New-York tribune., 1902-05-24
MANY LEAVE THE ISLAND.
BUSINESS IN FORT DE FRANCE DIsoR-
CANNED BY THE EXODUS.

| BUSINESS IN FORT DE FRANCE DIsoR-
CANNED BY THE EXODUS.
| Fort de France Martinique, May 22.-At D
o'clock this afternoon the sky was clear and the
| population calm. But in spite OF this fa-
vorab BILE change in the situation many famiiies
left Fort de France by the French steamers
Versailles and Vile de Tanger for the
| island OF Trinidad and for Cayenne. French
Guiana This, with about twelve hundred
persons who have gone to the island of Guade-
loupe and many others who have sought refuge
at St Lucia and other islands, has lessened
the population considerably. Besides these
some two thousand people have left for the
southern parts of the island of Martinique.
where three thousand refugees have now as
se1nbIed. This desertion of Fort de France has
resulted I'm the dsorganization of many trades
A number OF bakers have been compelled to
close their stores owing TO the fact that their
employees among those who have fed from
the city.
The French cruiser Tage having Admiral
Servan on board arrived here this evening.
She reported that Mont Pelee now presents a
more reassuring aspect The clouds of smoke
leaving the crater mingle with the clouds In
the sky and do not have the threatening as
pect which they formerly presented. new
crater has formed in the vicinity Of Ajoupa
Bouillon
a locality known as Camae Trianon is causing
a good deal of anxiety at present. The CapOte
River is running with hot water.
The French cruiser D'Assas has arrived here
from Brest. having on board the French Gov
ernment relief commission and large supplies Of
money and provisions.
A torrential downpour OF rain in the morning
washed off the ashes from the vegetation on
the mountain.
The United States steamer Potomac made her
usual trip to st. Pierre to-day with another
party of scientists She found the conditions
there unchanged from yesterday The top of
the mountain was clearly visible for con
siderable time. Captain Thomas c. Mclean, of
the United States cruiser Cincinnati, who has
carefully observed Mont Pelee, agrees with
other experts In reporting that new crater
has been formed below the old crater. In the
new crater there is a great cinder cone. more
than hundred feet high, from which steam
and other volcanic matter is constantly pour
ing.
II is now the unanimous opinion of the sci
entists that this Is an explosive volcano, real
lava or moya rock material having been poured
out. only mud. steam, gases and fragments OF
the old crater beds. The scientists compare the
mountains outthrow to the steam of a boiler in
which the pressure rises to bursting point. and
they think 1t possible that more violent out
the explosions have occurred at progressively
longer intervals. and that they have also been
progressively more violent. Thus there had
been three light eruptOns Of ashes On May -
there overflow OF mud which caused the
destruction Of the Usine Guerin; on May there
was the outburst which destroyed st. Pierre,
and May 20. after an interval Of twelve
days, the last tremendous Outburst occurred. a
| new period Of rest is now on and one of two
no .On-
| fined for a still longer period and then explode
with still greater violence. spreading destruc-
| tion over a vast area. or the mountain may re-
main quiescent for another half century.
These explosions were unique In the character
| of the material elected, choking, poisonous,
blazing gases, hurled forth with fearful velocity
| and force.
| At o'clock this afternoon the Potomac left
for St Lucia and st. Vincent
| The United States steamer Dixie having land
| ed six hundred tons Of supplies left here at
| p m. for st. Vincent The Cincinnati has also
| sailed and there are no American warships
| here now. They will all probably return to Fort
| de France in two three days
| Nearly all the scientists and newspaper corre-
| spondents have gone to St. Vincent.
| Confidence is far from being restored here,
though the population is quieter.
| In addition to the bakers stores. most of the
| other shops closed This is partly due to
the enormous quantity Of supplies of all kinds.
| food, clothing and medical stores which have
| now reached this port for free distribution.
| The patients In the hospitals are all improv-
| ing Very high praise is Que 10 the doctors,
| their assistants the nurses and all employees.
both civil and military. of the hospitals. for the
| prompt and skful attention given to all the
| sufferers. and this care has been and is unre-
| mitting.
| The latest reports show that the explosion of
| Nav 20 did not result in any casualties.
| Two more bodies were found at st. Pierre this
| afternoon One of them was fairly we'll dressed,
| and they both appeared to be the bodies Of
| household servants who had died from asphyxi
| alton
! From the heaps of cinders in the Rue de Luci.
| at ST Pierre, most dangerous emanatiOns Of
| foul gas have been discovered. and the atten-
| tion Of the health authorities has been directed
| to the spot.
| Some gendarmes who returned from St Pierre
| this evening brought number of books and
| valuab bies which they had found in the open
| safes there These and the other safes had been
| burst open by Irresistible force. All the
| articles recovered are being cared for by the
| government.
| Another large party from Fort de France,
| numbering nearly fifteen hundred people left
here this evening for Trinidad and other places.
TEN MORE VICTIMS OF PELEE.
SOLDIERS KILLED BY GASES FROM THE