The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1902-05-16
Dire Necessity Now
ReignS In Martinique.
prompt Relief Measures Taken. An Amer
ican Council Gives Description OF the
Awful Scene at st. Pierce.
SURVIVORS OF THE CATAsTROPHE
ARE IN URGENT NEED.

Fort de France, Island of Martini
que, May l2.-It now seems to be
generally admitted that about 80,
600 persons lost their lives as re. .
suit of the outbreak of the Mont
Pelee volcano, at st. Pierre, on
Thursday last. Careful investigation
by competent government officials
show the earlier reports of the Asso-
ciated Press were accurate.
Briefly put, last Thursday morn.
ing the city Of st. Pierce disappear
ed within five minutes in whirl
wind, fire vomiting from Mont Pc.
lee; 10000 persons were instantly
and horribly killed and the Volcano,
whose crater for more than so years
had been occupied by a quiet lake
in which picnic parties bathed, sud.
denly discharged torrent of fiery
mud, which rolled toward the sea,
engulflng everything before it. Then
the last OF cable communication was
broken, and the doomed city was
isolated from the world.
The repair ship Grappler WAS lost
with all on board, as was the French
vessel Tamaya. There were IS or
20 vessels in the roadstead at the
time Of the disaster. The British
steamer Roddem had anchored but
Capt Freedman, although horri-
ply burned, managed to keep on t. @
bridge of his vessel Everybody
on the Roddam's deck was killed
instantly, bnt with the assistance Of
his third engineer and u fireman,
who we're wounded, the captain
brought his vessel to st. Lucia.
Many persons tried to reach the
Roddom, but in vain. The United
States vice consul at ST. Pierre,
Amadee Testart, reached the dock
of the Roddam only to fall back in
the sea dead.
Three hours exploration of the
ruins of st Pierce resulted in the
finding of no trace Of the American
consulate. Council Thomas II.
Prentiss, his wife and two daugh-
ters, are undoubtedly dead. That
quarter of this city is still q vast
mass of blazing ruins. Nor has any
trace been found of james Japp,
the British consul. Mr.. Japp had
a large family at st. Pierre.
CONSUL AYME's STORY.
The American consul at Guade-
loupe, Louis H. Ayme, has reached
the desolate spot where St. Pierce
stood and confirm the awful story
in all it's essential details.
From an interview with Col. Ayme,
who is trained American newspaper
man, correspondent of the Associa
ted Press learned the following fact
Thursday morning the inhabitants
of the city awoke to find heavy clouds
shrouding the Mount Pelee crater.
All day Wednesday horrld detona
tions had been heard. These were
echoed from St. Thomas on the
north to Barbados on the south.
The cannoneding ceased on Wednes.
day night the fine ashes fell like rain
On st. Pierre. The inhabitants
we're alarmed, but Gov. Mouttet
who had arrived at st. Pierrco tho
evening before, did everything pos.
sible to allay the panic. The Brit
ish steamer Roraima reached ST.
Pierre Oh Thursday with 10 passen
gers, among whom we're Mrs. Stokes
and her three children and Mrs
II. j. Ince. They were watching
the rain Of flashes, when, with q
frightful roar and terrific electric
discharges, a cyclone Of fire mud
and steam swept down from the
crater over the town and bay, sweep
ing all before it and destroying the
feet or vessels at anchor off the
shore. There the accounts of tho
catastrophe 80 far obtainable ceuse
TIE DEAD IN TIE SEA.
Thirty thousand corpses are strewI
about, buried in the ruins Of St
PIERCE, or else floating, gnawed by
sharks, in tho surrounding seas
Twenty. eight charred, half doat
human bodies were brought here