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Show RECENT DISASTERS LIKE JAPAN HORROR One of the most disastrous fatalities In the world's history, taking the form of a volcanic eruption, occurred at St. Pierre. .Martinique, May S. li'02,. when Mont Pcleo overflowed with a stream of lava that Ignited the whole town at Its base within two minutes after tho burning stuff had reached the houses, killing ::o,00ll people. 1'or .event 1 days before that Pelco had been emitting omluoua rumblings, and several thousand people had taken ship to other ports on the island, alarmed by the conduct of the volcano, but the vast malorlty of the Inhabitants were lulled to 'a fancied security by the editor of Los Colonics, who. after an interview with Professor l-andes, an eminent scientist scien-tist of the Lycco. suted that the savant had said that the people of St. Pierre wero In no more clanger than those In tho nelghlKrbood of Vesuvius, near Naples. Like many other catastrophes of this sort, this took .place In the morning, but not as early as those In San Francisco and Messina. Italy, the hour being 7:50 a. m. Many people were at church, however, how-ever, because of tho day's being a religious re-ligious holiday. A cloud of vapory blackness suffused tho entire sky us Pcleo vomited forth tho molten lava destined to wipe out a city and Its people, and deafening detonations detona-tions followed tho appearance of tho fiery current, throwing evoryono into panic at once. The conflagration losU-d sovcral duvs and was ended by a torrential rain. What has graphically been called "the world's crudest earthquake" took place In .Messina. Sicily, and the surrounding cities on the morning of December 1'JOS, at R'l'o a. m., being within a few minutes of t lie hour of tho San Francisco Fran-cisco earthquake a few years before, and. like that eent, at a time when moro than three-fourths of tho people were In their beds asleep. I,lke the catastrophe of like character In Lisbon several centuries ago, and like others In Japan since, the damage of the quake was aggravated by tidal waves created cre-ated bv the disturbances. Along tho coast line ot Sicily the sea receded for about fifty yards after the shocks, which lasted thirty-five seconds, and then came back with a terrific rush In the form of a wave from eight to ten feet high, which destroyed much properly and many lives along the water, front. Of a population of 150,000 In Messina, 100,000 were estimated as killed; of 15.-0U0 15.-0U0 In Rcgglo. Just across the straits of Messina. 20.000 died, while 30.000 In the surrounding towns perished, making tho total 150.000. t t The submarine cable was broken by the shock, and though a torpedo boat rushed madly up tho Calabrlan coast to the nearest cable anil telegraph station. It was nightfall before Rome knew of the horror that had overtaken her neighboring neigh-boring city. |