The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-01-03
Correspondent Tells What He
Saw In Deso|ated Sicily
MANY PLACES ARE VISITED
Stencil From Unburled Dead Is Now
AImsot Unbearabe and Distressing
Incidents Are Seen In
Every Affected District.
By MoNsIeNoR p. o'kELLY.

BY MoNsIGNoR p. o'KELLY.
Reggie, January 2.--(Special.)-I arrived
here last evening after an arduous jour-
ney from Palermo Throughout it was a
strenuous struggle to push forward
against the stream of fleeing survivors.
l found Palmi a scene of desolation,
most of the town destroyed and all the
houses uninhabitab1e. OF PAINTS 11,0oO
inhabitants, 700 bodies have already been
discovered. The constant spectacle that
makes me sad is the swarms of hungry
children crying vainly and seeking their
parents. Than this there is nothing more
pathetic. I scarcely reached the center of
Palmf when 1 turned to and helped the
soldiers extricate two children from a
wrecked house.
My first impression of the results OF the
catastrophe is the extraordinary aparthy
of the survivors. Literally they are so
dazed by the tragedy that they are not
making any attempt to assist the res
cuers.
First Relief Train.
pushed on from Palmi to Bagnara, and
first relief train from Palmi. In Bag
nara 800 dead remain under the debris
The surviving population Is famishing.
No succor has so far reached Bagnara
Thursday night two sharp earthquake
shocks completed the wreck caused by the
first shock. / started on foot for Reg
gio, 15 miles away, tramping with the
troops. The most distressing feature of
the disaster is the appalling disorganiza-
ton of the rescue work throughout Ca
labria. Friday night not single morsel
of food had arrived to relieve the famish-
ing, despite the fact that it had been four
days since the earthquake.
The spectacle in Bagnara Mortified me.
1t is the simple, shocking truth that the
stencil from the piles of the unburied dead
makes me gasp. Pestilence is inevitable
unless sufficient help arrives Immediately
to bury these horrid piles of bodies.
Shocking Spectacle.
The survivors In Bagnara attempted
to seize food, but the military repulsed
them After walking three miles from
Bagnara entered the village of Fava-
zina. There the same distressing incl
dents, the same shocking spectacle was
duplicated At Favazina found boat to
take me as far as Scylla.
After what 1 have already seen l can
sincerely exclaim: 'eMerciful God, what
horrors!'
Hundreds of bodies lie in the wreck
strewn roads.
Ones nose revolts at the obvious effect
of all these unburied dead, which 1t Is
a pity the yawning cracks in the earth
don't swallow. l reached the hamlet OF
Canetello where l found 100 stupefied
peasants, all that is left out of 5000 In
habitants.
The King landed this morning and prom
ised to dispatch assistance. but none
came When l arrived all Canetello was
literally razed. dislike to mention such
a thing, but it is a fact that l have seen
pigs eating the dead. There is nobody
to disturb their horrid work.
Praise for Sailors.
Reaching the village of San Giovanni,
found English sailors from the warship
Exmouth, whose captain merits praise for
having established the first shore hos
pital in all the stricken region. The Ex-
mouths doctor, Burton, was assisted by
Engineer Rainier in attending the wound
road cars. Half of San Giovannis popu-
lation of 1000 was killed. Here like Bag
nara and Palmi the atmosphere reeks with
staggering 0dors.
1t seems an absurdity to attempt to de-
scribe conditions in Reggie. Despite the
lapse of four days, literally nothing has
been done to relieve the survivors. Reggie
seems to have been forgotten. saw
hundreds of people frantically searching
for food in the half-ruineG stores, risk
ing their lives
Yesterday soldiers were constrained to
FIRE on a group of thieves looting man
on Otherwise the troops seem to have
celved no orders to use their rifles ex-
s kpt to shoot dogs and hogs found max
hg grim meals. This grisly food the
dogs and hogs find so abundant renders
the atmosphere absolutely pestilential.
1t is pathetic to see the survivors clus-
tered stupefedly gazing at the ruins of
their homes. Always there is the waiting
of hungry children vainly seeking their
parents Reggie suffered two scourges.
The sea-quake destroyed the lower por-
ton of the town and the earthquake
ruined the higher parts.
I do not care to criticlse the authorities,
but / merely state that the most lamen-
table feature of the disaster Is the fact
that after four days absolutely NOT ng
has been done to relieve the app} ng
miseries of the survivors. Already Bps
landed in the ruined towns are bef ing
to suffer from hunger, having ,ght
insufficient rations to sustain thef ives.
The urgent necessities of the mome-l are
sufficient men to bury or burn the dead,
immediate succor for the wounded and
food for the survivors.