The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-12-29
EARTHQUAKE DEALS
 DEATH TO THOUSANDS IN SOUTHERN ITALY


 and priests. soldiers and persons of gentle birth are living in common. Their bed is the ground and fires are burning to keep off wild animals In AIbi alone TWO thousand people are homeless.
 Damage By High See. Extraordinary scenes are reported at Catania- Following a violent earth shock at 5:z0 A. M. the sea arose in a tremendous wave which wrecked fish ing Hmacks. It then suddenly retired from the shore and returned as quick i ly causing further damage and wreck age.
 Awakened by the shocks, the inhab- itants lied panic stricken from their. homes into the streets and squares. Processlons were organized and soon all the churches filled with weeping people. imploring mercy
 Cardinal Maya. archbishop of Cat ania, exhorted the people to be calm. He promised that the body of Saint Agatha should be carried ground in procession. Saint Agatha Is regarded as the special deliverer from all scourage and, according to history, the pious inhabitants of Catania diverted the course of the lava stream in 1869. when a fearful eruption Of Mount Aetna took place, by extending the | saving the city. as the lava was turn ed aside near the Benedictine monast- l cry and receded into the sea. While the number of deaths at that l place ig not believed now to be large, there were several tragic occurrences. i Among the children swept away by | the tidal wave was a boy fifteen months old who was torn from the arms of his mother. The mother, too, | t1rvs. A F. E Al .s. water and lost consciousness, but her body was caught by a railing and re- l mained there until she was rescued. Midnight reports state that Reggie. | the capital of the province of Riggio do Calibrarla, eight miles from Mes sina. on the opposite side of the strait, has met the same fate as Messina. but these reports have not been confirmed owing to the lack of telesraphic facii- tiles.
 A very severe shock was felt at caitanigetta a city of SImily. and al- though much ramage was done. on one was Killed The shock created great alarm and notwithstanding the down. pour of rain, the whole population re- inained in the streets throughout the day and marched in religious process sions.
 Pope Es Greatly Distressed. 1 The pope was greatly distressed at | the hearing of the scourge that had l afiiicted the loyal population In the south. He said hardly credit the truth of the despatches describing the de- | vastation and fatalities as ten times EKreatsr' than t1i 1905 rfst z 1 After kneeling forventiy in prayer. his holiness arose and said, as he arose. that he felt that his place was amidst his suffering. children. It was i his firm intention to order. It was structions be given for beginning the l journey but his physicians and those 1 in attendance upon him inisted that l it would be impossible for him to un- lidertahe such 8 fatiguing expedition 1 in the present condition of his health. l At midnight a regiment Of soldiers left here for Calabaria.
 Nesslna. next to Palermo, the chief commercial town of Sicily, with more l than 90,000 inhabitants. is situated on the strait of Messina and is over shadowed by a range of rugged rock 1 peaks. Messina has been the scene Il of many battles and sieges and has l been so often devastated that there are no important relics of antiquity. ] An earthouake in 17S3 destroyed al- l most the entire town. Messina lies on the line of contact of the primary and secondary formations, on which boundary between Aetna and vesuv- ius, earthquakes are always most vio-
 lent.
 A nying squadron, composed of the battleships Vittorio Emanueie. Regina | Elena and Nopoli, has been ordered to proceed to Messina. The squadron will arrive Tuesday morning. together with steamers of the Italian Navigation Company, carrying supDlies> and troops.
 The troops will be sent to various points to keep down lawiessness. Sig nor Bertolini. the Minister of Public works, left here tonight for the south, where he will represent the Govern l ment Another regiment of infantry and several companies of engineers all left tonight for the south.
 Altogether 5000 troops have been l sent southwaTd from this city in the past eighteen hours, while from other military posts about 15,000 men are now 1 on their way to Calaibria and Sicily.
 At Caltanizetta, a Sicilian town of 30.O00 people. a number of houses were l shaken down and the inhabitants fled for safety to tbe streets. Vast crowds gathered in the parks and the churches are filled. At Minee, small town 100 miles southwest of Catania. several houses collapsed and the scenes of panic were reported.
 At catapia. the docks and shore front
 were overwhelmed by q tidal wave
 that rolled in from the sea. Much damage was done to the shipping. De- tails are lacking, but it is known that several steamers were damaged. At Catania the shocks lasted for twenty 1 seconds.
 At Agosta, in the province of syra- l cuse, two churches and several houses 1 were demolished but no lives were lost The prisoners In the local jail made their escape and dashed through 1 the praying crowds on the streets for liberty. The troops were called out and quiet was restored. There were shocks also at Lindua Glosa. Santa Saverina and Noto. all in Sicily. The latest report from Calabria says that three dead and sixty wounded persons have been removed from the ruins of StefanconL Soldiers have been called in to carry on the work of suceor. The troops have been ordered also to tear down damaged buildings in order to minimize the danger from falling walls.
 Sixty persons are said to have sus- tained injuries at San Nefrio and the population is camping out in the open air. The troops everywhere are en- i gagged in the work of rescue.
 4 Tidal Wave.
 Catania, Sicily, Dec. 28.-A tidal
 wave swept into this port today as e 1 result of the earthquake disturbances. | The people on the water front were . | t~ana,rft.AVa Haas...