Rensselaer Journal, Volume 11, Number 49, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 May 1902 — FORTY THOUSAND DIE IT ST. PIERRE [ARTICLE]

FORTY THOUSAND DIE IT ST. PIERRE

Not One of Its Inhabitants Is Known to Have Escape^ SEVENTEEN VESSELS GO DOWN Thirty FmcDon and Sailor* Ax» Basoned from Ships la ths Harbor ud Those Are the Only Class Near the Stricken City Who Are Alive. Of the 30,000 inhabitants of St. Pierre, Martinique, it is thought that not a single one escaped death from the terrible eruption of lava from Mt. Pelee. The indications are that the total loss of life from volcanic activity in and about the stricken city will reach 40,000. The eighteen vessels in the harbor of St. Pierre were all burned and sunk except the Roddam, which is a wreck. The total number of passengers and sailors rescued from the vessels in the harbor is only thirty. All the others are dead. The governor of Martinique, N. L Mowttel, who started for St. Pierre the day before, has not been heard from and is thought to have perished. His wife and his staff colonel were with him. Senator Knight, president of the general council, must also be dead, as well as the United States consul, T. T. Prentiss, and all the other fofeign consuls. The wiping out of the city was accomplished in a few minutes. After a week of rumblings In the interior of the volcano, followed by showers of lava dust Wednesday, the molten lava burst out suddenly at 8 o’clock Thursday morning. St Pierre was destroyed and all of its inhabitants killed almost in a twinkling. Those who saw the eruption say that masses of fire fell from the sky. The red hot cinders that followed the lava kept falling till 1 o’clock in the afternoon. Although St Pierre is only fifteen miles distant from Fort de France, It is impossible to approach it on shore. Hot asheß and ruins block all approaches. The telegraph line to the city is destroyed. Every available vessel has been seni to the harbor of St Pierre to rescue survivors, if any there be. The French cruiser Suchet, which brought the first definite story of the disaster, has gone to Guadeloupe for provisions. It is thought that the residents of adjoining districts not overwhelmed, who were dependent on the city for their food supplies, will be in danger of starvation unless help soon reaches them. The commander of the Suchet reported that he saw the eruption and went in as close to St. Pierre as he dared. He rescued about thirty persons from vessels in the harbor, eight of them from the Quebec steamer Roraima, which exploded and sank after it had been set on fire by the lava. All of the rescued persons are burned, some of them terribly. A number of the officers of the Suchet were sent ashore in small boats, but they were unable to penetrate the town. They saw heaps of bodies upon the blazing wharves, but they did not see a single living being. They report that not. a single vessel in the harbor escaped. The commander of the Suchet believes that not a single person in St. Pierre at the time of the outburst escaped, that the entire town is destroyed and that probably many of the surrounding parishes are devastated.