Gilpin observer., 1902-05-15
SWIFT DESTRUCTION
CITY GONE IN TEN MINUTES
st. Pierre Disappeared In a Whlrling
Tornado Of Fire, Mud and Steam
That Swept All Before It to De-
struction-Over Thirty Thousand
Corpses on Land and in the Sea.

CorpSeS on Lana ana 1T tHC Seo'
Fort De France, Martinique, May -
1t now seems to be generally ADMIT
ted that about 10000 persons lost their
lives as a result of the outbreak OF the
Mont Pelee volcano at st. Pierre on
Thursday last
Careful investigation by competent
government officials show that the ear
lier reports of the Associated Press
were accurate.
Briefly put, last Thursday morning
the city of st. Pierre disappeared with
in ten minutes, in whirling vonit
from Mont Pelee; 10000 persons were
instantly and horribly killed, and vol
cano, whose ancient crater. for more
than fifty years had been occupied by
a quiet lake in which picnic parties
bathed, suddenly discharged n torrent
OF fiery mud, which rolled toward the
sea, engulfing everything before 1t.
Then the last of cable communication
was broken, and the doomed city was
isolated from the world.
The American consul at Guadaloupe,
Louis ii. Ayme, has reached the desc
late spot where st. Pierre stood and con-
firms the awful story in all its essen-
tial details. From an interview with
Consul Ayme. who is n trained Amerl-
can newspaper man, Il correspondent
of the Associated Press learned the fol-
lowing facts:
Thursday morning the inhabitants of
the city awoke To find heavy clouds
shrouding the Mont Pelee crater. All
day Wednesday horrid detonations had
been heard. These We're echoed from
st. Thomas on the north to Barba-
does on the south. The canonading
ceased on Wednesday night, and fine
ashes fell like rain on st. Pierre. The
inhabitants Were alarmed. but Cover
nor Mouttet, who had arrived at st.
Pierre the evening before, did every
thing possible to allay the panic.
The British steamer Roraima reached
st. Pierre on Thursday with ten pas
sengers. 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
tornado of fire, mud and steam swept.
down from the crater over the town
and bay, sweeping all before it and de-
stroying the fleet of vessels at anchor
off the shore. There the accounts 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. Twenty-eight
charred, half-dead human beings were
brought here. Sixteen of them are al
ready dead. and only four of the who.e
number are expected to recover.
The Associated Press steamer. char
tered in Guadaloupe. neared Mar
Unique at $50 Sunday morning. The
island. with lofty hills, was hidden be-
hind huge veil of violet or leaden-
cOlored haze. Enormous quantities of
the wreckage OF large and small ships
and houses strewed the surface of the
sea Huge trees and. TOO often. bodies,
with fiocks of seagulls soaring above
and hideOus sharks fighting about
them. were floating here and there.
From behind the volcanic veil came
blasts of hot wind, mingled with 9TH
ers ice cold
At lie Precheur, five miles north of
st. Pierre. canoes with men and wom-
en-, frantic to get away, begged for a
passage on the steamer.
The whole north end of the island
was covered with silvergray coating
of ashes. resembling dirty snow. Fur
ious blasts of fire. ashes and mud
swept over the steamer, but finally st.
Pierre was reached.
The city of st. Pierre stretched near
ly two miles along the water front, and
half a mile back to a cliff at the base
of the volcano. The houses of the rich
er French families We're built of stone.
The still smoking volcano lowered
above the ash-covered hills. The ruins
were burning In many places, and
frightful odors of burned flesh filed
the air.
With great difficulty a landing was
effected. Not one house was left in
tact. Viscid heaps of mud. of bright
er ashes. or piles of volcanic stones
were seen on every side. The streets
could hardly be traced. Here and
there, amid the ruins, We're heaps of
corpses. Almost all the faces were
downward
In one corner twenty-five bodies of
men, women and children were
mingled in one awful mass. arms and
legs protruding as the helpless beings
fell In the last struggles of deaths ag-
ony. Through the middle of the old
Place Bertin ran a tiny stream. the re-
mains of the river. Giant trees, with
roots upwards and scorche1 by fire,
We're strewn, in every direction. Huge
blocks and still hot 'stones were seat
tered about. From under one large
stone the arm of n white woman pro-
truded. Most notable was The utter
silence, and the awful overpowering
stencil from the thousands of dead.
Careful inspection showed that the
fiery stream which so completely de
stroyed St. Pierre must have been COM
posed Of poisonous gases. which in
stantly suffocated every one who in
haled them. and of other gases burn
ing fthlously, for nearly all the Vie
tins had their hands covering their
mouths or were In some other attitude
showing that they had sought relief
from suffocation. All the bodies were
carbonized or roasted.
A. G. Austen, manager of the Colo
nial Bank OF Barbadoes. landed Mt st.