The Tragedy of Pele: A Narrative of Personal Experience and Observation in Martinique

by George Kennan

The small coastal city of St. Pierre, on the Caribbean island of Martinique, was once a peaceful and tranquil French colony. Unfortunately, its inhabitants were living in the shadow of Mt. Pelée, a dormant volcano that was part of the West Indies chain. On May 8th, 1902 word got back to Paris that the city of St. Pierre had been utterly destroyed by a volcanic blast from Pelée. Due to its proximity, the United States immediately sent relief efforts, including food and disaster supplies. Several Navy ships were transporting the supplies to the Caribbean. On board one of these ships, among the army officers, newspaper men and scientists was the author of this book, asked to cover the story by The Outlook, a European newsmagazine. Before the eruption the volcano lay dormant, except for a brief rumble in 1851. It had no cone, and not much of a peak, as would be associated with most volcanos. There were two small craters, one at the summit and one about half way down, that were normally dry lake beds, sometimes filled with water. In fact the summit crater, Lake Palmiste, became a favorite place of resort for picnic goers and excursionists alike. The area was not streaked with ancient lava beds, in fact, its lower slopes were green with indigo, tobacco and sugar-cane, while up near its 4,400 foot summit grew wild bananas, arborescent ferns, shrubs and vines. It looked much like any one of the hundreds of peaks that spring up on Caribbean islands in this part of the world. The area is not known for its volcanic activity. Although most of the destruction had already occurred before they arrived, the reporter and other journalists, scientists and laymen looked on, as Mt Pelée continued to erupt. The stark contrast after the volcanic blast, of being as barren and gray as an ancient lunar landscape, left the residents of the island with an inimical reminder of the cataclysm that had befallen them. This book will be of interest to those who are fascinated by volcanoes and would like to read about a first-hand account of the awesome power of nature's most engaging spectacle. Today, the volcano lies dormant once again, and only occasionally does the peaceful, easy-going life of a Caribbean islander, or the infrequent tourist sometimes intrude upon the slopes of the sleeping giant. ISBN 1-59016-859-3 o 257 + 14 illustrated pages o 6 x 9 o tradepaper o illustrated.

Genres: History

284 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2003

About the author

George Kennan was an American explorer noted for his travels in the Kamchatka and Caucasus regions of Russia.

Do not confuse with his great-nephew, diplomat and historian George Frost Kennan (1904-2005)

Reviews

[David Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the days after the May 8, 1902 eruption of Mont Pelée, Kennan boarded a ship with geologists and other journalists and went to Martinique. There, he reported on what many have called the worst volcanic disaster of the 20th century. The town of Saint-Pierre had 30,000 inhabitants at the time. The event left only a dozen or so survivors, most of those on two ships in the harbor.

Kennan traveled through the area, through the devastated countryside and visited the towns, including Saint-Pierre, and interviewed eye-witnesses and survivors. The volcano remained active through his stay, but this did not prevent him from attempting to climb to the top of Mont Pelée to observe the crater.

His travels and observations make up the bulk of the book. The final chapter is a more technical description of the main eruption itself, written shortly after his return and with the aid of reference to geological experts and reports from other accounts.

[I read a pdf version downloaded from archive.org. Four pages were missing from this version, but I don't think I missed anything critical.]