The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-06-22

/ He thinks the phenomena Of Monday
+ unique in the history OF volcanoes. II is
! true, he says, that muddy lavas develop
I with great rapidity, but the catastrophe
at the Guerin factory was due 10 an ava
lanche rather than lava fow The val
+ ley below has received the contents Of
L'etaag Sec, the dixie which was broken
I letting the muddy water fall from a
height OF 70 metres about 300 teet If
there was no ouakink of the earth under
7 the influence OF this enormous fall il
was because the sea acted as a cushion.
The result OF the observations Of ".
Laudes is this: The central mouth Of the
volcanoes. situated at the highest open
ing. has expelled from time to tine vel
( low and black crumbly material Il is
necessary 10 fee from the depths Of
ncighboring valleys and move to heights
to avoid being submerged by muddy lava
as Herculaneum was submerged. Vesu-
vius' victims have been rare. Pompeii
was evacuated in time. as few bodies
have ever been found in this buried city.
Mont Pclee offers no more danger 10 the
inhabitants of ST Pierre than Vesuvius
offers to those of Naples
To the interview with II. LaUdcs the
paper added: However. this morning
May g scrutiny OF the mountain disclos-
ed the fact that Morne La Croix Che
cresting peak Of Mont Pelee) had at its
base an opening 100 metres long and 20
metres N depth, accounting for a partial
fall
IN the paper of May a paragraph oc-
Cured which gives indication Of the ex-
element in ST. Pierre before the destruc-
ton of the Guerin works and points to a
panic Of which nothing IS known save
from the few words with which Les Colo
MES discussed it:
THE Riviere Blanche quarter has GER
tainly suffered more than Pointe Ia
Marie. It is related that on Saturday
night CMay 81. perhaps at the moment Of
the panic in the Cathedral of the Anchor
age CA1ouillage), a pedestrian, blinded by
the enormous quantity Of dust which was
swiriing In the air, barely escaped falling
INTO the river. While he was wandering
about blindly he struck his head against
a tree and was severely injured" This
IS the only reference TO be found TO any
panic in the cathedral. What may rea-
sonably be inferred from the reference is
that, in a moment Of fear, a great number
Of persons sought shelter in the cathedral,
or. being within the structure. rushed out,
as they did on Ascension morning. the
day of the annihilation. Inquiry among
the people of Fort de France failed to
discover any one who knew anything OF
the panic.
Political feeling was always at high
pressure in Martinique. especially at St
Pierre. The three parties. Republican,
Government and socialistic, were always
at daggers drawn, and they had time
enough for one last clash on the eve Of
the catastrophe. A comparatively large
sum of money had been obtained in St
Pierre for the relief of sufferers in the
north of the island, and when it came
time TO distribute the funds each party
accused the other OF misuse of them
that is. of utilizing them for political
ends. On Sunday. May II, there was to
have been an election for deputy to rep
resent Martinique in the French chamber
The candidates were Percin. Socialist;
I.agrosilliere, Republican, and Fernand
Clerc. Government. TIE self-explanatory
notice was headed, "Disgraceful Election
Advertising" and ran:
m. Louis 5sany, charged by the mayor
with the delivering of food checks to the
stricken people. is making of this dis
tribution an advertisement in favor Of the
Radical Social candidate. 1t is NJ. Percin'
he saws. who is giving you this relief. We
protest energetically against this as
graceful proceeding. The money and food
given out are given by the people who dis
tinguish by no party lines, The afflicted
people should be made to understand this
beyond any doubt
The St. Pierre newspaper from which
the foregoing extracts have been taken
Les Colonies. had been published there for
twenty-five years. 1t appeared daily.
save sundays ard feast days, from It's
Office. No. III Rue Victor Hugo. The sew
eral papers quoted were obtained. after
arduous search in the shops Of Fort de
France where they were eventually TO
be used for wrapping paper. by Chaplain
Joseph F. MacGrail Z. s \, attached
70 the L. s. S Dixie. Chaplain MaeGrail
also translated the papers for the score OF
correspondents who accompanied the
Nrar-tlnicu, relief expedition. G. 3. :.