 feet
high. Separate fragments could not be
piled up to such q height and rest at
the angles shown by the sides of the spine.
The side toward the east Is smooth and
vertically fiuted. IS II 1t had been rubbed
against something hard, and this sug-
gests the explanation Of the phenome-
non. The rock mass of the cone, and par
ticuIarly that of the spine. has been
pushed up bodily from below in solid
or nearly solid condition by the enor-
nous expansive forces working under
meath, and is maintained there. some
Vhat like q stopper in bottle. partly
by friction against the sides Of the neck
and blythe expansive forces underneath.
an idea virtually new to the science Of
vulcanology. The French government
commission. of which Prof A. Lacroix Is
Che head. was the first to put forward this
theory and to include Pelee among the
'cumulo-volcanoes." The shape Of the
spine. with its sides forming angles Of
Is, 81 and even 30 degrees with the hori-
zontal. Is an argument against the theory
that It has been formed by elected blocks
or bombs which were sufficiently pasty
to stick together on falling. and in favor
of the stopper" theory. The great and
sudden changes In altitude of the spine
with reference to the rest of the cone,
with great changes in its shape. point
in the same direction. frequently the
cone and spine show red incandescent
lines at night. together with q luminous
spot near the top Of the spine-an addi-
tfonai proof Of the solid" as distinguish
ed from fragmental. character of the
mass.