The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-04-19

to-day, however. that 1t does not SEEM sats
to affirm that any great change IN the up-
per part has taken place in the Intervening
months.
Careful measurements for the settling Of
the question do not exist Undoubtedly
from the time OF the first eruption constant
avaianches have taken place. transferring
I portions OF the vertical walls to the bot
] tom, whence they have been thrown IN
part by succeeding eruptions.
The depth seems to have increased no
tably.
On May 81 Doctor Jaggar and I estimated
the depth to the surface Of the K In the
bottom at 1.so feet. from the point at which
| we were standing. and Mr.. Curtis q It
100 feet On March 8 I estimated the depth
at 1000 feet below the same point, an IN
crease OF so feet or 400 feet
The conditions on the later date were
more favorable than on the earlier anc the
difference ma be more apparent than
real
The volcano is showing mild activity at
present, and this IS said to Be rafnsr
greater than II was at the beginning OF
FEBRUARY. On March ;. when our party,
consisting OF NJ and Nine. Lacrotx. Lieu
tenant DeviIle. Of the French Navy. the
Reverend Mr.. Huckerby and myself. with
porters. were On the crater rim there were
several outbursts OF great beauty and N.
terest, some OF which sent fine dust ana
mud some hundreds OF feet above our heads.
and this plastered US on its descent In
showers
The outbursts issued from almost the CEN
ter OF the hot mud lake IN the bottom OF the
crater, sending Up black mud and white
steam IN a column. with the familiar caur-
flower convolutions.
Through the mass many stones could De
seen rising ike rockets. with long trails
OF steam behind them None of the stones
~A~A
there. but many had been thrown that FAR
within a few days Of our visit
NEW" CRATER FORMED :
BY ERUPTION.
The explosions occurred at irregular IN
tervals and were Of very varying degrees
OF intensity. The smaller. ones rose
fountains to comparatively low heights.
The new" crater was one OF the objective
points OF my ascent. This Is on the north
eastern side OF the great crater and was
formed by the eruption OF 1872
1t IS stated TO have been 80 feet deep be-
fore MAY :. In company with Mr.. Curtis
l obtained an imperfect view Of this crater
on June 9. and decided that It had not par
ticipated in the present activity.
Its appearance then seemed to justify the
accented estimate OF its depth.
Now its depth. measured from the highest
roint on the southern edge. IS about 30 feet.
the material from the October eruption Of
the big crater having been literally thrown
into It.
1t has not been in eruption this time. but
there are fumaroles In the rock wall form
inc its eastern rim.
These. however. NAV be only the outlet
for the varors from the heavy bed of ash
uiled against II. There are said to be true
fumaroles beyond the western rim OF the
great crater in the head OF the Larakai
Valley. and appearances from Chateaube-
lair sustain the belief: but l have not visit
ed the spot yet
The surface OF the mountain. which was
slippery with mud in May and June. has
been coated with a hard. gravelly surface
by the eruptions of September and October.
on which one finds a myriad OF cindery
bombs of black lava These are Of all sizes.
from that Of a pea to that Of the head
LIrger masses are not common. but on
the beach near wallibou factory there IS
one six feet in diameter. apparently from
this eruption.
The sea seems to have gained still fur
Their on the land along the strip Of coast
from the Wallibou River to Morne Ronde
Point. where so much landslipping occurred
last May. but the Wallibou has pushed its
mouth further out to sea by at least 10
yards
One constantly meets the questions in
Martinique and St Vincent: Are the erup-
tons over Is there any further danger TO
fear from the volcanoesgi These are vital
questions to the inhabitants OF the islands.
but il is impossible to give any decisive an
swer TO them.
Just now Mont Pelee Is less active than
when / left the islands. in July last, and La
Soufriere is slightly more active than then
perhaps. but 1t is unwise TO make any pre-
dictions as to the future history Of these
interesting and destructive openings into
the interior of the earth's mass.
The tremendous eruption of Mont Peles
predicted so specifically for December % by
French and American prophets did not ma
teriaiize in any sense of the word any mors
than that predicted for La SoufriaEs fGi
the following month.