New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-08-21
MARTINIQUE DEVASTATED.
EAST DAMAGE DONE BY THE RECENT HUR-
RICANE.
- LEAST SIXTY LIVES LosT-EvERY VESSEL
~ THE TWO CHIEF HARBoRs DRIVEN
ASHORE OR sUNK-PLANTAT1oNs RUINED
AND BUILDINGS LEvELLED.


I. hurricane has swept over the island. causing
considerable damage, only meagre details nave
,asn received in this city.
The latest particulars show that the hurricane
,urst at about o'clock In the evening though
~ approach was felt some time before that hour
Tho hurricane then ragged furiously for nearly
.hrae hours Besides demolishing the crops
hlowing down houses etc, the hurricane destroyed
,he main part of the hospital at Fort de France
which building collapsed, crushing two ar'iil'r|-
mon 10 death in the ruins. All the vesseis a'
G. Pierre when the hurricane broke upon 'he
;land were stranded; and at least one VeTsei Vi
,.nortance and several small craft foundered at
,hs;r anchorages The military camp az balath
r,s entirely destroyed all the houses composing
che encampment were unroofed. and several SOL
s;srs were severely injured by flying panks ana
beams. ~. .ho.
The. first information was 70 the effect that
=. ressel in the harbor Of Fort de France. the
,,incpal harbor of the island, had been lost
,no,ber dispatch confirmed the report that all the
,pssels AZ Martinique were lost during the nurri'
c,re As is well known Fort de France ana 3d.
pierre are not only ports of destination Tor large
number Of vessels from all parts of the world, nut
ore ports of call for hundreds Of others Maru-
nioue lies in such a position that II Is naoie 10
receive the full force of the dreadful gales mat
ureyal in those lattudes during the hurricane
season. Masters of sailing vessels take extraor-
binary precautions 10 secure the safety OF their YES
sels while lying at anchor or moorlngs at eltner
~ these ports. and. as a rule, steamers, during
tbe hurricane season. lie with steam up, ready TO
n,oceed 70 sea at the first indications of hurri-
cane
According to late dispatches the following
IL
pbonsine Zelie Captain Bacheller, from Cayenne.
iprobably bound via Martinique for a French
mort bark Bienfateur, Captain GARNER, from
Pin Janeiro. June l3. 10 Martinique for French
nort. bark Emmanuel Anger, Captain Cholet,
from Havre June q bark Souverain, Captain
Bourdsze. from Calcutta March 81, via Reunion;
bark Nantes CAPTAIN PaSques from Paimboeuf via
Guadeloupe; bark Bertha Collet, Captain Poumet,
from Bordeaux; bark Anna, Captain Marion, from
Granville March Il; schooner Perseverance,, Cap
tain Zego from Cadz April 10; bark Saphir
date josephine from Marseilles May 25 and the
Handel II is also known that the Italian brig
Amicizia, Captain Matarazzo. from Marseilles May
25, and the American brig Ned White. Captain
Elwell from Havana June %, are among the
vessels driven ashore.
Official advices received here this afternoon
nounce that the calamity at Martinique is the most
severe since the year 1917. The hurricane is said to
have equaled in destructveness the famous cyclone
which swept over the island of Antigua in 1871.
So far as can be learned, there have been nearly
II not quite sixty deaths as q result OF the bur
naaues visitotion but il will be some time before
the full extent of the disaster Is known. At Fort
de France alone there have been twelve lives lost,
and in both Fort de France and ST. Pierre, to say
nothing of the country districts, there have been
hers Il iniu
five persons are known to have been killed
Communication with the different ports OF the
island was never an easy matter and il is excessive
ly difficult TO get detailed news at present. Destruc
ton of property and loss of life reported from
all parts of the coast The latest report received
Rt st. Pierre from Lamentin shows that the hurri-
cane counts ten victims in that place alone, In
addition TO q large number of persons injured. Al
Francois there have been sixteen people killed and
many injured at Riviere Pilote there have been
two or more deaths: and from all parts Of the
island comes the tale Of woe and desolation. La
Trinte sends in the list of its dead at ten. and
numbers of more or less severely injured
The damage done TO shipping and property has
been enormous About two-ffths of the island
was under cultivation, and the mountain slopes
were covered with forests all the cultivation and
all the forests in the path of the hurricane appear
70 have been swept away. The number of sugar,
coffee cotton and cacao plantations which have
felt the force of the tornado seem to have been
utterly destroyed. Houses and barns, stOrehouses
and stables have been crushed out of existence
Tie scenes in the harbors when the hurricane
struck the shipping may be easily imagined. OF
course there was some warning of the approach
OF the terrible wind, and thus many of the sailors
escaped with their lives. But even in this case
.l1a iOSa of is Of
ses appear 70 have been carried bodily up the
beach by the fearful wind and waves; Others
foundered at their anchorage, opd others Still
alongside their wharves. The heaviest trees
seemed utterly unable to withstand the powerful
blasts of the hurricane, and were uprooted or
crushed to earth. The smaller slighter trees
bowed to the wind Ike fields Of cora. Planks,
branches of trees, matter of all description, In
some places whirled through the air. The black
est Of clouds seemed TO fly with lightning speed
across the island, while IN the distance pnefe was
heard terrible rumbling of thunder.
As there are six extinct volcanoes on the Island,
and people are always, to certain deefee, ap-
prehensive Of an outbreak from them, reports
were spread that the volcanoes were showing
signs OF renewed life and that they, with the
hurricane, would complete the destruction OF the
Island, and that the end Of the world had fealy
c0md One of the features Of the hurricane
was the oppressive stiffness which marked lts
approach, ard the signs Of alarm and uneaslhess
manifested By the birds and animals on the island.
The Governor and the Privy Council, assisted
by the Colonial Council, are doing everything
possible 10 relieve distress, and 10 ascertain the
full extent of the calamity.
POrt-au-Prince, Hayti, Aug. 20.-lt is reported
that the Haytian warship 1oussaint lOuverture'
which was OF Martinique, lost in the hurrl33
cane at that place. The reports that have reached
here state that some Of the officers or crew lost
their lives, but the exact number is not known.
Havana, Aug. 20.-ProfessOr Vines the we'll
known authority on hurricanes and other weather
phenomena, says that the cyclone that has done
sneh great damage at Martinique seems according
10 his observations. 10 have a snail radius. It's
forward direction is west-nOrthwcst, and it moves
with velocity OF fifteen miles hour IL has
crossed the south OF the Island Of St Thomas, snd
lis influence will probably he felt in the eastern
portion of Cuba Tomorrow.
Martinique is one of the French West India Islands
1t Is thirty miles south by west Of Dominica and
twenty miles north n st. Lucia. The island is Of
Irregular formation, high and rocky, about foryive