The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, May 16, 1902, Page 1

Call, — VOLUME XCI-N®. 167. N FRANCISCO, FRIDAY, MAY 16, 1902. PRICE FIVE CENTS. SAYS GREAT WAVE OF DEADLY GAS ELEE'S RAIN OF FIRE PRECEDED Planter Has) Marvelous Escape. Witnesses the Volcano’s Fury. | | S | | Gasp of Gas; | Overcomes People. weom the Special Correspondent of The Call and the New York Her- | ald. Copyright, 1802, by the New | York Herald Publishing Company | SPAIN, | ‘ 15— ORT OF Trinidad, May M. Albert, the owner of the| which lies and manager estate, ut a mile northeast of the| er of Mont Pelee, has just ar- re fith his family on the| er Catada from Martinique. | He tells a story of a marvelous escape from the death that swept | St He| t. Pierre out of existence. says: GIVES DUE WARNING. “Mont Pelee had given warn- ing of the destruction that was to | come, but we, who had looked | upon the volcano as harmless, did not believe that it would do | yre than spout fire and steam 1ad done on other occasions. | ttle before 8 o’clock on he morning of May 8 that the| i I was in one of the| estate when the| i trembled under my feet, when the earth but as though a terrible | ame. f my does gle was going on within the | A terror came upon | e, but T could not explain my | HEARS AWFUL NOISE. “As I 1 Mont Pelee dder, and a moan- | ed from its crater. , the sun being obscured by ashes and fine vol- The air was dead so dead that the float- t me, ng dust seemingly was not dis- “Then there was a rending, crashing, grinding noise, which I can only describe as sounding as though every bit of machinery in the world had suddenly broken | down. It was deafening, and the | flash of light that accompanied it was blinding, more so than any | 1itning 1 have ever seen. It was like a terrific hurricane, and, where a fraction of a second be- fore there had been a perfect| I felt myself drawn into a d I had to brace my- It was like a great n rushing by, and I its force. The mys- terious force leveled a row of strong trees, tearing them up by expres was draw the roots and leaving bare a space of ground fifteen yards wide and more than one hundred| yards long. " SEES DEADLY CLOUD. { “Transfixed, I stood, not knowing what direction, to flee. 1 looked toward Mont Pe- lee, and above its apex formed a great black cloud, which reached high in the air. It literally fell upon the city of St. Pierre. It in i [r— - | FROM still in eruption. the volcano. panic. In St. Pierre the desolation death was due to asphyxiation and the city of St. Pierre and rendered followed by the sheet of flames that ness. about St. Pierre, an: | within the lines. PEOPLE PERISH T. KITTS, B. W. I, May 15 —From an officer of the steamer So- lent, just arrived from St. Pierre, it is learned that Mont Pelee is Lava flows in broad streams down the sides of The entire island of Martinique in a great pyre, upon which kerosene is steadily sprayed. In spite of this it will be weeks beiore the place can be cleared of the debris. Physicians who have made examinations say that in most cascs believed that Mont Pelee threw off a great gasp heavy and noxious gas, something akin to firedamp, which settled upon This theory is accepted by the survivors who were taken from the ships in the harbor, as they say that their first experience was one of faint- Looting is being sternly suppressed. - Soldiers z; only those who have business there are allowed GAS WAVE continues in a state of is appalling. Bodies are being burned It is now exceedingly that the fire came later. of some the inhabitants insensible. This was swept down the side of the mountain. now form a cordon moved with a rapidity that made it impossible for anything to es- cape it. From the cloud came explosions that sounded as though all of the navies of the world were in Titanic combat. “Lightning played in and out| in broad forks, the result being intense darkness was followed by light that seemed to be cf mag- nifying power. ESCAPES TO SEASHORE. “That St. Pierre ‘was doomed I knew, but was prevented from seeing the destruction by a spur of the hill that shut off the view of the city. “It is impossible for me to tell how long I stood there inert. Probably it was only a few sec- onds, but so vivid were my im- pressions that it now seems as though I stood a spectator for % many minutes. When I recover- ed possession of my senses I ran to my house and collected the members of the family, all of whom were panic-stricken. I hur- ried them to the seashore, where we boarded a small steamship, in | which we miade the trip in safety to Fort de France. I knew that there was no flame in the first wave that was sent down upon St. Pierre. It was a heavy gas- like firedamp and it must have asphyxiated the inhabitants be- fore they were touched by the fire which quickly followed. NEW CRATERS OPEN. “As we drew out to sea in the small steamship Mont Pelee was in the throes of a terrible convul- sion. ‘New craters seemed to- bhe opening all about the summit and lava was flowing in broad | | | | | { | i | | | | | | | + b i = SCENE AT THE DESTROYED COMMERCIAL METROPOLIS OF MARTINIQUE. Great Forc of Awful Wave. -t e man. heard the warnings and they were wiser than | | | have arrived here | | They remained, and Cattle lowed in streams in every. direction. My estate was ruined while we were still in sight of it. “Many women who have lived in St. Pierre have escaped only to know that they are feft widows and childless. This is because more wealthier men sent away their wives while they remaine;l in St. Pierre to attend to their business affairs.” SCIENTISTS’ VIEWS SADLY " INACCURATE EW YORK, May 15.—A Journal spe- N ctal from St. Thomas, Danish West Indfes, says: The Danish warship Valkyren has returned from Martinique, where she has been assisting in rescuing refugees from the nelghborhood of St. Plerre. Her officers tell of heartrending sights in the ruined city..They bring a copy of a newspaper or proclamation dated May 7, in ‘which notice Is given that the commission of scientists appoint= ed by the Government have . examined Mont Pelee and determined that there is g no danger of further serious eruption. The notice was signed by Governor Moutette. The paper was found in a house wherein there were seven dead people, who were apparently suffocated by gas, as they ‘were not burned. The commission referred to was ap- | pointed by the Government to reassure the people of St. Pierre. They came to the doomed city and studied the phenom- ena of the:volcano and their report was that Pelee showed no indication of ab- normal violence, but that the indications were identical with the recognized phe- nomena of volcanoes gererally. — They further reported that the position of the craters and neighboring valleys project- ing toward the sea allowed them to affirm that the security of St. Plerre was not threatened. Every member of the commission per- ished the morning after this report was promulgated and with them Governor Moutette and wife, who had come to St. Plerre to show by their presence that the Government believed in the optimistic de- ductions of the sclentists. Haller, the French Consul at St. Thom- as, returned from Martinique on the Val- kyren. He denies the story that the Gov- ernment prevented the people of St Plerre from leaving the city. He says a guard was established about St. Plerre not to keep the people in it, but to keep put the great ‘owds from Fort ‘de France, who, attracted by the spectacle presented by the eruption of Pelee, flock- ed to St. Plerre. He admits, however, ‘that the Government tried to calm the e disturbed population of St. Plerre with assurances that there was no danger. PARISIANS SHOW LITTLE INTEREST | IN THE DISASTER ARIS, May 15.—The American vis- itors here cannot understand the seeming indifference of the Parls- jans in regard to the Martinique disaster. Beyond the half-masted flags over the Government offices there are no signs of public mourning. The people flock to their usual resorts, attend the races, fill the theaters, none of which has been closed. No “extras” are issued and there is no demand for them. But the evening papers containing bulletins of the automobile races are eagerly purchased. The various funds being raised for the relief of the Martinique sufferers now only total 303,000 francs, including the large subscriptions of the forelgn potentates and the 20,000 francs from the municipal- ity. The provinces seem more interested in the djsaster than the capital. They are actively organizing committees to raise funds, and there is much mourning at the seaports whose ships were de- stroyed. A representative of the Associated Press has just returned from the Ministry of the Colonies. Besides the reporters those who were in the waiting-room around the Continued on Page Five. i | ok o3 | guard the ruins in 'S uffering on Island Still Intense. Martinique in Great Need of Food. Ghouls’ Raids Increase Horror. From the Special Correspondent of The Call and the New York Hesr- ald. Copyright, 1902, by the New York Herald Publishing Company. E. KITTS, B Wails May 15.—Great suffer- ing continues in Mar- tinique. Food is being received, but not in sufficient duantities to feed the crowds of refugees that have flocked to Fort de France. The steamship Madiana, with food supplies pur- chased by the New York Cham- ber of Commerce, left here last night for Fort de France. GHOULS AT WORK. FORT DE FRANCE, Mar- tinique, May 15.—St. Pierre is infested with -pillagers, who are forcing safes. The authorities are, taking severe measures. Fifty of the ghouls have already been arrested and imprisoned in Fort de France, where the population wanted to lynch them. There were 663 bodies interred | to-day, making a total of 1200 The work of in- terment is presenting great diffi- culties. The inhabitants of the north- buried thus far. | ern part of the island are now dis- DUMB ANIMALS ESCAPE VOLCANO | FREA L 2 s T. KITTS, B. W. I.. May 15.—By those who from Martinique it is said that the dumb anin | Mont Pelee long gave warning of the storm of fire which it ! was storing up to hurl upon the island. Residents of St. Pierre saw and refused to heed them. the danger which had long confronted them brought death to 30,000. Even before Mont Pelee began to rumble late in April livestock be- came uneasy and at times were almost uncontrollable. the night, dogs howled and sought the company of their masters, and when driven forth gave every evidence of fear. Wild animals disappeared from the vicinity of Mont Pelee. Even the snakes, which at ordinary times are found in great num- bers near the volcano, crawled away. Birds ceased singing and left the trees that shaded the sides of Pelee. A great fear seemed to be -upon the island, and though it was shared by the human inhabitants. they alone neglected to protect themselves. | tributed in the various districts of the south. Some Italian sailors were | saved who were thought to have | perished at the time of the erup- tion. The volcano continues to belch forth smoke. TROOPS ON GUARD. Troops have been detailed to St. Pierre, with orders to fire upon pillagers. ST. THOMAS, D. W. I, May 15.—For some days past the at- mosphere at St. Thomas has been heavy and misty. To-day these conditions greatly in- creased, and the hills of the isl- and have a whitish appearance. It is supposed that volcanic dust is falling upon them. Some ap- prehension has been feit here since a slight earthquake was ex- perienced Tuesday, May 13. It is supposed that the fires which were recently seen in the direction of Fort de France re- sulted from the burning of bodies on Martinique. PIRATES PLAN TO MAKE RAID ON ST. PIERRE ONDON, May 15.—The correspondent L of the London Times at Paris, M: de Blowitz, supplies his paper this merning with an account of the St. Plerre disaster, telegraphed to him by a friend from Fort de France, Martinique, under date of yesterday, by way of the igland of Malta. The account, which does not differ very, materially from that al- ready told, is as follows: “It is a melancholy and almost humil- ating thing that the site of St. Plerre has to be guarded by the military, for nu- ‘merous pirates from the neighboring Isl- ands were preparing to come and lay hands on anything of value,” were