The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1902-05-28
| the VOLCANIC
CATASTROPHE
St. Pierre, Island Of Martin.
ique, Wiped Out by a
WhirlVind Of Fire.
MONT PELEE EXPLODED
Stream Of Lava Poured Down Upon
the City, Shutting Out the Lives
Of Its Inhabitants Within
Three Minutes.
SHIPPING IN PORT DESTROYED
MONT PELEE EXPLODED
SHIPPING IN PORT DESTROYED

Reocus Psrtiss Find None Alive at Sc.
Pisrre.The Dead Lie About In Heaps
-soms Faces Calm. But Othcrs Showed
the Horror With which They Net
Their Fate-Funsr.l Pyrss Built In
the Streets For the Cremation OF the
Bodies - The French Governor. the
American and British Consuls Among
the Deod-Loss OF Llfe Estimated ai
lo,ooo-Tidal Wave Enguifed Shipping
London. The correspondent Of the
Times at st. Thomas. D. W. l.. states
that the town of st. Pierre. In the
French Island Of Martinique. has beer
totally destroyed by volcano. All the
inhabitants of the town. says the CORE
spondent. have lost their lives. and ali
the shipping In the harbor has been de-
stroyed.
Paris. France. Fresh dispatches
from the commander Of the French
warship Suchet indicate that the Mar.
Unique horror was even worse than at
first reported.
Not alone was st. Pierre laid waste.
but the country for miles around fell
under the devastation Of the bursting
mountain. This swells the total OF the
lost from $4,000 to 10000.
The disaster occurred at 8 o'clock
ON Thursday morning. Mont La Pc
lee exploded. The great volcano lying
above the arc Of the beautiful town,
nesting among the palms and orange
trees was suddenly rent by the pent
gases within and beneath II, and came
laundering down upon the town. q
mass Of fire and molten rock. or lava,
and the unmelted material above It.
There was no time to escape-scarce.
ly time for prayer. Persons In the
streets were swallowed up In flame
incinerated In q moment.
The fire reached the town first and
set 1t ablaze. The worst horror irst
Then came the avalanche. 1t was not
needed. The survivors Of the calamity
who saw 1t from the sea say 1t was like
a glimpse of hell.
The sheets of fire were scattered fol
miles around. They fell like a deluge
upon the crescent shaped shore. They
swallowed up groves and houses. They
caught the beautiful hanging gardens
in their embrace and withered them
within few moments. Then came the
torrent Of lava and mercifully covered
up the spectacle Of ruin.
The town was destroyed In five min
utes. 1t was quick work. There was
no long, dragging horror. The deaths
Of the Inhabitants were mercifully
short In coming, horrible though were
their last moments.
During the eruption, which lasted
three minutes after the explosion. the
entire island was In the throes Of vio
lent seismic disturbances. Natives
everywhere were frightened. expecting
to be killed. though accustomed tc
earthquake disturbances. The effects
Of the earthquake on the water would
have been startling In ordinary clreum
stances.
Fort de France. Martinique.-A land
Ing has at last been made In the cit!
OF st. Pierre. and the work Of explor
Ing the ruins Of the annihilated towr
has begun.
Enough has been revealed to indicate
that the very worst anticipations as t.
the result Of the eruption Of Mont Pc
lee are realized.
Those who have come back here from
st. Pierre report that the. streets ant
all the peighborhood around what {
few days ago was the largest and mos
prosperous city in Martinique are nov
covered with heaps upon heaps o.
dead bodies In all directions.
All the dead thus far seen wer,
stark naked. their clothing apparently
having burned from their bodies like 8,
much finder. while they themselvel
were burned to death. In the vast ma
jority Of instances fire seems to hav,
been the sole cause Of death. Grea
numbers Of the bodies have been burs
asunder by the terrific heat and lie dis
emb0welled.
In many instances the faces Of tn,
victims are quite calm. as though the!
were stricken down instantly wher
they stood without moments warn
ing or with hardly time to appreciate
the deadly peril they were In. Other
have stamped on their faces an expires
sion Of indescribable terror.
| The entire city and the neighborhoo,
all about 1t reek with a horrible odo
Of burned flesh.
Almost the first thing done was t
make preparations for the cremation
/