Williston graphic. (Williston, Williams County, N.D.) 1895-1919, 1902-05-15
AWFUL SCENES
in ST. PIERRE
TRI1Tx THOUSAND CoRPsDs
ssTnEwH ABOUT on BURIED IN
THE RUINS.
fARlItR REPORTS ACCURATE
RELIEF EXPEDITION VISITS THE
SCENE OF THE TERRIBLE
DISASTER.
COAST VILLAGES DESTROYED
ALL SWALLOWED UP by CYCLONE
OF FIRE IN SHORT SPACE OF
TEN MINUTES.
IARlltR REPORTS ACCURATE
COAST VILLAGES DESTROYED

Fort de. France, Martinique. May II.
1t now seems to be generally ad-
mittsd that about $4,000 persons lost
their lives as a result Of the outbreak, of
the Mount Pelee volcano at st.. Pierre
on Thursday last
Careful investigation by competent
government officials shows 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 q whirling fire vom-
.stes from Mount Pelee; thirty thousand
,eerseus were Instantly and horribly
killed and the volcano, whose ancient
crater for more than fifty years had
been occupied by quiet lake in which
picnic parties bathed, suddenly dis
charged torrent of fiery mud, which
rolled toward the sea, engulfing every
thing before It, Then the last Of cable
communication was broken and the
doomed city was isolated from the
world.
The American consul at Guadeloupe,
Louis H. Ayme, has reached the DESC
late spot where st. Pierre stood and
confirms the awful story in all its es-
sentia! details.
story Of the Disaster.
From an interview with Col. Ayme.
who is a trained American newspaper
man, correspondent of the Associated
Press learned the following facts:
Thursday morning the inhabitants OF
the city awoke to find heavy clouds
shrouding the Mount Pelee crater. All
day Wednesday horrid decorations had
been heard. These were echoed from
st. Thomas on the north to Barbados
In the south. The cannonading ceased
on Wednesday night, and hne ashes fell
like rain on st. Pierre. The inhabitants
were alarmed, but Gov. Moutett, who
had arrived at St Pierre the evening
before, did everything possible to allay
the panic
The British steamer Roraima reached
.St. Pierre on Thursday with ten passen-
wers. among whom were Mrs. Stokes
and her three children and Mrs. H. j.
Ince. They were watching the rain OF
ashes when, with a frightful roar and
terrific electric discharges, a cyclone OF
IRE. mud and steam swept down from
the crater over the town and ba7,
,sweeping all before 1t and destroying
the fleet Of vessels at anchor off tho
ohore. There the accounts of the
catastrophe 80 far obtainable cease.
Thirty thousand ,CorDses
are strewn about, buried in the ruins
bf St. Pierre, or else floating, gnawsd
by sharks, In the surrounding seas.
The Associated Press steamer chartered
ht 0audeloupe neared Martinique at
$50 Sunday morning. Enormous guam
tities OF the wHsckage of large and
umxu ships and houses strewed the sur
face Of the sea- Huge trees and too
.6ften bodies with flocks of seagu1ls
soaring above and hidaous sharks fight
inr about them, were floating here and
there.
At lie Precheur, Ave miles north Of
ct. Pierre, canoes with men and women,
frantic to get away, begged for pass
are on the steamer.
The whole north end of the island
fyas covered with a silver gray coating
OF ashes resembling dirty snow. Furl-
GUS blasts of fire, ashes and mud swept
over the steamer, but, finally, st. Pierre
syas reached. The city Of st. Pierre
stretched nearly two miles along the
water front and half mile back to q
eliff at the base OF the volcano. The
ruins were burning in many places and
friRhtful odors Of burned flesh filled
the aair. With great difficulty a land
Ing was effected. Not one house was
left intact.
yiscid Heaps Of Mud,
.hrh and volcanic stones were seen on
bvsry side. The streets could hardly
X 5000 Tiara and there amid the
kuins were heaps of corpses. Almost
IN the face, were downward In one
corner twenty-two bodies of men, wom-
an and children Nv ere mingled In one
kwful mass, arms and legs protrud1ng,
~ the hapless being fell In the last
struggles Of deaths agony. Most nota-
bic was the utter silence and the awful.
bverpowering stencil from the thou
sands Of dead.
Careful inspection showed that the
Hery stream which so completely de-
>troyed st. Pierre must have been COM
posed of poisonous gases which Ia
6tantly sufocated everyone who IN
yhaled them, and of other gases burning
turiously, for nearly all the victims had
their hands covering their mouths or
Nere in some other attitude Allowing
chat they had sought relief from suno-
cation. All the bodies were carbon
lsed or roasted.
The stories of the survivors added to
Che awful details of the particularly
narrowing account Of the British
aeeauer Roraima-
A Cyclone of Fi1e.
C.. c. Evans Of Montreal and John q.
Norris Of New York, who are new At
\.