The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1902-05-30
The Metropolis of Martinique Was a
Merry Place Until Covered by Lava
and Ashes A Mountain RIiI Ran
Through Every Street

curves inland Ike a slightly bent bow
Describing II, ore OF the shopkeepers
On the RpP de Victor Hugo used 10 say
that the town was situated on a bay
shaped Ike dilemma with volcano
! on one horn and a tropical jungle on
the other. He had got the phrase from
! an English correspondent who had
! wondered what the inhabitants would
/ do If such a calamity as the present
/ one ever occurred The Englishman
/ had noted the lack Of roads leading
from the town and the futility Of any
/ hope Of escape.
! The town was built on the fat. mar
row fore-shore that lay between the
/ foot Of the steep wooded mountains
and the sea. The houses ana shops
were built down 10 the waters edge,
ana clustered in irregular groups about
the Cathedral. which was situated di-
rectly opposite where the ships lay in
the rOadstcad, and was the most proml-
inent architectural feature Of the town.
II was built Of whit.sh stone. and
with it's two towers in which bells We're
| hung, was sharply acccntuated against
the green background Of the mount
aiES. The water front Of the town ex-
tended for nearly two miles along the
gently curving coast. All the space
back 10 the hills that shut in the town
was filed with the low white houses Of
the people. Some twenty or twenty
five streets ran down from the hills 10
the water front. These were cut by IT.
regular cross streets
The Rue de Victor Hugo was the
principal thOroughfare All Of the best
shops were located on It, and il served
as parade for the fashionables when
they made their appearance in the cool
of the evening, arrayed in the white
ducks, Panama hats and low-cut pat
ent-le9ther shoes, and the women either
in the yearold fashions of Paris or in
the striking gayly colorcd native garb.
The Cathedral, the Opera House
(where travelling companies played be-
fore enthusiastic audiences), the Hotel
des Bains, and the banks were proba-
bly, the largest and best built buildings
in the town. French was the common
language, and nearly all of the white
people were Of French extraction. 1t
was a lively place, and it's people had
some of the light spirit and gayety Of
their Gallo kinsmen. Always on com
ing into the harbor passengers noted
the apparent freshness and cleanliness
OF the place. The white houses with
their green blinds and tiled or thatched
roofs, the gay striped awnings and
vivid green of the background made a
cool, pleasant picture. Ashore, the
bright costumes of the native girls,
the movement Of the street life and the
strangeness Of the new scenes was q
source of constant interest 10 tourists.
The upper or new town was the most
attractive part of the place. The streets
were broader and cleaner and the
buildings of better quality. All Of
the streets were narrow. the principal
one (the Rue de Victor Hugo being
scarcely wide enough TO permit two
carriages TO pass abreast.
Through every street ran an open
gutter of water from the hills. and
early in the morning. just when the
cool dawn-wind was coming down
from the mountains, these cutters
would he alive with people. The ma
tive women would bring out their tall
earthcn Jars called welsh hats" by
the resident Englishmen, to be filed
with the cool flowing water. Babies
were brought out and allowed TO dis
port themselves, while their mothers
cleaned tie household utensils The
streams being fed from mountain lakes,
cleanliness in dress and habitation was
common. even among the lowest
classes.
Back from st. Pierre about eight
miles, on winding mountain road.
was the fashionable native resort.
Morne Rouge. Here the rich residents
had their country homes. and il is
probable that when the food of fire.
lava and ashes came down from Mont
Pelce these were among the first houses
destroyed In the season. which began
about June /. there were usually 1000
or 5000 persons at Morne Rouge. Prob
ably half that number had gone out
this year TO open their villas.
The people of St Pierre were rather
proud Of their volcano. Mont Pelee
stood first ds point Of interest" for
tourists There has always been plenty
OF evidence that life was not extinct in
Mont Pelee, hut the easy-gong inhabit-
ants believed that the volcano was in
It's dotage, and Its occasional weak
muttcrincs only gave IL added value rs
n show place: the manifestations were
never taken seriously. Not since the
end Of the eighteenth century ard
again in lS5I had there been even weak
erupuCns.
When the head Of Mont Pelee blew
of the inhabitants i'm the town below
ha3 no chance Of escape. The burning
lava. the ashes and mud and the fire
came down the hills as the water had
been coming down for hundreds OF
years and the people below Were
carght rs fish in a net. The only way
open was the sea. and that offered
nothing but death by drowning. on
the side OF the town away from the vol
cano the tropical undergrowth came to
within n few yards Of the houses. and
the beach ended at the city limits.
There We're no whsrves or quays at
81. Pierre. and really no harbor. simply
an open roadstead with deep water in.
shorc. The island rises sheerly from
the sea. and there was no anchorage