May.—Captain Freeman, of the British ship Roddam, which narrowly escaped destruction at St. Pierre after going through a terrible experience, gives the following account of the events following the eruption of Mont Pelee:
"The steamer Roddam, of which Tam captain, left St. Lucia at midnight of 7th May, and was off St. Pierre, Martinique, at 6 o'clock on the morning of the 8th, "noticed that the voleano Mont Pelee was smoking, and crept slowly in towards the bay, finding there, among others, the steamers Roraima, the telegraph steamer Grappler and four sailing vessels. A wall of fire swept over the town and the bay. The Roddam was struck broadside by the burning mass. The shock to the ship was terrible, nearly capsizing her. I went to anchorage between 7 and 8 o'clock, and hardly had I moored when the side of the volcano opened out with a terrible cxplosion, and, seeing the great wall of flames approaching the steamer, those on dock sought shelter wherever it was possible, jumping into the cabin, the forecastle and even into the hold.
Swerr py Bursrxa Exwens.
"Iwas in the chart room, but the burning embers were borne so swiftly that they were swept in through the door and port holes. I was terribly burned by the embers about the face and bands, but managed to reach the deck. As soon as it was possible, when there, T mustered the few survivors who seemed able to more, ordered them to slip the anchor, leaped for the bridge and rang the engine for full speed astern.
The second and third engineers and a fireman were on watch below and so escaped injury. They did their part in the attempt to escape, but the men on deck could not work the steering because it was jammed by the debris from the voleano. We accordingly went ahead and astern until the gear was free, but in this running backward and forward it was two hours after the first shock before we were clear of the bay.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.