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Newspaper
Bessemer Herald
Location
Bessemer, Michigan, United States of America
Date
May 24, 1902
Page
11
Massive volcanic blast on Martinique's Mount Pelee destroys St Pierre killing tens of thousands and sinking harbor ships. Eyewitness accounts describe molten lava, searing fire, and a tidal wave engulfing the town as survivors recount days of earthquake shocks and ash.
Narrative recounts the Mt Pelee eruption destroying St Pierre in Martinique, burying 30 000 residents under molten lava and falling volcanic ash reaching 100 miles away. Estimated 40 000 to 50 000 lives lost, with Dominica and St Vincent suffering as dust drifted. The account emphasizes unimaginable scale and human horror.
A sequence of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes rattled Central America and the Caribbean. Guatemala suffered severe tremors and coffee losses with nearly 1,000 dead, while St. Pierre on Martinique endured Mount Pelee’s deadly blast, destroying the city, sinking ships, and leaving only thirty survivors as cables failed.
Congress and the Senate approve a 100000 relief fund to aid Martinique sufferers. The bill allows the President to buy provisions clothing medicines and other necessaries and deliver them to the French government. The War Secretary may use vessels for rapid transport of relief supplies.
Reports from the British island of St Vincent describe a violent eruption in the north, with over 500 deaths from lava flows. The island’s northern region is devastated and cut off from the south by lava rivers. Streams have dried up and famine in food and water looms as plantations are destroyed and ash covers the ground two feet deep.
West Indian inhabitants are terror-stricken by feared eruptions of volcanoes thought extinct. Mont Pelee in Martinique is believed to awaken others, while earthquakes cause grief and panic. Deaths in fifty families have occurred at St. Thomas.
President Loubet contributes 20000 francs and the French cabinet donates 5000 francs to a relief fund for St Pierre disaster victims. The appeal calls for funds to aid sufferers in Pats.
Horrific report from St Pierre Martinique describes a massive volcanic eruption destroying the town and port. Population of 40 000 feared dead or missing including the governor and wife. Ships Roraima Grappler lost. Roddam escaped to St Lucia with captain burned. Vegetation and water scarce, rivers ash clogged, ash clouds seen fifty miles away. steamers report ash two hundred miles out.
The Suchet captain says St Pierre lies in smoking ruins and that explorers found decomposed remains of about 30,000 dead, emitting odors strong as sulfur and risking an epidemic of disease.
Survivors on the island are gripped by terror over the disaster at St Pierre and believe the apocalypse has begun. Locals report widespread fear among the remaining Black inhabitants, who see the event as a sign of impending doom.
A historical list of catastrophic earthquakes and volcanic eruptions with estimated deaths and affected regions. Entries include Pompeii in 79, Lisbon 1755, Lima 1746, Calcutta? Noted towns span Europe Asia and the Americas, with death tolls ranging from thousands to over 100000.
Martinique has changed hands multiple times in Anglo French conflicts, seized in 1762 1781 1794 and 1800 then restored by the 1814 treaty after French appeals. Since 1814 the tricolor has flown, and the island remains remote from tourist routes, famed only for a historic figure who drew global attention after death as a national idol.
The island of Saint Vincent measures seventeen miles by ten with about 50 000 residents and Kingston housing 200 000 people. Soufrière crater last erupted in 1812, devastating the island for three days and claiming thousands of lives. Ashes fell as far as Barbados, ninety five miles away.
Fort de France long the island’s entry port fades behind St Pierre the main port known for its yellow houses blue shutters and red tiled roofs set against tropical greenery. The town sleeps from nine to three each hot afternoon as business and leisure pause across the Caribbean city.
Harvard professor explains volcanic outbreaks as steam explosions in subterranean cavities. Water trapped in rocks heats until pressure breaks stone prisons, shattering rocks into dust. Sometimes the dust rises so high it can drift through space.
Dispatches from Barbadoes describe a prolonged shower of dust and ashes from the volcanic eruption. Barbadoes lies about one hundred miles east of St. Vincent, with observers noting the sustained fall for several hours.
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