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Newspaper
Brimfield News
Location
Brimfield, Illinois, United States of America
Date
May 15, 1902
Page
7
Mount Pelee buried St Pierre in molten lava and ash tearing through the harbor. More than 40,000 people reportedly died as ships burned and a searing firestorm swept the town. Survivors from the steamer Roraima describe days of earthquakes and a sudden volcanic burst around 7 to 8 am.
An editorial laments the Mount Pelee eruption that destroyed St Pierre in Martinique and devastated surrounding islands. It compares the catastrophe to Galveston and Titanic scale disasters, estimating 40,000 to 50,000 lives lost and noting lava, ash, and fire obliterated the town and its 80,000 inhabitants.
Reports recount a volcano’s violent breakout near St Pierre with lava rain and fire destroying the city. Seismic shocks preceded the blast as ships in the harbor were wrecked and many residents perished. only thirty survivors were later found among eighteen sunken vessels. Cable lines were destroyed and aid efforts impeded.
The Senate, under a suspension of the rules, unanimously passed a bill for a $100,000 appropriation to aid Martinique sufferers. The measure allows the President to buy provisions clothing medicines and other essentials and deliver them to the French government for relief. The War Secretary is authorized to use vessels needed for rapid transport of the relief supplies.
Reports from Bruggy Island St Vincent describe a violent eruption that devastates the northern region. More than 500 people are presumed dead as lava streams cut the island, while streams dry and famine threatens food and water. All plantations lie ruined and ash blankets the land two feet deep.
West Indian inhabitants tremble at imagined eruptions as Mont Pelee’s presumed extinct volcano triggers panic. Earthquakes spark grief in St. Thomas with reports of deaths in fifty families and widespread fear across the Caribbean regions.
President Loubet contributes 20000 francs and the French cabinet donates 5500 francs to a relief fund in Paris for victims of the St Pierre disaster. Local authorities organize aid efforts to support those affected.
Horrific report from St Pierre Martinique describes a volcanic eruption on May 8 that completely destroyed the town and port facilities. The 40 000 population is wiped out including the governor and wife. ships Roraima Grappler Roddam escapees. South of island remains safe but vegetation and water are scarce.
The cruiser Suchet captain reports St Pierre is a city of smoking ruins. Investigating parties reveal decomposed remains of about 30,000 dead, emitting odors rivaling sulphur flames. The miasma threatens a potential epidemic of disease.
Surviving residents on the island tremble at the disaster at St. Pierre fearing the world’s end. The tone reflects panic among the island’s people as they confront widespread ruin and uncertainty.
A fragmented catalog lists historic earthquakes and volcanic eruptions with dated events and death tolls. Entries cover Pompeii, Catania, Naples, Lisbon, Jerdo, Pekin, Lima, Cairo, Kashan, Aleppo, Canton, Cap Haitien, Molucca, Calabra, Manila and Peru-Ecuador, noting vast casualties.
The article traces Martinique’s complex history of control, noting four English occupations in 1762 1781 1794 and 1809, and its final return to France in 1814 after diplomatic appeals. It compares the island’s remoteness to St Helena Elba and Napoleon’s death rock, stressing its fame through historic figures and the French sentimental attachment to the soil.
The text describes Saint Vincent island's size and a 1812 eruption of Soufriere. It notes a 50,000 population, Kingston with 8,200 residents, and how the ten day eruption killed thousands, blanketed the island with ashes and pumice, and even sent ash to Barbados ninety five miles away.
St Pierre was the island’s principal port with Fort de France as political center. Fort de France once led entry, but St Pierre surpassed it. St Pierre stood out with yellow houses blue shutters red tiled roofs set against tropical greenery. Lunch hour heat shut down business from nine to three.
Harvard professor Professor Shaler explains volcanic outbreaks as steam explosions trapped in subterranean rock. He notes high heat and pressurized steam shattering rock walls and dust. Dispatches from Barbadoes report dust and ash showers lasting hours east of St. Vincent.
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