The Volcanic Eruptions.

Manawatu Herald, 17 May 1902, Page 2

The Volcanic Eruptions.

CREMATION OF THE DEAD. Exploring parties ara cremating the dead at St. Pierre. Upwards of seven hundred dead have been discovered in St Vincent. A thousand retugees _ from the stricken districts of Martinique have arrived at Le Carbet and Case Pilote, on the coast of the island. The French cruiser Suchet and the Danish ctuiser Valkyrien rescued four thousand persons at Le Precheur. The American Consul at Guadeloupe confirms the report that thirty thou* sand persons lost their lives and fifty thousand were rendered homeless by the disaster. The French Government has informed President Roosevelt that the whole of Martinique is still menaced, and has requested assistance to remove the survivors to a place of safety. Many children were found looked in one another’s arms. Apparently many victims were overwhelmed ' before they were conscious of their danger. Numbers were found naked, their clothes having been torn off in their eftorts to protect their faces from the fire. Supplies in the island are exhausted and the inhabitants are dependent on outside aid. It is feared that thousands are starving in the country districts. ALARMING NEWS FROM ST. VINCENT. Reports from St. Lucia state that sixteen hundred persons have perished in the British island of St. Vincent. The flames are devasting the whole of the northern districts. A deep mantle of dust covers the whole island. Unceasing showers of pebbles and ashes keep the inhabitants of Kingstown, on the south side of the island, indoors. Many empty canoes have been found drifting along the coast. The heat continues intense. At the islands of Barbados, to t.he eastward, and Grenada, terffie ' south ward ofSt- Vincent, ashes are constantly Tailing. . The detonations of Mont Soufnere, the volcano in St. Vincent, can be heard hundreds of miles away, sounding like distant cannon. The sulphur springs in Jamaica, which is more than a thousand miles west-north-west of Martinique, are becoming extremely hot. A boiling lake in the island of Dominica, north of has disappeared, and is now vomiting steam from the lake bed. Mount Tacoma, in the Cascade Range, Washington Territory, the only volcano in the United State?, is smpking. Settlers are leaving the vicinity. TERRIBLE DETAILS.

After quieting somewhat, the Mount Pelee eruptions have become more violent. The Governor ot Martinique on the seventh day before the catastrophe sent troops to stop a general exodus. The centre of the town and the fort are buried under ashes to a depth of several yards. It is difficult to trace the streets* Over two thousand corpses have been found on the streets, mostly lying face downwards. The bodies found in houses appear as if they had been struck by lightning lying, sitting and reclining in curiously diverse attitudes. The iron bedsteads in the hospitals were all twisted, and everything rent and scattered as. if by a tornado. The poisonous smoke killed people like flies. , , Numbers of sharks are visible, fighting over the corpses in harbour. The cable has been found at a depth of 1234 metres, instead of a previous depth of three metres. The negroes are mad with hunger, and are with difficulty restrained, from looting Fort de France. LATEST NEWS FROM THE WEST INDIES.

The rain of fire from Mount Pelee ceased within two hundred yards of the costal village of Le Cabet. Two thousand persons have been killedat St Vincent, mostly Caribi. A stream of stones and mud half a mile wide is issuing from Mount Soufriere. .. , On the xoth inst. two earthquakes and several shocks were felt at the Danish island of St. Thomas, 350 miles north-west of Martinique. Mount Pelee is still in eruption, and is emitting smoke and fire The only persons from St. Pierre who were saved were those who escaped from the town before eight o'clock on Thursday morning. TERRIBLE EFFECTS OF THE EXPLOSIONS. Official reports state that the northern and eastern districts of St. Vincent are devastated. All persons within a radius of Chateau Belair and Georgetown were killed. , All the best estates are ruined, and nothing green is visible. Four feet of ashes covers the ground, and the rivers are dry. A thousand corpses have been interred, including many whites. The exact nqjjaber killed will never be known. Many were struck by lightning. Two thousand are receiving relief. The eruption is now moderating. The Governor of the Barbados compares the matter thrown up by Mount Pelee with boiling sealing wax. Everything over an area of ten miles by six was destroyed, ’Two million tons of dust fell in Barbados. When disinterred from the cinders, the corpses were black and shiny, as if they had been plunged into boiling pitch.