The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1881-05-05
The Earthquake in Scio.
Description OF the Calamity Sent from
the Ruined Island.
Letter from scio in London News.l

Letter from Scio in London Newsl
The temperature on the Sd was heavy aud
oppressive, and the horizon was broken by
broad flashes of light that seemed to denote
coming storm. In all this atmospheric disturb
ance, however, the inhabitants saw nothing
extraordinary, and were far from being
alarmed by what they fancied would result in
a thunderstorm. At l so iu the afternoon a
terrific shock was felt, bringing three-fourths
Of the houses in the town to the ground like so
many packs of cards. and burying 1000 per-
sons under the falling ruins. Then commenced
fearful scene of horror. The ground rocked
and danced, kneadng the ruins already formed
into an unrecognizabie mass of stone. The sur
vivors ran hitner and thither, not knowing
where to flee to escape the horrible fate that
menaced them, and were tossed and flung
about by the hesving earth like feathers in a
breeze. On every side the sinister rumblings
of the earth, the noise of falling buildings, the
tearing asunder of the walls OF houses and the
shrieks Of the wounded lent fearful horror to
the scene. All sought to leave the town and
get into the plains in order to avoid being bur
led under the falling buildings, but oven those
who gained the open country were by no
means safe. The earthquake attacked not IN
ly the towns and villages. but worked is raw
ages in the hills and mountains of the island
Enormous masses of rock and earth came
rushing down the hillsdes, carrying all before
them, bounding far into the plains and tearing
roads in the solid rocks of the mountain, such
as might have been formed by a torrent thou
sand years old.
Some time elapsed before any of the survi-
vors recovered from the terror caused by the
shock sufficiently to be able to comprehendthe
extent of the catastrophe, or to think OF look
ing for friends or relatives still perhaps alive
beneath the ruins. The town presented pitt
able spectacle. Great assures and crevices
yawned in the streets, walls were falling witha
crashing report, and entire buildings crumbled
in fragments to the ground. In many places
whole streets had disappeared, and it was hard
to say where the different well-known build
ings had stood. No one knew where to look
for family or friends. The ground still heayed
aad tossed, bringing fresh buildings to the
ground at every moment and hurrying innu-
merable victims to destruction. The people
seeking to escape, were caught in the staircases
of their houses by falling walls, or were crushed
by the entire house falling in OH them as they
crossed the threshold. 1t is impossible to say
what the number of victims would have been If
formed by the first, and thus permitted thous-
ands of sufferers to escape or to be rescued by
others from the horrible Imprisonment to
which they had been condemned. Iu the town
the victims have been very numerous. The
quarters most damaged are the citadel, the
AtZilkies quarter and the Industrial quarter
Beneath the ruins of the citadel at least 500
victims must buried. Among others there are
forty Turkish women who were engaged in
prayer in an oratory in the court of the castle.
Nl,A t...l
telegraph office and the mosques are little bet
ter than tottering ruins. Hardly minaret
in the town remains standing upright. The
Frank quarters may be said to have suffered
the least of any, but even here there is not
house the walls OF which Go not exhibit one or
more ominouos looking crevices. All the fs-
sures and crevices run from east to west. In
the industrial quarter hardly house remains
standing, and whole families of from ten to
tiftten persons have perished or must perish.
beneath the ruins.
In the country the effects of the horrible up-
heaval have been even more terrific than In
the town. Here the victims may be counted
by thousands instead of by hundreds. The
monastery of Neourmond is completely razed
to the ground, and sixty monks lie buried be-
meath its walls. The site of the village of
Nenita presents the appearance of disused
stone quarry Not a trace of a building re-
mains. The inhabitants have disappeared.
1t is thought that the number of victims in
of the three districts IS between 6,000 and 900
souls | have just visited Carminalis, Tylimois
and Davenona, which are entirely destroyed
The number of victims is unknown, but is very
considerable, At Tehesmed 1000 houses, half
of the town, have been destroyed Five dead
and fifty wounded have been discovered at Ka-
to Panaya. Every house, and there are 900, is
in ruins Twenty three dead and 150 wounded
have been found hitherto. The aspect of the
plain of Vounaki is heartrendng. Between
forty and fftv fhnucap6 IF oil ap1
both sexes are camped there, on the open
ground, and there are as yet but few tents to
shelter them, and young and old, sick and well,
the dead even in some places, are scattered in
discriminatory about the plain, parents wan
der from group to group in the crowd seeking
their children, and endeavoring to persuade
themselves that their darlings will be found
among the living. Not single clearinghouse
in the whole island is left standing, and the en-
tire population was thus without food until aid
could arrive from the exterior. At one mo-
ment an entire village, built in the form OF an
amphitheatre on the side of hill, broke bodi
ly away from the parent rock and rushed
crashing down into the plain.
The shocks are now diminishing. Iu all we
have counted 80 since the first three awful
upheavals which destroyed the greater part of
the island. OF these go shocks at least forty
were capable of overthrowing solidly built
house. The work of excavation has been COM
menced, and how few of the buried victims
shall we be able to extrcate from their living
tombs? The scene is sickening. Here hand
makes feeble signs through a crevice, while
the unfortunate wretch to whom it belongs is
buried beneath thousands OF tons of masonry.
Here, again, a voice calls for aid from under
ground. A daughter sobbing endeavors to en-
courage her father, who is imprisoned deep be-
low the surface and at every turn of the spade
or pick some horrible mutilated corpse is
brought to light. Numbers of dead are unbur-
led, aud in isolated places the dogs are disput-
ing the possession of their mangled corpses