The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1902-05-13
Visit to Devastated City Con.
firms Worst Rnticjpations.
DREADFUL DOORS FILL THE AIR
Bodies of Dead Found in Heaps Where
They Fell in Last Agony OF Death.
The President Sends a Special
Message to Congress Ask
ing Appropriation of
Half Million Dollars.
az As.nc,a1nG rrcss. )

tBy As.ocIa1eG rrcss.)
FORT DE FRANCE. ISLAND or,
MARTINIQUE, May 12.-1t now seems
80 be generally admitted that about .-,.-
persons lost their lives as result of the
outbreak of the Mont Pelee volcano, at
St Pierre. on Thursday. Careful lnEestl-
cation by competent Government otf1clais
show the earlier reports We're accurate.
Briefly put. last Thursday morning the
city of St Pierre disappeared within Tel,
minutes in a, whirling fire Vomlted from
Mont Pelee; 10000 persons were instant
~ and horribly killed and the volcano
whose ancient crater for more than mtg
years had been occupied by a quiet iake
in which picnic parties bathed. suddenly
discharged a torrent Of fiery mud which
rolled towards the sea, ensultlng every
thing before It. Then the last OF cafle
communication broken and the
doomed city was isolated from the world
The American Consul at Guadaloupe
Louis II. -Ayme. has reached the desc
late spot where St Pierre stood and con-
firms the awful story in all its essential
details.
From an interview with Colonel Ayme,
who is a trained American newspaper
man, a correspondent Of the Associated
Press learned the following facts:
thursday morning the inhabitants OF
the city awo5e 10 find heavy clouds
shrouding the Mont Pelee crater. All day
Wednesday horrid detonation had been
heard These were echoed from ST.
Thomas on the north TO Barbauoes on
the south. The carnonading ceased on
"Wednesday night anc fine ashes fell lke
rain on ST. Pierre. The Inhabitants were
alarmed, but Governor Mouttet, who had
arrived at ST. Pierre the evening before,
oil
FRIGBTFUL RC-.-..
The British steamer Roraima reached
St. Pierre on Thursday with ten passen-
gors, among whom We're Mrs. Stokes ana
her three children. and n4Is. IL j. lnce
They were watching the rain of ashes'
when. with a frightful roar and terrlilc
electric discharges, a cyclone of fire m0d
and steam swept dcwn from the crater
over the town and bay, sweeping all be-
fore ii and destroying the meet OF YES
sells at anchor off the shore
There the report of the catastrophe, so
FAR obtainable, ceases.
Thirty thousand corpses are strewn
about buried in the ruins of St Flerre.
or else floating, gnawed BY sharks, IN
tho surrounding seas Twenty-elsh'
charred, half-dead human beings We're
l,roi,fht here. sixteen of them already
dead. and of the whole number only louI
are expected TO recover.
The Associated Press steamer. char
tered in Guadaioupe. neared Mafunlque
at $50 Sunday morning. The island
with its lofty hills. was hidden behind a
huge veil of violet or 1eaden, coioreu
maze Enormous quantities OF wfechaSe
of large and small ships and houses
s,rewed the surface Of the sea. huge
.raes and tons OF bodies, with nocks OF
eea g,,lls soaring above and hideoHs
eha,ls fehtlrse about them, We're tioauhS
here and there. From behind. the vol
canic vessel came blasts OF hot WIND
mingled with others ice cold.
Al Lee Precheur five miles north OF st.
pierre canoes with men and women
Srantic 10 get away, begged for q passage
on the steamer
covered with silver gray coating OF
ashes resembling dirty snow Furious
blasts of fire. ashes and mud swept over
the steamer, but finally 81. Pierre was
reached.
THO CITY of st Pierre stretched nearly
two miles along the water front ana
half a mile back TO a cliff at the base o.
me volcano The houses Of the richer
.7rench families We're built CT stone INC
still smoking volcano lowered above ths
ash-coyered hills Fhe runs W. s.,, oa.,.- oa,rs
ing IN many places and trighiful odors
of burned flesh filled the air. With
erest difficulty landing was effected.
M one house was left intact. Nlscid
heaps of mud, of brighter ashes or piles
Of volcanic discharge. We're seen on every
side The streets could hardlE pe etbdteu.
TIere and there amid the runs were
,...,ss ~ cnrnses almost all with their
faces downward.
In one corner twenty-five BODIES OF
men. women and children We're nliiisteu
3n one awful mass, arms ana Less pto-
truding as the ha2less being zen III 't.e
last struggles of death, s agony
:Ttrn,,gb the middle of the old place
fsnrtin ran a tiny stream the remains
~ the River Cayaye. Great trees, wi,h
,oots inward and scorched by tire, were
.rrewn in every direction. Huge olockS
md stones. still hot. were scatterso
80, Ir7ron, under one large stone the
go 80 . White woman protruded, Most
notable was the utter sie:ace anu .,i .,1s
,.f,1 oyernnwering stencil from the
thousands Of dead
WERE SJfFocATED
Careful inspection showed that the merry
stream which SO completely DESTROYED 81
pierre must have been composed ol pois-
o+,ons gases, which instantly suItocateu
every one who inhaled them, and Of
.rner gases burning furiouslT, for nearls
III the victims had their hand covering
their mouths or We're in some other ata'
tide showing that they had sought re.
lt..s from snffocation. All the hod!es
we're cayboaixed or roasted
A. c. Austin, the manager OF. the Co
,cuial Bank of Barbados. landed at ST
Y.trre with party from the British
goyal Mail steamer Solent. He fount
the bank clocks stopped al some minutes
before S O'Clock. A horse and a buggy
ma a policeman were IN dead grods
al the door
The cable repair ship Grappler was losi
WITH all on board. as was the French