NEWS FROM ST. VINCENT

Gisborne Times, Volume VII, Issue 413, 12 May 1902, Page 2

NEWS FROM ST. VINCENT

THIRTY PEOPLE KNOWN TO BE KILLED. VAST AMOUNT OF PROPERTY DESTROYED.

ASHES LIE TWO FEET DEEP

By telegraph—Press AssociationCopyright. (Received May 12, 1.10 a.m.jj NEW YORK, May 11.

News has been received here from Saint Vincent, the information coming here via Pointeopetre. It is reported that a storm charged with lightning, broke over the Island on Thursday morning.

The storm increased in violence until t became a tremendous and continu-

ous roar. Pitchy darkness then set in. Tiie volcano at Lasonfriere flrsc became enveloped by columns of smoke. Then the volcano belched forth stones and scoria cones, which fell like hail.

At least thirty people are known to have been killed by the eruptioiij

On Friday the shocks were intermittent, and becoming fainter. A vast amount of valuable property has been destroyed. The volcanic ashes lie to a depth of two feet deep in the village oi Chateau belair.

THE SCENE OF THE DISASTER. The Island of Martinique lies to- the north-east of South America. It is one of the West India Islands belonging to the chain of the Lesser Antilles, and constitutes a French colony. The greatest length is 43 miles ; tne mean width 19' miles, and the surrace comprises 244,090 acres, or 380 square miles. A cluster of volcanic mountains in the north, a similar group in the south, and a line of lower heights between them, form the backbone of the island, which culminates in the north-wesL in Mont Pelee (4-13011.), and has altogether a much more irregular and strongly; marked relief than it presents to "the: eye—the deep ravines and precipitous escarpments with which it abounds being reduced in appearance to gentle undulations by the drapery o£ the forests. The east coast of the island, exposed to the full sweep of the Atlantic, is a succession of inlets, headlands, islands and rocks ; the south coast is much more regular, but bold and steep; and the west coast alone presents, in the Bay of de France, a stretch of Mangrove swamp. .Martinique enjoys, a remarkable immunity from hurricanes ; hall a century may pass without any serious disaster' from such a visitation. Latest statistics show that there were nearly 200,000 inhabitants on the island, which is even more densely populated than Belgium. Ol the twenty-five communes, fourteen have a good deal over 5000 inhabitants ; the largest being Saint Pierre (36,000), Fort de France (23,000), Lamentin (20,000), and Francais (15,000). The great mass of the population consists of Creole negroes and half-castes of various grades, ranging from the “ Soccotra ” who has hardly' retained any trace of Caucasian blood, to the so-called “ Sangmeli,” with his mere suspicion of negro commixture. A lamentable feature in regard to the morality of the place is that marriage is frequently ignored, and of the births no less than 66 per cent are illegitimate. Fort de France, the chief town, stands on a bay on the West Coast. Since the earthquake of 1839 nearly all the houses are built of wood and have only one storey ; the streets- are laid out with great regularity. Saint Pierre is the commercial centre, and lies farther north on the same coast. It consists of an upper and a lower town —t-he one close and unhealthy, and the other for the most part wellventilated ' and pleasant.

The Island oi Martinique, also called Modiana or Mantinino, was discovered by Colqmbus on June 15th, 1502. It was at that time inhabited by Caribs (Galibis), who had expelled or incorporated an older stock. It was purchased by tiie French for 120,000 livres, and in 1674 became part of the Royal domain. It has been several times occupied by tiie British, and -was last surrendered in 1814. >

A RECENT VISITOR TO MARTINIQUE.

MR C.- E. COLBY’S IMPRESSIONS,

Mr C. E. Colby, one of the chief members of the Harry Rickards' Company, at present visiting Gisborne, has recently visited Martinique. A Times reporter ran across him last evening at the Gisborne Hotel, where most of the company are staying. Mr Colby was much distressed to hear the sad news, and in response to our representative’s first question, replied : Yes, I have visited the place, and a more prosperous people it would be harl to find. I never saw a beggar whilst I was there. Even the fishermen of the town of St. Pierre were satisfied with a 1 thank you ’ for thir services, and did not ask for payment of any kind. ‘ “I spent five weeks on the island, having gone there under a subvention to the French Government. I was engaged by the Martinique Government to make two balloon ascensions and parachute leaps, a pursuit in which I was engaged prior to taking up the ventriloquial business.”

“ Your description of the island is quite correct,” continued Mr Colby; “ the towns, and particularly St. Pierre, are beautifully laid out. There are lovely gardens, and some very pretty drives. The people of St. Pierre are a religious people, and go there when you will the bells of the cathedral and churches seem to be always ringing. Do you know that I could not make my balloon ascension without getting the priest’s sanction ; that will show you how the clergy control the island,"' “ And the people, what are they like ?” asked our reporter.

“ They are the greatest':pleasure-loving people that I ever saw. All the time I was there there were concerts, balls, and parties almost every night. They do not readily take to strangers, but when they get to know you they are most hospitable. It may interest your readers to know that Josephine, the wife of Napoleon, was born on the island of Martinique, and whilst at St. Pierre I saw the home of that sweet lady. The inhabitants of the island are nearly all of French extraction, and. the women are very beautiful.”

“ Had the residents any fears as to such a calamity occurring ?” “Oh dear no; whilst I was there I never heard the slightest suggestion of such a thing. It was never even mentioned that there was a volcano in the vicinity. There was no fear on the part of the people, and they were up-to-date and lively.”

“ What are the chief industries of the island ?” “The French landowners devote themselves a good deal to the cultivation of cotton and tobacco, and sugar and coffee plantations are also carried on. It is a great place for rum distilleries. I went through a number of these during my visit, and was impressed with the marvellous works. Rum is chiefly made from molasses, and this seemed to be a most thriving business.” Questioned by our reporter as to the morality of the place, Mr Colby said that it was quite true that a shocking state of things existed, and the births out of wedlock exceeded those by marriage.

THE NEWS IN GISBORNE. A PAINFUL SENSATION. EXPRESSION'S OF SYMPATHY. T’ " '■ ; of the fearful loss of life w. ; i-. . up outside the Gisborne IT oi ce soon after receipt, and neeefless to say, became the chief topic ol comment.

The sad intelligence was given out last night- in all the churches, and in the Salvation Army Barracks, and prayer was offered up for the sunerers. After the church services were concluded, there were a great many enquirers at the Times office. “ Pompeii was a mere nothing to it," said one traveller.

ST. LUCIA, which tiie Ocean Traveller was unable to reach, is the largest and most picturesque oi the Windward Group. It is about 24 miles W.N.W. of Barbados, 21 miles N.E. of St. Vincent, and 24 miles S.E. of Martinique. It is 24 miles in length, with an extreme breadth oi 12 miles, with an area of 223 square miles. Many fights have raged around it, and it constantly changed hands between the British and French. Port Castries is a coaling depot, and the second naval station in the British Empire in those parts. Harbor improvements were carried out at a cost of over £100,600, and the port strongly fortified.

BARBADOS where the volcanic dust has been falling thickly, is the headquarters of His Majesty’s forces in the West Indies. It is a station of the West India and Panama Telegraph Company, has a railway, telephones, and other modern conveniences. The country districts are supplied with water through 200 miles of Government mains. "Unlike .most of the neighboring islands Barbados lias always remained in the possession of the British, by which it was settled in 1625. It is about 21 miles long by 14 broad. 6 • DOMINICA,

where news was received per the British schooner Ocean Traveller, is the largest island of the colony. It is about 29 miles long and 16 broad, comprising an area of 291 square miles, of which about 60,000 acre are cultivated. The main portion is difficult of access. The island is of volcanic origin, and abounds in rivulets well stocked with fish. A volcanio eruption there in 1883 destroyed six square miles of fbrest. The principal town in Roseau. It is one of the Leeward Islands in charge of a British Commissioner.

A BRITISH POSSESSION. St. Vincent is a British possession. It is one of the Windward Islands, and lies about 95 miles west of Barbados. It is 18 miles in length and 11 in breadth, comprising an area of 140 square miles. It population, with its dependencies, was oVer 41,000 ten years ago. It is one of the last islands upon which a struggle took place between the aborigiual Carib and the white man, and the north part of the island is still known as the Carib reserve. Its chief products are sugar, molasses, rum, arrowroot, cassava, cocoa, coffee, cotton, and spiees. St. Vincent was secured to Great Britain in 1783. UNPARALLELED IN HISTORY. As far as we are aware there is no catastrophe to compare with the one reported in our cables this morning, that is so far as the loss of life is concerned. In 1631, when the outburst of Vesuvius occurred, 18,000 are said to have lost their lives, and at different periods since that year eruptions have taken place with considerable loss of life and property. One of the most recent occurred at Krakatoa, in the Sunda Strait, in 1883. In that year the greater part of the island of Krakatoa was destroyed, and two new islands, Steers Island and Calmeyer Island. were thrown up.

SHOWERS OF STONES. ' Instances are known where large stones ejected obliquely have described huge parabolic curves in the air and fallen at a great distance. The volcano of Antuco in Chili is said to send stones flying to a distance of 36 miles, and Cotopaxi is reported to have hurled a 200-ton block nine miles. In many great eruptions, besides a constant shower of stones and scoria, a vast column of exceedingly fine dust rises out of the crater, sometimes to the height of more than a mile, and then spreads outwards like a sheet of cloud. So dense sometimes is this dust cloud that the sun is obscured, and for days together the darkness of night reigns for miles around the volcano. In 1822 this was the case at Vesuvius, the ashes not only falling thickly on the villages round the base ‘of the mountain, but travelling as far as Asceli, which is 70 miles distant from the volcano on one side, and to Casano, 105 miles on the *r. But probably the most stupendoi tpouring of volcanic ashes on reeo as that which took place after a quiesc ,of 26 years, from the volcano Coseguina, in Nicaragua, during the early part of the year 1835. On tfiat occasion utter darkness prevailed over a circle of 35 miles radius, the ashes falling so thickly that even eight leagues from the mountain they covered the ground 10ft deep. Some of the finer materials, thrown so high as to come within the influence of an upper air current, were borne away eastward, and fell four days afterwards at Kingston, in Jamaica, a distance of seven hundred miles.