Daily Kennebec journal., 1902-05-13

faces We're downward. In one corner
- men. women and children were min
gled in one awful mass, arms and legs
protruding as the hapless beings fell
III the last struggles of deaths agony.
Through the middle of the old place
Bertin ran a tiny stream. the remains
of the river Goyave. Great trees, with
roots upward and scorched by fire,
Were strewn in every direction. Huge
blocks and still hot stones wetre scat
tered about. From under large stone
the arm Of a White woman protruded.
Most notable was the utter silence and
the awful, overpcwering stencil from
the thousands of dead.
Careful inspection showed that the
fiery stream which so completely de-
stroyed st. Pierre must have been
composed Of poisonous gases, which in
stantly suffocated everyone who in
hailed them, and Of other gases burning
furiously, for nearly all the victims
had their hands covering their mouths
or were in some other attitude showing
that they had sought relief from suf-
location. All the bodies were carbon
| lied or roasted.
y. G. Austin, the manager of the
! Colonial Bank of Barbados, landed at
st. Pierre with a party from the Brit
ish Royal Mail steamer Solent. He
found the bank clock stopped at some
minutes before o'clock. A horse and
buggy and a policeman We're in
group at the door.
| At the request Of &. A. MacAlIister,
the United States consul at Barbados.
! I amt IDgIic ,Nr.,
at his disposition by the Barbados
government
The Solent arrived at about the same
time as The Associated Press steamer
and brought to st Pierre, the colonial
secretary, two civil doctors, two Mill
| tary officers and DR. W. r. Aughin-
| baugh of Washington. as we'll as cor
pOral and four hospital orderlies, three
! trained nurses and a full field hospital
outfit. The Barbados government also
| sent 700 barrels Of provisions. one ton
! of ice and a full supply Of medicine
| These We're useful, but the dead only
| needed quiet burial
! The stories of the survivors added to
| the awful details of the particularly
| narrowing account of the loss of the
! British steamer Roraima. c. c. Evans
~ -h'iibl tNAi' 'tilAl fbIlli ~ MOIiIS pl
New York, who are now at the military
hospital of Fort De France. say the
vessel arrived at o'clock AS eight
bells WAS struck a frightful explosion
WAS heard up the mountain. \ cloud
of fire. toppling and roaring. swept
with lightning speed down the noun
tain sid" ana over the town ana bay.
The Roraima was nearly sunk ana
caught fire a once.
Il can never forget the horrid. fierce
choking whirlwind which enveloped
me" SAID Mr.. Evans. Mr. Morris and
rushed below. We are not very bad
ly burned. not so bad us most of them.
When the fire came we We're going to
our posts eve are engincers) to weigh
anchors and get out. When we CAM,
up we found the ship all afire aft and
fought it forward until 5 o'clock when
the Suchet came to our rescue. We
were then building raft"
Ben Benson. the carpenter of the
Eoraiua. said: Il was on deck amid
, ships when | heard an explosion. The
captain ordered me to up anchor
got to the windlcss but when the fire
: came ! went into the forecastle and
got my duds. When | came out
Ciille out talked WIN capt. MuSSan
Mr.. Scott. the first officer and others
> They had been on the bridge. The
captain was horribly burned. He haC
inhaled flames and wanted to jump in
TO the sea. | tried to make him takC
a life preserver. The captain. who wa;
undressed, jumped overheard and huns
onto line for Il while. Then he dis
; appeared
! Gus Linder. the quartermaster of tbs
steamer, who is horribly burned anC
7 can scarcely talk. confirmed this.
Francisco Angelo. who speaks poo
English, vividly described the onrusl
!, of the fire He says the captain was
= very brave man. too brave to die burn
> ed up. Angelo further asserted tina
the storm OF fire lasted not more thar
s five minutes.
Joseph Beckles. a seaman. who is 5
years of age and is so frightfull,
burned that he cannot live. said il
y weak tones that he was the last MAJ
Il TO see the captain. The captain wa
'e then trying to reach a floating mat
IS tress.
le' Other men of the Roraima who wer