Sunday Washington globe., 1902-06-01
ST. PIERRE AND IT'S LIFE
GAY LITTLE PORT, BUT WITH NO
AVENUES OF ESCAPE.

hhbW tAAe W tuNNdlu lHAuuS GunllOl
conceive Of the gay little port Of st
Pierre de Martinique covered with
ashes and lava. AS do all the colonial
capitals of the French, ST. Pierre fol
lowed as closely as the steamers and
mails would permit the customs and
fashions of Paris. At the Hotel des
Bains at the "abSinthe hour one might
always find a gathering Of the young
men of the town, who sat slipping theiI
liqueurs and chatting gayly
Where st. Pierre was the coast line
curves inland like slightly bent bow
Describing it, one Of the shOpkeepers
on the Rue de Victor Hugo used to say
that the town was situated on bay
shaped like a dilemma with volcano
on one horn and a tropical jungle OH
the other. He had got the phrase from
an English correspondent who had
wondered what the inhabitants would
do If such a calamity as the present
one ever occurred. The Englishman
had noted the lack OF roads leading
from the town and the futility Of any
hope of escape.
The town was built on the Hat, mar
row fore-shore that lay between the
foot of the steep wooded mountains
and the sea. The houses and shops
Were built down to the waters edge.
and clustered in irregular groups about
the Cathedral. which was situated d.
rectly opposite where the ships lay in
the roadstead and was the most promi.
inent architectural feature Of the town.
1t was built of a whitish stone. and
with its two towers in which bells Were
hung, was sharply accentuated against
the green background Of the mount
aims. The water front Of the town ex-
tended for nearly two miles along the
gently curving coast All the space
back to the hills that shut in the town
was filed with the low white houses Of
the people. Some twenty or twenty
five streets ran down from the hills to
the water front. These were cut by ir-
regular cross streets.
The Rue de Victor Hugo was the
principal thoroughfare. All OF the best
shops We're located on it. and il served
as parade for the fashionables when
they made their appearance in the cool
of the evening, arrayed in the white
ducks, Panama hats and low-cut pat
ent-leather shoes. and the women either
in the year-Old fashions Of Paris or i'm
the striking gayly cOlored native garb.
The Cathedral the Opera House
(where travelling companies played be-
fore enthusiastic audiences) The Hotel
des Bains, and the banks were proba-
bly, the largest and best built buildings
in the town. French was the common
language, and nearly all of the white
people We're Of French extraction. Ii
was lively place. and its people had
some Of the light spirit and gayety Of
their Gallo kinsmen. Always on COM
ing into the harbOr passengers noted
the apparent freshness and cleanliness
Of the place. The white houses with
their green blinds and tiled or thatched
roofs, the gay striped awnings and
vivid green of the background made
cool. pleasant picture Ashore, the
bright costumes Of the native girls
the movement of the street life and the
strangeness of the new scenes was a
source Of constant interest to tourists.
The upper or new town was the most
attractive part Of the place. The streets
We're broader and cleaner and the
buildings Of a better quality. All or
the streets We're narrow. the principal
one (the Rue de Victor Hugo being
scarcely wide enough to permit two
carriages TO pass abreast.
Through every street ran an open
gutter Of water from the hills. and
early in the morning, just when the
cool dawn-wind was coming down
from the mountains. these cutters
would be alive with people. The ma
tive women would bring out their tail
earthen jars, called Welsh hats" by
the resident Englishmen. 10 be filed
with the cool flowing water Babies
were brought out and allowed to dis.
port themselves, while their mothers
cleaned the household utensils. The
streams being fed from mountain lakes.
cleanliness in dress and habitation was
common, even among the lowest
classes
Back from ST. Pierre about eight
miles, on "A winding mountain road.
was the fashionable native resort.
Morne Rouge Here the rich residents
had their country homes. and it Is |
probable that when the food Of fire. |
lava and ashes came down from Mont
Pelee these were among the first houses
destroyed. In the season, which began |
about June !. there were usually 1000
or 5000 persons at Morne Rouge. Prob |
ably half that number had gone out
this year to open their villas.
The people Of ST. Pierre were rather
proud Of their volcano Mont Peloe
stood first as a point Of interest" for
tourists. There has always been plenty
Of evidence that life was not extinct in
Mont Pelee, but the easy-going inhabit-
ants believed that the volcano was in
its dotage. and it's occasional weak
mutterings only gave II added value as
a show place; the manifestations were
fuLaw