Ludger Sylbaris

Louis -Auguste Cyparis (* 1875 in Martinique; † around 1929 ) was a French sailor and one of the few survivors of the devastating eruption of Mount Pelée in 1902 on the Caribbean island of Martinique. In the night of 7 to 8 May 1902, he was at a bar or street brawl after - allegedly a counterparty lost his life in - arrested and placed overnight under solitary confinement. Compared 7:52 clock the next morning was the unexpected explosive eruption of the volcano on whose slopes a pyroclastic flow broke. This was racing with temperatures well above 1000 ° C over the city, destroyed it within a few seconds and called up to 40,000 victims. Because of the immense temperatures, which were some days later on the ruins, it was only on May 11 assistants possible to end up in the place. We became aware of Cyparis ' cries and rescued the prisoner, who was even able to provide a detailed description of his experiences. In the most protected building in the city he had survived with serious burn injuries, which was not least due to the fact that the cell was half buried in the ground, had up to one meter thick walls and also except a small the mountain facing away from the slot in the door no possessed window.

Louis -Auguste Cyparis was pardoned by the governor and joined after his recovery of the Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show on Earth, with whom he traveled through the United States. Under the stage name Ludger Sylbaris he sat with the ideas in a replica of his cell, showed his burns and told his story. He was not only the first black man, who received a large role in the circus show, but also became one of the most famous circus acts of the early 20th century. Cyparis died in 1929 of natural causes.