New Britain herald., 1930-07-26
PHOTOGRAPH PELEE
 WITH AIR CAMERA
Party Completes Survey Of West
 Indian Volcano

Washington, D. c, July o6-Mt.
 Pelee, on the Island of Martinique, most famous and most destructive of the volcanoes of the Atlantic basin. has just been observed and photo
 graphed from the air by the West Indies-South America aerial survey party of the National Geographic So- ciety The present observations sup plement and bring down to date the work of an expidition sent out by the society to make studies of the volcano from the surface. immedi- diately following it's explosion in May, 1902. That explosive eruption annihilated the city of St. Pierre and killed virtually all its 50,ooO inhab- itants.
 Frederick Simpich, in charge of the aerial survey party, describes the appearance from the air of the death dealing volcano and the near by Island of St. Lucia in the follow ing communication to the National Geographic Society's Washington, D. C. headquarters:
 We are coasting about on the clouds now. to get pictures or the peak of Mount Pelee. which bulks sinister and lava burnt above the buried city of St. Pierre. Just be- low us, as I write, is the great riv- CT Of molten rock and ashes which, with the incalculable blast of poison gas let loose, wrought the most ap- palling seismic tragedy since the de- struction of Pompeii.
 Down "Carib Sea Lane
 "Quitting Antigua Island in rain suuall, We have been laundering down the Carib sea lane for St. Lu- cia, along the west coast of the French Island of Guadeloupe and British owned Dominica. Flying low tow to keep under rain clouds. we got close up of peaceful. palm fringed towns along these lonely tropic beaches.
 But. maps in hand. we all await ed eagerly our first glimpse of the point of the French 1s land. Martinique, and it's historic volcano. Mount Pelee. Skillfully weaving his big Nyrba airliner Ar gentina,' Pilot Kenneth Hawkins flies closer and closer to the scared and abysmal slopes of the volcanic | monster. NFrom the air it's every as pect reflects the cataclysm of nature | which years ago conVulsed the | stricken island and stunned the | world
 Below us we see deep, wicked l trenches plowed by flowing fire. A long, white river of treeless ash and lava runs down the volcano. and in- to the sea Under it, buried forev- CT. is the once happy. prosperous i French city of St. Pierre. which was | completely obliterated. Even many l ships. then anchored offshore, were set on fire by the titanic blast which | shot from a great hole blown in the | and were destroyed | with most of those on board.
 Circling an Entombed City
 "As we circle over the entombed | Clly. l lIllih Ol iAiy' anu 'iioe N"J in A. D. 79, when he saw the doom of Pompeii, in the shadow of Ne- suvus.
 "The photographers signal now that their pictures are made, and we resume our flight for Port Castries, on the Island of St. Lucia. On our way. we pass Diamond Rock. Dur ing England's war with France in 1894. this high rock was garrisoned by the crew of the British 74-gun ship Centaur. With ropes, Admiral Hood swung guns from his ship and hauled them to the top of this lone. biscuit shaped rock: and from this high perch, for Is months, the doughty Englishmen fired on French ships venturing from Martinique over towards St. Lucia.
 Behind us now the sun is setting. as we alight at Port Castries, in a narbor of theatrical beauty, Sharp. pointed hills. draped with jungle verdure, rise about it. Rowling, luarreling blacks fight to row us ashore, and carry our baggage up | steep hill to a neat. comfortable odging house where a lone English ady takes paying guests Here 20 stranger can sleep till he gets lsed to the appalling nocturnal din