The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1902-05-28
The Lexington Dispatch
Wednesday, May 28, 1902.
The Doomed Island.

freely expressed that it may be neces-
sary to abandon it forever as the
constant activity of Mount Pelee is
making life unsafe and vegetation al
most impossible.
Every departing vessel carries
hundreds of terror stricken persons
to safety, almost all Of which are
abandoning their homes and posses
sions in the hurry to escape the doom
which seems impending.
In all the thousands who have de-
parted from Fort de France, hundreds
have fed to almost certain starvation
in the mountains, and all those now
departing are dependent on the
charity Of strangers, as there are few
who have any funds. Every ship in
the harbor today is crowded, and
clustered about them are small boats
filed with natives begging to be
takeu up.
All about Mount Pelee for radius
of several miles the original surface
of the earth is buried under millions
Of tons of lava and volcanic dust.
Paris, May % Minister of Colo
MES de Brais has called Governor S.
Huerre at Fort de France, instruct
ing him to make sll possible arrange
ments for the embarkation of the in
habitants of Martinique in the event
of circumstances necessitating the
evacuation of that island.
Fort de France, May 22.-The
United States training ship Dixie,
which sailed from Brooklyn one week
ago today with relief supplies,
reached here today. Dixie
leaves half her stores here and the
remainder at st. Vincent, which was
found sufficient for her.
Castries, st. Lucis, B. W. l., May
23-Cut off by q sea of boiling lava,
hundreds of persons, mostly poor
women and children, are penned in
the village of Grand Riviere, near
devastated St.Fierre, facing terrible
death. It is impossible to aid or
reach the terrified prisoners and it
now seems certain that all must
perish.
The awful burst of lava from Mount
Pelee on Monday and Tuesday hem.
med the unfortunates in, who had
returned home in the belief that the
danger was over. The lava forms a
perfect mass of hot bubbling fluid
all the way to the sea, and it means
instant death to attempt to cross it.
The unfortunates can be seen from
the surrounding bills praying and
pleading for deliveranoe. Besides
death from the constantly spreading
lava, the entire party faces starvation.
Paris, May % The privy council
of the colony has consulted the ad-
visibility of the total or partial evac-
uation of the island, and it has unan-
imously decided that such action
would not be justified at present.
The steamer Campagnie of the
Transe-Atlantique line is here and
is able to transport those desiring to
60 is Guadaloupe. Twenty thousand
inhabitants have engaged passage TO
VerSalIleS.
A GUATEMALAN CITY WIPED OUT BY
EARTHQUAKE.
Hamburg, May ga special dis
patch to the Hamburg Boersenhalle
from Guatemala says that the town
of Qnezaltenango has been wholly de.
stroyed by an earthquake, which last
ed three-quarters of a minute. Bus
mess is entirely suspended in Guate-
mala, and great part Of the coffee
crop there has been destroyed.
It was reported from Guatemala
City, Guatemala, April 20, that earth
quake shocks, which were general
throughout shat country April Is, 10
and 20, partly obliterated the town of
Quezaltenango and badly damaged
Amatitan, Solos, Nahusla, Santa