Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1902-05-11
Mont Pelees Deadly Eruption Begins Nay 8
with Dense Smoke Clouds.
EMITS TORRENT OF FIRE TWO DAYS LATER
eliminates Thursday in Towns Extinction
and Forty Thousand Killed.
DECORATIONS HEARD HUNDREDS OF MILES
Latest Reports Say Crater Continues
Emissions of Lava and Relate
story OF widespread Ruin
and Distress.

CASTRIES, St. Lucia, B. w. l., May TO-
Mont Pelee, volcanic mountain some ten
miles north of st. Pierre, the commercial
capital of Martinique. is the mountain
which made a faint show OF eruption ifty
years ago.
May 3, last, 1t began to throw out dense
clouds Of smoke. At midnight the same
day flames. accompanied with rumbling
noises, lighted the sky over an immense
area. May hot ashes covered the whole
city quarter Of St Pierre an inch thick and
made Mont Pelee invisible. At noon May
stream OF burning lava rushed 4,400 feet
down the mountain side, following the dry
bed of torrent and reaching the sea, Ave
miles from the mountain in three minutes.
In its rush the fiery flood swept from its
path plantations, buildings, factories. cat
tie. and human beings over a breadth OF
about half a mile.
At the rear Of the mouth OF the Riviere
Blanche stood the large Guerln sugar fac
tory, one of the finest in the island. IL
is now completely entombed in lava. The
tall chimney alone is visible. One hun
dred and fifty persons are estimated to
have perished there, including the owners
son.
Sea Recedes All Around.
AS the lava rushed into the sea the lat
ter receded 300 feet all along the west
coast, returning with greater strength. a
big wave covered the whole sea front OF st.
Pierre, but doing little damage ashore or
afioat
Terrible detonatlons. heard hundreds OF
miles northward, followed at short, irregu-
lar intervals and continued at night. In
the intense darkness the electric light
failed, but the town was lit up by lurid
flashes of flame from the mountain The
terror-stricken inhabitants rushed for the
hills in their nightclothes screaming, shout
ing and wailing-mad with terror. The
Plissono family escaped to St. Tura in q
| small steamer.
Thirty-hve persons. mostly women and
children, arrived here in the forenoon of
the 9Th and furnished the above details.
The men remained at Martinique
The same day, later, telegraphlc COM
munications were interrupted with Mar
Unique and st. Vincent. During the after
noon of the sth the British steamer Rod
dam. which had left st. Lucia at midnight
on the 9TH for Martinique, crawled slowly
| into the Castries harbor unrecognizable.
gray with ashes. it's rigging dismantled
torn and charred.
Rain of Fire on Board Ship.
Captain Whatter reported that, having
Just cast anchor off st. Pierre at a. m.
in fine weather succeeding an awful thun-
derstorm during the night, he was talking
to the ships agent, Joseph Plissono, who
was in a boat alongside, when he saw a
| tremendous cloud of smoke and glowing
cinders rushing with terrific rapidity over
! the town and port, completely, in an in
stant, envelopng the former in a sheet OF
flame, and raining fire on board. The agent
had just time to climb on board when his
boat disappeared Several OF the crew Of
Roddam were quickly scorched to death.
| BY superhuman efforts, having steam up.
| the cable was slipped and the steamer
backed away from the shore, and nine hours
later managed to reach Castries.
| Ten OF Roddam's men were lying dead.
burned out Of human semblance, among the
! black cinders which covered the ships
| decks to a depth OF six inches. Two more
Of the crew have since died.
! Two OF the survivors of the crew were
loud in their praise of the heroic conduct
| OF the captain, steering the vessel away
| from destruction with his own hands, which
were badly burned by the rain OF fire which
kept falling on the ship for miles after 1t
got under way. Beyond burns over his body
the captain is safe. as is also the ships
agent. though he is badly scorched
Sole Survivor at st, Pierre.
| Mr.. Plissono IS believed here to be the
| sole survivor of the 40,0 900 Inhabitants OF
| the town, and all the shipping in the port
has been utterly destroyed. the West In
dian and Panama Telegraph company's re-
pairing vessel going first, then the Quebec
! liner Roraima. Captain Muggah OF the lat
| ter waved his hand in farewell to Roddam
/ as his vessel sank with a terrific explosion.
| The British Royal Mail steamer Esk.
which called on Martinique at 10 o'clock
last night reports standing on shore nvs
miles, sounding its whistle and sending
| up rockets, It received no answer.
The whole sea front was blazing for
miles Esk sent a boat ashore, but Il could
not land on account Of the terrific fire which
was accompanied by loud explosions. Not
| living soul appeared ashore after the boat
had waited for two hours. Fire and ashes
! fell all over the steamer.
! In the afternoon French coasting
steamer arrived from Port de France, seek
ing assistance. as all the country was
burned up the stock was dying. all the
plantations were charred, the country peo-
famine was feared The steamer was
| loaded with food Of all sorts and was sent
back to Martinique at p. m. The captain
OF this vessel reported that some thirty
| persons left ST. Pierre by the 8 O'Clock
boat Thursday morning for Port de France,
and consequently were saved.
! 81. Pierre Enclosed by Fire.
All attempts to get to St. Pierre are
barred by FIRE The closets observation
possible showed houses still blazing and
streets strewn with charred bodies. II is
certain that the whole town and neighbor-
ing country for miles Ia utterly destroyed
and It is feared here that few II any oi
| the Inhabitants escaped.
The volcano OF the island OF St. Vincent
has burst out in sympathetic eruption. A
steamer which returned from there last
night reports that the northern third OF
the island was In flames and cut on from
assistance by a continuous stream OF burn
| ing lava aahea falling In heavy ehoWSra