Oakes Republican., 1902-05-16
AWFUL Scenes
IN ST. PIERRE
Thirty THOUSAND CORPSES
sTREWN ABOUT OR BURIED IN
THE RUINS.
EARLIER 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.

Fort-de France, Martinique, May A.
1t now seems to be generally ad-
mitted that about 10000 persons lost
their lives as 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
we're accurate.
Briefly put, last Thursday morning
the city of st. Pierre disappeared with
In ten minutes III a whirlng fire vom
tied from Mount Pelee; thirty thousand
persons were Instantly and horribly
killed, and the volcano, whose ancient
crater for lnora than fifty years had
been occupied by a quiet lake in which
picnic parties bathed, suddenly dis
charged a torrent of fiery mud, which
rolled toward the sea. engulting every
thing before it. Then the last Of cable
communication was broken and the
doomed city was isolated from the
ayorld.
The American consul at Guadeloupe,
Louis II. Ayme, has reached the deso-
late spot where ST. Pierre stood and
SplillI the awful SlOFN III all 1LS SS-
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 inka bitants of
the city awoke 20 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 niylt, and fine ashes fell
like rain on st. Pierre. The inhabitants
We're alarmed. but Gov. Moutett who
had arrived at ST Pierre the evening
before, did everything possible to allay
the panic.
The British steamer Rorainna reached
st. Pierre on Thursday with ten passen-
gers. among whom were Mrs. Stokes
and her three children and Mrs. H. J.
Inca. They were watching the rain of
ashes when. with frightful roar and
terrific electric discharges, a cyclone of
FIRE, mud and steam swept down from
the crater over the towr and baJ,
sweeping all before it and destroying
shore. There the accounts OF the
catastrophe so far obtainable cease
Thirty Thousand COrpses
are strewn about, buried in the ruins
of St. Pierre or else floating, gnawea
by sharks, in the surrounding seas.
The Associated Press steamer chartered
at Gaudeloupe ncaTeG -Iartinique at
$50 Sunday morning. Enormous guam
titles of tha nf 1or
small ships and houses strewed the sur
face Of the sea. Huge trees and 100
often bodies with focks of seagui.s
soaring above and hidaous sharks fight
ing about them, were floating here and
there.
AT LIE Precheur. five miles north Of
st. Pierre, canoes with men and women,
frantic to get away, begged for a pass
age on the steamer.
The whole north end of the island
was covered with q silver gray coating
of ashes resembling dirty snow. F'uri-
bus blasts of. fire, ashes and mud swept
over the steamer, but fnally. st. Pierre
was reached. The city of st. Pierre
stretched nearly two miles along the
Waterfront and half a mile back to a
cliff at the base of the volcano. The
ruins were burning in many places and
frightful doors of burned flesh filled
the aair. With great difficulty, land
ing was effected. Not one house was
left intact
Viscid Heaps of Mud.
ash and volcanic stones We're seen on
every side. The streets could hardly
be traced. Here and there amid the
ruins We're heaps of corpses. Almost
all the faces We're downward In one
corI.er twenty-five bodies Of men, wom-
en- and children were mingled in one
awful mass, arms and leg. rrotrudng,
as the haples.s being fe:. in the last
struggles of Deaths agony. Most nota-
bic was the utter silence ana The awful
overpCWering stencil from the thou
sands of dead.
Careful inspection showed that the
fiery stream whic! SO completely de-
stroyed st. Pierre must have been COM
posed of poisonous gases which in
stantly suffocated everyone who in
haied them. and of other gases burning
furiously, for nearly all the victims had
their hands covering their mouths or
were in some other attitude showing
that they had sought relief from suffo-
cation. All the bodies were carbon
ized or roasted
The stories of the survivors added to
the awful details of the particularly
narrowing account of the BEitsh
steamer Roraima.
Cyclone of Fire.
c. G. Evans of Montreal and John G..
Morris OF New York who now at