Léon Compere-Léandre
Encyclopedia
Léon Compère-Léandre was a shoemaker in Saint-Pierre
on the French
Caribbean
island of Martinique
when Mount Pelée
erupted on May 8, 1902 and destroyed the town. He is one of only 2 (arguably 3) known survivors.
His own description of the morning of 8 May 1902 follows.
Little is known of Léon Compère-Léandre, since he retreated completely from the public eye after the disaster.
He was found running by rescuers and sent to the town of Fort-de-France
, where he was labeled as a madman. Shortly thereafter, he was deputized by the police, given a gun and sent to protect the ruins from looters. On May 20, 1902, after a week of duty, he left the city and started back towards Fort-de-France. He barely escaped a second death cloud. He eventually settled in the village of Mourne Rouge
, only to have another cloud pour through on August 30, 1902. He was again one of the few who survived. He lived on the island until his death in 1936 from a fall.
The most scientifically viable theory is that Leon jumped into the ocean when the flow hit, and while the now-boiling water severely burned him, he otherwise escaped unharmed; other accounts suggest that he survived by "napping in [his] wood cellar", or managed to outrun the pyroclastic flow
(the latter being entirely unlikely.) Some accounts claim Léon Compère-Léandre was Caucasian, whilst others claim he was a mulatto.
The other two survivors (depending on how one defines the term) are Louis-Auguste Cyparis (aka Ludger Sylbaris
), a convicted felon who was pardoned and later joined P. T. Barnum
's circus, and Havivra Da Ifrile, a little girl.
Saint-Pierre, Martinique
Saint-Pierre is a town and commune of France's Caribbean overseas department of Martinique, founded in 1635 by Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc. Before the total destruction of Saint-Pierre in 1902 by a volcanic eruption, it was the most important city of Martinique culturally and economically, being known...
on the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
island of Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
when Mount Pelée
Mount Pelée
Mount Pelée is an active volcano at the northern end of the island and French overseas department of Martinique in the Lesser Antilles island arc of the Caribbean. Its volcanic cone is composed of layers of volcanic ash and hardened lava....
erupted on May 8, 1902 and destroyed the town. He is one of only 2 (arguably 3) known survivors.
His own description of the morning of 8 May 1902 follows.
"I felt a terrible wind blowing, the earth began to tremble, and the sky suddenly became dark. I turned to go into the house, with great difficulty climbed the three or four steps that separated me from my room, and felt my arms and legs burning, also my body. I dropped upon a table. At this moment four others sought refuge in my room, crying and writhing with pain, although their garmets (sic) showed no sign of having been touched by flame. At the end of 10 minutes one of these, the young Delavaud girl, aged about 10 years, fell dead; the others left. I got up and went to another room, where I found the father Delavaud, still clothed and lying on the bed, dead. He was purple and inflated, but the clothing was intact. Crazed and almost overcome, I threw myself on a bed, inert and awaiting death. My senses returned to me in perhaps an hour, when I beheld the roof burning. With sufficient strength left, my legs bleeding and covered with burns, I ran to Fonds-Saint-Denis, six kilometres from St. Pierre."
Little is known of Léon Compère-Léandre, since he retreated completely from the public eye after the disaster.
He was found running by rescuers and sent to the town of Fort-de-France
Fort-de-France
Fort-de-France is the capital of France's Caribbean overseas department of Martinique. It is also one of the major cities in the Caribbean. Exports include sugar, rum, tinned fruit, and cacao.-Geography:...
, where he was labeled as a madman. Shortly thereafter, he was deputized by the police, given a gun and sent to protect the ruins from looters. On May 20, 1902, after a week of duty, he left the city and started back towards Fort-de-France. He barely escaped a second death cloud. He eventually settled in the village of Mourne Rouge
Le Morne-Rouge
Le Morne-Rouge is a commune and town in the French overseas department of Martinique.-External links:*...
, only to have another cloud pour through on August 30, 1902. He was again one of the few who survived. He lived on the island until his death in 1936 from a fall.
The most scientifically viable theory is that Leon jumped into the ocean when the flow hit, and while the now-boiling water severely burned him, he otherwise escaped unharmed; other accounts suggest that he survived by "napping in [his] wood cellar", or managed to outrun the pyroclastic flow
Pyroclastic flow
A pyroclastic flow is a fast-moving current of superheated gas and rock , which reaches speeds moving away from a volcano of up to 700 km/h . The flows normally hug the ground and travel downhill, or spread laterally under gravity...
(the latter being entirely unlikely.) Some accounts claim Léon Compère-Léandre was Caucasian, whilst others claim he was a mulatto.
The other two survivors (depending on how one defines the term) are Louis-Auguste Cyparis (aka Ludger Sylbaris
Ludger Sylbaris
Ludger Sylbaris , born either August Cyparis or Louis-Auguste Cyparis, was an Afro-Caribbean man who travelled with the Barnum & Bailey circus. He had become something of an early 20th century celebrity for being the sole survivor of the devastating volcanic eruption of Mt...
), a convicted felon who was pardoned and later joined P. T. Barnum
P. T. Barnum
Phineas Taylor Barnum was an American showman, businessman, scam artist and entertainer, remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and for founding the circus that became the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus....
's circus, and Havivra Da Ifrile, a little girl.