The complete story of the Martinique horror and other great disasters

Front matter

8^ '

4 V

Glass. Zl2

Introduction

As one who, alas! was Consul to Martinique, writing my impression of the island of Martinique, words failed me there when I was Consul to express its loveliness, and in the sorrow I feel in the destruction of one of its fairest parts I lack expression, I feel in writing this book on the paradise of the West Indian Islands, as if I were compelled to sound a, Paeon and alas! a Dirge. I lived there happily as the United States Consul for five years. I knew the people, mingled with them, studied their habits, their customs, and their dispositions, so that, while a stranger when I arrived, they learned to count me as a friend to the people and the island. In saying this, I mean to say that the white aristocracy, descendants of the blue-blooded French, and the Noirs (the colored merchants) were equally my friends. The colored population ranges from darkest black through degrees of mulatto and thence to octaroon, many of whom are as white as the average French citizen of Martinique.

The white ladies were noted for their beauty, and the colored and the octaroons for the regularity of their features according to the Caucasian idea of beauty. There was no social relation between the whites and the colored people in the island, yet the colored and the white merchants met daily either at the "Bourse" (in English the "Merchant's Exchange") or on the "Place Bertin," which was a promenade shaded by beautiful Tamarind trees, where they XJromenaded, and separating into groups according to their color, discussed their daily business affairs or French politics in a quiet, harmonious way.

The island itself was a dream of Paradise. The blacks and the whites had no occasion to dispute. While the bulk of the people were colored and while the greater area of the island was owned by the whites, there was an element of the colored population, owners of property, educated to the same degree that our own

10 Introduction.

people in the United States are educated, who felt that as property owners and civilized people they could not afford to allow an outbreak of the ignorant negroes and acted as a "buffer" in keeping them in subjection. Besides, France, who owned and controlled the island, maintained both at Fort de France and St. Pierre a part of the French army, which, while it did no constabulary duty in the towns of Fort de France and St. Pierre, nevertheless patrolled the whole island, mounted or on foot, and was a menace and a terror to any disturbance by the lower element of the population.

As for the island of Martinique itself, I rejoice to say that you cannot find in the world so extraordinarily beautiful a place. I met there tourists who had gone over the world where any civilized man had traveled, and who told me that in the course of their travels they had never seen such successive panoramas of ravishing beauty as Martinique unfolded in their drives and their tours through the island. Imagine, if you can, a country where you encounter naught but hill and dale, mountain and valley, valley succeeding to mountain and mountain succeeding to valley. Imagine, in all ihis island a system of roads throughout that would make our American streets sink into insignificance. Imagine that bordering these roads are wild flowers— Begonias growing wild, the Hibiscus, that beautiful red bell-shaped flower, of which latter they make hedges in Martinique. Imagine Morne Rouge lying between St. Pierre and the monster Mount Pelee, which so suddenly belched fire, ruin and destruction, and yet so merciless to St. Pierre was merciful to Morne Eouge, lying midway between the two. Imagine Morne Rouge, as I said, a plateau on the rise between St. Pierre and Pelee, the demon of destruction, a lovely country place where flowers bloomed perennially and the scent of whose roses met one at least half a mile ere one reached the village, for Morne Rouge was a bed of roses and all flowering shrubs and plants of the tropics. Cold type and white paper with black ink cannot convey a faint idea, even, of the loveliness of this fair isle.

The people of the island were saturated with French courtesy. Nowhere in the West Indies did the white and colored races dwell

Iktkoduction. 11

so well in amity, and I speak whereof I know, because I had occasion, officially or unofficially, to visit almost every island in the Lesser Antilles. The people of Martinique were aristocratic by birth, by breeding, by education. The cream of the colored population, while having no social affiliation with the whites, were most intelligent, upright, courteous and well behaved.

The schools from primary to the collegiate course gave to the colored population an education equivalent to the average high school in our country; the French whites sending their children to the convents and colleges maintained by the religious orders, and afterwards sending their sons to Paris or the United States to broaden their education. Hence, the idea so prevalent that the people of Martinique were uneducated, half civilized and ignorant, is a false supposition. The average female servant in Martinique could read, and write a most legible hand.

Those who have driven over the magnificent roads bordered by wild flowers that we cultivate with such care as rare and curious, who have seen the magnificent fields of sugar cane waving in the breeze and awaiting the sickle, who have seen the Cacar bending beneath its weight of berries, who have seen the banana with its wealth of yellow fruit, fruit as well as food; those who have seen the rubber trees in their giant growth casting shade for yards in every direction, who have seen the bread-fruit tree, productive of food and grateful shadow, and who have tasted the ' ' Mang, " ' ' the Mang Julie, Mang sans pareil, the Mang d'Or," and others, only they know to what full fruition does the Lord God allow His shrubs and trees to blossom and fruit and shade for the fortunate mortals of this world. And when, iu conjunction with all these beauties of nature, you realize that the flow of purest water was unceasing all over the island, that even St. Pierre, a town of 35,000 inhabitants, was never bothered with a fly, that mosquitoes were almost unknown, that epidemics were a rarity, that the health of the whole people was remarkable, that the birth rate was normal, and the death rate extraordinarily small, even for a location anywhere in the world outside of the West Indies. The amusements of the people were simple. The colony every year supported for about

12 Introduction.

three months an excellent opera troupe from France, granting the company a subvention of about twelve thousand dollars with free use of the finest theater in all the Lesser Antilles, if not in all the West India Islands, with privilege to collect and retain all receipts, requiring the company only to pay the expense of lighting, cleaning and policing the opera house.

No cock fighting, gambling, bull fighting or other such amusements, indulged in by some of the Latin races, were known in Martinique, and any attempt to introduce them would have been frowned on by the people, black as well as white.

The island was equipped with the finest usines or sugar factories, having all the most modern machinery to manufacture sugar and cetrifugate it, separating the raw sugar from the molasses. The molasses thus obtained was then transferred to the rum distilleries, where they manufactured the finest rum in the world, all the surplus of the island being taken by the nearby West India Island, the bulk being demanded by French, both in its raw and mature condition. The town of St. Pierre manufactured the finest liquors in the world. They were shipped to France, bottled in fancy glass and reshipped to the countries abroad, labeled as "French Liqueurs." In addition to Creme de Menthe, Curacoa and other well known liquors, Martinique sent abroad "Parfait Amour"— in English, Perfect Love— "Creme de la Vanille," Cream of Vanilla, ' ' Creme des Ananas, " . " Cream of Pineapple, ' ' and others too numerous to mention.

The population was most devout in the observances of the feasts and festivals of the Church. The churches were crowded at all the masses Sundays and on holy days, and Corpus Christi was a day once seen in St. Pierre to be long remembered, with the whole populace suspending labor and following the sacrament in procession to the three altars gorgeously decorated in prominent places of the town.

Mi-Careme was a carnival. The colored people, black, mulatto, quadroon and octaroon, quaintly arrayed, danced through the principal streets of the town to the accompaniment of their own musicians ; some masked, some girls arrayed as pages, some as mon-

Introduction. 13

keys, some men as buifoons, and while every one drank his or her rum and water, it was the rarest thing in the world to witness there a case of intoxication. And while on this question of drinking, I wish to say that in the five years I was, resident in Martinique I knew only one white man who was a drunkard, and he was tabooed by his whole family ; and I can add in addition that in the height of enjoyment in the greatest exuberance of spirits by the colored people genuine intoxication was so rare as to be cause of remark and the person offending was scorned by the negroes themselves.

Fearing that I may tire our readers before they commence the perusal of this work, I can only say in conclusion that Martinique prior to its destruction was the nearest approach to any idea we could have of the Garden of Eden. Alas ! like all things earthly, its beauty was evanescent, it has passed away, and while I sigh for its destruction I am proud of the ready sympathy our great and grand country has shown in the hour of distress, and I know that generous hearts of my countrymen will reap full meed of gratitude from that poor impoverished people. Thinking of what it is, knowing what it was— and pray God may be again— I can only say in conclusion, praying for its restoration as I now and always shall do, "Haec olim meminisse juvabit" (it will be a delight always to me to remember these things).

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Chapter I

THE DESTRUCTION OF ST. PIERRE, MARTINIQUE.

PAGE

Forty Thousand Souls Hurled Into Eternity in an Instant — Destruction, Devastation and Death — An Avalanche of Fire — Rivers of Molten Lava — A Glimpse of the Lower Regions — Falling Buildings Engulf Fleeing Men and Women — A Carnival of Horrors — Destruction of Shipping in the Harbor — Later Eruptions 29

Chapter II

THE ISLAND OF MARTINIQUE— ITS HISTORY, TOPOGRAPHY, VEGETA- TION AND INDUSTRIES.

The Most Picturesque of the West Indian Isles — Discovered by Columbus — Peculiar in Topography — Famous as the Home of Josephine — Startling Record of Great Disasters in the Island — Commercial Interests of the Island 60

Chapter III

THE PEOPLE OF MARTINIQUE— THEIR LANGUAGE, RELIGION, EDUCA- TION AND HABITS.

The Perfect Physique — Grace — Carriers of Merchandise — Dress — Peculiarities, Customs, Society, Amusements — A Paris in Embryo — Market Place — Government, Literature, Public Schools, Private Schools, Morals 81

Chapter IV. Mont Pelee In Slumber And Action

Mont Pelee as it Seemed to the Inhabitants of Martinique — Famous Summer Resort — Pelee Not Feared by Natives — French Government Bulletin — Mont Pelee's Death-Knell Fate Expected — Letters Telling the Story of Danger — The Governor's Report 96

Chapter V. Quick Relief For The Sufferers

Hunger and Destitution of Survivors — Message of President Roosevelt — Quick Action of Congress — $200,000 Appropriated at Once — Activity of Navy and War Departments — Many Vessels to the Relief — The World Hears and Heeds the Cry of the Destitute — Nations Respond — King Edward Sends $5,000 as a Personal Contribution — President Loubet Gives $4,000. . 118

16 Contents.

chapter VI. DISPOSING OF THE DEAD AND CLEARING AWAY THE DEBRIS

PAGE

Visitors See Death, Chaos and Silence — Appalling Scenes of Volcanic Disaster — Corpses Found in Piles on Shore — Buildings Torn Down — Lava Blocks Form Titanic Ruins— Relief Parties Find No Sign of Life — Cyclones of Gas, Mud and Flames — Looting the Dead — General Disorder 141

Chapter VII

ST. VINCENT AND ITS DEADLY VOLCANO MONT SOUFRIERE.

General Description of the Island — Climate, Soil and Productiveness— Picturesque Kingston — St. Vincent the Scene of Many Volcanic Disasters — La Soufriere in Olden Times — Its Latest Eruption — American and British Relief — A Diary of Terror 151

Chapter VIII

THE FUTURE OUTLOOK OF MARTINIQUE AND ST. VINCENT.

France Offers to Transport All Wishing to Leave Martinique — Disorganization of Trades — St. Pierre Must Not Be Rebuilt — Fort de France Safe — Experiences of Mr. George Kennan and Mr. G. J. Kavanaugh — Professor Heilprin's Discoveries — Aid to Science — New United States Consul to Martinique 174

Chapter IX. Rumbling Throughout The Caribbean Sea

Volcanic Islands of the West Indies — Non-Volcanic Islands — Topography Liable to Change Islands in which the United States are Interested — Sinking of Ocean Bed — Interesting Speculations — Earthquake in Guatemala — Other Cities Damaged, etc., etc 191

Chapter X. Stories Of Martinique Survivors

No. 1 Story of the Destruction — No. 2 Story of the Destruction — A Cyclone of Gas — Story of an Officer on the Danish Ship Vakyrien — Pitiful Story of a Sailor on the Roraima 205

Chapter XI. Looking For The End Of The World

Religious Sects that See in the Martinique and St. Vincent Horrors the Beginning of the Total Destruction of the Earth — Bible Prophecies Quoted to Prove the Second Advent of the Messiah at Hand — Prof. Mangasarian Refutes the Idea That the World Is to Be Destroyed — The Race May Become Extinct — Hopeful Signs of the Times 212

Chapter XII. Light On Mystery

Home of the Volcano — Regions to Be Avoided — Asama's Vast Crater — Volcanoes of Iceland, South America, Central America, Alaska — Craters in the United States — Mt. Hood, Mt. Rainier 230

Contents. 17

Chapter XIII. Volcanoes— Their Cause

PAGE

Volcano Mountains — Formation of Craters — What Precedes Eruptions — Pacific Ocean Bounded by Volcanoes — Matter Ejected from Volcanoes — Distance Ejected — Nature of Lava — How Lava Moves — Gas and Sulphur and Poison Ejected 247

Chapter XVII. The Terrible Eruption Of Krakatoa

Until Recently Krakatoa Almost Unknown — First Signs of Eruption — Air Filled with Fine Dust and Air Waves Encircle the Earth — Remarkable Phenomenon in 1883 — Terrific Eruption in That Year — Most Tremendous Explosion Ever Known 298

Chapter XVIII. Hawaiian Eruptions And The Famous Kilauea And Mauna Loa

Magnificent Description by an Eye-Witness — A River of Molten Metal — Continual Stream of Lava Heats the Ocean for a Distance of Twenty Miles — Mauna Loa's Crater the Largest of Any Volcano in the World 312

Chapter XIX. Volcanoes Of The Philippine Islands

Famous Volcanoes Now Possessions of the United States — The Mayon in Province of Luzon — Taal South of Manila — Many Destructive Eruptions 320

18 Contents.

chapter xx. DESTRUCTIVE ERUPTIONS OF ETNA— OLDEST ON RECORD

The Eruptions of Mount Etna the Oldest Recorded of Any in the History of the World — The Poet Virgil Describes It — Ancients Believed a Living Giant Resided Under the Mountain — A Stone Fifty Feet in Diameter Thrown from Its Crater 333

Chapter XXI. Earthquakes, Their Cause And Frequency

Earthquakes the Most Destructive Agent of Nature — Narratives of Calamities of a By-gone Century — Frequent Occurrence of Earthquakes — Scientific Theory of Earthquakes 347

Chapter XXII. Disastrous Earthquakes Of History

Record of Earthquakes from 464 B. C. to the Present Time — Earthquake in Ancient Sparta Which Had an Important Political Bearing — Gibbon's Description of an Earthquake — Fifty Thousand Slain at Lisbon 355

Chapter XXIII. Whirlwinds, Cyclones, Hurricanes, And Tornadoes

Whirlwinds — How Caused — Velocity — The Dread of the Desert — Cyclones — How Formed — Course — Velocity — Where They Take Place — Damage Done — Hurricanes — How Formed — Danger — Course — Climax — Track — Phenomena — Cause of Tornadoes — Their Appearance — Damage Done — When They Occur— What to Do 362

Chapter XXIV. The Johnstown Flood

Great Disaster in the United States — Loss of Life in Johnstown Flood, 2,300 Men, Women and Children — Breaking of Dam in Conemau h Lake — People Warned — Relief Quick — Damage of Other Towns — Communication Cut Off — Fire and Darkness Add Horror — Cambria City Swept Away, Millville Gone, Woodville and South Fork Wrecked — Stories by Survivors — Identification of Bodies, Clearing the Debris 387

Chapter XXV. Destruction Of Galveston, Texas

Tidal Wave, Hurricane, Loss of Life, Destruction of Property — An Awful Saturday Night — Population — Storm Seasons — How Storms Are Diverted — Storm of 1875 — A Solemn, Somber Sunday — Plundering the Dead — Martial Law Enforced — Decomposition of Bodies — Relief 402

Chapter XXVI. The West Indian Volcanoes And The Nicaragua Canal

Disturbance in Lesser Antilles— Professor Heilprin's Views Regarding the Collapse of These Islands Nicaragua Canal Route in Danger — Weakness of Earth's Crust in Certain Localities— Scientist's Former Ideas of

Craters Scouted— The Future of the World— Drilling the Earth for Heat

Prophecies for the Year 1902 — God Reigns— The World Lives. 456 m <u o a>

O o

RUE PETIT VERSAILLES— ONE OF THE PRINCIPAL STREETS OF

ST. PIERRE.

This picture was taken before the destruction of the city. In another place in this book will be found a picture of this street as it appeared shortly after its destruction.

SPECIAL ARTICLE

BY

VINCENT de MESSIMY, a Native of St. Pierre.

If there has ever been a book written to commemorate the most awful calamities that have befallen humanity, this is indeed the book.

Pompeii, Lisbon, Caraccas and Yeddo are names that have long caused the heart of every human being to shudder, but to-day we have to add to that terrifying list another name: St. Pierre of Martinique. St. Pierre formerly stood for all that was beautiful and enchanting. To recall it reminded one of peace in a luxuriant garden, a place made happy and kept in bloom by the fancies of nature.

Many things combine to make the island of Martinique more beautiful and more romantically interesting than any other of the West Indian islands. Its mountain scenery is more poetically beautiful, its towns more strikingly picturesque, its architecture more unique, and its population more beautiful in color and type than anywhere else among the Windward Islands.

St. Pierre was the principal city of the island in point of population and commercial importance, although Fort de France is the civil capital.

Down to the water's edge the streets of St. Pierre descended. Behind were gardens and plantations sloping up the mountains. The city was built on rising land, and the streets, which followed the coast line, mounted one above the other, so that the upper ones were two hundred feet above the sea. The streets were intersected at right angles by long avenues which descended to the water's edge ; sometimes, as in the native quarter, the descent was so sharp as to end in steps. Down the center or at the sides of every street

2& Special Article.

ran canals of rapid flowing water, carrying the refuse of the city to the sea.

Many of the houses were built in the eighteenth century, and were constructed with marble and hardwood floors. The color of the houses was a bright yellow, with blue or violet shutters and doors, which gave the island town a coquettish gaiety. These houses were set in tropical gardens, and shone like gold in the splendors of a dazzling sunlight.

St. Pierre sprang into prominence as the home and refuge of many beautiful families that fled to it from the terrors of the French revolution. The new people made of it a new realm; indeed a race so gentle, kindly and generous that the expression ' ' un coeur de Creole ' ' has long become synonymous with a golden heart.

True it is that beauty lasts only for a season. On the morning of May 8, 1902, St. Pierre became suddenly the center of the very fire of hell. Mount Pelee, which for centuries had hovered over the Metropolis City, broke the granite bonds which had held its hidden fires in check and belched forth its river of fire until nature's elements had spent its force.

The volcano had, on several occasions, warned the people who attempted to abide at its foot, but these threats had no serious effect more than to frighten them into settling a little farther away. The skies were too blue and the atmosphere too pure for the brooding of dire results; the air was filled with music too sweet to be ever pierced with the shrieks of human victims; the earth itself was too gorgeously attired with shrubs and flowers to be replaced by ashes and lava. So thought the good people of St. Pierre, and yet Mount Pelee was all this time standing like a sentinel holding itself ready to respond to powers within.

The fatal, never to be forgotten work was accomplished within the space of three short minutes. The verdant hills, the rolling plains, the rapid rivers, and the city of St. Pierre itself became a bed of boiling lava, while the sky was hidden by clouds of burning ashes, molten rocks and sheets of flame.

St. Pierre is no more; its population of over 30,000 souls is

Special Article.

buried under a shroud of ashes, and fully 20,000 more, caught on the path, are to be added to the list of dead or dying. I say dying for who though alive will not mourn their dead until they too shall journey on into the unknown and there learn the secret of death and suffering?

The sorrow of the people of the West Indies is universal and sympathy is expressed by all human hearts. The only consolation in this great catastrophe is the thought that the whole world mourns —not France alone, but every nation of the civilized world. The prompt, generous impulse of the United States of America and Great Britain in answering the cry of distress, hunger and pain, will never be forgotten by the French Republic,

As a native born at St. Pierre, Martinique, I am lamenting the loss of many relatives and friends. My eyes fill with tears at the thought of the dead, yet my whole heart throbs with gratitude for the generous sympathizers, and I can only say, Amen, God's will be done.

— IfiiiiLli ^jjli'iil. ■4i

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Page

Portrait — Hon. William A. Garesche 3

Portrait — Mrs. Mary A. Garesche, Wife of Ex-United States Consul to

Martinique 4

United States Consulate at St. Pierre 19

Portrait — Monsieur Vincent De Messimy 20

St. Pierre Harbor and City 27

Rue Petit Versailles — One of the Principal Streets of St. Pierre 28

Lighthouse and Wharves at St. Pierre, Showing the Commercial Industry of

Martinique to he Large 39

Cathedral at St. Pierre 40

First Mission on Island of Martinique, St. Pierre 57

Plantation of Carbet, Martinique 58

A Native of Martinique — Woman of Wealth 75

Lower Class Native Woman, St. Pierre 76

Upper Class Native Woman, St. Pierre 76

Plantation Owner and One of His Laborers 92

Public Park, St. Pierre 93

Native Home, Martinique Ill

The Late United States Consul at St. Pierre and His Family, All of Whom

Lost Their Lives in the Great Disaster 112

White River, St. Pierre, Dividing the Old Town From the New 129

Steamship Roraima, Destroyed at St. Pierre, May 8, 1902 130

Divers for Money Around Steamship, St. Pierre Harbor 130

Harbor of St. Pierre During the Eruption of Mont Pelee 147

Caught in the Eruption of Mont Pelee, May 8, 1902 148

Eruption of Mont Pelee as Described by An Eyewitness 165

Market Place at St. Pierre, Morning of the Eruption 166

Members of tie First Relief Party Who Visited St. Pierre After Its Destruction. . 183

The Story of Martinique's Awful Calamity 184

Destruction of St. Pierre's Inhabitants 201

Stricken Dead On the Street 202

Victor Hugo Street, St. Pierre, in Ruins 220

Ruins of the American Consulate, St. Pierre 220

All That Remained of the Convent, St. Pierre 237

Ruins of the Cathedral of St. Pierre 238

United States Cruiser "Cincinnati," First Relief Vessel Sent to St. Pierre by

the United States Government 255

A Mother's Love 256

Volcano in Albay, Philippine Islands 273

Illustrations.

Page

Red Cross Society Carrying Relief to Martinique 274

Burning the Dead Bodies at St. Pierre 291

Ghoulish Thieves Looting the Bodies of the Dead and Stealing Money from the

Ruins — St. Pierre 292

Parliament House, Bridgetown, Island of Barbados 309

Doing the Family Washing 309

La Soufriere, Island of St. Vincent 310

Women Who Coal Ships at St. Vincent 327

Park, Fort De France 328

Castries, Island of St. Lucia 377

Birdseye View of the Town of Charlotte, Island of St. Thomas 377

Town of St. Kitts, Island of St. Christopher 378

Street Scene, Bridgetown, Island of Barbados 378

Women Washing Clothes in the White River, St. Pierre 395

Sulphur Lake in an Extinct Crater 395

Women Unloading Coal from Steamer 396

Road Scene, Island of Barbados 396

Vesuvius in Eruption — The Volcano that Destroyed Pompeii, Killing Legions. 429

Petrified Human Bodies found while Excavating the Ruins of Pompeii 430

Volcano Mayon 447

Street Scene, Charlotte Amelie 448

"Morne Rouge 448

Street Scene, Roseau 448

Fort De France 448

U. S. CONSULATE AT ST. PIERRE.

The above picture shows the author of this book, Wm. Garesche. and his assistant, in the building occupied by him as the U. S. consulate. This assistant lost his life in the recent eruption.

MONSIEUR VINCENT DE MESSIMY.

Native of Martinique, who contributed a special article for this hook.

COMPLETE STORY

OF THE

MARTINIQUE and ST. VINCENT

HORRORS

Chapter I

THE DESTRUCTION OF ST. PIERRE, MARTINIQUE.

Forty Thousand Souls Hurled Into Eternity in an Instant — Destruction, Devastation and Death — An Avalanche of Fire — Rivers of Molten Lava — A Glimpse of the Lower Regions — Falling Buildings Engulf Fleeing Men and Women — A Carnival of Horrors — Destruction of Shipping in the Harbor — Later Eruptions.

St. Pierre is as dead as Pompeii. Most of her people lie fathoms deep in a tomb made in the twinkling of an eye by the collapse of their homes, and sealed forever under tons of boiling mud, avalanches of scoria and a hurricane of volcanic dust.

Since the day when Columbus felt the wonderful thrill of the discovery of a new world and learned the charm of beautiful islands set in a splendid sea, the "West Indies have been a strange mingling of peace and war, beauty and desolation, languorous ease and bitter destitution. Where one charm has been lacking another has beckoned. Nature has smiled for years and at last swept away all the fruits of her bounty in an hour of terror.

THE WEST INDIES A PARADISE.

Pestilence and earthquake, tornado and war, all these and more have disturbed the fond dreams of those who have thought to find in the Wtest Indies the earthly paradise which they hoped to find.

30 The Destruction of St. Pieree, Martinique.

In a riot of vegetation and under warm, sunny skies, with the soil extremely productive and the sea alive with food, the general lot of the people of the West Indies has been poverty. At times and in certain islands there has been a high degree of prosperity, but usually some calamity has burst upon such favored places after comparatively long immunity.

In recent years the almost universal trouble in the West Indies has been industrial distress. The sugar markets of the world have been so flooded with the bounty-fed product of Germany, France, and other European countries that the greatest business of the beautiful chain of islands lying between the Atlantic and the Caribbean Sea has gone from bad to worse. Capitalists have refused to invest their money in modern mills. The laboring population has been wanting in thrift and intelligence, after the usual manner of the tropics. Decay has taken the place of progress. The islands have grown poor while leading countries of the world have been prospering as they never did before.

FRENCH ISLANDS PROSPEROUS.

But the French islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe, with the islets pertaining to them, have escaped, in large measure, the hard fate of the islands which are British and those which, until 1898, belonged to Spain. The large, independent island of Hayti has fared worst of all, and the Danish islands have drifted along without growth or progress. The French possessions have been exceptionally comfortable because they have benefited by the costly encouragement given their sugar-growers by the French Government.

In the summer of the brief war between the United States and Spain it was noted by the newspaper correspondents and others who went from one island to another in the West -Indies that Martinique, especially, seemed quite progressive and prosperous. At St. Pierre and Fort de France, the principal towns, there was evidence of better times than most of the neighboring islands knew. It seemed that the 400,000 persons, in round numbers, who lived under the flag of France, in the West Indies, were exceptionally favored. Now more than one-eighth of them all are dead as the result of a single awful outburst of nature's violence.

The Destruction of St. Pierre, Martinique.

THE ISLAND OF MARTINIQUE.

Martinique, the most southerly of the West Indies group, is a picturesque island. It is mountainous and volcanic in every portion, having, all told, large and small, 400 mountains. Its coast is deeply indented by bays, and while the extreme breadth is fifteen miles the mean breadth is not more than four miles. It is really the product of five or six volcanoes, which at various times in the ages

A Picturesque Street in St. Pierre Before its Destruction.