Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1908-12-31

Palmi, perched jauntily amid orange
and olive trees have become mere
blots on the horizon.
The appalling magnitude OF the trag-
edy is being brought home TO the peo'
pie of the north by the arrival of this
refugees from Messina.
The German steamer Saraphin came
into Naples early this morning witt
500 refugees The condition of the in
jured is pitiable.
A few of them have had their heads
and limbs bandaged, but many have
not yet received medical attention.
The Seraphin had to come to Naples
because all the hospitals in the prin-
cipal towns of Sicily are overlooking
while there are not enough doctors
and nurses for the work in hand ant
medical supplies, bandages and sur
gical instruments are lacking.
Expect Fifty Thousand Refugees
1t is expected by tomorrow nigh
fully $4,000 injured persons will have
made their way to this city.
The municipality, realizing the diff
ficulty of coping with such tremendous
responsibilities has addressed an ap'
peal to the people of Naples asking
them to suecor and give hospitality t.
the unfortunate Sicilians.
Every means of transportation t
move the wounded from the harbor II
the hospitals is being made use OF, bu
still the conveyances are insufficient II
number.
Several buildings are being prepared
to serve as provisional hospitals.
Shortly after the Seraphin locked,
gang plank was lowered and a few
persons were allowed on board.
The refugees were found sitting il
isolated groups. They gave evidence
of great mental depression and wer,
utterly exhausted. They seemed hard
| ~ conscious of their surroundings.
Most of them were held in the thral
| of their terrible experiences.
Aged Man Rescues Girl
One old man was carrying a litti'
| girl in his arms. The child was GOV
cred with blood.
rs that your child?' he was asked
mo" he replied. IT found her OIL
| the pavement in Messina. I picked he
up and cared for her. No one claimet
| her and 1 could not abandon her.
| have had her in my arms ever since.
| With this touching explanation tn
| old man became oblivious to his ques
TONERS and everything around him.
The Seraphin brought into this por
records of numberless tragedies.
Families separated; mothers moan
| ing and crying for their dead children
| husbands and wives lost to each other
or a sole survivor wishing that he hai
not been spared.
There was one girl on board tn
steamer, her clothing tattered and torn
who had saved a canary bird. She wa
| a music hall singer and had chung t
her pet throughout the terrible scene
of devastation until the bird was tn
| only happy thing on the vessel.
Describes Fearful Awakening
The stories told by these unfortunat
refugees are almost unbelievable.
soldier named Emilio de Castro relate
| that on Sunday, the day before the dis
aster, he was taken sick and was sen
to the military hospital.
Early Monday morning he was awak
ened by great roaring sound. He fei
himself falling and thought he was i
| the grip of a nightmare.
1t seemed to him, he said, that h
had awakened in hell, for the air wa
filled with terrific shrieks. He 500
realized, however, what was happening
His bed struck the floor below, an
he was still on it. 1t paused a. momen
and was again preoipitated downwart
He struck the next floor, but thi
gave way at once, and thus man an
bed came down from the fifth floor G
the hospital to the ground. The sol
dier was not injured.
A druggist named Pulio relates tina
at 6:25 Monday morning he was on
ferryboat in the port of Messina. goin
to Reggie. Suddenly a gale of win
arose, bringing a heavy sea with it.
Then a great chasm seemed to ope
in the water and the boat went dow
and struck bottom.
But the water closed in again an
the ferryboat ffoated safely on top c
the succeeding wave.
Swept OFF and Drowned
Most of the people on board, how
ever, were swept off and drowned. TIL
boat was badly wrecked, but 1t tioate
ashore.
Pulio was still on board. After tn
first panic he landed and found Reggi
like a city of the dead. Nobody wa
moving in the streets and the stlenc
was broken only by the means an
shrieks of the wounded.
Pulio and several companions tried I
| extricate several wounded from tn
| wreckage, but this was almost i'm
possible BECAUSE of the crumblin
| ruins.
In one of the squares Pulio found
group of people all completely nakeo
The druggist estimates the deaf
roll at Reggie at not less than 10000
Another refugee declares that Their
are alive in Messina today not NOR
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