This was
followed by the sheet of flame that swept down the side of the mountain.
This theory is sustained by the experience of the survivors who were
taken from the ships in the harbor, as they say that their first
experience was one of faintness.
The dumb animals were wiser than man, and early took warning of the
storm of fire which Mont Pelee was storing up to hurl upon the island.
Even before the mountain began to rumble, late in April, live stock
became uneasy, and at times were almost uncontrollable. Cattle lowed in
the night. Dogs howled and sought the company of their masters, and when
driven forth they gave every evidence of fear.
Wild animals disappeared from the vicinity of Mont Pelee. Even the
snakes, which at ordinary times are found in great numbers near the
volcano, crawled away. Birds ceased singing and left the trees that
shaded the sides of Pelee. A great fear seemed to be upon the island,
and though it was shared by the human inhabitants, they alone neglected
to protect themselves.
Of the villages in the vicinity of St. Pierre only one escaped, the
others suffering the fate of the city. The fortunate one was Le Carbet,
on the south, which escaped uninjured, the flood of lava stopping when
within two hundred feet of the town. Morne Rouge, a beautiful summer
resort, frequented by the people of the island during the hot season as
a place of recreation, also escaped. In the height of the season several
thousand people gathered there, though at the time of the explosion
there were but a few hundred.
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