Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-04-10
VESUV|US IS QU|ETED
Conditions Around Naples More
Reassuring.
THE MENACING SIGNS GONE
Smoke of Smaller Craters Carried Off
by Wind.
PROFESSIONS ARE PICTURESQUE
Thanksgiving of Populace Of Naples
Turned Into Mourning by the
Market House Disaster.
THE MENACING SIGNS GONE
PROFESSIONS ARE PICTURESQUE

NAPLES, April TO- noon.-Naples this
morning early had returned to her
normal self. The day brilliant,
the sky cloudless. the waters of the Medi-
terranean were blue and unrippled, In place
OF the melancholy grayness of the last few
days. and better still the menacing column
of smoke from Vesuvius had almost dis
appeared, and though smaller craters still
gave forth smoke, the wind had turned It
in another direction, and an air of peace
and spring-time had spread over Naples
and its vicinity.
But this scene of quiet was turned into
mourning later when the news of the col
lapse of the roof of the Monte Oliveto
market and the loss of life became known
The people who gathered about the market
were soon in a state OF great excitement,
which increased when the recovery of the
bodies commenced
Thanksgiving Professions.
Just previous TO this disaster religious
professions had been passing through
the streets of this city, the people desr-
ing to render thanks to the Almighty for
having apparently averted much greater
disasters than those hitherto recorded
mere Here and there these professions
Wended their way with images of the
Madonna or saints, dressed In most gor-
geous robes Of cheap blue or yellow satin
borne above seas of dark heads mostly
those of women walking arm in arm and
chanting as they moved along the main
thoroughfares, individuals stopping now
and then to exchange jokes with passers-
by.
These motley but picturesque professions
were headed by numbers of boys walking
two and two and carrying lighted candles,
which hickered family in the bright sun
shine. Only in a few cases did priests ac-
COmuanV the prOCPSSinuS which n the
main seemed to be local and spontaneous
affairs organized on the moment in vari-
Gus districts.
The news of the market disaster changed
this brilliant scene to one of gloom and the
professions quickly disbanded.
Terrifying Reports.
Terrifying news is reaching the city this
morning from points throughout the dis
tricts surrounding Ottajano. Reports indi-
cate that an enormous area is buried be-
meath ashes and cinders.
The present disaster is looked upon as a
repetition of the catastrophe to Pompeii
and Herculaneum, except that in this in
stance the loss of life is less.
The fate of many children at Ottajano is
unknown. When the military carts ar
rived at the scene of the disaster last night
the soldiers arranged to have the children
and aged people get into the carts, but
when the vehicles had gone few hundred
feet II was found that although there were
four horses harnessed to each wagon they
could not pull their loads through the deep
ashes, In spite of several desperate efforts
made to do so.
Panic Among Children.
This caused a panic among the children,
who expected TO be buried in the ashes from
the volcano. and they fled in all directions
in the darkness and binding rain. and have
not since been heard of.
Searching parties went after the children,
but In spite of continuous shouting and
calling no trace was found of them, and ii
Is feared that they have been smothered
in the ashes
All efforts on the part of the press rep
resentatives and the authorities to ascer-
tain the exact number of those who have
already fallen victims to the eruptions OF
NesuVius have so far failed. This is ac-
counted for from the fact that the buried
villages are impossible of access, and fur
ther because the people who fed when
their houses began to fall have scattered
throughout the country districts.
The finding of niuety-stX bodies is deter
mined follows: At San Giuseppe 40: al
Terzigno, 20; at Ottajano, u.
Fearful Scenes.
The scenes at Ottajano when the frs
victims were unearthed there was mos
terrible. The positions of the bodies show
ed that the victims had died while in
state of great terror, the faces being con
vulsed with fear. Three bodies were founC
"A confessional of one Of the faller
churches. One body was that of an ole
woman, who was sitting with her righ
arm raised as though TO ward of the ad
vancing danger The second was that o
q child about eight years old.
II was found dead in a position which
would indicate that the child had fallel
with a little dog close 10 it and had de'
with on arm raised across its face L
protect itself and its pet from the crumblin,
ruins The third body. that of a woman
was reduced to unrecognizable mass
These three victims were reverently lai'
side by side. while a procession OF friend
and relatives offered up prayers besid
them.
caused such an impression among the al
ready frantic population that the authori
ties did not deem II, advisable to permi
any more bodies to be identified for tn
present
Forty-nine bodies have already been take
out of one OF the churches at ottajano.
Tales of Heroism.
Many tales are told OF heroic rescues o,
tha part of the soldiers sent to the assist
ance of the sufferers from the volcanic dis
aster at Ottajano and elsewhere. At Otta
tano one man rode his horse through ashe
reaching up to Its fianks. calling out, "Wh,
wants help? Who wants help?" He wa
rewarded by hearing a woman's voice repl.
In weak tones. and sprinsfng from hi
horse the soldier called comrade to his as
sistance and floundered among the ashe
until he arrived at the ruined walls of
house from which the voice seemed &
come. AS he made his way toward tn
building the soldier shouted words of en-
couragement and climbing over heap o
ruins and braving toppling wall he en-
tered the building and in the cellar foun,
the bodies of three children.
Near them was woman. barely alive
who by almost superhuman efforts lastini
for hours, had succeeded in freeing hersei
from a mass OF debris which had faliel
upon her The soldier picked the woman a
In his arms and carried her to a place O
safety, where 1t was found that both he
legs were broken and that she had bee
badly crushed about the body. II Is be
Iced she viii live. although she endure
further suffering for some time after he
rescue, owing to the difficulty experience
In fading q surgeon to attend her.