The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1902-05-22
VOLCANOES OF
THE WEST INDIES
An Eruption on the Island of
st. Vincent Details of the
Cn11fnity.

The fearful disaster at st. Pierr
in the island of Martinique, whcl
10000 lives were lost by volcan
eruption, was quickly followed by
similar disaster on the island Of S
Vincent, one Of the British West Ii
dies, which was threatened even bt
fore the St. Pierre calamity. The COZ
respondent of the New York Herald
writing from the island of ST. Vincent
gives a graphic description Of the stu
alton rs follows:
Admonitory rumblings and earth
quakes in the vicinity of Soufrier
came two weeks ago. On Monday
May 5, the lake in the old crater be
came greatly disturbed. On Tuesda,
at 2 o'clock III The afternoon The noun
tain began series Of volcanic efforts
Severe earthquakes accompanied thcs'
terrible noises and detOnatiOns sue
cceded quickly. AT O'Clock in the
evening an immense column of steam
issued from the crater and lasted un
lii midnight.
Terrible explosions followed or
Wednesday morning, and at 7 O'Clock
there was another sudden, violent es.
cape Of steam. This asccndcd fol
three hours, when other material was
elected. At noon three cratcrs ap-
pearcd to open and began to vomit
lava. Six streams at once ran down
the sides of the mountain, making an
awful scene. The mountain labor ed
heavily for half an hour after the ap-
pearancc of lava. Fire flashed around
the edges of the crater, AMI there
were tremendous detOnatiun5 in sue
cession, rapidly merging int" Il contin-
uous roar. This lasted through We'd
nesday night and until Friday morn
ing. The thundcrings OF the volcano
were heard throughout the Caribbean
sea.
The eruption began Wednesday. a
huGe cloud in dark and dense col
umn, charged with volcanic matter,
rose to a height OF s miles from the
mountain top. Darkness like mid
night descended and the sulphurous
air Was laden with fine dust. A black
rnil followed, a rain Of favilla scoriac,
rocks and stone. There were bright
rapid. These with laundering, the
mountain shocks, the earthquake roar,
the lava and falling stones created a
scene Of horror. Large areas of cultl-
vation have been buried beneath the
volcanic matter.
On the Windward coast seven planta.
tions are totally destroyed. Sixteen
hundred and twenty deaths are already
reported. There are 1G7 cases in tho
hospital at Georgetown under treat
ment. The deaths have been caused
chiefly by sutfocation by the sulphu-
rous gas, and burning lava masses.
A few of the cases in the hospital
are likely TO recover. A new crater Is
reported formed on the Richmond es-
tate near the seashorc. The country
districts on the Windward coast are lit
tered with dead bodies.
Kingston, the capital, and the whole
population are safe. There have been
no accidents or deaths. Clouds of
dust are blowing over the city, how
ever. The ccya! mail steamer, Wear,
is transporting food and water to the
Ieeward coast, sailing vessels proceed
to the Windward coast on the same cr-
rand. Doctors and nurses have gone
to The scenes of distress. The ma ior-
ity of the corpses being found are cov-
cred with ashes, dccomposed and hard
ly approachable. The dead are being
buried in trenches, thirty in each.
n dispatch from the island of ST..
Lucia, dated 18th inst, says: " The
Soufriere volcano ON the island Of St.
Vincent is still in destructive cr,lp.
ton. The terrific cannonadc can be
beard hundred miles away. The re.
ports are followed by columns OF
smoke, rising miles III the air. In
mense balls of colored fire also issue
from the crater. Lightning is playing
fcrccly in the upper sky and the
whole northern part Of the island is
one mass Of travelling flame. 1t il
impossible to reach the district by lant
or sea, and there is no means of esti
mating the destruction wrought to life
and property. Kingston, the capita
of ST. Vincent, is still safe, thougl
showers of ashes and pebbles arc con
tnually falling. The volcano itself i
invisible"
The governor of the Windward Is
lands, Sir Robert l,lcwcllyn, telegraph
to the colonial Office in London from
the island of St. Vincent, under dat
of May l3, as follows:
"I arrived here yesterday and foun
the state of affairs much worse tina
had been stated. The administrator
reports show that the country on TN
east coast, between Robin Rock an
Georgetown, was apparently struc
and devastated in manner similar [
that which destroyed St. Piorrc, and
fear that practically all living things
that radius were killed. Probab
600 persons lost their lives. TT
exact number will never be know
Managers and owners of estates wit
their families, and several of the be
ter class of people, have been killc
A thousand bodies have been four
and buried. One hundred and six
persons arc in the hospital at Gcorg
town. Probably only six of this nui
Der will recover. The details OF fl
disaster arc too narrowing for desert
tion.
"I got, at ST. Lucia, coasti
steamer, which is running up a
down the lecward coast with water q