Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 64.djvu/224

220 Gradually a sound became perceptible, which at no time developed into loud detonations. It was rather a bubbling growl, far away, different from thunder, and continuous. It lasted an hour, and varied in intensity; this noise was undoubtedly occasioned by the expansion of steam released from the crater's throat, accompanied by the tumble of a volcanic avalanche on the flanks of the mountain and at the crater. The distance of Fort de France from the crater, as the crow flies, is fourteen miles. The weather was very calm, with only a faint breeze from the direction of the volcano during the early stages of the eruption.

The writer climbed to the ridge-pole of the roof of the Hotel Ivanes, while an attendant held a candle at the open dormer window below, and the flame was not disturbed by any considerable breeze. On the high roof, the stillness of the tropical night was relieved by nothing but the simmering hum of tree-toads and crickets, and the very faint distant rumble, at that time barely audible. Here, remote from the odors of the town, there was an extremely faint odor of sulphur (sulphurous acid). At 8:50 a wave was noticed on the wharves at Fort de France, the water receding and returning through a total vertical distance of about two feet. About the same time the recently repaired cable of the telegraph company ceased to make connections; it was probably broken by submarine landslips.

During the next twenty minutes the balloon or spoon-shaped cloud spread rapidly southward until nearly the whole horizon was obscured with the exception of a narrow strip of starlit sky, the middle of which lay S. 20° E. To the north-northeast could be seen fringing showers, four or five in number, showing as vertical streaks against the horizon in that direction. These were believed at the time to represent local dust falls. At 9:10 a similar curtain was seen N. 60° W. At 9:15 some rain fell at Fort de France, but this lasted only about five minutes. At 9:18 the smoothly curved edge of the dust lowered to and merged with the horizon S. 30° E. A very remarkable flash of lightning at this time shot across the northern sky, making a complete loop overturned to the northeast with the ends downward towards the volcano. It was described by one of the bystanders as 'balloon lightning,' and had somewhat the aspect of a huge incandescent bulb, outlined by a streak of light that swept in a tremendous curve across the zenith. The bulbous effect was probably produced by the illumination of one of the cloud billows within the lightning circle. It occurred to the writer that possibly the change in the lightning forms during the two hours, from points to short lines, and from these to long serpents, was due to a change in the perspective of the cloud billows. The first view when the mushroom was expanding was 'end on,' so to speak, with reference to the individual nodes or mamelli.