Evening journal., 1902-05-26

Az anchor in the Delaware river on
Wilmington discharglng cargo Of
nitrate OF soda is the British steamship
Whltgift, Captain Charles Whymper,
which passed within three miles Of
Martinique, the island which has been
practically destroyed by eruptons of
Mont relee Although 1t was one week
after the disaster, the captain and his
crew saw tho aftermath OF the rain of
hot rocks and dust which has destroy
eu one island and thrown the people Of
the West Indies into state of fear and
dread
Inc Whitgift touched at St. Lucia,
forty-hvo miles from Martinique ON
May 1e one week after the eruption.
There the ceptain first learned of the
disaster from pilot who came on
board.
Saw the Roddam
Il never saw n sight 10 equal the
.,.,.dam.n said Captain Whymper TO
an Evening Journal reporter. III was
brought into ST. Lucia by Captain
Charles Freeman with eighteen dead
bodies on It's deck
Everything ON deck that would burn
was gone. The boat itself wae twisted
and warped by the heat. The hull is q
dark lead color. as II it had been red
hot and had cooled.
Captain Freeman, poor fellow,
saw in the hospital at st. Lucia H'
was an awful sight. could hardly
rocornize him. His face is chare,
and the flesh is completely burned from
one arm. / never saw such a Wrecl
of a man, yet the doctors say he vii
recover. He will never be able 10 d
anything again.
AT St Lucia a town OF between ~
. OOJ and $1,000, business is practeali
/ ut a standstll. Men who can do so ar
J sending their wives and children away
Z / remained in st. Lucia but one day
i but / found the people there had er
n tirely lost their nerve.
II cannot see how the island can ~
j lcover its equilibrium for months
come. There was no suffering trol
y lack of food, but the people SCENE
unaple to help themselves. Nearl
g everyone had lost friends or relative
y during the eruption Besides the pc
! ple Of st. Lucia are in a state Of terrG
on account Of their own little volcano
which is bubbling and sputtering an
letting out great quantities OF va
gases. A few are inclined 20 belieN
that the little crater acts as vent K
\ the fires beneath and that there wi
, be no great explosion such as that
Mont pelee, but the vast majority
people. knowing that St. Lucia Is in
) direct line between Mont Pelee az
La. Soufriere, are panic-stricken.
'-These oatastrophes viii stagna
business among the neighhoring j
lands. Their people are trembling b
tween fire and water They do n
/, know at what moment a terrible sci
y mlc disturbance or an almost equal
In destructive tidal wave will overwhei
~ them. They understand that they al
q in a zone Of general catastrophe
anyone wanted to buy real estate chef
Of | would advise him TO look for it in @
nj Antilles. The people have had aDo
r. all they can stand.
Y Saw Deadly PeIee
IS Il could see but little of MartiniQu
re A dense cloud of black smoke hui
p over the island. We were within thr
~ miles Of It, Several times,I saw Mo
x. l,eiee send flames slSyward.
IS 1--WE had been sailing over smoo
he seas until we approached within for
" miles Of St Pierre. .Then the sea I
m came very rough and we were toss
g about"
s. Captain Whymper said he learn
b more about the destructon Of the islal
~ from the American newspapers IN
from any other source. They are ahe
a. Of the English papers, he said.
a.
a. Anxiously Awaited whitgift
sr x. The arrival Of the Whitgift W
10. lawaited with much interest by