The suburban citizen., 1902-07-19

Passing over the stone bridge over
the rivulet, we made our way toward
the city. The road was strewn with
bodies. On some of them the clothing
had not been burned; other bodies
were charred so as to be unrecogniz
able as human forms. In one place
we saw the bodies of man and a
horse lying In the roadway before
gate. One of the mans legs was
thrown partly over the horse, as II
he lad been in the act of mounting
to fee when both man and steed were
overtaken by the deadly breath Of the
volcano.
From the ruins of the city we saw
the Potomac steam in and cutters
laden with men put ashore from her
1t was the landing party coming ashore
TO rescue the bodies of Mr. Prentis
the United States consul, nd Mr.. Jap
the British consul. A few minutes
later the big British cruiser Indefati
gable steamed into the roadstead and
lay to without anchoring.
Mont Pelee began to look threaten
ing. The clouds that arose from the
volcano got denser and blacker and
seemed to be rolling down over the
mountainside toward the city. We
decided to embark again and put of
to our little steamer.
This took some time. and the as
pect OF Pelee momentarily grew more
awesome. Suddenly huger gust than
usual surged upward from the crater,
and billowed down toward us. The
sky grew overcast, crashes Of thunder
smote our ears, and bright flashes like
lightning played through the dense
ness that now enveloped the great
mountains tanks. A deluge of rain
came suddenly, and the air was sharp
with a sulphurous odor
"The steam whistle OF the Potomac
began shrieking wildly, and we were
near enough to see her cast off her
lines from the landing buoy. The cap.
tain Of our steamboat had lost his
entire family at st. Pierre. With an
exclamation that not all the riches OF
the world could tempt him to stay a
moment longer near the accursed spot,
he headed full speed seaward.
For a moment or two the Potomac
headed away from the shore. We had
been lying very close to her and could
see all that went on aboard. Then a
big fellow rushed on deck, jumped to
the pilot house, there was a changing
Of bells, and the little tug began to
swing her nose shoreward again.
AT that instant the siren of the In.
defatigable emitted the most blood.
curdling shrek l have ever heard, or
ever hope to hear. l nearly jumped
overheard. Then the big warship
dashed for the open sea. 1t was for
all the world like the flight of a great
living monster suddenly and badly
wounded-the siren cry of pain, and
the precipitate rush for safety.
Then, the grandest sight Of all
that made my patriotic soul forget for
moment our terrible peril The
black pail had come down so that we
couldn't see the city.
Fright into the inky wave of black
ness, this Stygian pit, plunged the
little Potomac, like an intrepid soul
charging alone all the forces of sheol.
One instant We saw her silhouetted
against the velvet wall, the next she
was swallowed up in it's awful gloom.
1t was full speed ahead, not away
from the peril for the Potomac, but
into the face Of II. Her commander
and other officers and men Of the
United States Navy were ashore in the
path of the volcanoes fury, and the
little Potomac knew her duty.
Hot ashes shrouded the decks of
our little steamboat before we got into
the sunlight again."-New York Sun.