New-York tribune., 1908-12-31
THE SHOCKS CONTINUE
HORRORS At MESSINA,
The King and Queen Take Part IN
Work of Rescue.

panic OF the survivors
Some proeress is being made In the Work Vi
s,coorirg the wounded there, but no aloeihp'
ts being made to remove the wreckage- Inc
.raons and sailors have shot many looters. Inc
entire local treasure of the Messina branch OF
the Bank of Italy. 100000 has been saved
end IS on board an Italian warship-
,r,,a -escr,ers at Messina are rapidly becoming
exhausted The fires are stni burning anu
there IS no water with which TO fight the names
Many OF the inhabitants still refuse 10 leave
the ruins of their houses. They cling to the
sites CRYING out that their only safety is in
Ade,itv TO the wrecks OF their houses. Force
often Is necessary to get them to the ships IN
the harbor. Great numbers Of persons IN the
suburbs of Messina refuse to enter the city. A
dispatch received here from Deputy FeNce, at
Messina- says:
Organize squadron Of volunteers for rescue
work Send us food for We are dying of hunger.
A number of the survivors are starting to-day
for Catania- Receive them with love and ira
ternity II is the duty Of every family IN CatAiild
TO shelter a family from Messina
Only two members Of the municipal council
Of Messina survived the disaster
The bluejaclets from the Russian warships
al Nessina have performed noble service They
rlsked their lives recklessly in the work Of ex-
1rjcating the wounded. Hospitals have been
iu7urovised IN the railroad station, part of which
is standing in another building on First OF Sep
tenber street, and board the steamer Relha
Margherfta. but they already are full A rolican
of the S9th Regiment of infantry shows that the
organization has only ten survivors A man
named Roberto. the sole survivor Of his family,
became mad from grief in Catania to-day ana
committed suicide
King Victor Emmanuel and his wife, queen
Helena arrived at Messina to-day on board the
battIeship Vfttoria Emmanuel. They at once
disembarked and made their way into the ruined
city AS soon il was known that the ming
and Queen had come, crowds of the terror
stricken victims sYvarmed around the royal
kaa-1v urostrating themselves in the mud ana
crying aloud for pity This reception was 100
much for her majesty. who almost tainted
Many terrible stories were told TO the King IN
connection with the work of rescue The res
cuers have had 10 contend with the deep rooted
sa5perstition in the Sicilian mind. In many cases
injured men and women clung 10 the crumbllng
walls. refusing 10 let go their hold and seek a
safer position. His majesty, however, lost little
time in listening TO tales Of sorrow He lraI1e-
diateIy Joined a rescue party. and Iaooreo as
,,nrernittingly as the others, personally etrcat-
ing several injured persons pinned in the ruins.
This was his first act.
The Queen quickly recovered from her faint
ness caused by the sickening sights all sides,
end followed the example OF her husband She
devoted her attention principally 70 the little
children. She rescued with her own hands
boy three years old. bleeding from many cuts
and wounds and carried him TO the pier where
she handed him over to members Of the hospital
corps Many small boats had been sent in to
take the wounded out 10 the ships in the harbor.
Every available steamer has been nlteo up dS
q temporary hospital.
People wept from emotion when they saw the
King and Queen come ashore. The women
threw kisses TO her majesty. Both were prac-
ticalIy carried UP the pier in the arms Of their
subjects The presence of the King has acted
as q general inspiration. Even the wounded
found fresh strength when they learned his
majesty was them An aged man VINO had
been abandoned under beam which apparently
had crushed out his life revived for a moment
at the shouts of greeting 10 the royal pair He
stretched out his hand, and raised his head long
enouph 10 call out: Now I can die happy
Long life TO the Kingr' He then fell back
dead
signor Orlando, the Minister of Justice, who
IS acooupanyine the royal party, has described
the catastrophe In q telegram TO friend as the
greatest disaster IN the memory of man
II Is reported that an overpower1ng stench
arises from the ruins Of Messina- Ten thousand
soldiers Will be needed TO bury the dead there
II was learned to-day that General Coli lost
his life at Messina-
One of the Messina survivors told this morn
tne Of the appearance of that city. He says that
only & small part Of the total population es-
caped- Thousands of persons are still buried
alive sn the ruins. where they are suffering $40"
Death by torture
The flames make their way SLOWLY over the
devastated area and imprisoned human beings
ere being burned alive Others are dying from
injuries. and others starving.
The streets are filed with masses Of brick
ChlrQDeys
,oofs II is absolutely impossible TO recognize
one tnoroughfare from another In many cases
tbav anrear IS enormous crevasses or great
bitches. twisted into fantastic shapes The cele-
n-s.as Avenue Paiazzati. which runs along the
sea front from the university the postof1ce Is
impossible All the public monuments there
have disappeared
AT the water pipes, sewers and gaspipes or the
city have been destroyed and the former streets
are flooded with mud Gas explosions occur ire
vuentIy and cause scores Of small fires
For several hours after the first destructive
shock 1desssna absolutely without organized
-e,,e< for the reason that the municipal authori-
.tes soldiers, police doctors and nurses by the
hundred were either buried or drowned
The first work OF rescue was performed by
volunteers rom ships IN the harbor and groups
OF heroic survivors, who at great labor and per
eonsl danger extricated many persons plfloheo
beneath the wreckaRe.
Doctors. nurses and firernen are being hur-
ried into the wrecked city. but the lack of food
and water makes the work Of rescue almost TOO
great Overcome The Russian and British
warships at Messina have sent crews ashore and
are performing heroic deeds.
All the hospitals In Catania are crowded, and
even the schools have been transformed into in
6ruar1es The less seriously injured Of the sur