Omaha daily bee., 1908-12-30

sively by tourists. 1t was situated in the
Via Garibaldi.
CATANIA, Sicily, Dec. 29.-Mount Etna
is this morning showing activity, and the
detonations, which can be plainly heard
in this city, together with the volume OF
smoke rolling out of the crater, have added
to the panic Of the people.
According to the director of the local
observatory this activity is directly con-
nected with the earthquakes Of yesterday
which brought such havoc In CaIabria
and Sicily, but a great eruption is not ex-
pected. Such phenomena seldom accom-.
pany violent seismic disturbances.
Terrible scenes Il Messina.
The following graphic story is told by q
woman who arrived from Messina this
morning. badly injured:
Internal is the only word that will
adequately describe the fearful and terri
fylng scene.'i she said. when the first
shock came. most of the city was fast
asleep. I was awakened by the rocking OF
the house. Windows swayed and ratified
and crockery and glass crashed to the floor
The next moment l was violently thrown
out of my bed to the floor. l was hall
stunned, but knew that the only thing to
do was to make my way outdoors. TIL
streets were filled. Everybody had rushed
out in their night clothes. needless OF the
rain falling In torrents. Terrified shrieks
arose from all sides and we heard heart.
rending appeals for help from the unfortun.
ates pinned beneath the ruins.
People In FrenHy.
Walls were tottering all around us and
not one of our party expected to escaps
alive. My brothers and sisters were with
me ana IN a. frenzy Of terror We gropod
our way through the streets, holding oul
own against the panic-stricken people
clambering over piles Of ruins. until w,
finally reached a place of comparativ,
safety.
But this was not done before 1 wal
struck down and badly injured by q piec,
Of furniture that fell out OF the uppe
story of a house.
"All along the road we were jostled
by scores of fleeing people. half clad
like ourselves. The houses seemed to b,
crashing to the ground in whatever dt.
rection we turned.
suddenly the sea began to pour into
the town. 1t seemed to me that this mus
mean the end Of everything. The on.
coming waters rolled In a huge wave &C
companied by a terrifying roar.
Gas Works Blow Up.
The sky was aglow with the reflec,
tion of burning palaces and other build.
ings and as IL this was not enough tn er,
suddenly shot W into the sky a hug
burst OF flame. followed by a crash tina
seemed to shake the whole town. Thli
probably was the gas works blowing up
Eventually we reached the pfincipa
square. of Messina. Here We found 200,
or 1000 utterly terrified people assem-
bled. None of us knew what TO do
We were all in an. agony of fear. MeI
and women prayed, groRned and shrieked
l saw one OF the big buildings on tn,
square collapse. 1t seemed TO me tina
scores OF persons were buried beneath tn,
ruins. Then / lost consciousness an,
1 remember no more"
Worst Disaster I'm Over Century.
The horror ana destructiveness OF thI
visitation probably will exceed that of an,
earthquake in Italy since f7SS, when 1000
persons persisted at Messlna alone.
Reports of heavy loss OF life are comm
in every hour from city and tow an
nearly every village in the stricken terri
tory, and the story in its detail has onl
begun to be told. The horror grows a
further reports come in.
Messina has been fireswept. The dea