The Sunday Oregonian., June 08, 1902, PART FOUR, Page 32, Image 32

- 32-- '
THE SUNDAY OKEGOyiAX, POKXJOAKJJ, JUKJU S, 19U2.
r is easy enouch. now that the Grand
Soufriere has elain its thousands and
Pelee its tens of thousands, to look
DOMINieA'S BOILIAIG LAKE Afll) ITS BRAVE ENGLISH VieTIM
- ''" !
, -
back and .say: "By such and such a thing
they should have taken "warning." But
to commence, as the lawyers say, "at
the place of beginning." There is little
doubt that the tragedy ,at the famous,
but seldom visited, Boiling Lake of Domi
nica, last December, Tva3 the first serious
muttering of the awakening volcanic fires.'
Partly because he -was the first victim
of this never-to-be-forgotten eruption of
1902, but more especially lest the manner
In which a brave man met his fate fool
ishly perhaps, but unshrinkingly should
go unrecorded and unnoticed, this tale of
one who fearlessly laid down his life for
one who was not even a friend, is writ
ten. "Wilfred M. Cllve TvaB the hero's name,
a descendant of the great Lord Clive,
hnrho laid the foundation of England's In
Jkfllan Empire, and nearly related to half a
"Cozen men of haughty name and title, yet
jin appearance and action simply a quiet,
traveling Englishman, exploring in an idle
pmomenf the strange, wild, Caribbean
Island of Dominica.
! A fascinating, beautiful, treacherous
Island is this same Dominica, The awful
knolten lava eea, that underlies the thla
trust which men call "the solid earth,"
there seethes beneath so thin a covering
HOW WILFRED M. CLIVE, DESCENDANT OF LORD
CLIVE, LOST HIS LIFE TRYING TO
SAVE A NEGRO GUIDE
W . v " -M Sff. URil
: - . " b tc . rmm am. a 1 1
Jthat warmed as it was by the very fires
of hell, a vegetation has sprung up wicn
incomparable luxuriance that makes it
the most wonderful in the world. So thin
ideed is this covering, which is itself
lerely disintegrated lava, that every-
rhere streams of boiling sulphurous
iter break through, milky white, pols-
snlng the orchid-scented air with deadly
rapors, while high upon the mountain lies
je boiling lake, one of Nature e marvols.
It may seem incredible that a -wonder
ike the boiling lake could exist on an
Bland only 29 miles long oy 1G broad.
ffor 400 years after discovery, during -which
ftlme Caribs, Spaniard, French and Eng
lish had apparently fought over every
(square inch of it, -without the lake being
rceen or its existence even suspected. Yet
Tt was only about 20 years ago that Dr
;2sichols found the mysterious little sheet
I -of water. However, any one who has
visited Dominica can understand, per
3iaps, for so wrinkled with high mountain
.ranges and deep, sunless valleys and eo
Impenetrable nre the closely woven for-
fests and green tangle of tropic under
brush covering everything there that the
Journey across the island consumes two
lull daj's time.
Hearing of this strange lake, lying
'2000 foet above the level of the sea, on
the flank of Mount DIablatln. the highest
peak in the "West Indies, Mr. Clive de
termined to visit it straightway.
Cllve'a Last Jonrnej-.
So, on December 20, accompanied by
Gerald McDonald and a guide, Clive set
out from the townof Roseau for Laudat,
which was reached at 2 o'clock in the
afternoon. Leaving McDonald behind,
CHvc began the climb under the guidance
of Jean Jules and Manton Rollln or, as
many visitors to Dominica will better re
member them, "Wylie" and "Dugrusclln."
The scenery grew wilder and more un
'natural at every step. A mighty wave of
living green swept down upon them from
the hills abovo, fighting for every inch of
,the narrow path along the precipice.
jx-iuiu uu; me vauey Deneatn mem a
horde of huge-trunked in'aders, waving
their green limbs tike banners, rushed up
to oierwholm them. The air becaxno
hoavy with the scent of orchids growing
on outspreading limbs, a sheer 100 feet
above their headf. A soft; unceasing rus
tling, as thousands of creeping things
moved through the underbrush, was
drowned at Jntervals by the hoarse, un
canny cry, of the Devils bird strange of
ifihape, with long black beak and "feet like
ducks foet, bjt armed with terrible long
claws," black as Ereous, well deserving
of the evil name the Caribs had bestowed
upon It. Other strange sounds, not so
easily accounted for, were heard. In
chort, the p?li stretched through an en
j chanted forest, flllea with Heaven alone
(knows what mysterious dangers for the
cunwary traveler.
Jumble, Voodoo, Obeah, all the supor
KEtitlon of the Indian and negro, so gaily
Claughed at the day before, became sud
denly very real and possible beliefs. Here
Uind there a break in the solid green wall.
nv here some great tree had hurled Itself
into the abyss below, showed far up on
,the mountain side, a cloud of fleecy
bsteam rising swiftly, only to melt as
fwiftly Into thin air.
La Petit Sonffrlcrc'a Crater.
At last the netit Souffrlere was reached;
JH deep basin, some 2K feet across, sur
' rounded by upreachlng hills, green to
their summits. It was only 100 feet down,
but a half hour of hardest work was
aeeded to accomplish that short descent.
Here, as "Wylie severed with one clean
fEtroke of his keen-edged machete the last
obstructing llano, even Cllve's stolid Eng
"iish composure could not repress a fwon
dering exclamation at the scene. The
naked earth had been painted over by
the unseen devils who gurgled and chuck
led in their slimy caves, with countless
shades of lurid reds and greens and bril
liant sulphurous yellows.
"With each fresh bubbling of horrid
laughter they spewed out new masses of
boiling, stinking mud. Such was the im
pression. There could be no doubt -of the
actual presence of the devils. The ne
groes' theories on the subject became
I quite reasonable. The horrid, half human
tone that rose from each steaming hole
was, beyond doubt, that of actual living
and infernal things. Such was the spell
of the enchanted forest, the unreasoning
terror inspired by the petit Souffrlere.
Even as he stood, the poisonous vapors
had discolored the brass mountings of
Cllve's camera and the very coins in his
pockets. It was high time to be moving
on towards the lake. More weary cuttlnc
of .giant creepers, often five inches thick.
Mqre stumbling over jagged rocks and
tolliag up almost perpendicular slopes,
and then they stood upon tho cliffs above
the Boiling Lake itself.
The Bollingr Lnlce.
It was, apparently, the ancient crater
of a long-forgotten volcano, seemingly
breathing Its last painful, expiring breath,
as they looked, but which even then may
have risen in fierce wrath, for it is this
lake whose sudden disappearance, when
Pelee thundered, which threw all Domin
ica into wild terror.
About 300 fert wide, the encircling -walls
rose 100 feet from the water. Generally,
the lake was covered over with clouds of
eteam Its temperature was over 120 de
grees, but on this fatal December morn
ing, says the one survivor of the little
expedition, the air was clear, although
the bubbling of its surface, if anything,
fwas more violent than usual. "Wylie, who
-was an old, experienced guide, was so
alarmed at this that he begged Mr. Clive
not to go down to the water, but Mr.
Clive, not to be deterred by any fancied
danger, had already starteH. At first all
went well, though the atmosphere was
almost unbearable. Mr. Clive attempted
some photographs without success the
one accompanying this article is the only
successful one ever taken after which
the guides showed him a little stream
tumbling over the cliff, and then lunch
was spread. A sudden burst of sunshine
Induced Clive to return -with the
guides to the edge of the Jake
and try another photograph, -wiien
they again returned to the waterfall.
When lunch was over Clive went down
to tho fihore once more, and scarcely had
-1 , -i iflffHi Cifit- i- I
Es - sH (frills lal W O s RtwffiViili
W . . . - . JBH Smi ;-v. r " ?BMBiili irn3lPBffi i
Iver Taken of the Mysterious rOf if r5 ABnllHiKA
Sheet of Mjm. K?i P ((SflnlSHBfetf I
i MT7r i J. , inFiMSr vfi iiii fit ddiSKwlB l lyfi ipgwai ifTfSi I
Vi!&-3SSJraEL Si&rr -5tfflaSBHsftMRMW - -J..-- l "
lmi!0'fAKVsrife!3r -S- SL 'V . f-.-. rr r 'v,,xa v'.'CyI(laaWarJ3r f , v ' s -?"' - " V -
IfJSTIT 5:- P A lYJVS tJ ' BY FEANK H.
AJUur 'K.tc ""bin I 'ill I i i 'HI' I, ,i" rr
he left, when everything began to look J
oiacK oeiore Kolllns eyes
Feeling, as he afterwards described it,
"as if he were dying," he started to run.
but fell down unconscious. Those few
staggering steps probably saved his life,
for when he revived he found Wylie ly
ing where he had first felt the effects of
the gas. Petrified with terror, Rollins
could not move, but calling to Cllve, who,
running up, lifted Wylle's head from the
ground and started" to rub his limbs in an
effort to bring him to. "I told Mr. Cllve,"
said Rollins at the inquest, "that I felt
as If I was dying, and that Wylie was
dead, and not to remain any longer, but
to return."
But the English blood that had won
India by sheer pluck flowed In Cllve's
veins. His reply was brief but unmlstak
table. "No; Wylie Is not dead. Go down to
Laudat and get. the doctor."
With what alacrity Rollln obeyed this
command can be imagined. As he climbed
the crater wall he saw the quiet Englsh-
I'M THE
0
F the Berlln-Zossen Electric Rail
way which was expected to carry
trains at a speed of 123 miles an
hour, the nearest approach to an official
verdict on the. trials which has yet been
made was a paper read before the "Ver
eln fur Elsenbahn Kunde" (an association
of railway experts), by General Baurath
Morltz Lochner, an eminent engineer be
longing to tho Prussian State Railway
Administration, and who in the experi
ments represented the government, which
had furnished tho stretch of military rail
way line over which the tests were made.
The address is withheld from publication,
but in substance it confirms the conclu
sions of jthe other .experts, and may be
summarized as follows:
Tho line is 17. miles in length, -was laid
with rails of the old Prussian standard,
weighing 70.14 pounds per meter (39.37
inches), resting on metal ties. The track
had been In use for a number of years,
but prior to the experiments It had been
put in perfect repair. At ordinary speeds
everything worked perfectly, and no trou
ble was experiencea Trilb. rails or motor
cars. But as a speed of SO miles was ap
proached and exceeded, new and serious
conditions were encountered. The rails
and ties both proved too light for such a
strain, the track began to give way, and
the side swaying of the cars Increased
seriously. The highest speed attainedwas
99.4 miles per hour on two occasions, and,
as a result of the conditions then devel
oped, the experiments were discontinued,
the net result being that up to a speed of
SI miles an hour they had been success
d- A
man, unheeding the doadly peril only too
plalnly visible now, hunting quickly but
without excitement through the traveling
oase ror tne brandy bottle. That was
the last time this gallant gentleman, who
would not try to save himself while even
a poor negro guide was In danger, was
seen alive. From Laudat a party with
hammocks and torches for It was grow
ing dark started up the lake, while
a boy on horseback galloped to town for
a doctor. Alas! no doctor could be of
use to those who were left in that devil's
deathtrap.
Tho first relief party could scarcely
stand on the edge of the cliff and look
down on the bodies below, so strong had
the gases become, and both Clivo and the
negro were dead beyond a doubt. Wylie
lay about 15 feet away, the half-emptied
brandy flask showing he had not ceased
in his efforts to save Wyllo until the last.
Escape -would have been easily possible,
for, strange to say, the first outburst of
gas had not affected Clive at all.
For two days the watchers on the cliff
FIELTI OF SeiENeE
ful and satisfactory. But as the pro
nounced purpose of the trials 'had been
to make tests of speed up to 123 and 150
miles an hour, the actual result spread a
chill of disappointment among electricians
In this country.
Improvement In Telejrrapli,y Needed.
The coming of Colonel Clowry to the
presidency of the Western Union Tele
graph Company and the changes in de
partment heads incident thereto is ex
pected ' by the electrical profession to
bring great. changes in the way of bet
terments to the service.
Tho conservatism of the Western Union
management during twenty years, as
shown by refusal , to adopt inventions,
has kept its service far below its proper
efficiency.
Dr. Pupln, of Columbia University,
whose inventions made long distance tel
ephony possible, recently said: "The
Western Union does not spend ten .cents
a year for Improvements, so far "as I
can learn. A man who offers them an
Improvement Is treated like a book agent."
The Electrical World speaks of the pres
ent status of telegraphy, referring to the
Western Union, as follows: "Only .last
week the greatest American inventor,
whose telegraphic work is but part of hla
claim lo fame, spoke to us in even
stronger language of the deadness in tel
egraphy, and expressed a hope that a
change impended. With an unprogressive
art, there has Inevitably been a stag
nant Industry, and telegraphy has stood
still for years, although it ought to have
been os prosperous and expansive as tel
phony. Much can be done to cheapen
telegraphy, so that Instead of endlng
were driven from m the bodies by the
fumes. Two age-long days they peered
down through the choking vapors, seeing
the features of the men below swell
into horrid, unrecognizable masses; no
one being able to Identify them at the
Inquest save by their clothes, while a
special coffin had to be made for Wylie.
At last the old volcano consented to give
up its prey.
It was night when tho sad procession
started down the .mountain. Never had
man such weird funeral Journey the "flar
ing torches making the unnatural foliage
even more uncanny than before, the calm
tropic stars looking coldly down here and
there through rifts In the dense, over
hanging foliage. Slowly, cautiously, they
bore their silent burdens, that swayed
"With awful limpness at each step. And
as they passed Petit Souffrlere. up
through the black darkness of that evil
place came the slimy gurgling chuckle of
the dells hidden there.
L. M. HOWE.
(Copyright, 1D02.)
one message a year, the average Ameri
can will send 10. Automatic and ma
chine telegraphic systems of the greatest
promise, tried and approved, await lib
eral adoption, when a new crop of busi
ness at lower rates can be created, and
telegraphy once more come again to Its
own."
, Xe-iv Battle-Snips.
The most interesting item of expendi
ture included In the 577.650.3S6 asked for
by the naval committee of the House Is
that for new warships.
Provision Is made for two first-class
battle-ships of the highest type, which
are to cost over ,212,000 each and are to
have a displacement of 16,000 tons; two
first-class armored cruisers to cost not
over $4,559,000, and to be of 14.EO0 tons
displacement; and two 1000-ton gunboats,
whose combined cost Is to be J3,S02.000.
The total cost of the six ships thus pro
vided for will be 529.500,000. of which
$9,000,000 is for armor and armament.
On January 1, 1902, there were in pro
cess of construction eight battle-ships,
six armored cruisers, nine protected
cruisers, four monitors, 15 torpedo-boat
destroyers, nine torpedo-boats and seven
submarine boats, making a total of 5S
ships under construction. The work on
them is sadly behind owing to the com
panles building them having devoted
their energies more largely to other than
Government contracts. Tho torpedo-boats
were to have been completed in 1E99; the
torpedo-boat destroyers In May, 1900; the
monitors in March,. 1901; the submarine
boats in October, 1901; the three battle
ships Maine, Missouri and Ohio nearly
a year ago. From this showing it can be
seen that 35 of the 5S vessels are from
nine months to three years behind.
S THE 7:40 train began lo oull
away from the Alexandria station,
an old white-haired negro hurried
across the platform and swung himself
on the rear car. He was very black and
very dusty, and the single occupants of
seats looked a little apprehensive as he
shuffled diffidently through the car. But
he did not offer to sit down. When he
reached the opposite end he took hold of
a seat to steady 'himself and gazed
around curiously, his big, wondering eyes
roving from one face to another with the
eager scrutiny of a child.
Evidently "he was very tired, for his
shoulders began to slope, and every few
minutes he shifted his feet as though they
hurt him.
At last a young man lowered his news
paper. "Here is a seat, uncle," he called; "you
look tired."
The negro shuffled forward eagerly.
"Yes, sah! fank yo sah!" he said,
gratefully, as he sank down. "I's plumb
beat. Done walk mons'rous long way dls
yer mawnln'. To' see," os the young man
folded his paper and slipped it into his
pocket, "Marse Henery an me lib over
In Prince George County, an' larst week
Marse Henery he up an' die. Dat lef
me by myse'f."
"I see, and you are going south to look
for work."
"No, sah; goln back home goln back
to olo Georgy." Into his eyes came a
look of eager expectation, and he stroked
the back of the seat softly, as though it
were his old home In far-away Georgia,
"I ain't been dar in moa" 30 year," he
went on, slowly, "not sense de Llnkum
men took we all's niggers. Dar was a
whole passle ob 'em, but dey all done
bruk away. Den de Sheriff sol' de plan
tation, and dar wan'n nutten lef we all
but do Norf. We's bleeged to hab money
to lib." v
"And you stuck to Marse Henery?"
The old negro looked at him In sur
prise. "Ob course!" he answered simply. "I's
de body sarbent, an' Marse Henery
couldn't, git 'long 'thout me. He's a gen
'leman, an' 'pended on bein tuk car ob.
But I's bleeged to be 'way in do daytime
case I's a cyarpenter an allers hab plenty
wuk."
"What did Marse Henery do?"
"Marso Henery!" indignantly, "why
he's a gen'leman, I tells yo. He ain't do
nutten. He ain' nebber learn do t'Ings
like common w'lte fo'ks. He hab niggers
for dat."
"You don't mean that j-ou have sup
ported him ever since the war?"
The old negro drew himself up with un
conscious dignity.
"Yo' goln talk like dat, I ain' got nut
ten mo' f 'splaln."
"I beg your pardon," said the young
man, hastily, "please go on."
The black face relaxed.
"Yo ain' know Marse Henery," com
mlscratlngly, "so yo' don' un'stan. Ob
co'se I wuk for him. He car for me
befo' de wah, didn't he? What nigger
good for but wuk. I like to know."
A boy came through the car with a,
ON THE. 7:40 EXPRESS
SVEET
basket of sandwiches. The young man
bought two and handed, them to his com
panion. The old negro's eyes glistened.
"T'ank yo' massa! t'ank yo', sah!" he
said, gratefully. "I dldn hab no break
fas', an' money's too scase to buy t'Ings
on do road. I war 'lowin' to fill up arter
I lone reach Georgy."
A few minutes later there was a slight
ripple through the car. The conductor
had entered and was calling for tickets.
The YOUnir man now nrnriurpr! hts'inrt
held It in readiness. The negro fumbled f
anxiously through several pockets, and
finally remembered that he had pinned r
nis to nis nat lining.
"Done tuk ebery cent I could scrape up
to buy dat," he said, triumphantly, as
IP. ;blr"t.dat' a11 ri5ht: Z
Kin wuk. an f o ks don' need money went
dey's home. Mnnv fnr r-hwtn--
In the seat behind them -was a shabbily American sewing machines were finding a
dressed woman whose face had an anx"- ! large and constanly increasing sale in that
lous, frightened expression. Crowded on country. He compared them with the
or.VtaLbeSlde her "1Tere vcral bundles, homemade sewing machines, recognized
e?ed Savr $? wh,IteTfa"d. biff- their superior construction and finish, and
ejea taoj. When the conductor touched A . , , . . .. ,
her shoulder she started uneasily. determined to see how this was accom-
"Ticket, please." pllshed. He went to America, visited sew-
A red flush of shame spread over tho Ing-machlne factories and other machine
woman's face; then It disappeared, Ieav- shops, saw the work of automatic machine
"T wh.e and.,d0&sed. tools, doing with speed and unerring accu-
A ..ftfiy' ray the shaping and fitting that had al-
"V-S 2K Ft0?,srew" " fc ,u I ways been done by hand. He bought a
fti n o yU tV- . a'lthe next complete outfit of American machines and
JK" S1,1.1 save us the trouble of put- tools, returned to Berlin, and established
filtf seat. e oppo"fa factorj'. which proved the germ and
mt, rjl , , , ,it ,. Inspiration of a new era in German man.
.The woman's eyes grew big with terror ufacture
asshe sprang up and caught him by the That original factory has expanded until
77 , It Includes, under management of the samo
Don t do thati sir! For God's sake, daring and intelligent Innovator, the Un-
don t put me off!" she implored, hoarsely, ion Electrical Works, the vast private ar-
' I ve got to go. My husband has written senal where the Mauser rifle is made by
1U' u"3 cunie. jne s ne a aying, ano a
great sod rose to her wnite lips, but wa3 many countries, and an immense machine
resolutely choked back. "I tried to raise . shop and foundry of the most modern type
money," lowering her voice so the other where hundreds of American machine
passengers couldn't hear, "but couldn't. tools with an Allls engine driUng one of
We sold everything we had so he could go the dynamo3 that generate electrical pow
South. as the doctor ordered. And now er for this vast equipment have been
he's he's oh, my God! my God!" She J employed during the past four years turn
turned from him and sank weakly Into i incr nut lathp? miiiinp mninM
ur seat, me conuuciur snuoK nis neaa.
"I'm. sorry, madam," he said, kindly,
"but we have only one rule. You must
pay or get off. I don't risk breaking the
rules. Ticket, please."
The old negro rose slowly to his feet.
"I's feared yo'll hab to put me off, too,
boss" he said humbly. "Hit's mons'rous
hard wuk for pore nigger like me to ralso
money for ticket."
"Off at the next station," broke In the
conductor, harshly. "We'll be there In a
minute. If it were not so near I'd slow
the train and put you off. This poor
woman has some excuse, but you bah!"
Tho young man was about to make a
protest, but something in the old negro's
face restrained him.
Before the conductor reached the end
of the car the speed began to slacken.
The old negro rose and turned to his com
panion. "Reckon I better be leabin'," he said.
"T'ank yo' for dem san'wlches, an I hope
yo'll 'member me kln'ly. Here missy." to
the woman, who was gazing stonily from.
ban ain so bad as yo' t'lnk." and before
she could recover from her bewilderment
he had left the car and was shuffling
liEARTOFim
Carib Couktry.
ros eto call him back, then a remem
brance of his own resources, or ptrhips,
of some one waiting for him, caused him
to sink back on his seat and stare blinkly
at the wlndbw. Aa the train moved out
k he saw the old negro trudging alons be
side tne track, evidently still bound for
Georgia.
(Copyrighted. 10O2.)
AMERICAN MACHINERY.
IIOTV
Germany Ha Held Ifer O-jvn
in Iron Manufactures.
OON after the Franco-Prussia War
Mr. Ludw ig Loew e, a young and en-
terprlslng hardware merchant of Berlin.
,1 , , ,.. . . t .t I
became impressed with the fact that
nundreds of thousands for the armies of
matlc screw cutters, planers, and stamp
ing, punching, boring and rimming ma
chinery, all modeled exactly after the best
American types, and In some cases em
bodying improvements upon the originals.
Throughout all these establishments.
which have In effect revolutionized cer-;
tain industries In Germany, the American
system of standard types with inter
changeable parts is permanently estab
lished. The Bereman TTprtrlr.nl Wnrto
! of Berlin, Is an example of a class of large '
maustnai establishments founded In Ger
many during the past five years in which i
not only the mdchlnery and tools are of
American make, but the technical dlrec-j
tors, many of the foremen, and even some!
or the workmen are either native or nat-
allzed American citizens, who learned their!
handicraft In the United States.
In all but the very latest American nov
eltiesthe Inventions and Improvements!
of the past three years the Fatherland!
nas ceased to be an Importer and has be
come an exporter. The troops of German!
engineers and machinists who snentl
Summer!
nnlv !t rr . 1 1
knowledtrp of th mnrhinorv nrv.fr., r.-r.A
'used and exhibited there, but of the prod-j
ucts which that machinery was employed!
vn i,u.w.v4m jLiio jruu5 man uoit to produce.