III.
WE must be very sure of the weather before undertaking the ascent
of Pelée; for if one merely selects some particular leisure day
in advance, one's chances of seeing anything from the summit are
considerably less than an astronomer's chances of being able to
make a satisfactory observation of the next transit of Venus.
Moreover, if the heights remain even partly clouded, it may not
be safe to ascend the Morne de la Croix,—a cone-point above the
crater itself, and ordinarily invisible from below. And a
cloudless afternoon can never be predicted from the aspect of
deceitful Pelée: when the crater edges are quite clearly cut
against the sky at dawn, you may be tolerably certain there will
be bad weather during the day; and when they are all bare at
sundown, you have no good reason to believe they will not be
hidden next morning. Hundreds of tourists, deluded by such
appearances, have made the weary trip in vain,—found themselves
obliged to return without having seen anything but a thick white
cold fog. The sky may remain perfectly blue for weeks in every
other direction, and Pelée's head remain always hidden. In order
to make
a successful ascent, one must not wait for a period of dry
weather,—one might thus wait for years! What one must look for
is a certain periodicity in the diurnal rains,—a regular
alternation of sun and cloud; such as characterizes a certain
portion of the
hivernage, or rainy summer season, when mornings
and evenings are perfectly limpid, with very heavy sudden rains
in the middle of the day. It is of no use to rely on the
prospect of a dry spell. There is no really dry weather,
notwithstanding there recurs—in books—a
Saison de la
Sécheresse. In fact, there are no distinctly marked seasons in
Martinique:—a little less heat and rain from October to July, a
little more rain and heat from July to October: that is about all
the notable difference! Perhaps the official notification by
cannon-shot that the hivernage, the season of heavy rains and
hurricanes, begins on July 15th, is no more trustworthy than the
contradictory declarations of Martinique authors who have
attempted to define the vague and illusive limits of the tropic
seasons. Still, the Government report on the subject is more
satisfactory than any: according to the "Annuaire," there are
these seasons:—
1.
- Saison fraîche. December to March. Rainfall, about 475
millimetres.
2.
- Saison chaude et sèche. April to July. Rainfall, about 140
millimetres.
3.
- Saison chaude et pluvieuse. July to November. Rainfall
average, 121 millimetres.
Other authorities divide the saison chaude et sèche into two
periods, of which the latter, beginning about May, is called the Renouveau;
and it is at least true that at the time indicated
there is a great burst of vegetal luxuriance. But there is always
rain, there are almost always clouds, there is no possibility of
marking and dating the beginnings and the endings of weather in
this country where the barometer is almost useless, and the
thermometer
mounts in the sun to twice the figure it reaches in
the shade. Long and patient observation has, however, established
the fact that during the hivernage, if the heavy showers have a
certain fixed periodicity,—falling at midday or in the heated part
of the afternoon,—Pelée is likely to be clear early in the morning;
and by starting before daylight one can then have good chances of
a fine view from the summit.
