The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1902-05-16
AWFUL SCENES
IN ST, PIERRE
THIRTY THOUSAND
S1REWN ABOUT OR BURIED IN
THE RUINS.
EARLIER REPORTS ACCURATE
RELIEF EXPEDITION VISITS THE
SCENE OF THE TERRIBLE
DISASTER.
EARLIER REPORTS ACCURATE
COAST VILLAGES DESTROYED
ALL SWALLOWED UP BY CYCLONE
OF FIRE IN SHORT SPACE OF
E MINUTES.

Fort-de. France, Martinique. May IA.
1T now seems to be generally adj
mitted hat about 10000 persons lost
the Mount Pelee volcano at st. Pierre
on Thursday last.
Careful investigation by competent
government officials shows that the
earlier reports Of the Associated Press
were accurate.
Briefly put, last Thursday morning
the city Of st. Pierre disappeared with
In ten minutes in a whirling fire vOm-
tied from Mount Pelee; thirty thousand
persons were Instantly and horribly
killed, and the volcano, whose ancient
crater for more han fifty years had
been occupied by a quiet lake in which
picnic parties bathed, suddenly dis
charged a torrent Of fiery mud, which
rolled toward the sea. engulfing every
thing before it. Then the last Of cable
communication was broken and the
doomed city was isolated from the
world.
The American consul at G~uadeloupe,
Louis H.. Ayme, has reached the deso-
late spot where st. Pierre stood and
confirms the awful story in all its es-
1 sentia! details.
Story of the Disaster.
From an interview with Col. Ayme,
who is a trained American newspaper
man, a correspondent of the Associated
Press learned the following facts:
Thursday morning the inhabita nts of
the city awoke 70 find heavy CLOUD
~shrouding the our Pelee crater. All
day Wednesday horrid decorations had
been heard. These were echoed from
st. Thomas on the north to Barbados
in the south. The cannonading cease
on Wednesday night, and fine ashes fell
like rain on St. Pierre. The inhabitants
were alarmed, but Gov. Moutett, who
had arrived at ST Pierre the evening
before, did everything possible to allay
the panic.
The British steamer Roraima reached
st. Pierre on Thursday with ten passen-
gers. among whom were Mrs. Stokes
and her three children and Mrs. H. J..
Ince. They were watching the rain Of
ashes when, with a frightful roar and
terrific electric discharges, a cyclone of
FIRE, mud and steam swept Town from
the crater over the town and bay,
sweeping all before IT and destroying
the feet of vessels at anchor off the
shore. There the of the
catastrophe so far ~obtainable cease.
Thirty Thousand Corpses
are strewn about, buried in the ruins
Of st. Pierre, or else floating, gnawed
by sharks, in the surrounding seas.
The Associated Press steamer chartered
at Gaudeloupe neared Martinique at
$50 Sunday morning. Enormous guam
titles of the wreckage Of large and
small ships and houses strewed the sur
face of the sea. Huge trees and TOO
often bodies with f1ocks of seaguils
soaring above and hidaous sharks fight
ing about them, were floating here and
there.
At lie Precheur, Ave miles north OF
st. Pierre. canoa with men and women,
frantic to get away, begged for a pass
age IN the steamer.
The whole north end Of the island
was covered with a silver gray coating
Of ashes resembling dirty snow. Furi-
Gus blasts of fire, ashes n mud swept
over the steamer. but, finally. st. Pierre
was reached. The city Of st. Pierre
stretched nearly two miles along the
waterfront and half a mile back to a
cliff at the base of the volcano. The
ruins were burning in many places and
lAlSillIuA odoiS VI uui ACSH hiC0
the aair. With great difficulty a land
ing was effected. Not one house was
left intact.
Viscid Heaps Of Mud,
ash and volcanic stones were seen on
every side. The streets could hardly
be traced. Here and there amid the
ruins were heaps Of corpses. Almost
all the faces were downward. In one
onr,, or fuyartv-tuya hn1iac ~ rror
en- and children were mingled in one
awful mass, arms and legs pr~otruding,
as the hapless being fell in the last
struggles Of deaths agony. Most ota
BILE was the utter silence ami the awful,
overpowering stencil from the thou
sands OF dead.
Careful inspection showed that the
fiery stream which so completely de-
stroyed st. Pierre rust have beer COM
posed of poisonous gases which in
stantly suffocated everyone who in
hailed them, and of other gases burning
f%rriously, for nearly all the victims had
their hands covering their mouths or
were In some other attitude showing
hat they had sought relief from suffo-
cation. All the bodies were carbon
lied or roasted.
40 . "a liz ooANa ~
the awful details Of the particularly
narrowing account of the British
steamer Roraima.
A Cyclone of Fire.
C.. G. Evans of Montreal and John G.
Morris Of New York, who are now at
the military hospital at Fort-de- France.
say the vessel arrived at 6. AS eight
bells were struck a frightful explosion
was heard up the mountain. A cloud
of fire. topping and roaring, swept
with lightning speed down the moun
tainside and over the town and bay.
The Roraima was nearly sunk and
caught fire at once.
II never can forget the horrid, fiery,
choking whirlwind which enveloped
me- said Mr.. Evans. Mr.. Morris and
I rushed below. We were not very
badly burned. not SO bad as most OF