The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1902-07-11
ST. PIERRE AND ITS LIFE
CAY LITTLE PORT. BUT WITH NO
AVENUES OF ESCAPE.

KNOW the WlnuWaru ISLANDS cannon
conceive Of the gay little port OF ST.
Pierre de Martinique covered with
ashes and lava AS do all the colonial
capitals Of the French, ST. Pierre fol-
lowed as closely as the steamers and
mails would permit the customs and
fashions OF Paris At the Hotel des
Balns at the "abslnthe hour one might
always find a gathering Of the young
men Of the town, who sat slipping their
liqueurs and chatting gayly.
Where St Pierre was the coast line
curves inland like a slightly bent bow.
Describing It, one of the shOpkeepers
on the Rue de Victor Hugo used to say
that the town was situated on a bay
shaped like dilemma with a 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 and shops
were built down to the waters edge,
and clustered in irregular groups about
the Cathedral, which was situated di-
rectly opposite where the ships lay in
the roadstead, and was the most promi-
inent architectural feature of the town
1t was built of a whitish stone, and
with its two towers in which bells We're
hung, was sharply accentuated against
the green background of the mount
airs. The water front of the town eX-
tended for nearly two miles along the
gently curving coast. All the space
back to 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 to
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 it served
rs a 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-leather shoes, and the women either
in the year-old fashions of Paris or in
the striking gayly colored native garb.
The Cathedral, the Opera House
jwhere 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. II
was a lively place, and its people haC
some of the light spirit and gayety OF
their Gallo kinsmen. Always on com
ing into the harbor passengers noteC
the apparent freshness and cleanliness,
Of the place. The white houses Will
their green blinds and tiled or thatcheC
roofs, the gay striped awnings ant
vivid green of the background made
cool, pleasant picture. Ashore til,
bright costumes of the native girls
the movement Of the street life and til,
! strangeness of the new scenes was
source of constant interest to tourists.
The upper or new town was the mos
attractive part Of the place. The street
We're broader and cleaner and tn,
buildings of a better quality. All o
the streets We're narrow. the principa
one (the Rue de Victor Hugo beiny
scarcely wide enough to permit tw,
carriages to pass abreast.
Through every street ran an opel
gutter Of water from the hills an,
early in the morning, just when til
cool dawn-wind was coming dow
from the mountains, these gutter
would be alive with people. The ma
tive women would bring out their tai
earthen jars, called welsh hats" b
the resident Englishmen, to be file
with the cool flowing water. Babe
were brought out and allowed to dis
port themselves, while their mother
cleaned the household utensils. III
streams being fed from mountain lakes
cleanliness in dress and habitation wa
common, even among the loves
classes.
Back from st. Pierre about eigh
miles, on winding mountain roaC
was the fashionable native resor
Morne Rouge. Here the rich resident
7 had their country homes, and it
probable that when the food of fir,
lava and ashes came down from MOI
Pelee these We're AMONG the first house
destroyed. In the season, which bega
about June l, there We're usually 4O0
| or oU0O nersnns at Mnrnn Rn11nn Dol