 |
| Mount Pelee eruption, May, 1902. |
Cortland Evening Standard, Monday, May 12, 1902.
STREETS FULL OF DEAD.
Utter Destruction of St. Pierre and Adjoining Towns.
EXCEEDS WILDEST IMAGINATION.
Impossible to Approach Town For Hours After Eruption—French Cruiser by Heroic Effort Rescues Some 30 Survivors, Some of Whom Afterwards Died—Fled to Hills.
Fort De France, Martinique, May 11, 1902.
Advices received here from St. Pierre (10 miles from here) contain further details of the terrible volcanic upheaval which resulted in the utter destruction of that town and the death of nearly all its inhabitants.
The crater of Mont Pelee had been wearing its "smoke cap" since the 3d of May, but there was nothing until last Monday to indicate that there was the least danger. On that day a stream of boiling lava burst through the top of the crater, plunging into the Valley of the River Blanche, overwhelming the Guerin sugar works and killing 23 work people and the son of the proprietor.
A commission was appointed by the governor to investigate the outbreak and it returned a reassuring report on Wednesday evening. But about 8 o'clock on Thursday morning a shower of fire rushed down on St. Pierre and the coast from Le Carbet, which had a population of 6,000, to Le Precheur, which had a population of 4,000, burning up everything in its path.
Throughout Thursday the heat in the vicinity of St. Pierre was so intense and the stream of flowing lava was so unremitting that it was impossible to approach the town during the early part of the day. As evening approached the French cruiser Suchet, after a heroic battle with the heat, suffocation and sulphur fumes, succeeded in making a dash toward the shore, nearing the land close enough to enable her to take off 30 survivors of the disaster all of whom were horribly burned and mutilated.
St. Pierre at that time was an absolutely smoking waste, concealing 30,000 corpses, whose rapid decomposition necessitates, in some cases, instantly completing their cremation which was only partially accomplished by the lava.
The inhabitants of Fort De France were panic stricken, the morning of the disaster, when the sky suddenly blackened until it was as dark as at midnight. The sea shrank back 30 yards, hot rain began to fall, while gravel the size of walnuts poured down on the town. This lasted about 15 minutes and then the town began to resume its normal aspect.
The 450 survivors, who were brought here Saturday from the vicinity of St. Pierre by the French cable repair ship Pouyer Guertier, came from the town of Le Precheur, where surrounded on all sides by flowing lava. They were nearly roasted to death and expected momentarily to be engulfed.
The work of relief is progressing here on the most extensive scale possible, but in anticipation of disturbances the treasury building and the warehouses are guarded by troops.
The latest reports received here showed that lava continues to pour down the slopes of the mountain, slowly engulfing the whole north side of the island while fresh crevasses are continually opening.
REFUGEES IN THE HILLS.
Report Confirmed that American and British Consuls Perished.
Paris May 12.—Le Temps referring to the destruction at St. Pierre says:
"We believe, from the information received here from the island of Martinique (meaning doubtless the official dispatches) that the disaster surpasses all that imagination can conceive. The whole northeastern portion of the island is laid waste. Three large communities, exclusive of St. Pierre, have been destroyed. The victims comprise two candidates for today's ballotage for members of the chamber of deputies."
A dispatch received from Fort De France, Martinique, says:
"All the hills surrounding Le Carbel and Le Precheur (near St. Pierre), are covered with refugees, to the number of about 5,000, who are being taken away gradually. In the meanwhile provisions are being conveyed to them.
"Of the 30 persons who were originally rescued by the French cruiser Suchet the majority were fearfully burned and nine died while on their way to the hospital.
"The corpses which are heaped in the ruins of St. Pierre are not only completely naked but are frightfully mutilated."
DISASTER IS COMPLETE.
30,000 Perished and 50,000 Homeless and Hungry. Supplies Asked For.
Washington, May 12.—The secretary of the state today received from Louis H. Ayme, United States consul at Point-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe, who went to Martinique with instructions from this government, the following dispatch:
Fort de France, May 12.—The disaster is complete. The city (St. Pierre) wiped out. Consul Prentiis and his family are dead. The governor says 30,000 have perished; 50,000 are homeless and hungry. He suggests that the Red Cross be asked to send codfish, flour, beans, rice, salt, meats, and biscuits as quickly as possible. Visit of war vessels valuable. L. H. Ayme.
 |
| Emperor Wilhelm II. |
PAGE FOUR—EDITORIALS.
Emperor William has incurred the wrath of the German nobility by entertaining in a rather democratic way certain of his subjects irrespective of their social antecedents. That the emperor should receive a mere manufacturer or inventor quite as cordially as he welcomes a member of a Junker family strikes the old nobility as little less than scandalous. The Cologne Volks Zeitung sees in prospect nothing less than the Americanization of the imperial government, while the Leipsic Neueste Nachrichten finds in the kaiser's choice of guests for his recent North sea excursion a direct repudiation of the old tradition and of that mood in which he called himself "the first nobleman of Prussia." The emperor indeed has little reason to feel very kindly disposed toward the German nobility. They have blocked his canal schemes, embarrassed his foreign relations by clamoring for excessive tariffs and in other ways sought to frustrate his plans. It is but natural that the sympathies of an ambitious and energetic man like Emperor William should be with great manufacturers and inventors, the men who accomplish something, rather than with the petty nobility, who stand in the way of industrial and commercial progress. Besides, his brother Henry may have given him some tips on national development which he picked up while associating with captains of industry on his visit to this country.
 |
| Lehigh Valley Engine 919. |
STRUCK BY TRAIN.
M. E. Tallett the Lehigh Valley Agent at DeRuyter, N. Y.
DIDN'T SEE THE TRAIN COMING.
Was Watching a Train Coming from the Opposite Direction—Wonder He Was Not Killed—One Foot Crushed and One Arm Broken—Badly Shaken Up.
Last Saturday evening Morell E. Tallett, Lehigh Valley station agent at DeRuyter, was run down by a passenger train and seriously injured. Mr. Tallett was going across the tracks nearest the depot to meet the passenger train from Canastota, which is due there at 7:18. At that time the passenger train that leaves Cortland at 6:20 was just pulling into the station a few minutes late. He did not notice the approaching train from Cortland and stepped directly in front of it. He was knocked off to the side of the tracks by the force of the blow and barely escaped having both of his legs cut off by the engine wheels. As it was he had one foot seriously crushed and his left wrist was badly broken and it is feared that he received internal injuries. He was taken to his home immediately, where he was attended by Dr. Pulfiner of that village.
Sheriff Overton and another man from Cortland viewed the accident. They had been in DeRuyter and were going to take the train back to Cortland. The agent had just been speaking with them and he bade them good bye as he started across the tracks. It seemed to them that he must certainly be killed. The cowcatcher struck him in the back and the blow and his own exertions landed him to the side of the tracks nearest the depot and just beyond the platform. Had he struck the platform he would have been forced back upon the tracks and the train would have passed over him. It is not known just how the foot became crushed, but it is thought that in some way the flange of the car wheel must have struck it. The shoe on the injured foot was badly torn. It was a close call for the life of the genial agent.
Paid for His Injuries.
Mail Carrier S. L. Palmer, who sustained serious injuries about two months ago by slipping on an' icy door step and falling, has received from the Preferred Accident association of Detroit, through the local representative, H. J. Harrington, full pay in the amount of his policy, $15 per week for seven weeks and five days, aggregating $115.71. The company in which he is insured issues policies to Masons only.
MR. J. D. HULL
Passes Away After Four Months of Acute Suffering.
Mr. J. D. Hull, who died at his home, 199 Clinton–ave., on Saturday, May 10, was born in Homer, N. Y., June 22, 1834. His parents were Joel and Rebecca Hull of that village.
On April 5, 1881, he was married to Miss Fannie Hough of Cortland, who with their two daughters, Misses Anna and Grace Hull survives him. He is also survived by an adopted daughter, Mrs. Herman Miles of Homer, and by one brother, Harland Hull, and one sister, Mrs. W. C. Lewis, both of Homer.
When a young man Mr. Hull identified himself with the Congregational church of Homer and when he moved his family to Cortland eight years ago, he united with the Congregational church of this city. Since the East Side Congregational mission has been established he has been one of the most prominent and helpful workers in it.
For more than four months he had been afflicted with dropsy of the bowels [edema] and he had been a great sufferer, yet he bore it with a rare courage. He was a man of strong constitution and had never been under a doctor's care before his last illness.
The funeral will be held at the house at 1:30 o'clock Tuesday afternoon, and will be conducted by Rev. W. F. Kettle of Homer. Burial will be made in the Atwater cemetery near his old home north of Homer.
Died in Charleston.
Mr. John C. Davis, formerly of Marathon, N. Y., died on May 5 in Charleston, S. C., which place has been his home for the past ten years. His age was 72 years. He was buried by request in the family lot at Charleston. He is survived by a sister and brother in Cortland, Mrs. Jacob Price, and Mr. Lewis Davis.
TIMOTHY A. ROSE.
Well Known Resident of Cortlandville Passes Away Sunday.
Mr. Timothy A. Rose, a son of the late Joseph Rose, died at 7:30 o'clock Sunday morning at his home a half mile south of the county house in the town of Cortlandville. Mr. Rose had been a life long resident of the town and was very well known to many. His age was 68 years. He is survived by his wife and one son, Joseph W. Rose of Cortland, also by two sisters-in-law, Mrs. M. Rose of Cortland and Mrs. John Boland of Fulton. Mrs. Henry Bates of Cortland is his aunt. The funeral will be held at the house at 2 o'clock Wednesday afternoon.
Numerous Monuments.
S. M. Benjamin completed and set another Cummings monument in Preble on the 10th and the same day set one in the Cortland cemetery for Raynesford Palmer's family, a good one; and today is setting one in Homer cemetery for Franklin Pierce of New York. It is 22 feet high and weighs 21,600 pounds.
County Medical Association.
The Cortland County Medical association met at Dr. Reese's office Friday afternoon. Dr. Sornberger opened a discussion on "Enuresis." Dr. Higgins reported a case of "Nephritis," which had been overlooked until [detected] by him with the ophthalmoscope. Dr. Jennings reported a case with all the usual symptoms of pneumonia except pain. Dr. Sornberger reported two cases of pneumonia, in which the pain was remote from the lesion. Dr. Reese reported two recent cases of nephritis with paralysis due to the toxins of diphtheria.
BREVITIES.
—Cortland Lodge of Perfection, U. D., meets this evening at 8 o'clock.
—Two large sun dogs were visible for some time in the western sky yesterday and attracted considerable attention.
—The Loyal Circle of King's Daughters will meet with Mrs. Henry Relyea, 13 Blodgett-st., Tuesday, May 13, at 3 o'clock p. m.
—Mr. William J. Hull, Jr., of Cuyler and Miss Ada Halbret of Taylor Valley were married on Saturday in Cortland by Rev. G. H. Brigham at his residence.
—New display advertisements today are—Gas Light Co., Gas ranges, page 7; A. S. Burgess, Clothing, page 8; C. F. Brown, Paints, page 6; M. W. Giles, Dry goods, etc., page 7; City Cycle Co., Columbia bicycles, page 5.
—There will be a work meeting of the Farther Lights society of the First Baptist church in the church parlors this evening at 7:30 o'clock. A large attendance is earnestly requested. Every member is asked to bring scissors, thimbles and any old fashion books they may wish to contribute.
No comments:
Post a Comment