The suburban citizen., 1902-06-07
OLD ST.PIERRE WAS GAY
THE MARTINIQUE CITY FOND OF THE
MONSTER THAT DESTROYED HER.


al Bank, who knows every foot of old
ST. Pierre, where he lived until recent
", and all of>whose relatives are still
there, described the town, its sleeping
volcano, its euburbs Of the rich and it's
entire surroundings for the New York
World.
MANY times have been on old Mont
Pelee," said he. 1T was a scene of
gayety for the people of the town, the
place where they went for their picnics
and, forty days after every Easter, the
Mecca to which all the religious people
Of the town repaired for the feast of
Pentecost.
"See here" and he took up calendar
printed at st. Pierre. There Is the
date--May 1S-a red-letter date. 1t
is q great day in st. Pierre every year,
No one feared the old mountain, the
highest of the thickly grouped chain
Of mountains which rise up behind the
town. Older people there tell Of an
eruption, in August, 1851, when ashes
were showered upon the town. Since
then a little lake has formed right
where the eruption spouted out, and it
was there when l was last on the
mountain not long ago.
"St. Pierre lies curving along the
water front. There is no harbor there,
just an open roadstead, and the sailing
vessels coming fasten to a chain
brought from shore and throw an an
chor out to seaward. There are no
piers big enough for big steamers to
come up to and the cargoes are dis
charged on lighters.
"The town is picturesquely beautiful,
the streets away from the business
part being frlnged with tropical trees
and flowers. Its houses are all of ce-
ment and stone. The highest building
there is just four stories. But there
are many buildings of imposing archi-
lecture in the town, like the ancient old
cathedral, where Bishop de Montfort
lives with his household of priests; the
bizarre theatre copied after the Grand
Opera House in Paris; the Chamber of
Commerce. rectangular building with
galleries running round on the inside
and a conical tower; the fine new office
building of Caminade & Co., one Of the
wealthiest commission houses on the
island the old Custom House, facing
the ocean; the City Hall, of gray stone,
and many other buildings which add
to the quaint charm of the old French
town.
"St Pierre is divided into three do
ceses. The first they call colloquially
THE Moorage,' and the others The Old
Town and The New Town The old
town is built on level with the sea.
Above it rises sheer up for several hun
dred feet a rugged cliff, bare rock.
Further around the bend of the
coast is what is called the new town.
1t is built on sloplng ground and is the
better and more modern part of the
town.
Mont Pelee rises up behind the
town, some two miles away. To get to
the top Of it you must travel over twen-
ty miles. Circuitous roads leading
around the rugged mountains climb up
to point on the mountain where the
vehicles must be abandoned and the
rest of the journey made on foot
Far up on the mountain is the vii.
lage Of Morne Rouge, the home of the
rich merchants and plantation owners
1t is place of between 5000 and 1000
people. 1t has many pretty homes, and
is very cool and pleasant in summer,
the sea breezes reaching it without OBJ
struction. 1t is right in the shadow of
the deadly crater. 1t is here that per-
sons going up to the top must leave
their carriages and walk the rest Of the
way. 1t is inevitable that the beautiful
village of Morne Rouge was utterly
destroyed If the eruption was anything
like what it is described to be.
AN, the cool little lake on the top of
Mont Pelee. High up there, 44Oo feet
above the water, set amid luxurious
trees, with vistas of the sea and of the
town below in the distance, there could
be no more beautiful place. 1t was al
ways a great place for picnics. and out
ings and gatherings of every kind.
There was plenty of room, much pretty
scenery and it was cool and delightful.
mo one ever thought of fearing the !!
volcano, which all thought to be ex-
tinct. 1t never smoked, and the OILY
evidence Of it's activity fifty-one years
ago was the placid little lake, some
sixty feet in circumference, right at
the very top. The people crowded
about by thousands, never dreaming
that there was any danger
But to return to st. Pierre. As you
come up to 1t from the sea 1t presents
a beautiful spectacle, nestled down by
the water, with the houses of the new
town showing on the slope and the
grim range Of mountains walled up be.
hind 1t.
Running along the sea front is the
Rue Bouille, the oldest street In the
town. 1t is a mile and half long, and
1t follows the curve Of the coast. On
It are the commission houses of the
town, the many fruit houses, sugar
headquarters and the like. The an
cient Custom House faces IL. too, and IL