The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-05-20
KILLED BY EARTHQUAKE
CONSIDERABLE NUMBER OF LIVES WE'RE LOST BY THE SHAKE-UP.

The Center of the Movement Appeared to be at Florence Where for Hundreds of Years Nothing of the Kind Had Occurred People Were Mad With Terror by the
 Shocks-An Omnibus was Overturned by the Swaying of the Earth.
 Florence, May 19.-This city was shak- en last night by series of earthquakes s that did much damage. People who were Tn their houses when the first z shock came ran into the streets and s their wild cries could be heard every where. The shock was so violent that houses swayed like ships in a seaway, & and in a number of cases roofs fell in 4 injuring many who had not sought
 safety. The widest scenes were at the I theaters where performances were go- 4 ing on as usual.
 The first shock caused the audiences 4 to look at one another. Then the earth
 swayed again, and amid shouts of q earthquakes" the crowds made wild
 rushes for the exits. Mad with terror \ no respect was shown for the women, | weaker aged and in the crush many
 were badly hurt. Upon reaching the VI streets the crowds from the theaters
 met those who fled from their dwell-
 ings, and the excitement fthat ensued
 made confusion worse confounded.
 At Grassina,a suburb of Florence, the
 shocks were violent. The extent of the
 earth movement may be judged from
 the fact that a. loaded omnibus was N overturned. Twelve residences of < Grassina were hurt. A number of per
 sons refused toreenter their houses dur
 ing the night. They remained on the
 streets until after daylight this morn- . ing. Many of them took shelter in " vehicles. After the first severe shocks there were repeated lighter ones. The
 seismic disturbance was felt in Lucca, I Pontderra and generally throughout Tuscany.
 {. The center oS the movement was at Florence where, for very many years nothing similar has occurred. Around Florence a number of houses were de- Hstroyed and four persons killed At the time of sending this dispatch full "details are wanting, but it is believed fected will show that there has been A Athat later reports from the country af- considerable number of lives lost.
 The prince of Naples, the crown prince who is residing in the royal l palace, visited several points during the l might, inspecting the damage that had l 2been done At 4 o'clock this morning | he started at Grassina-
 As further reports of the earthquake | come to hand the extent of the disaster l Swidens. At Lappagi,a village near Grassina, no less than forty houses were 1 thrown down from their foundations | and completely wrecked. A sad feature | ! of the disaster at this place was the 1 finding of the body of young mother | . with her infant clasped to her heart. | She had evidently attempted to flee, but | together with her child was crushed to | death beneath the falling walls of her | Hhome
 4 Great damage was done in Florence. | To-day an investigation was made by | 4 the municipal authorities, who estimat < ed that 5000 houses were damaged. The cathedral Ga Cathedral di Santa Ma 3ria), an imposing example of Italian Gothic architecture and probably the most remarkable of it's kind in Europe, | was damaged The director of the ob- servatory, of whom many anxious in *1uiries were made to-day, does not ven Lure to prophecy as to a recurrence of
 he shock. Further shocks are feared. The seismic manifestation of last night
 was the most violent that Florence has Enown since 1445, the earthquake of 1730,
 which is historical in the city's annals,
 having been lighter.
 The population of the city are awed by the disaster. Crowds wander about
 he streets, their only topic being the
 Ihocks. Everybody is anxiously await
 ng the coming of the night, the fear being general that quakes will again Occur. Many persons have entirely
 Abandoned their homes and intend to bass the night in places where there
 will be no danger of buildings falling
 vpon them.
 4 A dispatch received this evening from
 Naples the scene of so many disastrous
 Earthquakes, says there has been no>I disturbance in that district So far as tnown the disaster was worst at Gras- #ina.
 Shocks were felt at Siena, Pisa, Pin
 entia and Bologna concurrently with | hose in the city The Prince of Naples oII at G,,oc cin