, 1902-05-15

ot. ierre. II CITY OF 5U,OUU IN
habitants, situated under the shad-
ow OF Mt. Pelee, a supposedly ex-
tinct volcano. on the island of
Martinique ID. w. L.. was totally
destroyed, last Thursday morning,
by an eruption of lava and burn
ing gases from Mt. Pelee. in three
minutes time. A dispatch from
Fort De France, Martinique,
briefly tells the whole story. 1t is
as follows.
Last Thursday morning the city
of st. Pierre disappeared within
ten minutes, in a whirling fire
vomit from Mont Pelee; 10000
persons we're instantly and horri-
bly, killed, and the volcano, whose
ancient crater for more than fifty
years had been occupied by a
quiet lake in which picnic parties
bathed, suddenly discharged a tor
rent of fiery mud, which rolled to-
ward the sen, engulfing everything
before it. Then the last cable
communication was broken, and
the doomed city was isolated from
the world.
From an interview with Consul
Ayme, who is a trained American
newspaper man, a correspondent
of the Associated Press learned
the following facts:
Thursday morning the inhabi-
tants of the city awoke to find
heavy clouds s%hrouding the Mont
Pelee crater. All day Wednesday
horrid detonations had been heard.
The cannonading ceased on We'd
nesday night, and fine ashes fell
like rain on St. Pierre. The in
habitants were alarmed, but Gov
ernor Mouttet. who had arrived
Mt St. Pierre the evening before.
did everything to allay the panic.
The British steamer Roraima
reached st. Pierre on Thursday
with ten passengers. among whom
were Mrs. Stokes and her three
children. and Mrs. H. j. Ince.
They were watching the rain of
ashes when, with Il frightful roar
and terrific electric discharges. n
II tornado of fire, mud and steam
swept down from the crater over
the town and bay, sweeping all
before it and destroying the fleet
of vessels at anchor off the shore.
There the accounts of the catas-
trophe SO far as obtainable cease.
Thirty Thousand corpses are
strewn about. buried in the ruins
of st. Pierre, or else floating,
gnawed by sharks, in hesurround-
ing eas Twenty-eight charred,
half-dead human beings were
brought here. Sixteen of them
are already dead, and only four
of the whole number are expected
to recover.
The Associated Press Steamer,
chartered in Guadalupe, which
went to the island with medical
stores and provisions and in
search of information, has the
following to report.
The city of st. Pierre stretched
nearly two miles along the water
front, and half a mile back to a
cliff at the base of the volcano.
The houses of the richer French
families were built of stone.
The still smoking volcano tow
cred above the ash-coved hills.
The ruins were burning in many
places, and frishtful odors of
burning flesh filled the air.
With great difficulty a landing
WAS effected. Not one house was
left intact. Weld heaps of mud,
of brighter ashes, or piles of vol
con;c stones were seen on every
side. The streets could hardly be
traced. Here and there, amid
tho ruins were heaps of corpses.
almost all the faces were down
ward.
In one corner twenty-five bod
;os a men. women and children
we're mingled in one awful mass
arms and legs p%rotruding as the
%nInless beings fell in the last
]rnaoles of deaths agony
an r Al