Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1909-01-05
LAY NEAR SICILY COAST
italian People, Aided by All Nations,
Rushes the Relief Work-Ter-
ribIe Suffering Among the
Survivors.

Estimates of the death roll Of the
earthquake now cease to concern the
Italian people. 1t is enough to know
that the catastrophe is overwhelming;
figures would add nothing to the grief
of the stricken nation, nor move ito
greater efforts those upon whom the
work of relief and rescue has fallen.
Every channel open to the govern
ment has been utilized to this end and
other nations have been quick to come
to-its assistance, even before the cry
for aid went up. Shiploads of fugi-
tives have been carried out of the
stricken zone to Naples, Palermo,
Catania and other ports, and, accord
ing to the minister of marine, rescue
vessels to the number of So are now
centered in the Strait of Messina, and
5000 soldiers are being landed on the
two coasts.
1t is declared that an army OF no
less than $4,000 men will be needed to
rescue the living who are still en-
trapped in the ruins and to bury the
dead
tnOuSdNO6 Neeo NulCk Alo.
Most important Of all now is the
question of the living. Thousands of
those who escaped the falling walls
and the sweep of the tide are starving
and without clothes or shelter. They
can scarcely long survive their suffer
ings. The first thought has been to
carry food and covering for these help
less people, and 1t has now been de-
cided by the government to send
fleet of emigrant steamers to transport
them to other places.
The latest reports received at
Rome state that there have been many
Intermittent shocks following the first
to which the greater part of the de-
struction is attributed. The British
warship Minerva reported by wire
less to Malta that two severe shocks
occurred at Messina Wednesday night
Shocks Have Ceased.
Prof. Ricco, director of the observa-
tory at Mount Etna, states that his In
struments have recorded AZ distinct
shocks after the first, but that during
the last IA hours they have been al
most motionIess. Etna and Stromboli
are now quiet, and he is certain that
the earthquake was not of volcanic but
geological origin, similar to that of
1855.
Lloyd c. Griscom, the American am
bassador, left here today for Messina
and other places in the south on an
Italian warship in search of informa-
ton concerning missing American
travellers. 1t has been found impos-
sible to obtain tidings of the hun
dreds of foreigners supposed to have
been in the zone. about whom in
quiries have been made to the govern
ment and the various embassies.
Official Estimate, $4,000 Dead.
The horror of the situation at Mes
sina and Reggie grows with every
fresh dispatch. One Of the correspond
ents places the death roll throughout
the entire territory as high as 10000,
but this appears to be extreme. Others
make their outside estimate 100000,
but the official estimate as made by
the minister of marine still holds to
$4,000.
Relief expeditions which have been
making their way to Reggie have en-
countered tremendous Instructions all
along the route. They report IS pro-
yincial villages, beside those already
mentioned in Calabria. as having been
completely ruined This would indi-
cate that the earthquake did not con-
fine Its work Of havoc to the coast
What has become of the Inhabitants of
these villages is not known Those
that were left alive after the destruc-
ton Of their homes doubtless Joined
the great army of refugees seeking
safety, or have fallen by the wayside
Shocking Distress in calabrIa.
The Calabrian coast for 80 miles has
been torn and twisted. From Bagnara
to Reggie, distance of Is miles, the
country is half demolished. Assistance
has reached but few of the villages and
they are practically without supplies of
any kind At Bagnara surgical opera
tons are being performed with prun-
ing knives, but at Reggie even that is
impossible.
Bands of thieves infest the country
and the despair of the unaided villages
is complete Hunger supplies the mo-
tive for scenes Of shocking violence.
and pillagers and robbers defy the few
surviving policemen and soldiers.
Doubt About Americans.
1t han been impossible as yet to rs.
certain whether there were any Ameri
cans at the hotels In Messina The Ho
tel France collapsed at the first shock
and so guests were killed. 1t Is assert.
ed that none of these was American
Only two walters escaped The Cont
mental hotel was destroyed, but II
seems that no Americans were stop
ping there. Almost all the guests al
the Hotel Trinacria, including ]. G
Martens, the Swedish consul, are dead
Nothing has been learned definitely al
10 the number of Americans in that
hotel, which was the leading one of the
city.
Russian Naval Officers story.
The commander of the Russian
cruiser Admiral Makharoff, which ar
rived at Naples with refugees from
Messina, has given the following &C
count of the disaster:
Hearing at Agoata, Sicily, of the dis.
aster, hurried to Messina The city
was literally nothing but heap OF
--s- o. ''- A''i'a'ne thara has col.