i Densarvalic; Watchman. Betllefcnte, Pa., May (6, 1902. P. GRAY MEEK, - - Epitor Teems of SusscrierioN.—Until further notice this paper will be furnished to subscribers at the following rates: Paid strictly in advance Paid before expiration of year......... Paid after expiration of year...,........ A Mistake. In another column of this issue of the WATCHMAN will be found the list of per- sons who have properly registered as can- didates and are eligible to be voted for at the coming Demdcratic primaries. The rule under which registration is required was adopted in 1899, and was generally understood to apply only to eandidates for county offices. Positions such as chair- man of the county committee, congres- sional and senatorial conferees, delegates to the state conventions and other places of the kind that have no emoluments, were nos supposed to be included in this rule, for the reason that few men fitted for these duties, or worthy the honors, would be inclined to make a contest for them, and because of failure to register would he excladed from being voted for. In fact, if chairman BOWER’S action, in recognizing the necessity for registration for positions other than for county offices, is correct then the Democracy will hereafter be limited in its right to name candidates to those the chairman may declare duly registered, whether they are qualified for the positions or not. In our estimation this precedent if once established will be one that will breed eternal contention and trouble. It will prevent the selection of such men as wil best fill the positions, and will limit the choice of the Democrats of the county to those only who may make themselves can- didates for the places, or to the persons the chaitman may see proper to register. It will give opportunities for trickery that cannot but prove disastrous, and deny to the mass of voters a right that no one should be able to deprive them of. The WATCHMAN protests against any such an understanding, of the rule referred $0, as js implied in the chairman’s recogui- tion of its application to other than candi- dates for county offices. There is one way, however, for the Dem- ocracy to defeat anysuch an interpreta- tion of its requirements. If they do uot find the men registered who they think are the proper persons for the positions songht, they do not need to vote instructions to their delegates. This will leave the dele- gates free to select the best men they can find for such places. Quay the Absolute Boss. The progress of the campaign for the Re- publican nomination for Governor reveals the fact that QUAY’s control of the party is more ahsolute than ever. “Until he ‘inter- fered everything was running toward ELK- IN. The machine counties, one after an- other, either instructed their delegates for him or elected men who were personally committed to his support. Out of some sixty delegates that bad been chosen fifty- five of them were for the ‘Plow Boy.” But since QUAY spoke only half a dozen or 80 out of some forty that have been elected are for him, while he stands to lose many of those who bad been previously elected for him. If this change had been in favor of a man who was conspicuously fit for the office it would not be surprising. If the candidate chosen by QUAY had been a man illustrious on account of distinguished public services, | the change would have been a token of civic virtue. But as a matter of fact Judge PENNYPACKER has nothing to commend him to popular favor. His record on the bench to which he was appointed by Gover- nor BEAVER, under the direction of QUAY, after he had fought BEAVER'S election, is a negative record. That is to say he has «one nothing in that position that was con- spicuously wrong or commendably good. He has simply drifted along with the cur- rent of affairs, voting the machine ticket and taking things as they came. It 1s safe to say that there were not 500 men in the State, outside of Philadelphia, who knew him when his name was brought out. Nevertheless, because he defended QUAY against a more than usually caustic criti- cism, he is to be made the candidate of his party for Governor. After a series of un- usually bold political immoralities a writer in the North American Review held QUAY up to popular abhorrence as a type of the most odious of the political bosses of the country. It was an exceedingly vigorous arraignment and it completely silenced the machine defenders of the boss. Thereupon Judge PENNYPACKER came forward and in a most skillful and adroit way set up a defense. For that service he is to be nom- inated and because of it ELKIN seems to be driven out of the fight practically. ——The WATCHMAN this week devotes considerable space to the St Pierre disasier. It was the most frightful occurrence of modern times and we feel that the very complete story of it, as published in this issue, will be appreciated. ——The Pittsbur g Dispaich begins a se- ries of beantiful art subjects as supplements, to Sunday issues May 18th. Don’t miss this. Order at once. ——Since DANIEL and QUAY have made up again perbaps Judge Love will be in- viting DAN to go fishing with him. “@own on the town. History scarcely affords a parallel to the frightful fate that over-took the thirty or more thousand residents of St. Pierre, the principal city of the island of Martinique, one of the chain of the Lesser Antilles, last Thursday morning, May 8th. With scarcely a moment’s warning the great volcano Mont Pelee broke into eraption and an avalanche of molten lava swept from her riven sides down into the beautiful vai- leys to the north. The fiery torrent wither- ed, blistered and submerged everything in its path. Not one had time to escape, for it rushed over the ten miles distance to St. Pierre in three minutes. Those who might have been saved from the molten flood either died in the sea or were battered to, death by the torrents of stones, scalding mud and ashes. No story will ever fully describe the horror of the scene. As compared with it the destruction of Pompeii must have been far less agonizing and other catastrophes of ancient times but trifling. The crater of Mont Pelee had been wear- ing its ‘smoke cap’’ since May 3rd, but there was nothing until last Monday to indicate that there was the slightest danger. On that day a stream of boiling lava burst through the top of the crater and plunged whelming the Guerin sugar works and killing 23 work people and the son of the proprietor. A commission was appointed by the Gov- ernor to investigate the outbreak, and it returned a reassuring report on Wednesday evening. But about 8 o’clock onfThursday morning a shower of fire rushed down on St. Pierre and the coast from La Carbet, which had a population of 6,500, to Le Pecheur, which bad a population of 4,000, burning up everything in its path. Throughout Thursday the heat in the vicinity of St. Pierre was so intense and the stream of flowing lava was so nnremit- ting that it was impossible to approach the town during the early part of the day. As evening approached the French cruiser Suchet, after a heroic battle with the heat, suffocation aud sulphur fumes, succeeded in making a dash toward the shore, near- ing the land close enough to enable her to take off 30 survivors of the disaster all of whom were horribly burned and mutilated. St. Pierre at that time was an absolute smoking waste, concealing 30,000 corpses, whose decomposition necessitated in some cases instantly completing their cremation, which was only partially accomplished by the lava. Not a house in St. Pierre is standing, the entire city being consumed and buried. The inhabitants of Fort De France were panic-stricken the morning of the disaster, when the sky suddenly blackened and it was as dark as at midnight. The seashrank back 30 yards, and hot rain began to fall, while gravel the size of walnuts, poured This lasted about 15 minutes, The 450 survivors who were taken to Fort de France on Saturday from St. Pierre by the French cable repair ship Pouyer Guerthier, were from the town of Le Pechur, surrounded on all sides by flowing lava, say they were fairly roasted to death and expected momentarily to be engulfed. The latest reports received show that lava continues to pour down the slopes of the mountain, slowly engulfing the whole north of the island, while fresh crevasses are continnally opening. THE STORY OF AN EYE WITNESS. Ellery S. Scott, first officer of the steam- er Roraima, who was rescued from the wreck of that ship in St. Pierre harbor said : It was about daylight on the morning of May 8, when we sighted Martinique. At 6 o'clock we were at anchorage off the Place Bertin landing. ’ When the agents, with lighters aud stev- edores, came alongside, they told us that Mount Pelee had beeu acting ugly ever since the previous Saturday, and that there had been a heavy fall of hot cinders over St. Pierre itself. However, the volcano seemed to have quieted down, and we got the stevedores to work smartly. Twenty vessels were anchored in the harbor. One of them was the Tamaya, a bark from the French port of Nantes. There were four other large sailing vessels. The British Steamer Roddam put into the berth next to ours and let drop her anchor. Then something happened. There was a shaking in the air, so that we felt as if someone had jostled us. A man near us cried out : “My God, look at that !”’ He was looking at Pelee, and every soul on board looked, too. I can’t describe what I saw, of course, but my first thought was that the end of the world would just look like that. ? It was just as if the mountain had been blown up by all the dynamite in the world. First of all, a great pillar of flame rushed straight up in the air, then it open- ed out wider than the mountain itself and came roaring down out of the sky upon us. Some of us rushed to the forecastle head to heave the anchor. I saw the captain shout- ing orders and I saw McIear, the engineer, drop below. As we reached the ship’s head the fiery cloud was upon us. Rough stones, scald- ing mud and red splashes of flame dropped and scattered all over the ship. Ships were swallowed up by an enormous wave. : There was another roar, and with it all the water in the harbor seemed to get up and rush upon the shipping. Every craft keeled over to the great tidal wave and seemed to sink. When the wave struck us it flooded up fore and aft, sweeping away the masts, funnel, all the small boats save one and part of the deck. As I was about this work Captain Mug- gad came along. I knew him by his clothes though these were smouldering, but his face was scorched beyond recognition. “Lower the boat,’’ he said. I could not obey his orders, for the boat that was left by the tidal wave was burned full of holes by the flaming rain. I saw no more of the captain after that, but I was told by a stevedore of St. Kitts, that he jumped overboard and got on a raft, which The Most Appalling Disaster in Modern Times. 30,000 ‘PEOPLE KILLED IN A TWINKLING. into the valley of the river Blanche, over- | The Entire City of St. Pierre Destroyed and Half the Island of Martinique Buried Under Molten Lava Belched forth from the Volcanic Mt. than the Destruction of Pompeii.—All of the West Indes Islands Threatened. Pelee. Even Worse had been hurriedly pat together. and that he died there. All this time the sea was rolling like the heaviest kind of gronnd- swell. Pelee was roaring, and the air was fall of strange shocks. : When I looked at St. Pierre the sight was terrifying. The city was gone and in its place was a long stretch of gray, smok- ing. flaming dust. All about the ships were sunk or aflame. Between us and them and the shore dead bodies floated singly aud in groups. Some hours afterward, I didn’t know how long it was then, but I’ve since been told it was at 3 o’clock in the afternoon, the French crusier Suchet steamed in and rescued 17 of us more dead than alive. The escape of my vessel was miraculous. The woodwork of the cabins and bridge and everything inflammable on deck were constantly igniting. It was with great difficulty that we few survivors managed to keep the flames down. My ropes, awn- ings and tarpaulins were completely ‘burned. I witnessed the entire destruction of St. Pierre. The flames enveloped the city in every quatter with such rapidity that it was impossible that any person could be saved. As I have said, the day was turn- ed suddenly into night, bnt I conld dis- tinguished by the light of the burning city people distractedly running abouton the beach. The burning buildings stood out from the surrounding darkness like black shadows. All this time the mountain was roaring and shaking. In the intervals between these terrifying sounds I could hear cries of despair and agony from the thousands who were perishing. These cries added to the terror of the scene, but it is impossible to describe its horror or the dreadful sen- sations it produced. It was like witness- ing the end of the world. 3 Fort DE FRANCE, Martinique, May 11,3 p. m.—A landing has been made at St. Pierre, and the work of exploring the ruins of the annihilated city has begun. While it will be many days before the full magnitude of the havoc wrought can be ascertained, enough is already revealed to indicate that the very worst anticipations are more than realized. Those who have come back here from the city report that the streets and all the neighborhood around what a few days ago was the largest and most properous city in Martinigne are now encumbéred with heaps upon heaps of dead bodies in all directions. All the. dead thus far seen were stark naked, their clothing apparently baving burned from their bodies like so much tinder, while they themselves were roasted to death. In the vast majority of instances fire seems to be the sole cause of death. Great numbers of the bodies have been burnt asunder by the terrific heat, and lie disemboweled. STRUCK DOWN WHERE THEY STOOD. In many instances the faces of the vic- tims are quite calm, as though they were stricken down instantly where they stood, without a moment’s warning or with bhard- ly time to appreciate for an instant the deadly peril they were in. Others have stamped on their faces an expression of indescribable terror. The entire city and the neighborhood all about it reeks with a horrible odor of burned flesh. In one instance an entire family of nine persons was found, all sight- ly locked in each other’s arms and the bodies in a horrible state of decomposition. CREMATION OF ALL THE DEAD. Almost the first thing done was to make preparations for the cremation of the dead. Fatigue parties of soldiers built enormous pyres of wood and branches of trees upon which they heaped the dead bodies by scores and burned them as rapidly as pos- sible. To facilitate the combustion and to destroy as far as possible the awful odor of burning flesh which came from them, the impromptu crematories were heavily soaked with coal tar and petroleum. The total number of dead is now esti- mated at fully 30,000. Tbe disaster itself took place within 30 seconds, and in thas half minute the vast majority of all these people were killed. It is supposed—Ior there is nobody living, apparently, to tell the exacts facts—that there was suddenly shot down from the mountain a ureat sheet of flame, accompanied by a terrible gaseous whirlwind and flashes of lightning, pre- cisely such as are reported as playing about the summit of La Soufriere, on the island of St. Vincent. The latest informacion received here is that the entire quarters of the fort of Le Carbet are completely leveled to the ground, forming nothing but heap upon heap of ruins, covered thickly over with ashes, cinders and masses of mud and lava com- mingled. LIKE THE FATE OF POMPEII. What horrible revelations of the bavoo wrought to human life which the grim moulds are yet to reveal can hardly be imagined. In those two quarters of the city not a trace of the streets that existed there can be seen. They are buried as completely out of sight as were those of Pompeii. Along the water front there are a few walls standing, and the ruins of the cus- toms house were found. Curiously enough the face and hands of the clock on the hospital were not destroyed, and they furnish an importment chapter in the his- tory of this termble catastrophe. The hands of the clock bad stopped at precisely 7:50 o'clock, showing that it was at that moment that the city was overwhelmed and all those thousands of people within it, and in its environs, were destroyed. At the last accounts from St. Pierre the work of exploration of the ruins for the treasure buried beneath them was going on at the same time with the incineration of the dead. The vaults of the bank of Martinique had been opened, and all the securities, notes and cash were found in- tact. They were all secured, and, together with other treasure, have been brought here to Fort de France. As much help as possible has been sent to the surviving people in the vicinity of the city. Steamers loaded with halferazed men, women and children from districts in the neighborhood of St. Pierre are constant- ly arriving here. Steamers also are going back as rapidly as possible to the scene of the disaster, carrying with them provisions and clothing. The 450 people brought here by the cable steamer Pounyer-Quertier were #0, from the neighborhood of the village of Le Precheur. They were entirely without shelter when found, but none burned or wounded. Among the families of St. Pierre which have entirely disappeared are those of the governor of Martinique, including Mme. Mouttet, his wife; Lieutenant Colonel Ger- bault and his wife. Every ship in the barbor at the time of the disaster with the single {exception of the English steamer Roddam, was burned, with all on board lost excepting one cap tain, who was saved. In relating his escape, he said that the only way in which he managed to save his life was by repeat- edly diving. Hewas an expert swimmer and was able to remain under water for a considerable length of time. He returned again and again to the surface, barely ex- posing his face for a moment or two to the terrific heat, and thus getting enough breath for another long dive. MOUNT LABORED FOR TWO WEEKS. Ever since the 23d of April last the mountain Pelee, which finally wrought all the havoc, has been manifesting disquieting symptoms. A great column of smoke kept mounting from it, and there were from time to time showers of ashes and cinders falling. Finally, on the 5th of May, there was a terrific eruption, which hurled into the air vast volumes of mud which com- pletely swallowed up the Guerin sugar factory, which stood near the river Blanche. The first that was known here at Fort de France of the disaster was at 8 o’clock on the morning of May 8. As that hour in the morning there spread over the town of Fort de France a thick cloud of smoke, cinders and ashes, which came from the direction of St. Pierre. The cloud swept over the city with terrifying swiltness, turning bright daylight into the darkness of night with hardly a moment's warning. From this cloud a rain of rocks and ashes poured upon the town and threw the en- tire population into the wildest panic. The sea suddenly swept back in a great wave for a distance of hetween 50 and 60 feet, and vessels fastened to the wharves were sent crashing against each other with great force. Twice the great wave swept in and ous from the shore, and finally the waters settled downtheirnormheal level. ALL KNEW IT WHEN TOO LATE. Evervbody now knew what had happen- ed. Mt. Pelee, which had been so long ominonsly threatening, had at last broken out in an appalling eruption. Throughout the streets of Fort de France, and along the water front, people ran hither and thither in wild panic; on all sides there was but one cory: ‘‘The volcano,’”’ ‘‘the vol- cano.”’” “It is Mt. Pelee.” As quickly as possible in the confusion the government authorities and the mayor of the city realized what need there was to organize some system for carrying help to those known to be in dire distress. The French cruiser Suchet, which happened to be laying in the harbor, became instant- ly alive with activity: She was made ready for sea as quickly as possible, and start- ed away at full speed up along the coast in the direction of St. Pierre and the great column of smoke and fire. There were sev- eral hoats that had arrived as Fort de France that very morning, and they, too, made instant preparations to return. ENTIRE SEASHORE ON FIRE. Troops and provision were hurried aboard of them and they started away in the wake of the Suchet. They had nos been gone over two hours when they re- turned, bringing back the tidings that St. Pierre was utterly destroved and that the entire seashore, from the suburb of Carbet as far as the village of Percheur, was on fire, and that it was impossible to land at any point on account of the intense heat. At one place burning red hot ashes, mud and lava fell in such quantities about the vessels and along the shore that the very sea water seemed to be at boiling heat. Along the shore the spectacle was appall- ing. It looked as though the whole of the northern part of the island was one mass of flame. The cruiser Suchet got back to Fort de France some time after the other hoats which had followed her in the effort to reach the scene of the disaster. On board the Suchet were 30 survivors who were picked up in the St. Pierre suburb of Car- bet. All of them were frightfully burned and wounded, and nine of them died on board the cruiser before she reached this poré. Every preparation has been made in the hospital at Fort de France to take care of as many wounded as possible. The work of rendering aid has heen put on an organ- ized basis, provisions have been requisition- ed, and the principal stores, banks and even the bakeries here have been put under military guard. » EACH NEW ACCOUNT ADDS TO THE HOR- RORS OF THE AWFUL DISASTER Fort DE FRANCE, Island of Martinique, May 12.—It now seems to be generally admitted that about 30,000 persons lost their lives as a result of the outbreak of the Mount Pelee volcano at St. Pierre on Thursday last. Careful investigation by competent government officials show that the earlier reports of the Associated Press were accurate. The American consul at Guadeloupe, Louis H. Ayme, has reached the desolate spot where St. Pierre stood aud confirms the awful story in all its essential details. From an interview with Colonel Ayme, who is a trained American newspaper man, a correspondent of the Associated Press learned the following facts: Thursday morning the inbabitants of the city awoke to find heavy clouds shroud- ing the Mont Pelee crater. All day Wed- nesday, horrid detonations bad been heard. They were echoed from St. Thomas on the north to Barbadoes on the south. The cannonading ceased on- Wednesday right and fine ashes fell like rain on St. Pierre. The inbabitants were alarmed but Governor Mouttet, who had arrived at St. Pierre the evening before, did everything possible to allay the panic. The British steamer Roraina reached St. Pierre on Thursday with ten passengers, 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 cyclone of fire, mud and steam swept down from the crater over town and bay sweeping all before it and destroying the fleet of vessels at anchor off the shore. There the accounts of the catastrophe go far obtainable cease. Thirty thousand corpses are strewn about, buried in the ruins of St. Pierre, or else floating, gnawed by sharks in the surrounding seas, Twenty-eight charred, half dead human beings were brought here, Sixteen of them are already dead and only of the whole number four are expected to recover. The Associated Press steamer, chartered in Guadeloupe, neared Martinique at 6.30 Sunday morning. The island with its lofty hills was hidden behind a huge veil of violet, or leaden colored haze. Enor- mous quantities of the wreckage of large anG small ships and houses strewed the snr face of the sea. Huge trees and too often bodies, with flocks of sea gulls soaring above and hideoms sharks fighting about them, were floating here and there. From behind the volcanic veil came blasts of hot wind, mingled with others, ice cold. At Le Precheur, five wiles 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. Pierre was reached. The city of St. Pierre stretched nearly two miles along the water front and half a mile back to a cliff at the base of the volcano. The houses of the richer French families were burning in mauy places and frightful odors of buined flesh filled the air. With great difficalty a landing was effected. Not one house was left intact. Viseid heaps of mud, of brighter ashes or piles of volcanic stones, were seen on every side. The streets conld hardly be traced. Here and there amid the rains were heaps of corpse, almost all the faces were down- ward. In one corner twenty-two bodies of men, women and children were mingled in one awfnl mass, arms and legs protruding as the hapless beings fell in the last stinggles of death’s agony. Through the middle of the old Place Bertin ran a tiny stream, the remains of the river Gayave. Great trees with roots upward and scorched hy fire, were strewn in every direction. Huge blocks and. still hot stones were scattered abont. From under one large stone the arm of a white woman protrnded. Most notable was the utter silence and the awful, overpowering stench from the thousands of dead. Careful inspection showed that the fiery stream, which so completely destroyed St. Pierre must have been composed of poison- ous gases which instantly suffocated every one who inhaled them, and of other gases burning furiously, for nearly all the victims had their bands covering their months or were in some other attitude, showing that they had sought relief from suffocation. All the bodies were carbonized or roasted. FEW BODIES FOUND. FoRrT DE FRANCE, Island of Martinique, May 13.—Strange to relate, in view of the number of inhabitants of St. Pierre, who were swept to death by the volcanic waves from Mont Pelee, on Thursday last, very few bodies have been found by those who are engaged in the work of cremating the dead bodies. This is due to the fact that the most populous quarters of the town are buried under a thick layer of cindered lava, which apparently entirely consumed the bodies of the victims. The work of succoring the refugees con- tinues incessantly. When the cable repair ship Pouyer-Quertier, Captain Thieron, started on her mission of mercy, she had to pase through clouds of burning cinders at the risk of taking fire, in order to reach the terror-stricken people ashore. But, as al- ready announced, she succeeded in bring- ing to this port 455 people, mainly former residents of the village of Le Precheur. This was on Saturday last. Since then the steamer, as the result of other daring trips, has succeeded in bringing many other per- sons to Fort de France. On Sunday she rescued 923 persons and piloted the French cruiser Suchet and the Danish craiser Valkyrien, who took on board 1,500 per- sons, : The Pouyer-Quertier has distributed to the suofferers large quantities of biscuits, milk, wine and cheese. The specie found in the vaults of the bank of Martinique at St./Pierre, amount- ing to 2,000,000 francs, has been brought safely here. The specie in the public treasury at St. Pierre is etill buried under a layer of lava abont six to eight metres thick. The path of the volcanic torrent which swept over St. Pierre is marked outin a strange mauner. The vicinity of the shore where vessels anchored was swept by a whirlwind of volcanic gas, which ripped, tore and shattered everything in its pas- sage, but left few traces of cinders behind. On the other hand the fort, centre and ad- joining parts of St. Pierre are buried nnder a thick bed of cinders which consumed everything beneath is. The United States government tug Poto- mae, which came to Martinique from San Juan, Porto Rico, cruised along the coast of this island yesterday afternoon. She en- countered an inky black column of smoke, which made it necessary for her to go five miles ous of her vourse. Words fail to describe the present situa- tion of St Pierre. A small detachment of French troops is making efforts to inter the dead, although the government seems to be strikingly uncomcerned as to what is done in this direction. PILES OF CORPSES FOUND IN THE STREETS OF ST. PIERRE, AS FAR AS EXPLORED. ForT DE FRANCE, May 14.—The com- mander of the navy tug Potomac has left an assistant with the hospital bere, and has presented to the authorities a quantity of disinfectants, none of which can be obtain- ed here at present. . Signor Paravicino, the Italian consul at Barbadoes, whose daughter perished in the disaster, has brought the body here in a coffin. There was some doubt concerning the identity of the remains, but this was seb at rest by relatives and friends identi- fying the clothing. The body was found by Siguoe Paravicino near the village of Carbet, a suburb of St. Pierre. The scenes around thé residence where the remains were found were worse than in St. Pierre itself. In the latter place the victims were mostly covered by ashes and other debris. Near Carbet the correspondent of the Post, who accompanied Signor Paravicino, saw #00 bodies that were immensely dis- tended and in an advanced state of decom- position. around the house in which Signora Para- vicino was found and on the adjacent land. Nearly all the dead are lying on their faces | on the ground. Those found in the ruins of dwellings were badly charred. The body of a woman was found in a nearby stream, to which she had apparent- ly fled in the hope of saving herself from the fiery flood. A large heap of bodies were found in one spot. They were ap- parently those of servants. Another residence close by, but shelter- ed by a hill on the St. Pierre side, escaped almost untouched. The windows and jal- ousies are gone, but inside the furniture, paper, books, clothing and the flooring are mostly unscathed. ONLY ONE ANIMAL ABOUT ST. PIERRE. The only living thing seen in this district was an ox, thin as a skeleton. While the body of Siguorina Paravicino was being prepared for removal, this animal stalked slowly through the wreckage to the beach where it drank sea water and then went back up to the hillside. ‘“The Post’s’’ correspondent went on foot from Carbet to St. Pierre on the road the These bodies were counted | remains of a horse and man were passed. Further on was seen the body of a man at the foot of a statue of the Virgin. He ap- parently had been killed while praying. A large statne of the Virgin on a hill, above St. Pierre was hurled yards distant from ite base. This, together with the fact that huge tiees were torn up by their roots and laid flat, scarce one being left standing and other indications show that the wave of fire must have passed over this section of the island at extreme hurricane veloe- ity. ONLY STONE HOUSES REMAIN. Every house in St. Pierre, not excepting those that were most solidly built of stone are absolutely in rnin. The streets are piled 12 feet high in debiis and hundreds of bodies can he seen in every direction. Your correspondent visited the sight where the cathedral stood. A portion of the tower is still standing. The large bell lies in the centre of the ruins. The greater part of the altar has been destroyed, but the golden chalices arestill there,damaged, however, by falling debris. In one large chalice was seen the ashes of what had heen the host. A small chalice was full of wa- fers, not one of which was even charred. A famine here is imminent. The north- ern section of the island is depopulated. Provisions are needed here immediately for 100,000 people. A ship load of lime is also needed at St. Pierre for sanitary pur- poses. The stench there from the dead bodies is overpowering. Mont Pelee was still erupting smoke and fire at a late hoar last night. Business here is suspended. The people of the city have assembled in the churches and cathedral, where special services are being beld for the St. Pierre dead. The United States government tug Po- tomac leaves here to-night for the Island of St. Vincent. where conditions are re- ported to be worse. La Soufriere, on St. Vincent, was in full eruption May 10th. A stream of mud and stone, half a mile wide, was then issuing from the volcano. Stones two inches in diameter fell twelve miles away. Ast Kingston, the capitol of the island, the ashes were two inches deep. Seven hundred dead were reported Sunday, May 11th. It is estimated that the total number of deaths at St. Vincent reaches 2,000. Most of the victims are said to be Carib Indians. Seven estates of the island have been bhunrned to ashes, and it is aun- thentically reported that two earthquakes occured there. It is believed the subma- rine cables in St. Vincent have been broken hy the disturbances. The present volcan- 5 ersption in 8t. Vincent is the first since MARTINIQUE AND ST. VINCE NT. The Island of Martinique, the scene of Thursday's awful disaster, is one of the chain of the Lesser Autilles, which group comprises the thousands of small islands in the southeastern part of the West In- dies. It is almost 1,100 miles east south- east from the pors of Santiago de Cuba and lies a few hundred miles north of Venezue- la in South America. St. Vincent, which has later been the scene of almost equal destruction, is about one hundred miles south of Martinique, Santa Lucia lying midway between the two. Martinique is second in size to Gauda- loupe in the group of the Lesser Antilles and has an area of 381 square miles. It was discovered by Columbus on June 15th, 1502. At that time it was inbabited by native Caribs, and it was more than a hun- dred years later that a Norman captain planted the first white colony in the ishand. In 1654 three hundred Jews, expelled from Brazil, were given a refage here. Soon after the Caribs were exterminated, and negro slaves were imported as laborers. By 1736 there were 72,000 negroes in the island. Previous to this the French gov- ernment had purchased the island from the heirs of its Norman founder and, with the exception of several periods of English oc- cupancy, it has been held as a French colo- ny since. The present population of the Island is about 170,000, making 444 persons to the square mile. The people are mostly Creole negroes and half-castes of various grades. Marriage is largely ignored, and of the births no less than sixty-six per cent. are illegitimate. A row of volcanic mountains in the north, with a similar group in the south, and a line of low fertile valleys between, forms the backbone of the Island. The northern mountains culminate in the northwest in Mont Pelee, 4,438 feet high, overlooking what was recently the beautiful town of St. Pierre, the commercial center and the metropolis of the Island, and a town of over 20,000 inhabitants. The chief town, Fort de France, a place of 11,000 population, is situated on a deep bay indenting the west coast of the Island. It, with St. Pierre, was destroyed by an earthquake in 1839, and since that time the superstitions inhabitants of the two towns have been very easily terrorized, several slight earthquake shocks which occurred at various intervals frightening them almost into panics. Ahout two-fifths of the Island is under cultivation, the products being sugar, coffee, cocoa, and cotton. The Island has always been badly infested with serpents. The Island of St. Vincent is eighteen miles long and eleven wide, having an area of 132 square miles. Volcanic hills cross the island from north to sonth, intersected by fertile valleys. The productsaresugar, rum, molasses and arrowroot. This island is a British possession, and the capital is Kingston, a place of 5,593 population. The total population of the Island is 42,200, of which 2,700 are Euro- peans and the balance largely negroes. In the southwest of thie Island is the Soufriere, a volcanic mountain 3,000 feet high, of which the last violent eruption, previous to the recent outbreak, was in 1812. The crater of this volcano is three miles in cir- cumference and 300 feet in depth. ~~ Lumbering At Medix. G. W. Huntley and Son Will Stock 18,000,000 This Season. enn : 5 While the people of this vicinity may feel that there is canse to regret that the lum- bering in the immediate vicinity, conduct- ed by Pat McDonald and others, is about closing out, yet the laboring men. who follow that kind of work, have reaton to know that they can find employment at their favorite occupation at Medix Run; without going far away from home. The Medix Run Lumber company has increased the annual cut of 12,000,000 feet of pre- vious years to 18,000,000 feet this year, and G. W. Huntley and Son, who stock the Medix Run mill with logs and the tan- nery with bark, will require three hundred men to cut the log and peel the bark. It is learned that 16 is a desirable place for woodsmen near and around here to work, on account of the nearness to their homes and because the timber is Jarge and grow- ing on level ground, and also the fact that the men are paid the largest customary wages and receive their pay promptly.
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