The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1883-08-24
The Destruction in Isohia.
SCENES THAI FOLLOWED THE
EARTHQUAKE.

From the Courier des Etats Unis
| will speak only of Casamicciola,
for l have had neither the strength nor
the courage to visit Forio, the principal
place in Ischia, nor Locco Ameno,
where the victims were quite numerous
Casamicciola is built in the form of an
amphitheatre, and a portion of the
houses were built upon the escarpments
of the rock. These houses have nstur,
ally suffered most They have all
tumbled down. Those at the foot of
the hill have stood the shock best of
all, and many of the bathers lodged in
this part of the town were able to es-
cape. A hotel called the Hotel Sauve
was not in the least injured AS you
see, it was we'll named. At the NOM
ent the shock was felt all the bathers
were indoors The evening cool. They
were in the parlors of the hotel sing
ing, playing and chatting, when sud
denly the ceilings came down and the
people were thrown into the very foun-
dations of the houses.
How shall describe the spectacle
that presented itself to my eyes when |
entered the town Imagine enormous
piles of masonry forming barricades
in the streets, walls still standing, beams
pointing skyward, broken furniture,
yawning abysses, confused and entang-
led masses of planks and beams and
all this throughout an immense extent
of streets anu piled up almost perpen-
dicularly. On approaching the ruins
cries for help and piercing shrieks
could be distinctly heard All through
the night those poor people called Tor
help with nobody to help them. The
greatest difficulty was experienced in
the work of getting out the wounded
The houses from which the cries were
most distinctly heard were first taken
in hand. The soldiers were admirable
in the display of courage and self-sac-
rifice but unfortunately it would have
required 10000 accustomed to such
work to meet the difficulty. You have
probably seen work of rescue under
taken in town where nothing is wait
ing to save some unfortunate workmen
buried under scaffolding or pile of
ruins. You know what length of
time and how much trouble and pre-
caution must be taken to save the man
without endangering the lives of those
who endeavor to get them out. Then
fancy the same in town COM
pletely ruined where everything is
wanting, while scorching sun rem
ders the task doubly difficult, and the
men must work, listening on one side
to the cries of wounded men and on
the other to the piercing shrieks Of
women, imploring help, wringing their
hands in despair and tearing their hair
When you have pictured such spec
tacle you will have some idea of what
witnessed during the two days that
remained at Ischia.
| On Sunday evening it began to rain,
and this added to the difficulty of the
situation. When one has witnessed
the scene that Casamicciola presented
on that evening in the red light of the
fires that were started to allow the jad
ed soldiers to dry themselves and t.
drive away the miasma, no battlefield
and no bombarded town can have any
surprise for him. 1t would be impossi
BILE to describe all the horrors that
have witnessed, Several soldiers wer,
crushed by the falling walls during thu
work of rescue.
| To render the catastrophe still NOR
horrible the bodies in the ruins begal
to decompose. The minister of tn
public works, who was on the spot, OF
dered that immense graves be dug, int
which the bodies were thrown afte
having been covered with quicklime
But there are bodies in the ruins tha
cannot be reached. Happily, steam
; boat with cargo of picnic acid a.
rived. The acid was taken from Rom
Naples, and nearly all the cities. ]
= was distributed among the soldiers VII
threw it into the ruins. 1t is probabl
that Notwithstanding the prayers {
those who say that they can still hes
cries in the ruins, this immense charn
! house will be covered up. Moth
ing else can be done. To clear ava
] the ruins is impossible.