Louis-Auguste Cyparis

The cell in Saint-Pierre where Cyparis survived

Louis-Auguste Cyparis (* around 1875 in Martinique ; † around 1929 ) was a French sailor and one of the few survivors of the devastating eruption of the Montagne Pelée in 1902 on the Caribbean island of Martinique. On the night of May 7th, 1902, following a bar or street fight - in which one of the opponents allegedly lost his life - he was arrested and placed under individual arrest overnight. At around 7:52 a.m. the next morning, the volcano's unexpected explosive eruption took place, from whose flank a glowing cloud broke. This raced over the city with temperatures of up to 1,000 ° C, destroyed it within a few seconds, claimed up to 40,000 victims and started fires that lasted for days. Because of the immense temperatures that lay over the ruins for days later, it was only on May 11th that aid workers were able to land in the village. Cyparis' screams were noticed and the prisoner rescued, who was even able to provide a detailed description of his experiences. In the best protected building in the city, he survived with severe burns, not least due to the fact that half of the cell was buried in the ground, had walls up to a meter thick and apart from a small slit in the door facing away from the mountain Possessed window.

Louis-Auguste Cyparis was pardoned by the governor and after his recovery he joined the Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show on Earth , with which he toured the United States . Under the stage name Ludger Sylbaris , he sat in a replica of his cell at the performances, showed his burns and told his story. Not only was he the first black man to be given a major role on the circus show, but he also became one of the most famous circus attractions of the early 20th century. Cyparis died of natural causes around 1929.

Web links

• Advertisement poster of the Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show on Earth circus for the show with Louis-Auguste Cyparis
• Photo by Louis-Auguste Cyparis