Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1909-01-08
DEATH LIST CROWS;
THOUSANDS HOMELESS
Earthquake Victims in South
ern Italy and Sicily Suffer
Great Hardships.

INoLAic, JAM IL ENtiifbS.~~ll IL Yet
impossible to reach any accurate esti-
mate of the dead resulting from Mon
days earthquake, but the total is now
placed anywhere between 100, 900 and
159, Gee. In some quarters 1t is de-
clared the final numbers will be as high
as zoe ,ssG persons.
One-half the population of Calabria
and eastern Sicily apparently has per-
iShed. The calamity grows with the
receipt of every fresh dispatch from
the south. Calabria is dotted with
small towns and villages. Localities are
reporting almost nourly casualty lists
that run from hundreds into thousands.
countless thousands of wounded men,
women and children are dying in the
ruins. 1t is utterly impossible to sue
Ger them all.
The devastated district is still filled
with half dementod survivors, wander
ing aimlessly about. The ruins are still
burning. Every possible thing is being
done to Onward the work of relief, but
the railroads into the afflicted sections
have been put out of commission
Half Dead; Half Mourn.
Rome, Jan. Half the population
of Calabria and the eastern part of
Sicily are dead, the other half is weep
ing. AS the great extent of the terrific
seismic disturbances becomes apparent,
it seems impossible to exaggerate the
horrors which have followed them. The
calamity is almost beyond the grasp
of the imagination, not only because of
the dead, now known to number tens
of thousands, but because of the in
Vulnerable wounded buried in the ruins
many of whom will perish because it is
impossible to rescue them from the
wrecks of their former homes.
The total number of victims is vari-
ously estimated from $4,000 to $50, 600.
The Queen Swoons.
King Victor and the queen arrived at
Messina today. AS they made their
way into the ruined town the scene of
the disaster and horror was too much
for the queen, who almost swooned.
Crowds OF terror stricken persons
swarmed about the royal party, throw
ing themselves in the mud, screaming
for pity and aid.
Royal Rescurers at Work.
Many terrible stories were told to
the king in connection with the work
of rescue. His majesty, however, lost
little time in listening to the recital of
difficulties. He immediately joined the
rescuing party and labored as unremit-
tingly as the others. He personally ex-
tricated several injured persons pinned
under the ruins. The queen quickly re-
covered her courage and followed the
example of her husband. She devoted
her attention principally to little chill
dren. She rescued with her W hands
a little boy 3 years old, bleeding from
cuts and wounds, and herself carried
him to the dock, where she handed him
over to members of the hospital corps.
Many terrible stories are related in
connection with the rescue work. The
rescuers had to contend with a super
stition so deep rooted in the Sicilian
poin1 thot ", p,ary tnctanoaC MOI, ond
women chung TO crumbling walls, re-
fusing to let go their hold and seek
Il safer position.
AS further facts concerning stricken
Messina become available they corro-
borate in every detail h worst fears
heretofore expressed. OF $50 railway
employees in the station at Messina only
eight are known to have survived,
while at Reggie the silence Of death
still reigns, leaving to the imagination
the terrible havoc wrought by the
catastrophe,
Fire Still RACES.
The premier has received a telegram
from Signor Felice, deputy at Messina,
summing up the situation as follows:
"Messina completely destroyed
RACED to the ground. Victims may be
numbered by tens Of thousands. The
confederation which Is still raging is
toiiplcliAlS llNC uCoth HNAiVAA Vi tt~
city"
The volcano of Stromboli is active,
the seas around the island are very agi-
tated and dangerous to navigation.
The pope has telegraphed the arch
bishop at Pelermo a large sum of
money and instructed him to proceed
TO Messina immediately to help the sur
yiyors.
More Than 100, o
From the latest estimates today 1t is
feared the total number of victims in
Sicily and Calabria will reach more
than 100, 900, while the damage to prop
erty will be several hundreds of mil
lions. Persons arriving at CatanZaro
from the coast state that Messina is
still blazing, despite a torrential down
pour OF rain. The news from outlying
districts in Calabria indicates 35 towns
and villages have been wiped out. with
the number OF dead in that district
alone exceeding $4,000. A few surviv-
ors have fled to mountain tops, where
they are subsisting on roots and the
bark OF trees. No news has been re-
ceieved here UP TO / o'clock this after
noon regarding the fate of A. s.
Cheney. American consul at Messina,
and his wife.