Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-05-13
ST. Pierre and Others.

the disturbances ana the great loss If |
life confined. but throughout the neigh |
boring islands Of the Lesser Antilles |
and in that whole section of the earth |
there is subterranean unrest and much
public apprehension. Awful as is the
catastrophe, it is nevertheless 4 sub
lime demonstration of the majestic
violence Of nature ANA Il reminder tina
the latent forces in the bosom Of the
earth are not only beyond the control
but also beyond the comprehension, Of
man. What mockery they make Of his
boast Of being the lord Of CREATION
The awful suddenness Of st. Pierres
fiery doom is q most impressive thing
The mountain towering above the city
had been smoking and grumblIns lit
tle The first time i'll half u century.
but no serious alarm was created.
Then on Thursday morning. as one
witness says who saw it from out at
sea. the top Of the mountain blew off
and a rain of fire and ashes and mud
cnguIfed the city If 10000 souls, with
the harbor and surrounding section. 1t
was all the work Of two or three min
utes. II was much like the blowing up
Of y boiler ana the cause was probably
much the same, the access of water TO
the volcanic fires in the heart Of the
mountain Thus the destruction was
complete and there are almost no sur
vivors to tell the story. In all record
ed history there have been but few
catastrophes where the loss of life
was greater. ana probably none when
the work of destruction was sWifter
ana more sudden. 1t will be days and
perhaps weeks before accurate figures
as to the loss can be given. 1t may be
! that $4,000 human beings persisted in
that awful hour in st. Pierre and the
surrounding country. And the loss in
neishboring islands promises to reach
a sad total.
iii looking back for similar tragedies
in history we fnd that there are rec
ords Of many cities buried or wrecked,
and many millions of lives wiped out,
~ the volcanic cruptions and their
kindred destroyers, earthquakes and
tidal waves. The destruction Of
Pompeii - 4. d., is particularly
famed in history and is often referred
to at this time. 1t is not probable.
how ever. that Pomucii WAS anywhere
near az large city as 81. Pierre.
Tie reports Of the number Of lives lost
in some Of the historical disasters are
probably overdrawn, but are, neverthe-
less. sufficiently distressing. 1t is re-
corded that 2OO0oo persisted by the
earthquake at Jeddo. Japan, in 1903. AT
Lisbon 10000 We're destroyed in the
brief span Of eight minutes by the
great earthquake of November ], 1755.
Two centuries earlier the city had
been wrecked and about 10000 lives
lost It is estimated that from 17S& to
1884 the Kingdom of Naples alone lost
10000 inhabitants by earthquakes.
The destruction Of Caracas in 1872,
when 1900 persisted; Of several towns
in Peru and Ecuador in 1868, when
q, 600 lives were lost, ana the destruc-
tive eruption in Java in 1883, and
accompanying disturbances. which de-
stroyed vast number of people, esti-
Y mated from 10000 to $4,000 are few
of many terrible reminders Of the in
security OF communities in regions
subject to such visitations. The United
States has not been wholly exempt
from them. The earthquake felt at
Charleston in 1886, resulting in the loss
of Al lives and in a property loss of
$5.oo00O0, startled the country, ana
warned us of the destructive posi-
biIities that Turk in the mysterious
forces Of nature.
Just as Mount Pelee looked down
upon st. Pierre at it's feet, so many
| tti'Aliti NpileilIlt lttlil HUNS uON H.
today, upon populous and unconscious
cities which they may in any hour lay
waste. For. man, blissfully thoughtless
Of such a danger dwells over many a
spot where the fires are only smolder-
ing and biding their time. The spot is
fertile and life is brief anyway so he
takes the chances. if he stops to think
of them at all. over the graves of
lava-buried cities many cities have
been built. Vesuvius, for instance
which buried Pompeii and Hercu-
laneum, has more people at its mercy
now than it had when it wrought such
havoc. There are cities ana villages at
it's base and the vineyards are culti-
waited up to the very lips of its smok-
ing. treacherous crater. Ivezaltenango,
the city recently destroyed by the
Guatemala earthquake, was built right
on the side of a volcano Under old
E,tna live 100000 people. including 49,
| 600 in Catania, which was DESTROYED in