Daily Kennebec journal., 1908-12-30
100000 DEAD BY THE
EARTHQUAKE IN italy.
Messina, Reggie, Pa|m, Cassano, Baghara and
Scores Of Other Places Raced, With Terrible
Loss Of Life-..ASSStanCe Woefu||y Needed.

Rome, Dec 29-One hundred thou
sand dead Messina, in Sicily and Reg
gio and a score of other towns in
southern italy overwhelmed; the entire
| Calibria region laid waste; this is the
| earthquakes record so far as Is at
present known from the reports that
are coming slowly into Rome on ac-
count Of the almost complete destruc-
ton of lines of communication to the
stricken places.
| The death list in Messna ranges from
12.O0O to $4,000, that of Reggie, which
with its adjacent villages numbered 15,-
900 people, includes almost the entire
population. At Palmi 1000 are reported
dead; ct Cassano 1000; at CosenZa 500;
and nalf of the population of Baghara,
about 1000 The Monteleone region has
been devastated and Riposto, Seminara,
San Giovanni, Scilla, LazZaro and Can
| nitellO and all other communeS and
villages bordering on the straits are in
| ruins.
The King and Queen Of italy ere now
or their way to Messna, having sailed
tleship Nittoro Emmanuel. The Pope
| has shown the greatest distress AT the
calamity and he h.snself was the first
to contribute. a sum amounting to
$2CNC coo to the relief Of tie afflicted.
British, French and Russian war
ships are steaming towards the south
ami already several of the ships OF
Great ,;ritain and Russia have reached
Sicily. Officers and men of these ships
have performed heroic services in the
| work of rescue.
1t is feared that many foreign rs
have hcen killed as a number of the
hotels at Mcssina and doubtless at otn-
er places, were crowded with tourists.
Little is known of the fate Of the dip
lomatic representatives of the foreign
powers stationed at these points, al
though the Italian government is using
every effort to relieve the anxiety felt
on their account.
There is the gravest danger that
pestilence will follow the destruction
of the towns where on account OF the
vast havoc wrought, bodies will lie un-
burie1 for days and weeks Those who
| escaped death, many of whom are pad
| w injured, are making their way by
the thousands to the nearest place OF
refuge. Their sufferings even now must
be intense, as they are without food or
| clothing
Latest reports received here state
that 1000 soldiers in the various bar
racks at Messina are buried under the
ruins. The tidal wave wrecked the
lighthouses in the strait, including f'a
ro bacon and they crashed into the
sea
Rome, Dec. 29-The Tribuna today
publishes an estimate of the total cas-
ualty list in Caiabria and Sicily which
places Ifp IuIilDtI bttN''ii o''''" '''N'
10000.
Premier Giolitti has received tele-
gram from Deputy Selice at Messlna,
confirming previous reports Of the COM
plete destruction of Messina by fire
following the earthquake. The deputy
saws that the dead at Messina will be
counted by the tens of thousands. Mes
sina was a place Of nearly 10000 pop
ulation.
The government is rushing troops by
land ana by sea to the scene of the
: disaster
At Riposto the tidal wave was ter
rife At first the sea receded for great
distance from the shore. Then it swept
forward with tremendous violence. Thd
water advanced in huge wave and
swept before it every house and build
ing for 1000 feet from the shore lire
The waters rushed through the streets
of Riposto to a depth of from II to y
feet.
Stunned at the magnitude of the CAL
| amity which has overtaken fellow
countrymen. all Italy mourns tonight
for the stricken province of Calabria
and the island of Sicily. Accustomcd
for centuries to earthquakes, Italy
stands ever in dread, but none was
prepared for the disaster whiclrs in the
fraction of a minute, yesterday. de-
yastateG cities and towns and caused
the death of thousands.
Messina, whose history has beer
marked by tidal waves and war ano
which was the center of yesterday;
terrestrial maelstrom, was shaken' tt
ruins. Flames burst forth to complete
the city's destruction and to burn alive
untold numbers, helplessly pinlonet
beneath fallen walls and broken tim