"There was no help to come."

Mount Pelee and St. Pierre, May 8th, 1902, Feast Day of the Ascension: the saga of M. Auguste Ciparis, continues...

"The heat that scorched him was intense, but lasted for an instant only, and during that time he almost ceased to breathe.

"There was no accompanying smoke, no noise of any kind, and no odor to suggest a burning gas.

"The hot air and ash were the working demons that tore his flesh."

SHADES OF HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI ??!!

"Ciparis was clad at that time in hat, shirt and trousers, but his clothing did not take fire; yet beneath his shirt, the back was terribly burned, and his body gave out the odor of burning flesh.

"It is difficult to conceive of a lasting agony greater than that which was suffered by this man.

"For three days and more he had been without food of any kind, and his only sustaining nourishment was the water of his cell.

"This appears to have been unaffected by the entering hot wave.

"During his long imprisonment he frequently shouted for help, but the cries of Save me! were answered only by the groans of anguish that followed.

"It continued this way until the following Sunday, when it chanced that searching parties neared his place of imprisonment."

RESCUE, AT LAST !!

"He heard voices, and renewed his cries for help.

"The vocies were those of two negroes, who, when they satisfied themselves that the sound that came to them was from a human being, immediately began the task of rescue.

"The refuge was broken open, and in a short time the half - dead prisoner was brought to free air."

Thus ends this particular account of M. Auguste Ciparis and his personal nightmare of the Mount Pelee volcano's devastation of St. Pierre.