A Terrible Disaster.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXIV, Issue 108, 13 May 1902, Page 3

A Terrible Disaster.

THE ERUPTIONS AT MARTINIQUE. ' DESTRUCTIVE n »AL WAVE. ST. PIERRE IN KUIN3. PEE PRESS ASSOCIATION New York, May 11. Survivors who have reached Koraima, Dominici, s'a*e that, accompanying the eruption, which seemed to come from a new crater, was a tidal wnvo, which overwhelmed the snipping. The commander of the Suehet reports a whirlwind, followed t>y firi/, which enveloped tbe whole town of St j Pierre instantly in flauus. Ships weiv; | dismantled and burned. The shower vf! rocfes from the volcano lasted a qutrler | of an hour. Arriving at St. "Pierro at, 2 o'clock in tha afternoon of Thursday, the Such-;t's | captain was unable to penetnta 'o ?hej town. He saw no living creature, buti numerous corpses on the qnay. The cable ship Puyer Quertier hasi brought 450 from S:. Pierre to j Fort de. Fraiice. Other s'.tamers are i searching for survivors. j Hot mud and cinder' ■ ling throughout Martiniqae, and have ■ already killed and injured many! people. i The Suehet, en returning from Gua-1 deloupe with provisions, passed St.; Pierre on Saturday. The fire in the' town still continued, and the volcano j was still erupting ashes. | Negroes are flocking to Fort do j France and demanding tood, which the \ military are guarding. >

OTHER TOWNS DESTROYED. Paris, May 11. I Le Temps states that thy whole of ', the north eastern portion of Martii.iqua is covered with wave* of lava, and that three great communities bebid;B St. Pierre were destroyed. '■, DISTRICT COVERK ■ WITH LAVA AND A-<HKS. NORTHERN SHORE UNAPPROACH- i ABLE. IMMENSE AREA AFFECTED. INCESSANT FORKRD LIGHTNING. | DESCRIPTION BY AN EYE WiTNESS.' A LUKIO SOE\E. j I Received 12 ii.43 p.m. ' , New Ydrk, May 12. ' j Two craters are empying f;om Sm Friere and cov-ring tue t<ovthern districts of St. Vincent ui'.h kva and i asles. ; h is impossible to approach" tbe northern i-borti owisg to 'ha intense heat and s'eim. Two hundred are known to have been killed on the island. Heavy ash-s fell on a steamer 250 mi es from the island. Forks d lightning is incessant over the dis urbd section. 'fhe'c-'ptaiu of the Rodd>im states he I h«d just Hnch' red aftor the terrific Ithur derstorm as night when he saw a j tremendous cloud fetnobe blowing, and j live cinders rush ov, i th i tewn and j harbour of St. Pierre, e'jVtlopirg ti>em } in a sheet cf fl me and scorching ten of i the crew of tbe steamer to dtathnnd ■; covering the s ; x inches in depth jwi'h burii ; n;» ashes He slipped ! at.ctor himself and s'eeicd out to sea, ■. tho'igb bidly burn - . i Fve thousand (e pie took refuge in

the hill.-i around Le Barbe'. and L Prechenr. Th*y have provisions, a«i are being gradually removed to placei of safety. | AN IRP.ESISTIBLE TIDE OF MUD. i SKY OBSCURED FOR 150 MILES.

, Received ]3,0.33 a ti. I New Youk, May 12. j A suddm fiery flash caused an ;ui irnense r-n- iu the ws-stern side of Met P, lee, foinrir-g a new cm er. A ma 1-(itv.-n, of red-hnt mud, tr.-ve ling !iki : a spit 1 a'.J emitting •troath.-t of vapour, sped cu «vith incredible velocity ard davasta'e-i everything iu its pa h for ithe distance of five miles between the i volcano and Ss, Pi-rrie. In cairied jnlcng ttees, rocirs, and tons "f earth, !inst:«nta!'ifous : y <>!.-iilera*.iu;» whole . p gulling the town and erratiirig a tidal wave which des roved eighteen vessel.- 1 , whose crews vers pan- .: iysed. No buildiu&s are lefs standing al eg th-i c»;st from Le Carbet to Le Pre.'beur. The ruds ar» impa-snWle, being bko.ked with mounts of debris and heap 1 ! of dead. , i The Governor of Martiniqup, the , British Consul (Sir Jati'S Jipp) >nd the American Consul (00l ■■nel Wire) . wera am tDgs;: !ho3w wh > perished. ', S'OBxa thH siz-> of walnuts and hot . ; mud fell at Fort de France. ,; Th« British cruiser Pal'as, from

J.'-m.iica, was «ent from bt, Vincent t-> render assistance. Clouds of isshos obscured the sky for 150 miks round San Friers avid Mont Pc-ice. Paths, May 12. Sir Edmond Monson has expressed I to President Loubet King Kd-ard'sf profound sympathy with Franca in the! disaster. I I | THE LATEST. { AN AWFUL SCENE OF DESOLATION. I I Deceived 18, 0.48 p.m. ] New York, May 12. ! Despite the engulfing of the Gue in| factory, the Governor of Martinique issued a report venturing the residents) of St. Pier' o, who were, howaver, overwhelmed next day. Twelvfl English aboard the Eoraima were rescued. Landing parties found the fires still burning in St. Pierre, bu". gradually ' dyine ou*. Thn whole pkc-s is a heap of ruins, nnd no one was found alive. ' The whole town wan mutilated beyond recognition, i Three thousand charred corpses, ' many of them naked, were found on the site of the Cathedral. All had

been asphyxiated, some while performing their daily avocations. A wholesale cremation of the bodies will ba imperative, to prevent a pestilence. Many snrvirrrs hivo baen discovered on the hills, ai,rl 450 wero rescued. Gtvat. streams of lava from San FnVre reparato the northern and southern parts of St. Vinceut, and the bay-; are converted into steaming pits. A huge hill has replaced r. valley. Six;y persons were ki'isd by lightning. Many refugees who were escaping aloug the coast in bo.tts died of tbirsc, 'lho French Government, British authorities, and residents of the West Indies, >md the City of New Orleans huvrt sens provisions and money for the relief of the survivors.

Auckland, Miy 12. Interviewed by a Herald reporter regarding the Martinique volcanic eruption, Professor Thoma-, of University Coll 'ge, says he do.s not think there a\e any r coids to show that planes so rem te as New Zeihnd and the Wes* Indies would be simultaneously visit-d. Th"y do not lie on the volcanic lin<, and <h-re is no season to ffarsyinpithy is l : !.- u ! y • , to the line on which No Zh ! ~d lies. He would rather 'ake tne other view, that whom one' ii'.e gives if. would, to a certai.-s ei-t'-ui:, ;elieve tin pressure on uther lims. He does noi mink the pr.he.it activity will tx'end to the voli:tnic nyr-tem nf New Zealand. Wellington, Msy 12. I'll-- A-M (Sir Joseph Wa»<i) ra 'led expressions of sympathy, on behaif <f i he people of New Z-aland, •vih the French iv.iion in the terriblo disaster ar Martinique.