Morris tribune., 1902-05-17
St. PIERRE and ITS LIFE
Description of the Devastated
West Indies City.
WAS NOTED FOR IT'S BEAUTY.

ReaEthy--Their Quaint Customs
st. Pierre, on the island Of Mar
Unique, just destroyed by the terrible
eruption Of Mont Pelee, was one of
Indies, says the New York Times. Here
were splendid homes, great factories
and magnificent estates. The loss of
the city means the destruction of mil
aiOns Of dollars worth Of property, ac'
cor6ing to Ele0 who have been to St.
Pierre and are familiar with it's bust
ness affairs.
There were mere than $4,000 people
tEl the city. OK this number only some
$500 were white, and they were nearly
all OF French descent. The negroes Of
the island Of Martinique are Of the best
glass of negroes, most OF them having
been educaitN IL the schools OF Paris.
The whites are in numerous instances
descended from old French legitimist
families. The people are very sharply
divided into "bosses' and laboring men,
and the bosses make up q social circle
.0ntireiy their own. So sharp is the
line Of cleavage that the only club for
= EurOpeans at st. Pierre was known
simply as the White club. The negroes
Tad a club called the Black club. One
CT the cid. French families, that Of the
J>ericnelles. Lad q paIatial estate in the
Suburbs CT -. Pierre this being prob
ably tie mos notable private estate in
liz" West lntios.
,1hn "HOSHcs" CT st. Pierre were in
nearly every instance eng2 ged in tie
manufacture Of rum, sugar or cocoa.
Tie rum factories are the most i'm
pCrtant. tie article being maHufac-
dured from The sugar cane which is
raised in great abundance in the plan
tations Of the EeighborhOCd. The most
important of the rum factories belong
ed to NJ. dc Garagarri, NJ. SayOn and
M. BERT. The Bert plant consisted
OF some five distinct distilleres, valued
at about $JCO,0CO. The extensive sug-
sar plant belonging to DR.. Guerin and
valued at about 100000 was destroyed
by the volcano some days ago, accord
ing to cable adyices.
, The seat Of the government IF the
fsland is at Fort-de-F France. St. Pierre,
however, was the chief commercial city
aof the island. The municipality was
governed by a mayor and a council of
fWenty-seven members. The mayor
was N. Hyacinthe Nicole, with Rene
Clavius- Marius and Amedee Knight as
deputies. The municipal government
was housed in one of the many fine
buildings of the city.
The topography Of st. Pierre was pc
cuIiar Facing the sea, with no land
protcction whatever from tides, it's har-
Dor was not safe refuge for ships in
dime of storm. The beach was SO alb
rupt nevertheless that heavy draft
steamships found it possible to go with
An fifteen or twenty yards Of the shore,
hhere transferring their cargOes to
tbarges and lighters, which could steam
! 1lD and down the mile or SO Of beach
airectly bounding the city. The build
angs began within few yards Of high
aide point and covered the land, in
sspite of a very abrupt slope. for nearly
a mile inland.
Distinctive among the buildings Of
the city was q Catholic cathedral, pre-
sSided over By Mgr. Marie Charles AL
fred de Cormont. This was magnif-
cent structure for such q small city
md Eas built many years 2 90. II The
diocese Of 81. Pierre there were three
churches and several small chapels.
In addition, there was Jesuit college
of no insignificant proportions, there
being about thirty-fve professors in
the faculty.
The business Of the city, outside Of
the export trade, was done through re-
tail stores There We're twelve dry
goods stores, two large hardware
stores making a specially of farming
materials and four brokers. The mon
ey Of the city was largely handled by
the Banque &c Ia Martinique, founded
in 1851, with a capital of 100000
francs In addition. there were in St.
Pierre agencies CT the Bank Of France
and the Colonial Bank of London.
The city maintained complete pub
lie school system. There was a fine
hotel, known as the Pierre Crocquet,
Nv Ac1 uldhN LVl hCLC Oll 1919
from France to enjoy the climate of
the island. Just outside the city there
was an elaborate botanical garden,
where a superb collection of tropical
plants had been gathered. One of the
features Of this garden. and one which
illustrates the eccentric topography Of
the country, was water fall drop
ping some 800 feet.
Merchants and ship captains who
know the Windward islands cannot
conceive of the gay little port of st.
Pierre de Martinique covered with
ashes and lava. AS do all the colonial
capitals Of the French, st. Pierre fol-
lowed as closely as the steamers and
mails would permit the customs and
fashions of Paris. At the Hotel des
;Bains at the "absinthe hour" one might
always find a gathering Of the young
men of the town. who sat slipping their
Ljiqueurs, and chatting gayly, says the
Now York Elvpninr Post