New-York tribune., 1908-12-31

.o ssvs that on Sunday. the day before the dis-
os+er he was taken sick and was sent to the
military hospital Early on Monday morning
ne was awakened by a tremendous roaring
sound His bed struck the floor below ana h7
was still on il. 1t paused moment ana was
saain precipftated. He struck the next noor,
,1,+ tbis gave way at once. and thus man ana |
he'd came down from the fifth noor OF me hoS-
nitaI 70 the ground. He was not injured
druesfst named PuIco says that at 90 |
o'clock on Monday morning he was on FERRY
ho.+ IN the port of Messna going to Reggie. |
suddenly g gale of wind arose. bringing
beav, sea with IT. Then great chasm seeIped
20 open in the water and the boat went oc"h
and struck the bottom; but the waters closeu
In again and the ferTyboat hoated saIely On 'op !
Of the succeeding wave Most or the people 'n
hoard however, were swept or ana ufo~hou
The boat was badly wrecked, but 1t noateu
ashore PuIco was still on board AFTER 'ho
first panic ne landed and found Hegs1o hAe d
ci+v of the dead Nobody was moving about the
streets and the profound silence was oroAei
only nv the means and groans and snrlehs VI
the wounded At that moment there seeineu -
he no upinjured people in the place. Fuioo anu
several companions tried to extr'ea'o sunni
wounded from the wreckage. but tnis "aS al
most impossible because Of the crunnDiihs Con
dition of the ruins He estimates 'no U
roll at Reggie at fifty thousand
Ano+ber refugee saws that there are IN Mes
sina to-day not more than ten thousand people
alive Many of the survivors are dying lroih
hunger. The people still in the city have broken
omen the restaurants and food supply shops and
are feeding themselves as they may.
The Duke of Aosta left here this morning for
Messina and Reggie. He is travelling On board
a destroyer.
Thousands Of sicilians and Calabrians are
Ia tbe north. seek
ing means of communication with the south
They are trying to get news of friends and
relatives.
The Russian warshfp Admiral Makaroff, which
| arrived here to-day from Messina, had four
| hundred injured on board. Heartrending scenes
| were witnessed at the piers. Hundreds Of
| weeping Sicilians who had come over to the
| Continent for Christmas crowded around the
| entrances. One mans sadness was turned to
| Joy when he discovered his entire family
! board the Therapie.
1t appears from the tales Of survivors that the
| destruction of Messina and Reggie was due
primarily 10 the earthquake. but the tidal
| caused enormous damage. In the narrow strait
| the sea formed into a huge wave the crest COW
| cred with foam, forty feet high. It then drew
| back from the coast II gathering strength
for an onslaught. In its first movement the
| water. according to witnesses resernbIed a
coast So violent the motion OF the atmos-
| phere coincident with the tidal wave that sew
| eral workmen engaged in digging a pit on the
! Caiabrian side Of the strait were carried bodily
| up into the air.
| Suddenly stopping In their backward sweep
the waters Of the strait hurled themselves upon
the two coasts. Piers houses and extensive
gardens were swallowed up in the flood At
some places the coast of Sicily the waters
rushed inland ten miles he a
great distance trembled under the shock of the
impact Houses fell in upon another. A
naval officer who witnessed this awe inspiring
spectacle said: 1T seemed If two noun
tains. of water and the other of land. fell
furiously the toward the other and as If
the land vomited human habitations into the
sea-"
Nine thousand tents, each capable of housing
six persons and twenty thousand pairs of blan-
kets have been shipped from here to Sicily and
Calabria.
The sea front at Reggie has been completely
| swept away, according TO statements OF ref
| ugees. It is a mass Of wreckage from vessels
of every kind that were in the harbor It is i'm
| possible 70 approach Reggie by sea or by land
For a distance of twelve miles from the CITY
roads bridges and footpaths have been de-
stroyed Even the face of the country has
| changed. 1t has been impossible to get into
Reggie even with automobiles. It is believed
that there are still great number of people
in the ruins dying, not from their injuries, but
from slow starvation.
! Several Calabrians here who have relatives
and friends IN the stricken district have become
! insane.
! The refugees here present a sickenine sight
Some have apparent injuries but are in
such a deplorabe mental condition that they
seem the worst of ali. The horror Of that tragic
minute is fixed upon their faces. Some gaze
aimlessly before them; others completely mad.
howl wildly
The commander Of the Therapie gives a thrill
ing description of the rescues effected by his
men when his ship arrived at Messina from
Malta under instructions to carry the survivors
to Naples Twenty different confa grations were
raging. AS the vessel drew.up before the city
she was surrounded by fotiIla of boats and
tugs, loaded to the gunwales with men and
women, who piteously cried for food and drink
for they had had nothing for twenty four hours.
On entering the port tremendous clamor of
survivors screaming for help greeted them.
From the waterfront Messina appeared to be
intact. the facades of the fine buildings along
tLsat line still were standing. but behind were