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| Mont Pelee eruption, May, 1902. |
Cortland Evening Standard, Friday, May 16, 1902.
PLENTY OF WARNING
Before the Final Great Eruption of Mont Pelee.
EVEN DUMB ANIMALS HEEDED IT.
But Human Beings Remained and Were Destroyed—Ancient Tradition of the Wiping Out of the Carib Indians—Story of a Survivor.
Fort De France, May 16.—The few St. Pierre residents who escaped from the doomed city before Mount Pelee shot forth her death breath, tell stories of the warnings which the inhabitants had, but did not take. Early in April some say that the wild animals left the vicinity of Pelee, even snakes, which were ordinarily in great numbers on the slopes, deserting them. Cattle showed uneasiness and dogs barked at night and sought the company of their masters, showing every sign of fear. Late in April rumbling sounds were heard, but Mount Pelee had been so long dormant that the people in the valleys laughed at the warnings.
People who have visited St. Pierre have noticed that in many cases bodies were untouched by fire. An explanation of this and of the fact that so few escaped is offered. It is believed that the volcano first threw off great quantities of gas which swept over the city, rendering the inhabitants unconscious. Then followed the streams of flaming lava which finished the work of death and razed the city. One person, who was taken from a ship in the harbor, says that before the eruption he felt faint.
The annihilation of the Carib Indians by the eruption fulfills an ancient prediction that the tribe would be sacrificed to the fire god, which they worshipped. The Caribs were the race found by Columbus four centuries ago, and the race is now practically extinct.
Mr. Albert, who managed an estate a mile from Pelee's crater, escaped with his family to the seashore where they boarded a small steamer and reached Fort De France. Albert says that before the eruption there were thunderous noises and almost a gale. Terror stricken he called his family and they rushed to the shore. He witnessed the convulsion of the volcano as the steamer drew away and saw new craters seemingly open on the sides.
LA SOUFRIERE'S WORK.
All Life on North Half of St. Vincent Destroyed.
ANOTHER ERUPTION PREDICTED.
Continuous Agitation of Volcanic Craters—Physical Changes—2,000 Deaths Reported—Bodies Found In Lifelike Attitudes—Decomposed Bodies In Many Houses—Destitution.
Kingston, Island St. Vincent, Monday, May 12.—Scientists who have come here from the British island of Trinidad predict another volcanic eruption on St. Vincent within a short time.
The damage done to St. Vincent by the volcanic eruptions is now known to be considerably greater than was at first estimated. The present uneasiness of the inhabitants of the island is increased by the continuous agitation of the volcanic craters. Friday morning, May 9, large stones and volcanic dust fell in the neighborhood of Georgetown for two hours, terrifying the people there. A cloud of hot vapor then passed over that port. Two eruptions of less magnitude than the first occurred Saturday, May 10, and from then until today fire and smoke have been ascending, at intervals, from the craters.
Owing to the great heat it is still impossible to approach the Soufriere volcano from the leeward side.
Interesting discoveries have been made in regard to the physical changes on St. Vincent resulting from the eruptions. Several fissures have been observed on La Soufriere. The estate of Walibou has disappeared and has been replaced by an inlet of the sea.
Richmond, an estate formerly adjacent to Walibou, which was formerly flat and upon which there were a number of laborers' cottages, has been completely burned, and out of the estate there now arises a large ridge of ground. It is believed that the Rabacci crater, in the windward district of the island, has also erupted.
From a distance La Soufriere, although less violent, still wears a cap of dark clouds which is illumined every now and then by flashes of red light.
Volcanic dust fell here yesterday. But fortunately there have been also several heavy rain showers which have washed away the dust from the grass and restored the verdure of the fields. The condition of the atmosphere is also apparently improving.
Owing to the destruction of several estates, the sugar and arrow root industries of St. Vincent are seriously injured. Destitution prevails among the laboring classes, who are without clothes and hungry.
Nearly 2,000 deaths on this island have been reported. Bodies have been discovered in houses in life-like attitudes; these present a gruesome spectacle. There are decomposed bodies in many houses, and in order to guard against disease it will probably be necessary for the authorities to burn these dwellings down. Owing to the many difficulties in the way of those who have the matter in hand, hundreds of bodies have not been interred,
As wide areas of ground which formerly produced foodstuffs have been devastated, there is today an abnormal demand for breadstuffs and a consequent scarcity of food supplies. The prices on food are advancing. The destruction of the live stock of the island has also caused a rise in the price of meat.
A British warship has arrived here from Trinidad. She brings provisions for the relief of the sufferers.
TROUBLE ANTICIPATED.
Strike of Coal Miners Officially Declared.
BIDS FAIR TO BE A LONG ONE.
Much Enthusiasm Among the Miners—Engineers, Firemen and Pump Runners May be Called Out—Would Entail Great Losses—Non-union Men Would be Employed to Protect Property—Trouble Then.
Hazleton, Pa., May 16.—The convention of anthracite miners, which late yesterday afternoon declared for a fight to a finish with the coal magnates for higher wages and an eight-hour day is again in session this morning. A campaign is being mapped out and final details of the strike that forces indefinite idleness upon 147,000 men are being considered.
All night a typewriter sounded in the room of President John Mitchell.
Telegrams were hurried to all parts of the anthracite field and hundreds were received. When the strike order came hundreds of strikers from the neighboring towns were here to catch the first news and their enthusiasm was unbounded. All night the ordinarily quiet streets of the village were crowded with people. The men who declared this strike did so understanding that in all probability it would be a protracted struggle. The operators, unmovable during the fifty days negotiations for a settlement, are not expected to be easily moved now. Radical action will be resorted to. There are constant rumors that the miners' leaders contemplate calling out the engineers, firemen and pump runners, who are the only men left working in the mines today. Their absence from a colliery would mean destruction by water that would make operation impossible for months. The operators would speedily employ non-union men to protect their property in this event and this would cause serious trouble.
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| Senator Albert Beveridge. |
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| Senator Charles Dietrich. |
PAGE FOUR—EDITORIAL.
Hard on the Witness.
That was a bad joke which Senator Dietrich and Senator Beveridge played on Private Boardman, a returned Kansas soldier, in Washington on Tuesday. The soldier was giving testimony before the Philippines committee. On Monday he gave some testimony more or less important to the effect that the American army in the Philippines is all right and that the only cruelties he had seen practiced were committed by natives, generally upon some of their own associates.
On Tuesday he could think of nothing bad enough to say about the policy of the government in the Philippines and the conduct of the American army. Everything was bad, he said, and nothing quite so bad as the way the soldier boys were treated by their superior officers and by the government at Washington.
The Filipino prisoners, he said, were treated better than the soldier boys, and becoming warmed up on the wrongs the private soldiers were subjected to, he threw on the committee table two battered tin cans. They were samples, he said, of the kind of stuff that the United States soldiers were forced to eat in the Philippine army. One can, he said, contained salmon and the other soup tablets.
All of it was, in Boardman's opinion, unfit to be eaten, and he said the soldiers revolted at it. The salmon was rotten, he said, although the can was hermetically sealed and he wanted to know, why it was the government fed such stuff to its soldiers.
The majority of the committee was astonished to hear sentiments so contrary to those uttered by the same witness the day before and on record as proceeding from him, and concluded that he must have been "seen" by some one over the night.
Then it was that Senator Dietrich, who is a member of the committee, got in his little joke. He said to Boardman that he would like to talk with him informally about matters in the Philippines, and asked if he would not take lunch with him and Senator Beveridge in the senate restaurant. The Kansas soldier was tickled almost to death and promptly accepted the invitation.
A delicious soup was served, afterward salmon salad, and Boardman could hardly find fitting words in which to express his admiration for the fine quality of both. He was particularly enthusiastic in his praise of the salmon salad. It reminded him strongly of the kind the government tried to make the soldiers eat in the Philippines—because it was so different. The soup was properly seasoned, he said, and just the thing that would put vim into a soldier if he could get it out in the Philippines, where the boys had to eat canned slop.
At the conclusion of the luncheon Boardman again expressed his appreciation of the bill of fare, and Senator Dietrich told him, with a twinkle in his eye, that he was pleased to hear him praise what he had to eat, as it was the contents of the two battered tin cans thrown on the committee room table and described as rotten and unfit for food.
The amazement and confusion of the witness can be better imagined than described, but the two senators enjoyed the situation just the same.
SHE TOOK LAUDANUM.
Mrs. Charles Sprague Suicides at Blodgett Mills, N. Y.
FOUND IN UNCONSCIOUS STATE.
Could Not be Revived—Husband Died Three Weeks Ago and She Became Very Despondent—Paid the Last Bill She Owed and Then Bought the Laudanum.
Mrs. Charles Sprague of Blodgett Mills committed suicide last evening by taking an ounce of laudanum. Her husband died about three weeks ago, and it is thought that she became despondent over business matters.
At 6 o'clock in the evening she went to the store of E. L. Tanner in Blodgett Mills and paid a bill she was owing there. She then bought an ounce bottle of laudanum. Her neighbors saw her go home, but did not see the house lighted up as usual later in the evening.
This morning as no stir was seen about the place, the neighbors began to investigate. The doors were locked and they broke these in to find Mrs. Sprague unconscious in bed. Coroner Santee was notified, as was also her brother, Nelson Smith of McGraw, who went to the house at once with Dr. Hendricks. Mr. Tanner identified the bottle that had contained the laudanum. She did not regain consciousness but died about 1 o'clock this afternoon.
Mrs. Sprague was 64 years old. She leaves two children, Adelbert Phelps of Cortland and Eugene Phelps of Cold Brook. She also leaves two step children, A. A. Sprague of Cortland and Mrs. Wayland Spencer of Blodgett Mills. The funeral arrangements have not yet been made.
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| Judge Rowland Davis. |
ROSE WOULDNT PLEAD.
Drank from a Bottle with a Fellow She Didn't Know.
Mrs. Rose Pendle Langdon appeared in city court this morning to answer to the charge of public intoxication. She refused to plead to the charge and the court entered a plea of not guilty and adjourned the case until next Monday morning, fixing bail in the sum of $100. Rose had a very black eye. She stated that she drank just a little out of a bottle given her by a young fellow from South Cortland, whom she did not know. That was the last she remembers about her spree.
She was picked up off the pavement on Port Watson-st. last evening by Officer Townsend. It is not known who struck her in the eye. She requested that a doctor and two yards of cotton batting be sent for her relief.
IN TRUCK'S DEFENCE.
Attorney McCrahon Has His Bill Cut Down.
Attorney John H. McCrahon of Syracuse, who conducted the appeal for John Truck, and who presented a bill which is understood to have been for nearly $1,300 for such services, has been paid by County Treasurer Foster, on an order of Judge Parker of the court of appeals, the sum of $450, being an amount about equal to Mr. McCrahon's disbursements in conducting the appeal.
SHORT LINE TO CORTLAND PARK
Will Soon be in Use—Crossing of Lackawanna Railroad.
Trolley cars will soon be running over the new line of the Traction company on Elm-st., Cortland. The Lackawanna Railroad company is going to put in the crossing at the junction of its tracks with those of the trolley line, and the time when cars can be run the whole length of Elm-st. will depend largely upon the quickness of action on the part of the railroad company in placing this crossing.
The upper end of the new line will probably be used tomorrow for the approach to Church-st., instead of the long curve at the corner of Clinton-ave. and Church-st., which will be torn out.
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| Cortland Park. |
Dance at the Park.
One hundred twenty couples attended Dillon Bros.' reception to their dancing classes at the park last evening, and a very pleasant evening was spent. Their own orchestra of ten pieces furnished music. The car service\ was excellent.
Death of Mrs. Flanagan.
Mrs. Margaret L. Flanagan, 9 Hubbard-st., died a little before 12o'clock, noon today, from pneumonia, aged 70 years.
Mrs. Flanagan was born in Ennis, County Clare, Ireland, and it was there that she married Thomas Flanagan, who died in Cortland about twelve years ago. She had been a resident of Cortland for more than thirty-five years. She leaves a family of seven children, Mr. John Flanagan of Syracuse, Miss Mary Flanagan of Cortland, Mr. James Flanagan of Rochester, Misses Margaret and Ella Flanagan of Cortland, Mr. Patrick Flanagan of Chicago, and Miss Anna Flanagan, a teacher in the Cortland public schools.
She also leaves a sister, Mrs. Sargeson of Chicago and two brothers, Messrs. John and Daniel Garvey of Australia.
The funeral arrangements have not been made as yet.
Fortnightly Club.
The Fortnightly club met Wednesday afternoon with Mrs. Geo. P. Hollenbeck. The remainder of this year's work is devoted to American art, and Wednesday's meeting covered the early period. Three papers were presented. Mrs. B. L. Webb discussed the early Anglo-American Artists John Singleton Copley (1737-1815) and Benjamin West (1738-1840.) Of the portrait painters of the time of Washington, Miss Mary H. White treated of Charles W. Peale (1741-1827) and Rembrandt Peale (1787-1860), and Miss Ella Van Hoesen of Gilbert Charles Stuart (1755-1828) and John Trumbull (1756-1843). Miss L. H. Stone discussed "Birds" under the department of current topics. Mrs. Charlotte Nash Head added pleasure to the meeting by her fine rendering of an old Scotch ballad.
BREVITIES.
—A new board walk is being laid today in front of the house occupied by Miss Julia Randall, 149 Main-st., Cortland.
—Tomorrow evening at the park will occur one of the regular park dances. Cars will leave at 7:30, 8, 8:30 and 9 o'clock for the park.
—Mary M. Garvey, aged 16 days, infant child of Mr. and Mrs. John Garvey, Jr., 22 North Greenbush-st., died last evening. Burial 2 o'clock tomorrow afternoon at St. Mary's cemetery.
—New display advertisements today are—Gas Light Co., Gas ranges, page 7; M. W. Giles, China sale, page 7; New York store, Millinery, dry goods, etc., page 6; S. Simmons, Special sale of pants, page 6; McGraw & Elliott, Paints, etc., page 6: M. A. Case. Dry goods, page 6.
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