The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, May 13, 1902, Page 2

(5] THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, TUESDAY, MAY 13, 1902 AWFUL SCENES IN ST. PIE NEGROES ATTACK GUARDS Some Refugees Made Mad by Pangs of Hunger. Special Dispatch to The Call. FRANCE, May 12 ty is full of refug rought from nelghboring vil- about St. Plerre. Othe - in from the coun- stricts about this town. cse people, chiefly negroes, ger and military guard plac- detachment of soldiers has the stores of food that gatherea here from ail It is expected immediate danger of riot- g will be prevented as stores are com- in from neighboring istands. { ty has greatly quieted down since | - w of ashes, sand and mud inhabitants that Mont Pe forth. The Mayor, in co-op- the military, put the town survefllance, and the hos- | prepared for the care of | | lake, in which picnic parties bathed, sud- with trict sl pitals the wounded L NATIONS JOIN IN GIVING AID .TO AFFLICTED ASHINGTON, May 12.—Following | the text of the telegrams be- Presidents Roosevelt and on the Martinique disas- May 11, 1902 His Excel- | jubet, President of the | 1 pray your Excellency und sympathy of the e in the appalling calam- come upon the people of Martinique. 'HEODORE ROOSEVELT.” mpathy you sent me in the can people on the oc- catastrophe in the isl- French people | join me in thanks to the EMILE LOUBET.” contribution to th he relief of the suf- Martinique disaster. The | d to President Lon-| ympathy of | e Czarina, 'who share with e sorrow caused by the terribic lian catastrophe. WIESBADE the of Hesse-Nas- mperor William | dent Loubet, in rophe which has just over- | and which cost the lives | many persons as perished at asten to offer France my sympathy. May the Al- rt the hearts of those who | irreparable o My Em- | remit to your Excellency 10,000 marks in my name as a for the the affiic:- Loubet replied: greatly touched by in thie terrible misfor- tune whic s fallen on France, your Majesty delgned to convey to me. 1 beg accept my warm thanks and also itude of the victims whom you | Pprepose to suceo | ROME 12.~The Pope to-day sum- | mon the ench Embassador, M. Nie- ard the Vatican and expressed to him 1 sorrow on hearing of the St. er. The Pontiff requested t he be kept informed regarding the details of the voleanic outbreak. QCEAN'S BED SINKS NEAR MARTINIQUE THOMAS, D. W. I nce last night. The at- mosphere is now fine and reassuring. Refugees from St. Vincent continue to ar- rive at Do each repeating a piti- | 2le of hardship and sufferings. ates ship Potomac passed to-day. Many empty canoes are annel, being driven by wind and toward Point-a-Pitre, Guade- A few refugees from Martinique United § ica loupe. have arrived at Dominica in a sloop. The French cable ship Pouyer Quartier is trying to repair the cable. It is report- hat she finds it sunk in 1200 metres er, where it was formerly only 400 below the surface _news has been received to-day from Vincent or Martinique. N e ALASEAN TRANSPORTATION RATES TAEKE A TUMBLE War of Stemshiprc-ompmies Begins and Will Be Fought toa . Finish. SEATTLE, May 12—An Alaska trans- portatior ate war, which probably will be fought, with disastrous resuits to tk engaged in it and a cogresponding efit to the traveling public, was | urated this morning. closed tickets to Lynn e selling at $7 50 and $5, Th r respectiv. prevailing tariff has been $30 and Torpid Liver When your complexion is sallow, and you are troubled with Constipation, Malaria, Sick Headacge and other Liv- er Complaints, take Horsford’s noved by the news of the | | the mark of | | THIRTY THOUSAND VICTIMS This Is One Estimate of Loss of Life at St. Pierre. ORT de FRANCE, Martin- ique, May 12.—It now seems to be generally admitted that about 30,000 persons lost .their lives as a result of the out- break of the Mont Pelee vol- cano at St. Plerre on Thurs- | day last. Caveful investigation by compe- | tent Government officials sho earlier reports of the | were accurate. Briefly put, last ‘Thursday morning the city of St. Plerre disappeared within ten minutes, in a whirl of fire from Mont Pelee; thirty thousand persons were in- stantly and horribly killed, and the vol- cano, whose ancient crater for more than fifty years had been occupled by a quiet Associated Press denly discharged a torrent of fiery mud, which rolled toward the sea, engulfing everything before it. Then the last of cable communication was broken, and the doomed city was isolated from the world. The American Consul at Guadeloupe, Louis H. Ayme, has reached the desolate epot where St. Pierre stood and confirms the awful story in all its essential detalils. From an interview with Colonel Ayme, who is a trained American newspaperman, a correspondent of the Associated Press learned the following fact: HORRID DETONATIONS. Thursday morning the inhabitants of the city awoke to find heavy clouds shrouding the Mont Pelee crater. All day Wednesday horrid detonations had been heard. These were echoed from St. < = that the * | e e et e e et e e e e e e Thomas on the north to Barbadoes on the | south. The cannonading ceased on Wed- nesday night and fine ashes fell like rain on St. Plerre. The Inhabitants were alarmed, but Governor Mouttet, who had arrived at St. Plerre the evening before, did everything possible to allay the panic. The British steamer Roraima reached St. Pierre on Thursday with ten passen- gers, among whom were Mrs. Stokes and her three children and Mrs. H. J. Ince. They were watching the rain of ashes, when with .a frightful roar and terrific electric discharges a tornado of fire, steam and mud swept down from the crater over the town and bay, sweep- ing all before it -and destroying the fleet of vessels at anchor off the shore. There | the accounts of the catastrophe, so far as | obtainable, cease. THIRTY THOUSAND CORPSES. | Thirty thousand corpses are strewn | about, buried in the ruins of St. Plerre | or else floating, gnawed by sharks, in the | surrounding sead. Twenty-eight charred, | half-dead human beings were brought here. Sixteen of them are already dead | and onlx four of the whole number are | expected to recover. The Associated Press steamer, charter- ed in Guadeloupe. meared Martinique at 6:30 Sunday morning. The island, with its lofty hills, was hidden behind a huge veil of violet-colored haze. Enormous quan- tities of the wreckage 'of large and small ships and houses strewed the-surface of the sea. Huge trees and too often bodies, with flocks of sea gulls Soaring above and hideous sharks fighting about them, were floating here and there. From be- hind the volcanic veil came blasts of hot wind, mingled with others ice cold. At Le Precheur, five miles north of St. Pierre, canoes with men and women, frantic to get away, begged for a passage on the steamer. The whole north end of the island was covered with a silver gray coating of ashes resembling dirty snow. Furious blasts of fire, ashes and mud swept over the steamer, but finally St. Plerre was reached. NO HOUSE LEFT INTACT. The city of St. Plerre stretched nearly two miles along the water front and half 2 mile back to a cliff at the base of the volcano. The houses of the richer French families were built of stone. The still smoking volcano towered above the ash-covered hills. The ruins were burning in many places and frighttul odors of burned flesh filled the air. With great difficulty a landing was ef- fected. Not one house was left intact. Viscid heaps of mud, of brighter ashes, or piles of volcanic stones were seen on every side. The streets could hardly be traced. Here and there amid the ruins were heaps of corpses. Almost all the Acid Phosphate Tt stimulates healthy liver activity, increases the flow of bile, inproves appetite, pro- motes digestion, enriches the faces were downward. 1In one corner twenty-two. bodies of men, women and children were mixed in one awful mass, arms and legs protruding as the helpless beings fell in the last strug- gles of death’s agony. Through the mid- dle of the old Place Bertin ran a tiny stream, the remains of the river. Great trees, with roots upward and scorched by blood.end inproves the whole system. Torctart's nasme e every GENUINE packscs fire, were strewn in every direction. Huge blocks and still hot stones wepe scattered about. From under one large stone the arm of a white woman protruded. Most | steamer Solent. | field hospital outfit. notable was the utter silence and the < awful, overpowering stench from the thousands of dead. FOISONOUS GASES. Careful inspection showed that the fiery stream which so completely destroyed St. Pierre must have been composed of pois- onous gases, which instantly’ suffocated every one wha inhaled them, and of other gases burning furiously, for nearly all the victims had their hands covering their mouths or were in some other attitude showing that they had sought relief from suffocation. All the bodies were carbon- ized or roasted. A. G. Austen, a manager of the Colonial !Bank of Barbadoes, landed at St. Plerre | with a party from the British Royal Mail He found the bank clock stopped at some minutes before 8 o’clock. A horse and buggy and a policeman were in a dead group at the door. At the request of A. McAllister, United States Consul at Barbadoes, Captain Da- | vis and the Solent were. placed at his dis- | posal by the Barbadoes government. The Solent arrived at about the same time as the Associated Press steamer and brought to St. Plerre the Colonial Secretary, two civil doctors, two military officers and Dr. W. E. Aughinbaugh of Washington, as well as a corporal and four hospital or- derlies, three trained nurses and a full The Barbadoes gov- ernment also sent 700 barrels of provi- sions, one ton of ice and a full supply of | medicine. These were useful, but the dead needed only quick burial. STORIES OF SURVIVORS. The stories of the survivors added to the awful détails of the particularly har- rowing account of the loss of the British steamer Roraima. C. C. Evans of Mon- treal and John G. Morris of New York, who are now at the military hospital of Fort de France, say the vessel arrived at 6 o'clock. As eight bells was struck a frightful explosion was heard up the mountain. . The cloud of fire, toppling and roaring, swept with lightning speed dowa the mountain and over the town and bay. The Roraima was nearly sunk and caught fire at once. “I never can forget the horrid, flery, chcking whirlwind which enveloped me,” #aid Evans. Morris and I rushed below. ‘We are not very badly burned—not so bad as most of them. When the fire came we were going to our posts—we are en- gineers—to weigh anchor and get out. When we came up we found the ship afire aft and fought it forward until 3 o’clock, when the Suchet came to our res- cue. We were then building a raft.” Ben Benson, the carpenter of the Ro- raima, said: “I was on deck amidships when I heard the explosion. The cap- tain ordered me to up the anchor. I got the windlass but when the fire came I went into the forecastle and got my clothes. When I came out I talked with Captain Mauggah, Mr. Scott, the first of- ficer, and others. They had been on the bridge. The captain was horribly burn- ed. He had inhaled flames and wanted to jump into the sea. I tried to make him take a life preserver. The captain, who was undressed, jumped .overboard and’ hung on to a line for a while, when he disappeared.” Gus Linder, the quartermaster of the steamer, who is horribly burned and can hardly talk, confirmed this. ONRUSH OF THE FIRE. Francisco Angelo, who speaks poor Eng- lish, vividly described the onrush of fire. He says the captain was 2 brave man, RRE'S RUINS ACTION IS VERY PROMPT Passage of the Bill Appropriating $200,000. Special Dispatch to The Call. ALL BUREAU, 1406 STREET, N. W., WASHING- TON, May 12.—President Roosevelt sent a message to Congress to-day asking that $500,000 be appropriated to ai sufferers in the terrible calam- ity in the West Indles. House and Senate promptly decided to appropriate $200,000, believing the balance of the money ned- ed in relief work would come from pri- vate subscription. The subject came up before the House during the afternoon, the District of Co- lumbia measures being laid aside to per- mit the relfef bill to be considered. In view of the President's message urg- ing an appropriation of $500,000, the House Committee on Appropriations immediately reported a substitute tu the Senate relief bill making it $200,000 and placing its dis- position under the President of the United States. URGES PROMPT ACTION. Heminway of Indiana, the acting chair- man of the Appropriations Committee, se- cured unanimous consent for immediate consideration. The amount, he sald, had been limited to $200,000 because the com- mittee was informed that large contribu- tions were being made by private parties. He specified one of $5000 made by a citizen of Maine. Heminway urged the need of prompt. action, saying thousands might die through delay. The text of the sub- B o+ < MORNE ROUGE, T}IE BEAUTI- FUL RESORT NEAR ST. PIERRE, WAS NOT INJURED. o+ too brave to be burned to death. Angelo further asserted that the storm of fire lasted not more than five minutes. Jo- seph Breckels, a seaman 50 years of age, is so frightfully burned that he cannot live, having inhaled flames. Other men of the Roraima who were rescued are Salvador Acello and Joseph Susino. From the Italian ship Teresa Lovico several men were saved, but they are in a frightful state, except Jean Louis Pru- dent of St. Plerre. Although' on deck and unprotected he was little burned. Prudent says there was first an awful noise of explosion and then, right away, & cyclone of smoke and fire, but such was the poisonous, choking nature of the smoke that it burned worse than the fire. When it struck the people they fell dead. The cyclone of gas tore the masts out of ships, blew others up gnd sunk some of them. Soon afterward came a wave of fire bigger than the smoke cloud. “That cloud,” continued Prudent, “was bigger, it seemed, than the mountain. The fire burned the city everywhere at once. Near me I saw only-dead men, but on shore I saw men and women rushing back apd forth amid the flames for an hour. They would not run long. Then came that choking smoke and they would drop like dead flies. The explosion, smuke and fire all came and went in three min- utes, but the city burned for threc hours. Then every house was finished, and neth- ing alive was left. “Some men from sinking ships got to the shore, but they were burned up there. At no time was there any earthquake, but big stones were rained down and fell like rain for a long time.” SOME FEARFUL INJURIES. In a hospital were fifteen injured per- sons from Cartel village, four miles from St. Plerre. The village of Irrine, south of St. Plerre, was 2lmost entirely burned and almost all the inhabitants were killed. One of the survivors of Irrine, who will die, says the sea, boiling hot, invaded the land. Six women, whose bodies are one solid burn, are writhing in another ward of the hos- pital. Ten women from Irrine, severely burned, were brought in, and four : of them have died. It is doubtful if any of the six still alive can recover. An evidence of the swiftness of the on: slaught of the fire is found in the fact that none of the victims was blinded, al- though the eyelids of miost ‘6f them are nearly burned through. All those saved, 3 | antee, no cure, no pay. except the engineers of the Roraima, are poor sailors and Martinique negroes. No one knows how the passengers of the steamer perished, and it is impossible to get a full list of the vessel's lost. The cable repair ship Grappler was lost with all on board, as was the French vessel Tamaya. There were eighteen or twenty vessels in the roadstead at the time of the disaster. The British steamer Roddam had an- chored, but Captain Freedman, although horribly burned, managed to keep on the bridge of his vessel. Everybody on the Roddam’s deck was instantly killed, but with the assistance of his third engineer and a fireman, who were wounded, the | captain brought his vessel to St. Lucia. | Many persons tried to reach the Roddam, but in vain. 2 DEATH OF CONSULS. The United States Vice Consul at St. Plerre Amedee Testart, reached the deck of the Roddam, only to fall back into the sea dead. Three hours’ exploration of the ruins of St. Plerre resulted in the finding of no trace of the American Consulate. Con- sul omas T. Prentls, his wife and two “daughters are undoubtedly dead. That quarter of the city is still a vast mass of blazing ruins. Nor has any trace been found of James Japp, the British Consul. Mr. Japp had a large family at St. Plerre. 2 Last Saturday,-after ten hours’ work, a captain and a detail of soldiers found 2,500,000 francs in the Bank of Martinique. The vaults of the English Bank at St. Plerre were found to be intact and were not opened. The coast villages near St. Pierre were destroyed simultaneously with that town. The entire island, up to within a few miles of Fort de France, is covered with mud and ashes. The cattle of the island are either all dead or dying. The streams have dried up or are polluted. Thousands of persons are flocking to Fort de France. Unless relief is promptly sent, famine is imminent and there is urgent need for the services of the Red Cross Society. The French cable line, via Europe, is now the only means of telegraphic com- munication with the outside world. The demands made upon this line are extreme- 1y _heavy. 0dd Fellows Visit Orphans’ Home. GILROY, May 12.—About 150 delegates to the Grand Lodge of Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the California Re- bekah Assembly made an: excursion trip to Gilroy to-day to visit the Odd Fellows' Orphans’ ©° Home; which is established here. The train arrived at noon and the excursionists were taken at once to the home, where luncheon was served by the local lodges of Rebekahs and Odd Fel- lows. The afternoon was passed in in- specting the home, and the visitors ex- pressed themselves as pleased with the excellent management of the institution. Piles Cured Without the Knife. Itching, Blind, Bleeding or Protrudin; No cure, No Pay. All druggists a; lnfhol;llll: by manufacturers of Pazo Olntment to refund money where it fails to cure any case of piies no matter of how long standing. Cures ordinary cases in six days; WOrst cases in fourteen days One application gives ease and rest. Rel:eves itching instantly. This is a new discovery, and is the only pile remedy sold on positive guare A free sample will be stitute as presented was as follows: ““To\enable the President of the United States® to procure and distribute among the suffering and destitute people of the islands of the French West Indies suci provisions, clothing, medicines and other necessary articles and to take such other steps as he shall deem advisable for the purpose of relieving and succoring the people who are in peril and threatened with starvation, the sum of $200,000 Is hereby appropriated. “In the execution of this act, the Pres- ident is requested to ask and obtain the approval of the Frenci Government and he is hereby authorizel to employ any vessels of the United States navy and te charter and employ any othar suitable steamships or vessels.” NINE IN THE NEGATIVE. Underwood of Alabama said that he was opposed to the measure and would vote against it. -Members were not here, he sald, to legislate upon the impulse of their heartstrings. He believed it would | have been more appropriate for the Pres- L2 COLIMA GROWING UNEASY Strong Indications of Eruption Shown by Volcano. Special Dispatch to The Call. USTIN, Tex., May 12—A dis- patch from Guadalajara, Mex- ico, says: The Colima vol- cano shows strong indications of an eruption and the inhab- jtants living in the valley at its base are moving to a sale distance from the peak, from whiech smoke and puffs of flame have been belc ing forth for several days past. Mou Colima has been showing indicatio renewed activity for several weeks past and this threatening condition caused.the work of constructing the extension of the Mexican Central Railroad to M:nzamlln. s near to the base of the moun- :):lsn‘ing(o cease temporarily. Since the catastrophe at St. Pierre the people of the Colima district are very uneasy and it will take very little demonstration on the part of the volcano to produce a panic. The route af the Mexican Central exten- sion will probably be changed in order to avoid any possible disaster that an eruption might bring. ASKS LARGE APPROPRIATION IN MESSAGE ASHINGTON, May 12.—The Pres- ‘/“/ ident to-day sent the following message to Congress: “To the Senate and House of Representatives: One of the greatest calamities known to history has fallen on the neighboring island of Martinique. Tha Consul of the United States at Guadeloupe has telegraphed from Fort de France un- der date of yesterday, that the disaster is complete—that the eity of St. Plerre has ceased to exist and that the American Consul and his family have perished. He is informed that 30,000 people have lost their lives and that 50,000 are homeless and hungry; that there is urgent need of all kinds of provisions, and that the visit of vessels for the work of supply and res- cue is imperatively required. “The Government of France, while ex- pressing its thanks for the marks of sym- pathy which have reached them from America, informs us that Fogt de France and the entire island of Martinique are still threatened. They therefore request that, for the purpose of rescuing the peo- ple who are in such deadly peril and threatened with starvation, the Govern- ment of the United States may send as soon as possible the means of transport- ing them from the stricken island. The island of St. Vincent and perhaps others in that reglon are also serfously men~ aced by the calamity which has taken so appalling a form in Martinique. I have directed the Departments of the Treasury, of War and of the Navy to take such measures for the relief of these stricken people as lie within the executive discre- tion, and I earnestly commend this case of unexampled disaster to the generous consideration of the Congress. For this purpose I recommend that an appropria- tion of $500,000 be made, to be immediately available. “THEODORE ROOSEVELT. «White House, Washington, May 12, 1902.”" ident of the United States to send a mes- sage of condolence to the Government of France. Fitzgerald of New York sought to have the amount amended to $500,000 in accor- dance with the President's recommenda- tion, but in view of the unanimous action of the committee the amendment was not pressed. The bill was passed, 196 to 9. Those voting in the negative were: Bur- gess of Texas, Clayton of Alabama, Gaines of Tennessee, Tate of Texas, Moon of Tennessee, Snodgrass of Tennessee, Tate of Georgia, Underwood of Alabama and Williams of Mississippl. The bill for the relief of the Martinique sufferers, as amended by the House, in- creasing the amount from $100,000 to $200,« 000 was laid before the Senate. Cullom, chairman of the Committes on Foreign Relations, said that whatever might be the action of the committes hereafter on the President's request feog $500,000, the $200,000 should be appropriated without delay. The amendment was agreed to and the bill sent to the President for his signa. ture. crowns and brims; are in round and square shapes. The hats came a short time very latest for summer wear. Straw hats ,in_rough and shapes, 50¢ to $1.50. sent b il to any one sendl g by, wallito any ng name and ad- dress. It your druggist don’t kee 1t in stock 50c in ‘stamps and o Ward full ‘size box by mail. - Manutactured oy PARIS MEDICINE CO., % . Mo., who also manufacture the celebrate Laxative Bromo-Quintne 'hblma feadle 1 | See th clothing window; the prices range 43¢, 75¢, $1.00 and $1.50 Sailor Wash Hats Here is the swellest thing of the season for boys and girls, and even ladies can wear them as outing hats. . . They are sailor hats made of wash materials in blue, white, pink, brown, tan, red and ox-blood, comprising eighteen different styles in various trimmings; some come with patent leather all have very flexible brims and the crowns ago from New York and are the e display of them in the boys’ | smooth braids, walking or fedora Out-of-town orders filled—write us. SNWooD 718 Market Street