Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1902-05-15
The Destruction of st. Pierre.

The Destruction of st. Pierre.
The island of Martinique, the scene
of the late terrible disaster is one of the
chain of islands extending from Porto
Rico to the coast of s. America. 1t has
an area of $50 square miles (or about
half the size of Butler county, and has.
or had, population of about 190 600
mostly negroes. 1t, and also the island
of Guadaloupe, about the same size, are
owned by France. 1t produces coffee,
sugar and cocoa, and the town of st.
Pierre, at the north end was its chief
commercial centre. Heretofore it has
been noted as the birth place of jose
phene, a daughter of the French consul
there, who afterwards became the wife
IF Napoleon l.
The city of st. Pierre was located on
the north end of the island-partly on
the coast and partly on higher ground;
with what was supposed to be the ex-
tinct or dead" volcano called Mt. Pelee
in sight; but on Saturday the Sd inst,
smoke was noticed coming from the
crater of the mountain, fire and lava
followed, and on Thursday, the 9Th, the
whole top of the mountain seemed to
explode, raining ashes, hot stones and
cinders and lava over the whole end of
the island and sea for miles around, de-
stroying the city and all its people, with
few exceptions; and all the eighteen
ships in the harbor with one exception.
The day was turned into night by the
immense mass of stuff that came from
the volcano. and everybody and every
thing within radius of several miles
was destroyed. The only light was
from the burning volcano and burning
houses, and by this helpless people were
seen running along the beach The
ships in the harbor were covered with
the burning stuff, and an unusual tidal
wave came in and upset most of them.
Only one steamer, which had just came
to anchor, and which yet had steam up,
got away.
The CITY of St Pierre, and the vii
lagos and sugar factories in the neigh
borhood were all destroyed. and alto
gether about forty Thousand people per-
ished
First Officer Scott of a steamer that
was destroyed, tells the following story:
1t was about daylight on the mora
ing of May when we sighted the
island. We had run through n thun-
derstorm, and we steamed ahead for
st. Pierre. and at six o'clock were at
our anchorage off the place Bertin
Landing.
When the agent. with lighters and
stevedores, came alongside they told
us that Pelee had been acting ugly ever
since Saturday and that there had been
quite heavy fall of white sand or dust
over st. Pierre itself. However, the
valcano seems to have quieted down
and we got the stevedores to work
smartly.
There were 1S other steamers aud
coastiDg craft anchored in the open
harbor, one of them being the Tamaya,
bark from the French Port Nantes,
her captain being called Moritz or
Maurice Then there were four other
large sailing vessels The British
steamer Roddam put into berth next TO
our and let drop her anchor. Then
something happened. There was
shaking in the air, so that ii felt as
though someone had jostled me. Then
some man near me cried ont:
my God look at that
He was looking at Pelee, ard every
soul on board looked, too.
can't describe what saw, OF course.
but my first thought was that the end
of the world would look just like that
IL was as though the mountain had
been blown up by all the dynamite in
the world. First of all great pillar of
fame rushed straight up in the air. then
it opened ont wider than the mountain
itself and came roaring down out of the
sky upon rs.
Some Of us. with Morley lsecond
officer rushed to the forecastle head to
heave the anchor. | saw the Captain
shouting orders, and | saw McFear, the
engineer, drop below. AS we reached
the ships head the fiery cloud was upon
us Red hot stones, scalding mud and
real splasbes of flame dropped and
clattered all over the ship.
There was another roar, and with it
all the water in the harbor seemed to
gather mp and rush upon the shipping
Every craft heeled over to the great
tidal wave and seemed to careen and
sink.
When the wave struck us it flooded
us fore and aft, sweeping away the
masts, funnel, all the boats save one and
all the rattle Of the deck.
There was n ventilator at hand, and to
save myself seized 1t and was nearly
killed thereby, being driven into il BY
the force OF the wave.
A couple OF stevedores pulled me ont
Of the ventilator and dragged me into
steerage. There remained half dead
for quite time, during which the ship
rolled and the fire and rocks battered
the decks.
Now and then charred and shrieking
sailor rolled down the batchway and
died as he came, 10 that quite pile of
corpses lay over me. Someone pulled
me from under these and ] clambered
to the deck. and began turning hand
lying ali about, though even then
falling.
As was about this work Captain
Muggah came along. / knew him by
bis clothes, though these were smolder-
ing, but his face was scorched beyond
recognition.
Lower the boat, he said.
could not obey his orders, however,
for the only boat left by the tidal wave
was burned full Of holes by the flaming
rain.
/ saw no more Of the Captain after
that. but was told by stevedore OF
st. Kits that he jumped overheard. got
on raft that had been hurriedly put
together, and that he died there.
All this time the sea was rolling like
the heaviest kind OF ground swell,
Pelee was roaring, and the air full of
strange shocks.
When looked ut st. Pierre the sight
was terrifying. The town was gone and
in it's place was long stretch OK gray,
smoking. flaming dust. All about us
the ships were sunk or uhame, and be-
tween as and them and the shore dead
bodies foated singly and In groups
Some hours after, did not know bow
long it WAS then, but I've since been told
IL was at . o'clock Ia the afternoon, the
French cruiser Suchet steamed in and
rescued IL OF us more dead thaD alive
We were carried to Fort de France and
put in the hospital
On Sunday the city Of st Pierre was
yet smoldering; searching parties en-
tered IL but could not find living
creature; an immense number Of corpses
lay around the Cathedral every build