The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1902-05-15
CITY WHOLLY
DESTROYED BY
RED VOLCANO
Awful Fate Of the City Of
St. Pierre, Island Of
Martinique.
OVER THIRTY THOUSAND DEAD

Devastation Is Complete-Lava and
Tidal Wave Wipe Out Every vestige of
the Prosperous Island City-Island Cow
cred With Ashes.
Castries, ST. Lucia. B. W. l., May
12.-Mount Pelec, volcanic noun
tain some ten miles north of st.
Pierre, the commercial capital of
Martinique, is the mountain which
made faint show of eruption fifty
years ago. On May Sd last it began
to throw out dense clouds of smoke.
At midnight the same day flames, &C
companied by rumbling noises, light
ed the sky over an immense area,
causing widespread terror. May a,
heavy ashes covered the whole city
quarter of st. Pierre an inch thick and
made Mt Pelec invisible. At noon
May a stream of burning lava rush
ed 400 feet down the mountain side,
following the dry bed of torrent
and reaching the sea. five miles dis
tant, in three minutes. In its rush
the frey 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 Cue
rim sugar factory, one OF tho finest
On the island. 1t Is now completely
entombed in lava. The tall chimney
alone is visible. One hundred and
fifty persons are estimated to have
persisted there, including the owners
son. AS the lava rushed into the sea-
the latter receded 300 feet all along
the west coast Returning with great
strength, the big wave covered the
whole sea front of St. Pierre, but
did little damage ashore or afloat.
Terrible detonations, heard humid
reds of miles northwest, followed at
short intervals and continued all
might. In the intense darkness the
electric lights failed. but the town was
lit up by lurid flashes OIL fame from
the mountain. The terror-stricken in
habitants rushed for the hills in their
night clothes, screaming, shouting and
wailing-mad with terror.
The Plissono family escaped to ST.
Tura in small steamer. Thirty-f1ve
persons, mostly women and children,
arrived here on the forenoon of the
9Th and furnished the above details.
The men remained at Martinique.
communication was interrupted with
both the islands of Martinique and st.
Vincent
During the afternoon of the 9Th the
British steamer Roddam, which had
left st. Lucia at midnight on the 7th
for Martinique. crawled slowly into
the Castries harbor, u@racognizable,
gray with ashes, her rigging disman-
tied and sheets and awnings hanging
about torn and charred.
Captain Waiter reported that, hav-
ing just cast anchor off St. Pierre at
8 a. m. in fine weather, succeeding an
awful thunder storm during the night,
he was talking to the ships agent,
Joseph Plissono, who was in the boat
alongside, when he saw tremendous
cloud of smoke and glowing cinders
rushing with terrific rapidity over the
town and port, completely, in an in
slant, enveloping the former in a
sheet of flame and raining fire on
board. The agent had just time enough
to climb on board when his boat dis
appeared. Several of the crew of the
Roddam were quickly scorched to
death. By superhuman efforts, hav-
ing steam up, the cable was slipped
and the steamer backed away from
the shore and, nine hours later, man
aged to reach Castries. Ten OF the
Roddam's men were lying dead, con-
torted and burned out of human sem
blance, among the black cinders which
covered the ships deck to depth of
six inches. Two more of the crew
have since died. Two of the survi-
vors were loud in their praise of the
heroic conduct of the captain in steer
ing the vessel out Of danger with his
own hands, which were badly burned
by the rain of fire which kept fall
Ing for miles after she got under way.
Beyond burns all over his body the
captain is safe, as is also the ships
agent, though he is badly scorched.
Mr. Plissono is believed here to be
the sole survivor Of the 1000 in habi-
tants OF the town, and all the ship
ping in the town has been utterly
destroyed, the West India Telegraph
Company's repairing ship going first,
then the Quebec liner Roraima, Cap
tain Muggah of the later waving his
hand in farewell to the Roddam as
his vessel sank with a terrific explo-
sion.
The British royal mail steamer Esk,
which called off Martinique at 10
o'clock Saturdav night, reports stand
Ing OIL SnOre nVe miles, sounding her
whistles and sending uD rockets. She
received no answer. The whole sea
front was blazing for miles. The Esk
sent a boat ashore, but it could not
land on account of the terrific heat,
which was accompanied by loud ex-
plosions. Not living soul appeared
ashore after the boat had waited two
hours. Fire and ashes fell on the
steamer.
In the afternoon French coasting
steamer arrived here from Fort de
France seeking assistance, as all the
s
No known land animal has naturally
poisonous flesh. There are, however,
several fish whose flesh is deadly.
With letter in her hand announc-
ing that she had won $25,000 in lot
n faru a uridnuu ,rl,n lzonf a nron1l abe,