New-York tribune., 1902-05-13
Heaps Of Dead in d Smoking Waste Of
Mud, Ashes and Volcanic Stones.
SUFFOCATED IN THE FIERY BLAST.

Fort de France Island of Martinique. May 10.
1t seems to be generally admitted that
about thirty thousand persons lost their lives as
result of the outbreak of the Mont Pelee vol
cano. 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. in ten minutes last Thursday
morning. the city of St Pierre disappeared in a
whiriing fire vomited from Mont Pelee. and
thirty thousand persons were instantly and
horribly killed, and the volcano. which for more
than fifty years had been quiet lake. occupy
ing its ancient crater. in which picnic parties
bathed suddenly discharged torrents of fiery
mud which rolled toward the sea. sweeping
everything before it. Then the lest of cable
communication was broken and the doomed city
was isolated from the world
The commander Of the French cruiser Suchet
gave the American Consul at GuadeIoupe Louis
H. Ayme. the first news of the appalling dis
aster the day after it occurred. Mr.. Ayme has
reached the desolate spot where st Pierre stood
and confirms the awful story in all its essential
who is trained American newspaper man, a
correspondent of The Associated Press learned
the following facts regarding the destruction Of
St Pierre;
THE FATAL THURSDAY MORNING.
Thursday morning found the inhabitants of
that city anxiously looking toward the thick
clouds shrouding the Mont Pelee crater. All
day Wednesday horrid detonations had been
heard. These had been echoed from st. Thomas
on the north, to Barbados, on the south. Dur
ing the night Of Wednesday these had ceased.
and only fine ashes. like rain. fell on st. Pierre.
As this continued. the Governor. NJ. Mouttet,
who was then at Fort de France. tried to stop
the panic which the volcanic disturbances
caused. He declared the danger would not in
crease. sent a detachment of soldiers to pre-
vent general exodus of the inhabitants and
later went to St Pierre himself, with his wife.
The British steamer Rorama arrived at st.
Pierre some time afterward with ten passen-
gers among whom were Mrs. Stokes and her
three children and Mrs. II. J. Ince. They were
all watching the rain of ashes. when. with a
frightful roar and terrific electric discharges.
a cyclone of fire, mud and steam swept down
from the crater over town and bay. destroying
a fleet of vessels at anchor off the shore. EsseFe
the stories stop. Twelve survivors onlg e1S 81
the military hospital at Fort de FrsAcZs while
thirty thousand corpses are str-~n shout
buried in the ruins of St. Pierre. or else floating
gnawed by sharks in the surrounding seas.
Twenty-eight charred. half dead human beings
were brought here. Sixteen of them already
dead and four others only are expected to re-
cover.
THE SCENE ON SUNDAY MORNING
The Associated Press steamer chartered at
Ciuadeloupe reached Martinique at $50 o'clock
on Sunday morning The lofty hilled island was
hidden behind a huge veil of violet leaden
colored haze. Enormous quantities of the
wreckage of large and small ships and houses
were met. Huge trees, and too often.
bodies with hocks of sea gulls soaring above
and sharks fighting about them. were floating
here and there. From behind the volcanic veil