Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1902-07-18
A DAY IN ST. PIERRE.
How 1t Felt to Be Under an
Active Volcano.
EXCITING TRIP IN A BATEAU.

Strange Scenes Witnessed by Two
Correspondents In Trip Along
the Devastated City-Photographing
Pelee In Eruption A Narrow Es-
cape.
1t was necessary to get permit to
visit st. Pierre on May 81, says the
Fort de France (Martinique, W. I)
correspondent of the New York Com
mercial Advertiser. The permit read:
'MM. - are authorized, at their own
expense and at their own risk and
peril to visit the ruins debris OF the
city of st. Pierre" The governor signed
1t reluctantly mt his residence. You
must be disinfected," he said, "if you
return"
Won Gottberg, who was going TO the
city, too, said;
Come: let's get two panamas. May
be they'll be the last hats we shall ever
wear"
we Wulhtt IEOLl tut StoiC al tiiS hat
st. Louis to the beach and found Ell
enne Laurille, the only negro who
would run a boat to the deadly road
stead.
Laurille's boat was fourteen feet
long, narrow as an Indian dugout and
had square spirit sail. Six formed
the party, with Laurille, two negroes
and the young German photographer
The gunwale was six inches above wa
ter Squall after squall, rushing up
from the south, carried the bateau past
the Pointe des Negres and its gallows
hung signal lamp. past the villages
Case Navire,s Bellefontaine, Case Pl-
lote, each at stream mouth In the
steep cut mornes, where black hgures
clad In white dashed out shouting from
huts under gloomy date palms, across
beaches where fish nets hung drying
and into the sea. When the sail jibed
and the gunwale went under, the ne
groes shouted; when the cross seas
caught it. you held breath as you do
in an Aleut bidarki. Torrents of warm
rain fell Close under the basalt cliffs
scarlet crabs could be seen scuttling
into the sea; point loomed behind point,
hour followed hour, and surf roared
on the distant beaches.
Mont Pelee could be seen over the
morne beyond Carbet village through
the black piles Of wharf. A white,
| irregular area-something parched,
dusty, silent-full of tiny angular lights
and shadows, bordered the inmost
curve of the azure roadstead. 1t was
once st. Pierre.
Laurille shipped sail and refused to
go farther. "Ciendre, ciendrew said
the negroes, pointing to Pelee. A puck
cred thunderhead burst up from the
angle of V shaped rent in the sum-
NIT peak, tearing the great cone OF
steam that veiled the north ridges OF
the mountain. We pushed the negroes
aside, seized the oars and rowed on
beyond Carbet straight toward the
city. White ruins glided past, torn and
blackened palms-Carbet
"Whoo- -oO-oo, whoo-oo," came from
somewhere. "Whoo- 90 ooo"-perhaps q
burned animal still crying in the hills,
perhaps a warning signal from the
high mornes. where the palms were
still green: perhaps the mountain. we
leaped knee deep into the surf, yanked
the negroes and the boat ashore and
gathered up the oars. They begged
us to return.
I We started down into the city. We
walked into the chaos through zones
of it's dreaded odors-all the aromas
of great confagrations where lives
have been lost-of hot metals, strange
salts. damp soaked wood smoke
burned sugar, all simmered. moistened,
heated In the tropical sun. Then we
saw the first body. 1t was blush gray
and looked hard as iron.
The cameras had been working
quickly. We had been hardly speak
ing. Won Gottberg gave the order tc
his man, and 1t was executed without
n word. Now fresh films had to be put
in, as the old were all exposed. AS we
sat down on the edge of what had once
been a fountain in public square, we
noticed that our hands were trembling
We leaned over, fuddling with the silly
mechanism, and the perspiration raI
down in steams.
"How do you feel? was asked.
"All right. p
"Sick from those thingsE
"Keep an eye on the mountain.
"It can't do ANYTHING now.
"What are you shaking SO TOT