, 1891-09-09

I the UsIne de Robert the sea rushed inland
f%urlously in great waves, the violence of which
may be estimated from a heavy punt being
found stranded 1900 feet inllai from the
beach. Here Mdme Mongard and her daughter
were drowned in one q The storuhouses Of the
Factory in which they had taken refuge.
Fort-de France Las suffered terribly. Many
hoGses have been completely overturned. Twcn-
ty i the new houses which were being rebuilt.
after the fire Of last yen, are in ruins. One,
winch was being buit Of Ion, presents but an
incXtricable mass OF broken columns and twist
ed girders. \ tidal wave swept through the
town, the water rising on the savannah to the
waist of the statue OF the Empress Josephine,
q height Of at least twelve feet. The wave
lifted the Haitian Nan-of war 1oussatnt
LOHrertur6 high on the land, where she was
badly bumped, and, I~ccedin2, carried her out
to sea again. whore she sank with all hands. A
French gunboat, the name Of which is not
given, was driven ashore and wrecked. The in
tercolonial steamers Of the Colnpagnie General
Iransatlantiquo have suffered serious injuries.
The 81. Dominique alone having been found in q
tit state to take the sea, after undergoing some
hasty repairs. A great number Of people have
been drowned.
The Tennessee Jubilee Singers were at Fort
de France, W here they were to give a Concert
dI 4uCHQdJ even my, l uCS were ululuS dE 1T
Hotel de / A renir when the storm burst upon
the city. The hot el was unroofed in a few
minutes. Then he walls began to fall in
storey after storey. Fortunately the first
floor bore up the weight and all the inmates Of
the house crowded on the ground floor, the
rain pouring down in torrents. Soon they
We're conscious Of a distant bowling and sea
spray began to dash in at the doors and win
dows. There was barely time, working for
dear lIf' to make all op4ln9s tight, when they
herd th3 rush of water past the house and in a
few minutes they were standing waist deep
in sea water.
All the elem mis- seem d to be let loose. The
thunder was te rriic. The pcals were almost
uninterrupted. The lightning constant and
vivid, tAa Flames coming from every point and
seeming to meet ;ha blttle furiously. Inside
the house the seem WAS heartrending, women,
and children Wild with terror screaming or
praying aloud. When a piece Of wall fell upon
the floor above tn en- or a more appalling peal
Of thunder scene d to rend the heavens, there
would be a hush Of expeotant death more ter
rible still than the wailing. And then the
screaming would begin again with increased
intensity from having been pent.
Strong mn lost their heads completely. An
officer in uniform who had been dining at the
hotel when the tempest burst, had not bcGu
able II getaway, became raving mad. He de-
clared TAFT the al ger Of God was being vented
upon the country on account of the wickedness
Of the people and co ND only be propitiated by
a sacrifice; whereupon he drew his sword, de-
cIaring t hat Lee would immediate the proprietor
Of the e stablisI ment and his family. He was
mastered after a desperate struggle, and secured
by his own swordbelt to one of tho legs Of a
billiard table.
When, after nearly three hours Of mortal
agony, during which death seemed every in
slant imminent, tho wind abated somewhat,
and the water subsidized, there came from the
streets pitiful appeals for help and shelter,
which could not be resisted. Doors were
partly opened and crowds Came trooping in
delicate women among them, the light clothing
in which they had escaped from their wrecked
house stripped to ribbons, 50 that when lights
were obtained, men took off their coats, waist
coats and even shirts to cover them.
The battle for bread is described as emulat-
ing the ferocity of starving wild beasts, In
the face of hunger society had resolved itself
into its clements.
When the water stood only knee deep people
v%entured out, meeting hands, feet, limbs, and
whole bodies sticking out of the mud, which
lay one or two feet deep throughout the town.
At the markets there was u hideous melee
of human bodies broken and mangled.