The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1902-05-16
Dire Necessity Now
ReignS In Martinique
SURVIVORS OF THE CATASTROPHE
AREIN URGENT NEED.
PROMPT Relief Measures Taken. An Amer
lean Council Gives Description OF the
Awful Scene at st. Pierce.

Fort de France, Island of Martini
que, May 12.-It now seems to be
generally admitted that about 3d.
900 persons lost their lives as re
suit of the outbreak of the Mont
Pelee volcano, at 81. Pierre, on
Thursday last Careful investigation
by competent government officials
show the earlier reports of the Asso-
ciated Press we're accurate.
Briefly put, last Thursday morn
ing the city of St. Pierce disappear
ed within five minutes in a whirl
wind, fire vomiting from Mont Pc
lee; 10000 persons we're instantly
and horribly killed and the volcano,
whose crater for more than 80 years
had been occupied by Il quiet lake
in which picnic parties bathed, sud,
denly discharged torrent of fiery
mud, which rolled toward the sea-
engulflng everything before it. Then
the last of cable communication was
broken, and the doomed city was
isolated from the world.
The repair ship Grappler was lost
with all on board, as was the French
vessel Tamaya. There were Is or
20 vessels in the roadstead at the
time of the disaster. The British
steamer Roddam had anchored but
Capt. Freedman, although horri-
bly, burned, managed to keep on t. Q
bridge of his vessel. Everybody
on the Roddam's deck was killed
instantly, but with the assistance of
his third engineer and fireman,
who were wounded, the captain
brought his vessel to St. Lucia,
Many persons tried to reach the
Roddom, but in vain. The United
States vice consul at St. Pierre,
Amadee Testart, reached the deck
of the Roddam only to fall back in
the sea dead.
Three hours exploration of the
ruins of St Pierce resulted in the
finding of no trace of the American
consulate. Council Thomas [.
Prentiss, his wife and two daugh-
ters, are undoubtedly dead. That
quarter of this city is still a vast
mass of blazing ruins. Nor has any
trace bsen found of James Japp,
the British consul. Mr.. Japp had
large family at St. Pierre.
CONSUL AYME's STORY.
The American consul at Guade-
loupe, Louis II. Ayme, has reached
the desolate spot WHARF St. Pierce
stood and confirm the awful story
in all it's essential details.
From an interview with COL Ayme,
who is trained American newspaper
man, a correspondent of the Associa
ted Press learned the following fact
Thursday morning the inhabtant:
of the city awoke to find heavy clouds
shrouding the Mount Pelee crater
All day Wednesday horrld detona
tions had been heard. These were
echoed from St. Thomas on th'
north to Barbados On the south
The cannonading ceased on Wednes
day night the fine ashes fell like rail-
on St. Pierre. The inhabitant
we're alarmed, but Gov. Mouttet
who had arrived at St. Pierce tn
evening before, did everything pos
sible to alIay the panic. The Brit
ish steamer Roraima reached St
Pierre on Thursday with 10 passen
gers, among whom were Mrs. Stoke
and her three children and Mrs
H. J. Ince. They were watching
| the rain of flashes, when, with
frightful roar and terrific electrl
discharges, a cyclone of fire mut
and steam swept down from tn
crater over the town and bay, sweep
ing all before'it and destroying tn
feet or vessels at anchor off tn
shore. There the accounts of tn
catastrophe so far obtainable cease
THE DEAD IN THE SEA.
Thirty thousand corpses are strew
about, buried in the ruins of ST
Pierce, or else floating, gnawed b
sharks, in the surrounding seas