d sink into the sea from the
effects of the volcanic disturbances now in progress. More than that,
he says, the Nicaraguan canal route is in danger because it is in the
eruption zone.

"In my opinion the volcano eruptions are not the only things to be
feared," he continued. "It is altogether likely that the volcanic
disturbance now going on may result in the collapse of the islands
whose peaks spring into activity. The constant eruptions of rock,
lava, and ashes, you must know, mean that a hole, as it were, is being
made in the bosom of the earth. When this hole reaches a great size,
that which is above will be without support, and then subsidence must
follow. The volcanoes of Martinique and St. Vincent, and of the
neighboring islands of the Caribbean, are situated in a region of
extreme weakness of the earth's crust, which has its parallel in the
Mediterranean basin on the opposite side of the Atlantic. This
American region of weakness extends westward from the Lesser Antilles
across the Gulf of Mexico into Mexico proper, where are located some
of the loftiest volcanoes of the globe, Popocatepetl and Orizaba, both
now in somnolent condition, and including the more westerly volcano of
Colima, which has been almost continuously in eruption for ten years.

"This same region of weakness includes nearly the whole of Central
America. Volcanoes in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Guatemala have been
repeatedly active, some almost to the present time, many with
destructive effect, and it should be no surprise to have some of them
burst out with the same vigor and intensity as Mount Pelee or the
Soufriere."

The National Geographic Society sent three geographers to make a
special study of the eruptions in Martinique and St. Vincent:
Professor Robert T. Hill of the United States Geological Survey;
Professor Israel C. Russell of Ann Arbor, Mich., and C. E.
Borchgrevink, the noted Antarctic explorer.

Professor Hovey, after a careful examination of the desolated areas in
Martinique and St. Vincent, related important scientific phases of the
great eruptions. Speaking first of the work of his companions and
himself in St. Vincent, he said:

"Collection of data concerning the eruption of La Soufriere was
immediately begun. The history of the eruption is practically that of
the disturbance of 1851. Earthquakes occurred here about a year ago,
and have occurred at intervals at various places in the West Indies
and adjacent regions ever