The Elk Mountain pilot., 1902-05-13
FORTY THOUSAND DIE
ENTIRE CITY is DESTROYED.
Wipes Out the Beautiful City of
ST. Pierre on the French Island of
Martinique-One of the Worst
Disasters KNOWN to EistnrN

st. Thomas, d. w. l., May 1O.-It is
ished as a result of the volcanic erup-
tion in the island of Martinique.
The British schooner Ocean Traveller
of st. Johns, n. b., arrived at the
island of Dominica, British West In
dies, at 3 o'clock this afternoon. She
was obliged to flee from the island of
st. Vincent, British West Indies, dur
ing the afternoon Of Wednesday, May
9TH, in consequence of Il heavy fall
of sand from II volcano which was
erupting there. She tried to reach the
island of ST. Lucia, but adverse cur
rents prevented her from so doing. The
schooner arrived opposite ST. Pierre,
Martinique, Thursday morning, May
Sth. While about "A mile off the vol
cano (of Mount Peleel exploded and
fire from it swept the whole town of
st. Pierre, destroying the town and the
shipping there, including the cable re-
pair ship Grappler of the West India
and Panama Telegraph Company of
London which was engaged in repair
ing the cable near the Guerin factory.
The Ocean Traveller, while on her way
to Dominica, encountered IL quantity of
wreckage.
The French cruiser Suchet arrlvd at
l.
French West Indies, from Fort De
France this morning, bringing several
refugees. She confirmed the report
that the town of St Pierre, Marti-
nique, was entirely destroyed at
o'clock Thursday morning by II volcan-
ic eruption. 1t is supposed that most
of the inhabitants of st. Pierre were
killed, that the neighboring parishes
We're laid waste and that the residue
of the population of St Pierre Is with
out food or shelter.
The commander of the Suchet re-
ports that Thursday the entire town
of st. Pierre was wrapped i'll names.
He endeavored to save about thirty
persons, moe or less burned, from the
vessels in the harbor. His officers
went ashore in small boats seeking for
survivors, but We're unable to pene-
trate to the town. They saw heaps of
bodies upon the wharves and it is be
lieved that not Il single resident III ST.
Pierre at the moment of the catastro-
phc escaped.
The governor of the colony, his wife
and his staff. We're in st. Pierre and
probably perished. The extent of the
catastrophe cannot be imagined. The
captain of the British steamer Roddam
was seriously injured and is now IN
the hospital at st. Lucia. All OF the
officers and engineers We're killed or
arc dying. Nearly every member of
the crew is dead. Surgeon Campbell
and ten of the crew of the Roddanl
Jumped overheard at st. Pierre and
We're lost.
London, May 10.-A dispatch to the
Reuter- Telegram Company from
Kingston, Jamaica, giving the details
of the Martinique disaster, already
known, says:
thousands were killed at st. Pierre,
where terrible panic prevailed. The
eruption began Saturday, May Sd, when
st. Pierre was covered with ashes and
appeared to be enveloped In fog. The
flow of lava continued until Wednes-
day, May eth"
\ dispatch to the Mail from Point-a-
Pitre, island of Guadeloupe, French
West Indies. dated yesterday. says:
The Mont Palee (St. Pierce crater
elected yesterday morning molten
rocks and ashes during three minutes,
and completely destroyed st. Pierre
and the district within IA fOur-mile ra-
dius. All the inhabitants We're burned.
About eight passengers from the
Rorlima. of the Quebec steamship line,
Were saved by the French cruiser Su-
chet
The inhabitants of the southern dis
tricts of the island. who were depend
ent ON St Pierre for provisions, are
menaced by famine"
A dispatch to the Mail from Jamaica
says:
The first intimation of Il disaster (aIt
Martinique was the breaking of the
cables Tuesday. The French cable to
Martinique from Puerto Plata was
ff,1,
tion with all the northern islands is
stopped.
The survivors of the British steamer
Roddam describe the scene mt st.
Pierre as being ''glimpses of hell"
beggaring description. The Roddams
men were killed chiefly by molten lava.
Two ships were lost with all on
board, in an attempt to approach Mar
Unique.
The latest available figures show the
total population of the island of Mar
Unique as $4,000 people. of whom o.
600 lived in st. Pierre, and have near
ly all perished.
All the newspapers here express the
utmost horror ut the catastrophe,
which, they say. for its magnitude is
comparable to Pompeii. and they eX-
tend deep sympathy to the French ma
ton.
Owing to the cable breakdown in the
West indies. no details of the disaster
at Martinique have yet been received
here. The available dispatches from
the West Indies represent the inhnbit-
ants of the other islands as being in
deadly fear.
Prof. John Milne, the sesmologist, in
an interview published in the Express,
declares that his seismic instruments
have recorded no disturbance, and they
would almost invariably have done so
had serious earthquakes occurred.
Professor Mines theory is that Mont
Pelee chad blown its head off" owing