The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1902-05-16
AN APPALLING CATASTROPHE.

AN APPALLING CATASTROPHE.
Many times worse than the
eruption ofVesuvius, which destroyed
the fourishing city of Pompeii in
modern times, was the overflow of
Mt. Pelee volcano which commenced
last Thursday and destroyed the
town Of St. Pierre. 1t is conserva-
lively estimated that at least 80, 900
were lost as the result of the out
break and how many persisted i'll the
smaller towns and on the plantations
will never be known. The eruption,
which is still in progress, commenced
at an early hour on Thursday morn
ing. On that fatal day the inhabi-
tants awoke and found heavy clouds
surrounding the crater. All day
Wednesday horrid detonations had
been heard. They were echoed from
St. Thomas on the North to Bar
bados on the South. The cannonad-
ing had ceased on Wednesday night
and fine ashes fell like rain on st.
Perre. The inhabitants were alarmed
but the Governor did everything pos
sible to allay the panic. On Thurs
day morning with a fearful roar and
a terrific electric discharge a vast
mass of fire, mud and steam swept
down from the crater over the city
and bay, sweeping all before it, and
destroying a fleet of vessels that
anchor off the shore The unfortu-
nate victims attempted to escape and
many of the corpses, when found, had
their hands over the mouth, showing
that they were trying to escape the
poisonous gases, which must have
killed thousands in addition to those
who were overcome with the mud
and steam. The dead are found in
groups covered with ashes, mud and
volcanic stones. Enormous quanti-
ties of wreckage of large and small
ships and houses now strew the sur
face of the sea. Huge trees and many
bodies with focks of sea gulls soar
ing above the hideous sharks fighting
about them are floating here and
there. From behind the volcanic veil
comes blasts of hot wind, mingled
with others, ice-cold.
The whole north end of the island
is covered with a silver gray coating
of ashes resembling dirty snow.
Furious blasts of fire, ashes and mud
sweep over the ruins of St. Pierre,
which stretch nearly two miles along
the water front and one-half a mile
back to the cliff at the base ofthe vol
cano. There, the still smoking vol
cano towers above the ash-covered
hills and the ruins are burning in
many places. The air is filled with
fearful odors of burned flesh. Not
one house is left intact. Heaps of
mud, ashes and volcanic stones are
seen on every side and the streets can
hardly be traced. Here and there
among the ruins are heaps Of corpses
almost all of the faces being down.
ward. In one corner, twenty-five
bodies of men, women and children
were mingled in one awful mass.
Arms and legs are protruding as the
hapless beings fell in the last strug-
giles of death agonies.
Through the middle of the old
Place Berlin runs a tiny stream.
Great trees with roots upward and
scorched by fire are strewn in every
direction. Huge hot stones are
scattered about From under one
large stone the arm of a white wo-
man protruded. Careful inspection
shows that the fiery stream that de-
stroyed St. Pierce must have been
composed in part of poisonousg gases,
which instantly suffocated every one
who inhaled them and other gases
burning furiously.
A cooper, by the name of James
Taylor, employed on the steamer,
Roraima, which was destroyed in
the harbor of St. Pierre, tells a thrill
ing story which was published in the
Baltimore Sun, of the tragedy. He
said that they arrived in port about
FIVE o'clock Thursday morning and
experienced great difficulty, the air
being thick with falling ashes, and
the darkness intense, the ship CROP
ing its way to anchorage. Appalling
sounds were issuing from the noun
tains behind the town which were
shroudcd in darkness and ashes were
falling thickly on the steamers deck.
Hearing a tremendous report the
man dived into a room and shut the
door. So intense was the heat out
side when lie opened the door to ad-
init an officer, his nose was blistered.
Out of sixty-eight persons on board,
only three escaped uninjured. The
heat being unbearable they were COM
PEELED to leave the room in a few