The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1883-08-22
The Earthquake at Ischia.

Inc European newspapers contain long dis
patches about the frightful calamity at Ischa
A survivor thus describes the shock in thea
ire: Many OF the survivors owe their escape to
having been at the time in the theatre, situate
at fortunate distance from stone walls 1t
was slight temporary construction of wood,
covered with a UeldriUm of canvas. Senior
Giovanni Casni of Arezzo who was present in
it, passed through Rome last night and the
following is taken from description given by
him toSehe Captain FrdcdSSd: at was about
| fifteen minutes past nine when my friend pro-
posed that we should go the theatre. At the
| half-hour the curtain rose; but scarcely were
| the first words of the comedy spoken when we
| felt Tremendous shock and | was thrown
| several feet forward and fell headong Imag-
| inc, at the same time, roaring noise, like that
| of heavy railway train rushing at full speed
| on to an iron bridge. While the shock lasted
| the ground rose and fell like the sea during a
storm. What Immediately followed cannot
tell; everything weighs upon me still like the
| night incubus, like a horrible dream. | re-
member only that we were heap of human
| beings tumbled together; that the petroleum
| lamps had been thrown down and we're setting
| fire to the seats; that for moment we endeav-
| ored tn extinguish the fire, and then out we
| rushed in a torrent. next remember holding
on to the trunk of a tree, and on casting my
| eyes upward, | saw its branches we're filled
| with human beings who had clambered up.
Pieces of wood were piled together to light
bontires on the shore as signal for help |
women in their night attire only, old men in
their dressing gowns, and naked children
During the night half-clothed women were
rushing madly about like furies among the
ruins, with torches in their hands, calling
| loudly for their dear ones. Every now and
then squalid, unknown figure, with eyes
wildly staring, would rush up to one. asking:
Have you seen my husband" Have you
| seen my son."
One of the most pathetic incidents is that
| rpsppptinp (lount Sarunrdi ubo I'd
| the wreck of the Hotel Piccola Sentinella.
where he had been staying with his sister On
| recovery from the first shock he resolved to
| make an attempt to rescue her, and for three
hours he worked among the debris, all the
while calling out the name of his sister He
worked on even with bleeding hands, and res
cued eleven persons. AT length he heard the
voice of his sister, who family answered his
call. He made desperate exerton to get near
her, but fell and broke his leg, and few min
utes later the sister herself expired. Prince
Giustiniani Badini and his son had a marvellous
escape. The prince is described as having
been seated in room in the hotel playing
cards with circle of friends. His son was at
the window drawing moonlight scene when
the table was suddenly overturned, and the
falling lamp set fire to the carpet At the
same moment the princes son exclaimed: " An
earthquake Save yourselves" When the
shock was felt the walls of the hotel rocked
and opened, but the party managed to reach
the door, and rushed outside amidst the clouds
of sulphurous dust. They were appalled, by
what had happened, and remained amid the
ruins until daybreak.
The following is correspondents description
OF visit to the scene OF the disaster We
left Naples few minutes after ten, and ar
rived at our destination shortly after twelve
After some steep climbing | reached the spot
where Casamicciola once stood. The place
consisted OF few groups of houses about two
hundred PAGES from the sea, but, owing to the
steepness of the road, it required half an hour
to get there. 1t further included a number of
3 detached houses and small farms. | could see
I before landing that the place had been de-
stroyed; but the sight witnessed on reaching
l the first terrace surpassed my first apprehen-
Y sions. 1t was one heap of ruins, with not one
/ building left standing. The beautiful Hote
: Bellevue, once visible long distance from the
a island, has entirely disappeared. discovered
: the Hotel Gran Sentnea The stables alone
remain erect All the inmates appear to have
:. persisted. Dogs and ducks run about the
=. wreckage scared out of their lives. Military
9 engineers in blue and yellow uniforms, and
n infantry soldiers are at work with pickaxe and
= spade. Twelve corpses, covered with straw
d mating, are laid out in a row. A soldier tell
y me that they are all men, and that | shall SCI
}. more further on. arrived at the second ter
4 race. The pension near the Hotel Gran Senti
y nella is likewise in ruins. Here the sight i,
a really terrible. large number of dead bod
l. les lie strewn upon the ground, fearfully mutt
}. lated, with crushed heads and torn-off limbs
A a spectacle too sckening to dwell upon. Their
1t is no lack of either doctors or drugs A san
o itary column arrived by the first boat from Ma
I, pies, and the physicians penitentiary establish
Is ments at Procida and Bagno were also sent for
: Presently came up to the ruins of the Hote
1t Bellevue only the outhouses of which have es
= capped destruction. Here | estimate the nun
J, Der of wounded at about one hundred, all il
d civilian dress. Dead cattle lie about the gar
10 den, where there are also several live goats
+, The wreckage of the hotel is being active
j. cleared away, as it is believed that larg
/, number of people are buried beneath it. Man
a, injured have already been taken out fe,
70 have been rescued with mere scratches, afte
3. spending hours in mortal terror underground
T. Some of the corpses bear no trace of any ca
IN ternal injury, and were evidently suffocateC
Of II the disaster had occurred during the day
n many might have been saved. The work c
salvage only began in good earnest after til
/, arrival of the troops. The natives themsel ve
st were quite helpless all the local officials bein
le apparently among the victims. The batl
" houses and hospital are all in ruins. the pa
Is tients being either killed or badly injured.
|. went back from the Hotel Bellevue in the
III rection of lschia, and soon reached the frs
TO houses, most of which are detached and SUI
v rounded by their own grounds did not Sc
Ii a single one left standing, As these peasant,
" dwellings situated some little distance froI
~ each other, it is not so easy to convey ASST.
t. lance to them Dead aud injured lie scattere
st about everywhere. In some instances tn
re peasants themselves lend help but fear tina
ss as an engineer officer informed me, one-half {
K. the resident population and almost all the vi
lg tors have persisted. The latter were partic
lg ularly exposed, as they lived in stone-bui
IN houses and had retired to their lodgings whe
rs the earthquake occurred. Many were suffe
I'd ing from paralysis, rheumatism and govt, an
ed could make no attempt to escape, whereas
en- number of peasants got safely out of the
n, cottages.
20, Colonel Cordio de Montesimolo has inform,
ne one correspondent that the number of victim
ly il at least 6,000 The statement that certa
X phenomena premonitory of an earthquake hi
1t, been observed by the peasants is confrme
OF The season was, however, at its height, al
zee consequently the circumstance was kept secrt
Several people were dug out alive from d
ne ruins, some of them having been fifty hou
an underground. The Syndic OF Casamiccio
'as reports that four days before the catastrophe
'as dull subterranean rumbng was heard throug
on out the island, but no one gave any thought
ng it. King Humbert Immediately VISITED I
ev. scene OF the awful calamity and made hims,