Michael Benson: Trapped in a Volcano

Michael Benson: Trapped in a Volcano — page 3
spotlight biography Ludger Sylbaris lived in Saint-Pierre Martinique Martinique is an island in the West Indies Sylbaris was a criminal He was taken to jail This happened in 1902 Sylbaris’s cell was small It was underground It had no windows It had a small slit in the door This cell saved his life Mount Pelée volcano erupted It destroyed Saint-Pierre Buildings were burned down People were burned to death Over 30,000 people died The city burned for several days Sylbaris was found 4 days after the eruption He was trapped in his cell He peed on his clothes He covered his face He stuffed his clothes in the slit But his cell still got hot He was burned by the air But he survived He was pardoned for his crimes He was hired by a famous circus He was the first black man in the show He died in 1929 of natural causes 6