166 PHYSIOGRAPHY 



horses dropped dead in the streets of St. Pierre, and a little later 

 the traffic of the streets was obstructed by the volcanic dust or 

 "ashes." On May 5th the mud which had accumulated in the basin 

 of the crater broke out and flowed down a valley in the side of the 

 mountain, overwhelming a factory and destroying a number of 

 lives. During these early stages of activity there were numerous 

 earthquakes, and all cables from Martinique were broken, while 

 sounds like the report of artillery were heard 300 miles away. 



On May 8th the activity of the volcano reached its climax. On 

 that day a heavy black cloud swept down through the gash in the 

 crater's rim, and out over the plain to the southwest, and in two 

 minutes struck the city of St. Pierre, five miles distant. The city 

 was at once demolished. Buildings were thrown down, statues 

 hurled from their pedestals, and trees torn up. Explosions were 

 heard in the city as the cloud reached it, and flames burst out, 

 started either by the heat of the gases, or the red-hot particles of 

 rock which the gases carried. A few minutes later a deluge of rain, 

 mud, and stones fell, continuing the destruction. With but two 

 exceptions, the entire population, increased to some 30,000 by 

 refugees from the surrounding country, was wiped out of existence. 

 Of the two persons who escaped, one was in a prison cell below 

 the level of the ground, while the other was in a house in the 

 outskirts of the city. Many people on ocean vessels in the vicinity 

 of St. Pierre were killed, some of them instantly. Others were 

 seriously burned. 



Study of the region after the eruption showed that the cloud 

 was probably composed of steam, sulphurous vapors, and dust. 

 It is estimated to have had a temperature of 1,400 to 1,500 F. 

 (about 800 C.). Combustible gases seem not to have been abun- 

 dant, for the vegetation and thatched roofs in the path of the blast 

 were not burned, but only dried and withered. The bodies of the 

 victims were scorched, burned, or scalded. Except in the axis of 

 the blast, the clothing of the bodies was unburned, though the 

 flesh beneath was burned and scalded. The chief causes of death 

 seemed to have been suffocation by the noxious vapors and gases, 

 and the great heat. Other causes of death were blows from stones 

 thrown from the volcano, burns from hot stones, dust, and steam, 



