The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-05-13
Party From the Chartered Steamer of the Associ- ated Press Enters the
 Destroyed City.
HORRORS ON EVERY SIDE
RUINS STUDIED WITH HEAPS OF
 CORPSES.

Not One House Left Intact--streets Hard
 to indications That the Grea
 Destruction of Life Was Caused Large
 Iy by Poisonous Gases Which Instant.
 Iy suRocated the Inhnbttants--Rsfie
 of the Survivors.
 Fort de France, Island of Martinique
 May 12.-It now seems to be generally
 admitted that about 30,O00 persons lost
 their lives as result of the outbreak
 of the Mont Pelee volcano, at St.
 Pierre, on Thursday last. Careful in-
 vestigation by competent government officials show that the earlier reports of the Associated Press were accurate.
 Briefly put, last Thursday morning. the city of St. Pierre disappeared with in ten minutes, in a whirling cyclone of fire vomted from Mont Pelee; thir-
 ty thousands persons were instantly and horribly killed and the volcano,
 
 by quiet lake, in which picnic par ties bathed, suddenly discharged tor rent of fiery mud, which rolled towards the sea, engulfing everything before it.
 Then the last of cable communication was borken and the doomed city was isolated from the world.
 The commander of the French cruiser Suchet gave the American consul at Guadeloupe, Louis H. Ayme, the first news of the appalling disaster the day it occurred. MT. Ayme has visited the desolate spot where St. Pierre stood and confirms the awful story in all it's essential features.
 From an interview with Colonel Ayme, who is trained newspaper man, correspondent of the Associated Press learned the following facts re- garding the destruction of St. Pierre.
 Thursday morning found the inhab- itants of that city anxiously looking to- wards the thick clouds shroudingsthe Mont Pelee lter All day Wednesday horrid detonations had been heard. These had been echoed from St Thom- as, on the north, to Barbados, on the south. During the night of Wednesday these had ceased, and only fine ashes, like rain, fell on St. Pierre. As this continued, the governor M. Mouttet, who was then at Fort de France, tried to stop the panic which the volcanic disturbance caused. He declared the danger would not increase, sent de- tachment of soldiers to prevent a gen. eral exodus of the inhabitants and later went to St. Pierre himself with his wife.
 ''The British steamer Roraima ar rived at St. Pierre some time after wards. with ten passengers, among whom were Mrs. Stokes and her three children and Mrs. H. Ince They were all watching the rain of ashes, when, with frightful roar and terrific cleo tric discharges, @ cyclone of fire, mud and steam swept down from the crater over the town and the bay, destroying a fleet of vessels at anchor. Twelve survivors only are in the military hos pital at Fort de France, while thirty thousand corpses are strewn about or buried in the ruins or else floating, gnawed by sharks, in the surrounding seas Twenty-eight charred. half dead human beings were brought here. Six teen of them are already dead, and four others only are expected to re- cover"
 The Associated Presss steamer char tered In Guadeloupe, reached Martin idue at 6 30 Sunday morning. The lofty | hilled island was hidden behind huge i veil of violet or leaden colored haze. | Enormous quantities of the wreckage | of large and small ships and houses | were met with. Huge trees and too often, floating bodies with blocks of | sea gulls soaring above and hideous sharks fighting about them, were float ing here and there. From behind the volcanic veil came blasts of hot wind, with others.
 At Le Precheur, five miles north of St. Pierre, canose with hem and wo- men, frantic to get away, begged for passage on the steamer.
 The whole north of the island was covered with silver gray oating of ashes resembling dirty snow. Furious blasts of mud swept over the vessel, but, finally, St. Pierre was reached.
 The city of St. Pierre stretched near ly two miles along the water front and half mile back to a cliff at the base of the volcano. The houses of the richer French families were built of stone. The ash covered hills were Ranked by the still smoking volcano. The ruins were still burning in many places and frightful odors of burned 1esh filled the air. With great dif1f- ,ulty 6 landing was affected. Not one business house was left. Everywhere were viscid heaps of mud, of brighter ,shes or piles of volcanic stones. The streets could hardly be traced Here { md there amid the ruins were heaps } If corpses. Almost all the faces were downward. In one corner twenty-two i nen, women and children were mingled { n one awful mass. arms and legs pro- l ruding as the helpless beings fell in f he last struggles of deaths agony.
 Through the middle of the old Place l. 3urtin ran a tiny stream, the remains q f the river Goyave. Great trees, with i
 lContinued on Sixth Page.) f