serve from Cayenne to the bottom of the Gulf of Paria this immense tract of swamp, formed by the sediment of these rivers, and a similar tract of shallow muddy coast, which their continued operation will one day elevate. The sediment of the Amazons is carried down thus to leeward (the westward) by the constant currents which set along from the southward and the coast of Brazil. That. of the Oroonoko is detained and allowed to settle near its mouths by the opposite island of Trinidad, and still more by the mountains on the main, which are only separated from that island by the Bocas del Drago. The coast of Guiana has remained, as it were, the great eddy or resting-place for the washings of great part of South America for ages; and its own comparatively small streams have but modified here and there the grand deposit."

Having been amply gratified with our visit to this singular place, which to the usual magnificence of the West Indian landscape unites the striking peculiarity of the local scene, we re-embarked n our vessel, and stood along the coast on our return. On the way we landed, and visited the planations of several gentlemen, who received us with hospitality, and made us more fully acquainted with the state of this island: a colony which may with truth be described as fortunate in its situation, fertile in its soil, and rich beyond measure in the productions of nature; presenting, in short, by a rare combination, all which can gratify the curiosity of the

naturalist, or the cupidity of the planter; restrained in the developement of its astonishing resources, only by the inadequacy of population, the tedious and illdefined forms of Spanish justice, and the severe, though we may hope transient, pressure of the times.

ACCOUNT OF THE SOUFFRIERE OF MONTSERRAT. By Nicholas Nugent, M. D.

From the same Work.

On my voyage last year (Oct. 1810) from Antigua to England, the packet touched at Montserrat, and my curiosity having been excited by the accounts I received of a place in the island called the Sulphur, and which, from the descriptions of several persons, I conceived might be the crater of an inconsiderable volcano, I determined to avail myself of the stay of the packet to visit that place.

The island of Montserrat, so called by the Spaniards from a fancied resemblance to the celebrated mountain of Catalonia, is every where extremely rugged and mountainous, and the only roads, except in one direction, are narrow bridle-paths winding through the recesses of the mountains: there is hardly a possibility of using wheeled carriages, and the produce of the estates is brought to the place of shipment on the backs of mules. Accompanied by a friend, I accordingly set out on horseback from the town of Plymouth, which is situated at the foot of the mountains on the sea-shore. We proceeded by a

circuitous and steep route about six miles, gradually ascending the mountain, which consisted entirely of an uniform porphyritic rock, broken every where into fragments and large blocks, and which in many places was so denuded of soil, as to render it a matter of astonishment how vegetation, and particularly that of the cane, should thrive so well. The far greater part of the whole island is made up of this porphyry, which by some systematics would be considered as referable to the newest floëtz trap formation, and by others would be regarded only as a variety of láva. It is a compact and highly indurated argillaceous rock of a grey colour, replete with large and perfect crystals of white felspar and black hornblende. Rocks of this description generally pass in the West Indies by the vague denomination of fire-stone, from the useful property they possess of resist ing the operation of intense heat. A considerable quantity of this stone is accordingly exported from Montserrat to the other islands which do not contain it, being essential in forming the masonry around the copper-boilers in sugar-works. We continued our ride a considerable distance beyond the estate called Galloway's (where we procured a guide), till we came to the side of a very deep ravine which extends in a winding direction the whole way from one of the higher mountains to the sea. A rugged horse path was traced along the brink of the ravine, which we followed amidst the most beautiful and romantic scenery. At the head of this ravine is a small amphitheatre

formed by lofty surrounding mountains, and here is situated what is termed The Sulphur. Though the scene was extremely grand, and well worthy of observation, yet I confess I could not help feeling a good deal disappointed, as there was nothing like a crater to be seen, or any thing else that could lead me to suppose the place had any connexion with a volcano. On the north, east and west sides were lofty mountains wooded to the tops, composed apparently of the same kind of porphyry we had noticed all along the way. On the south, the same kind of rock of no great height, quite bare of vegetation, and in a very peculiar state of decomposition. And on the southeastern side, our path and the outlet into the ravine. The whole area, thus included, might be three or four hundred yards in length, and half that distance in breadth. The surface of the ground, not occupied by the ravine, was broken and strewed with fragments and masses of the porphyritic rock for the most part so exceedingly decomposed, as to be friable, and to crumble on the smallest pressure. For some time I thought that this substance, which is perfectly white, and in some instances exhibits an arrangement like crystals, was a peculiar mineral; but afterwards became convinced that it was merely the porphyritic rock singularly 'altered, not by the action of the air or weather, but, as I conjecture, by a strong sulphureous or sulphuric acid vapour, which is generated here, and which is probably driven more against one side by the eddy of wind up the ravine, the breeze

from any other quarter being shut out by the surrounding hills.

Amidst the loose stones and fragments of decomposed rock are many fissures and crevices, whence very strong sulphureous exhalations arise, and which are diffused to a considerable distance: these exhalations are so powerful, as to impede respiration, and near any of the fissures are quite intolerable and suffocating. The buttons of my coat, and some silver and keys in my pockets, were instantaneously discoloured. An intense de gree of heat is at the same time evolved, which, added to the apprehension of the ground crumb ling and giving way, renders it difficult and painful to walk near any of these fissures. The water of a rivulet, which flows down the sides of the mountain, and passes over this place, is made to boil with violence, and becomes loaded with sulphureous impregnations. Other branches of the same rivulet, which do not pass immediately near these fissures, remain cool and limpid; and thus you may with one hand touch one rill, which is at the boiling point, and with the other hand touch another rill, which is of the usual temperature of water in that climate. The exhalations of sulphur do not at all times proceed from the same fissures, but new ones appear to be daily formed, others becoming, as it were, extinct. On the mar gins of these fissures, and indeed almost over the whole place, are to be seen most beautiful crystallizations of sulphur, in many spots quite as fine and perfect as those from Vesuvius, or indeed as any other specimens I have ever met with. The whole mass of decom

posed rock in the vicinity is, in like manner, quite penetrated by sulphur. The specimens which I collected of the crystalized sulphur, as well as of the decomposed and undecomposed porphyry, were left inadvertently on board the packet at Falmouth, which prevents my having the pleasure of exhibiting them to the society. I did not perceive at this place any trace of pyrites, or any other metallic substance, except indeed two or three small fragments of clay iron-stone at a little distance, but did not discover even this substance any where in situ. It is very probable that the bed of the glen or ravine might throw some light on the internal structure of the place; but it was too deep, and its banks infinitely too precipitous, for me to venture down to it. I understood that there was a similar exhalation and deposition of sulphur on the side of a mountain not more than a mile distant in a straight line; and a subterranean communication iş supposed to exist between the two places.

Almost every island in the western Archipelago, particularly those which have the highest land, has, in like manner, its Sulphur, or, as the French better express it, its Souffrière. This is particularly the case with Nevis, St. Kitt's, Guadaloupe, Dominica, Martinico, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent's. Some islands have several such places, analogous, I presume, to this of Montserrat; but in others, as Guadaloupe, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent's, there are decided and well characterized volcanos, which are occasionally active, and throw out ashes, scoria and lava with flame.

The volcano of St. Vincent's is represented by Dr. Anderson, and others who have visited it, as extremely large and magnificent, and would bear a comparison with some of those of Europe. These circumstances appear to have been entirely overlooked by geologists in their speculations concerning the origin and formation of these islands. It has indeed occurred to most persons, on surveying the regular chain of islands extending from the southern Cape of Florida to the mouths of the Orinoco, as exhibited on the map, to conclude that it originally formed part of the American continent, and that the encroachments of the sea have left only the higher parts of the land, as insular points above its present level. But this hypothesis, however simple, and apparently satisfactory in itself, will be found to accord very partially with the geological structure of the different islands. Many of them are made up entirely of vast accretions of marine organized substances; and others evidently owe their origin to a volcanic, agency which is either in some degree apparent at the present time, or else may be readily traced by vestiges comparatively recent. There is every reason to believe, however, that some of the islands are really of contemporaneous formation, with the adjacent parts of the continent, from which they have been disjoined by the incursions of the sea, or by convulsions of nature, and it is probably in those islands which contain primitive rocks, that we are chiefly to look for a confirmation of this supposition.

The female ourang outang which formed the subject of my observations belonged to the same species with the ourang cutangs described by Tulpius, Edwards, Vosmaer, Allamand, and Buffon: it is the Simia Satyrus of Linnæus. When erect in its natural position its height did not exceed from 26 to 30 inches: the length of the arms from the arm-pits to the tips of the fingers was 18 inches, and the lower extremities from the top of the thigh to the tarsus were only from eight to nine inches. The upper jaw had four sharp incisors, the two in the middle were double the breadth of the lateral, two short canine teeth, similar to those of men, and three molaria on each side, with soft tubercles. The lower jaw had also four incisors, two canine teeth, and six molaria, but the incisors were of equal size. The number of the molaria was not complete. The germ of a tooth was seen on each side at the extremity of the upper and under jaws, and it is probable that others would be produced at subsequent periods. The form of these teeth was the same with that of the molaria of men and apes in general.

The hands had five fingers precisely like those of men, only the thumb extended no further than the first joint of the fore finger. The feet also had five toes, but the great toe was placed much lower than that of a man, and in its ordinary position, instead of

being parallel to the other toes, it formed with them nearly a right angle. All the toes were similar in structure to the fingers, and were very free in their motions, and the whole of them without exception had nails. It had almost no calves to the legs, or buttocks. The head resembled that of a man, much more than that of any animal; the forehead was high and salient, and the capacity of the cranium was great; but the neck was very short. The tongue was soft and similar to that of other apes; and although the lips were extremely thin, and scarcely apparent they possessed the power of extension in a considerable degree. The nose, which was completely flat, and on a level with the face at its base, was slightly salient at its extremity, and the nostrils opened downwards. The eyes were like those of other apes, and the ears completely resembled those of men.

The vulva was very small, its labia scarcely perceptible, and the clitoris entirely hid; but on each side of the vulva there was a fleshcoloured streak where the skin seemed to be softer than that of the other parts, Is this an indication of labia? Two mamma were placed on the breast like those of females. The belly was naturally very large. This animal had neither tail nor callosities.

It was almost entirely covered with a reddish hair, more or less dark in colour, and of various thicknesses on the different parts of the body. The colour of the skin was generally that of slate; but the ears, the eye-lids, the muzzle, the inside of the hands and feet, the

mammæ, and a longitudinal band on the right side of the belly, were of copper-coloured skin. The hair of the head, of the fore-arms and of the legs, was of a deeper red than that of the other parts; and on the head, the back, and the upper part of the arms it was thicker than any where else: the belly was but scantily supplied with it, and the face still less: the upper lip, the nose, the palms of the hands, and the soles of the feet, alone were bare. The nails were black, and the eyes brown. All the hair was woolly, that of the fore-arm grew upwards as did that of the arm downwards to the elbow. The hair of the head, which was harder in general than that of the other parts, grew forward. The skin, but chiefly that of the face, was coarse and rough, and that under the neck was so flabby that the animal seemed to have a goitre when lying on its side.

The ourang outang in question was entirely formed for living among trees. When it wanted to ascend a tree, it laid hold of the trunk or branches with its hands and feet, making use of its arms only, and not of its thighs, as a man would do in similar circumstances. It could pass easily from one tree to another when the branches met, so that in a thick forest it would never be necessary for it to descend to the ground, on which it moves with considerable difficulty. In general, all its motions are slow but they seem to be painful when it is made to walk from one place to another : at first it rests its two hands on the ground, and brings itshinder parts slowly forward until its feet are