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AMERICAN BOYS' LIFE OF
CHAPTER XXVII
Destruction of St. Pierre—American Aid—The Great Coal Strike—President Roosevelt ends the Difficulty—Tour through New England—The Trolley Accident in the Berkshires—A Providential Escape from Death
During the summer of 1902 two matters of great importance occurred in which the whole people of our nation were deeply interested.
Early in May occurred tremendous volcanic eruptions on the islands of Martinique and St. Vincent. At the former island, Mont Pélée threw such a rain of fire upon the town of St. Pierre that the entire place, with about thirty thousand people, was wiped out of existence in a minute. At other points the eruptions were not so bad, yet hundreds lost their lives, and all of the islands of the Lesser Antilles were thrown into a state bordering upon panic.
It was felt that something must be done, and at once, for the sufferers, and a large fund for relief was gathered, of which the
