Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-05-15
SI)FR|ER[ Rains FIRE
Hall Of the Island Covered
With a Storm OF Flame
and Ashes.
Prophecy That carib Indians
Would Be Sacrificed to Fire
God Fulfilled.
Further Details of the Eruption
of Soufriere on St. Vim
cent Island.

Fort de France, Island of Martin
saue, May 15.-It is conservatiVely es-
timated that 1000 have been lost since
the first eruption on May z. TINS IN
cludes most of the Carib lndlans
which means the practical extinction
of the race that was found here by
Columbus four centuries ago.
An old Indian prophecy that the Car
lbs would be sacrificed to the fre goa
which they worshiped has thus been
fulfilled. OF the Caribs only few
individuals remain on the islands OF
st. Lucia and Dominica.
From ST. Lucia the eruption OF
Morne Soufriere was visible during the
night of May Z. The following night
the steamship Wear of the Royal Maj
service, attempting to force her way
to Kingstown, ran into a floating bank
of ashes. For three hours the ship
was practically helpless in cloud OF
smoke and sulphurous gas denser than
that which f1oated down from Mount
& Pelee.
When Kingstown was finally reached
at daybreak it was found panic-strfck-
en-. The streets We're covered two in
ches deep with ashes and stones tha
had fallen during the night.
Kingstown is fifteen miles from the
crater which elected the stone. yet
the rain of missiles was almost inces-
SAINT for three days.
From Chateau Belaire comes word
that the distress was great. Word
was sent for clergyman and one was
taken up by the Wear. Down the sides
of Morne Sousriere were flowing hun
dreds of streams of lava, which, unit
I ing and separating, formed a network
from which there was no possible es-
cape for any living thing caught with
in its grasp.
By the explosion of 1912 river that
had existed ever since the discovery of
the island was dried up Down its
channel there flows a swift stream of
molten lava, which glistens like LIQUID
silver. and which flows into the sea
within loo yards of Georgetown AS
the water and the lava meet a great
cloud of steam arises, and the kissing
can be heard for miles.
From distance dozens of craters can
be seen, now opening and again closing
near the crest of Morne Soufriere. The
force of the eruption seems to be les
sening, but the danger is still great.
The most violent eruption stopped in
the afternoon of May 10.
Many searching parties are now out.
Seven estates have been ruined beyond
hope of repair. Two chapels have been
buried under stream of lava Many
houses have been covered under masses
OF ashes and lava, and there is hardly
a spot In the island that is not under
from two inches to ten feet of ashes
The British steamer Cennet on Sun
day ran thru five miles of smoke that
was SO dense that the crew was almost
suffocated. For more than an hour the
ship had to be left to it's own guidance
Morne Soufriere, tho not so active as
1t was last week, is still so threatening
as to terrify the inhabitants. Smoke
and flames continue to belch from the
crater, over which there is an incessant
play of lightning, forking out from the
column that reaches SO far up into the
sky that the eye can not reach it's crest.
1t was more than two weeks ago that
Morne Soufriere first gave warning
that 1t was about to give display of
fireworks more majestic than has been
seen by man during the last thousand
years.
Soufriere raises its head 404S feet
above the sea level. It lies at the
northern end of st. Vincent and can be
seen fully fifty miles at sea on a clear
day.
For ninety years the old volcano has
been somnolent. On rare occasions it
has grunbled internally, but it has
been regarded as harmless by the In
tiians, who have told of the eruptions,
which ceased long ago, and which they
have carried in their traditions After
the eruptions of 1912 the old crater
closed and water filled it, forming
beautiful lake.
For many days Soufrere labored in
wardly in a manner such as was new
to the present generation. Then on May
the crater lake. became greatly dis
turbed. It began to boil and bubble like
a great caldron. Steam arose from it in
immense clouds.
The rumbling beneath the mountain
redoubled in force, and at 2 o'clock that
afternoon Soufriere trembled as tho 1t
was in the throes of terrible agony.
Then came a series of severe earth
quakes that shook the entire island.
! That night sulphuric flames played
about the summit of the volcano, giving
* weird and q terrible appearance.
Steam continued to rise in clouds, and
the thunders of the skies were joined
with those that came from the bowels
of Soufriere.
All during Wednesday the splendid
phenomena continued, giving those who
lived in the near vicinity of the volcano
ample time to make their escape. All
seemed to have been hypnotzed, and of
the thousands who We're there only a
few hundred went away.
It was noon on Wednesday when
Morne Soufriere suddenly opened
sending six separate streams of lava
pouring and boiling down it's sides
Death was everywhere and in it's most
terrible forms. Lightning came from
the sky, killing many who had escaped
the molten streams that We're pouring
into the valleys.
From this great tragedy the settings
were wonderful. Soufriere literally
rocked in it's agony. From it's summit
a majestic column OF smoke, inky black,
reached skyward The craters were
vomiting incandescent matter that