The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1908-03-10

Lapse of Time and Settlement is
Forming.
A correspondent of The New York
Herald writes from st. Pierre, Mar
Unique: Six years have passed since
st. Pierre was wiped out by the vol
canic forces of Mount Pelee, and in
! ten short minutes became city of
! the dead. For a long time the de-
vastated region was Stunned and
empty, for the horror Of that May
night in 1902 held the ISLANDERS N its
grip. But slowly this has changed,
and the last few months, have wit
messed a gradual, but growing re-
population Of the district st. Pierre
today has hotel, wharf is being
constructed, steamers soon will be
in the port whence only one vessel
was able to escape the night of the
disaster, and the authorities have
found it expedient to establish local
police force.
The destruction of six years ago
was widespread, and those who were
left alive fled in terror. The entire
district of st. Pierre, covering some
fifty square miles, became desolate
and uninhabited. st. Pierre, mass
of ruins and waste, was particularly
avoided by the islanders, because of
the fearful story of death hidden be-
meath it's blanket of ashes. Then with
Incredible rapidity the coarse trop-
ical vegetation took root and -four
ished in the volcanic. matter covering
the numberless dead amid the fallen
walls Of their old homes, and nature
decked with green foliage the handi-
work of her unleashed forces Of de-
st-uctiOn:
Such has been the situation in the
stricken area until about year ago,
when slowly the people of the sland,
their fears and horror stilled by the
lapse of time, began returning to
their old homes. This movement
went on by degrees, the more timor-
Gus finally making up their minds to
follow their braver brothers, until
today the district is resuming its old
life. st. Pierre is still abhorred by
many, though it has its own share OF
the movement of repopulaton, but
Morne Rouge, LIE Precheur, Grand
Riviere, and Aiuoa Bouillon, ham
lets that six years ago were familiar
to newspaper readers because of the
stories of death, terror and desolation
that came from them, have now
population that is increasing each
month, and with the people have
come telegraph and telephone lines,
schools, priests, to say mass in the
reconstructed churches and other
evidence of a growing rural commun-
ity.
It would perhaps be too much
to say that St. Pierre IS to be re-
born and become again the COM
mercial center Of Martinique, for
other ports on the island. Fort de
France and Trinite, offer better an
chorage to ships than did st. Perre
ir the oIdYdays. But St. Piere is
the hub, as it were, Of the roads to
the island. 1t is EASIER to move
merchandise into st. Pierre than
anywhere else, and this revival of
traffic will assure a certain activity.
There is today enough movement in
and about the city to have made 1t
worth while for an enterprising
Frenchman to open hotel in st.
Pierre, in the Place Bertin. This
house is frequented by local travel
ers, the tourist who come to look at
the ruins, foreign naval officers on
through steamers calling at Fort de
France or Trinite. A new wharf Will
be completed and steamers Of the
Guerin line are to resume calling at
St. Pierre as they did before 1902.
Already several merchants have
cleared away the ruins Of their ware
houses and started reconstruction
with the idea of opening up again,
and they doubtless Will have imita-
tors who desire to get their share OF
the local trade.
The authorities do not officially
sanction this activity at st. Pierre
and still warn the people Of the dan
ger Of Mont Pelee. Still the presence
of people in the city has made nee
essary the installation Of a police
force and the clearing away and
opening up of several streets. The
payements, sidewalks and cutters
uncovered were found to be IN ex-
cellent condition. This excavation
brought to light large quantities OF
human bones, principally in the Rue
de la Madeleine The cemetary also
has been partly uncovered and most
of the grave stones were found to be
in a remarkable state of 9reserya-
=
ton.