Morris tribune., 1902-07-12
ST. VINCENT'S TRAGEDY
La Soufriere's Deadly Work
Similar to Mont Pelee's.
AWFUL SCENES IN WASTED REGIONS

Many Miles by a Correspondent
Who Penetrated the Stricken Dis
Notwithstanding Scenes In Hos.
pitals-GeOrgetown Day of Terror
Conditions in the stricken district Of
the island Of st. Vincent are almos
beyond description, writes the New
York HeraId's special correspondent
from Port of Spain, Trinidad, under
the date Of May Is. l have just re
turned from visit to Georgetown and
the ruined country around it, where it
was quickly found that the explosions
Of the Soufriere were at least as VIC
lent as those Of Mont Pelee in Marti-
niQUe.
That the destruction of human life
was not so great as at st. Pierre was
due only to the fact that no large city
| was near SOufriere. Had there been
st. Pierre near that awful volcano
! there would have been the same ap-
| paIling loss Of life as on Martinique
| AS it was, 1000 inhabitants of the
! sparsely settled country around the
Soufriere have been killed, and to
| these must inevitably be added very
many of those who escaped alive, but
terribly burned, and who cannot sur
| vive.
Nineteen shocks Of earthquake were
felt at WallibOu on Saturday, May 8,
and at other places the ground appear
ed to be Oscillating almost continuous
~. The crater showed signs on Tues
day morning of having awakened from
it's long sIumber, and by 5 o'clock in
the afternoon a column of heavy smoke
with jet of lurid fame was seen to
issue from the summit Of the mountain.
That jet of flame, with it's sinister look
ing column of funereal smoke, was the
death warrant Of 1000 human beings
doomed to perish miserably within 4
few hours. Then began that race for
life which man who happened to he
at Chateau Belair has thus described:
Il was fishing at some distance from
the shore when my DOatman said to
me: Look at the SOufriere, sir. 1t is
smokingr From the top OF the Gene.
reaching far up into the heavens, a
dark column Of smoke arose. while the
mouth Of the crater itself gIoWed Ike
gigantic forge belchng huge jet Of
yellow fame. The mass Of smoI"
spread out into branches extending for
miles, and clouds of sujphurous vapor
Overlooking. as it were, the bowl Of
the crater, began to roll down the
mountain slopes.
I'VE reached shore and started to
run for our lives. We were soon en-
veloped in imDenetrable darkness, and
was unable to distinguish the white
shirt Of my bOatman even at q yards |
distance. But as he knew every inch |
of ground | held on to a stick he had, |
and so we stumbled on until we reach |
ed a place Of safety. The incessant
roar of the volcano, the rumbling Of
the thunder the flashes Of lightning, |
added to the terrific grandeur of the |
scene. At last we emerged from that |
pail of death, half suffocated and with |
our temples throbbing as if they were |
going to burst" l.
1t was only on Friday afternoon that |
began to gain some idea Of the disas-
ter which had befallen the country Of
the Caribs, as the northern portion of
the Windward coast is called. George
town is the center of that once fertile
and beautiful district, now a desoate
waste Of ashes. Between this town
and the capital there is a fairly good
road. running for the most part along
tie sea.
The journey is usually performed on
horseback, but a mail wagon. which
takes passengers, plies regularly along
the road 1t is also possible to Obtain
at times some sort Of vehicle dr% by
mules. and it was by ono CT these con-
veyancrs that proceeded to George
town on tie day after the eruption.
It is almost impossible to convey in
any idea of the desollte ap-
pcarance of the country beyond the
fifteen mile pOst-that is fifteen miles
from Kingstown and seven from
The whole place looked
as if millions Of barrels Of cement had
been emptied over the land, covering
every inch of ground with coat of
dismal gray. AS we proceeded | motto
I'd that the small stones scattered about
were Of larger size and that the bed Of
lust became thicker until we reached
Georgetown, where the streets were
covered to depth of three feet.
It was only when we reached the
center Of the town, however, that we
began to realize the horrors caused by
hat fatal eruption. We passed three
louses from which there arose beart-
ending walls Of suffering. 1t was in
;heSc houses that the injured, for few
If whom there was any chance OF re-
:overy. were being slowly tortured to
Heath by the memorable hand of ma
ure. We hurried on through George
own to the country beyond, where
most Of the inhabitants had persisted.
The first place we got to was the over
'eers house in Langley park, where
bodies had been found.
Thew had a lreadv heen buried but as