Omaha daily bee., 1909-04-04
THRILLING QUAKE INCIDENTS
A Battle with LoOtinE COnvicts, the
Courage of Woman and Some
Narrow Escapes.

The following incident was recounted in
a secret report sent by Captain Cagni, of
the italian navy, now in command OF the
battlesfip Napoli, the first war vessel to
reach Reggie after the earthquake, to the
minister of marine.
As soon as Captain Cagni reached Reggie
he landed in a boat, accompanied by a
party of officers and men, a score in all,
in order to arrange for the organization of
relief parties. No sooner did they set foot
on shore than about 100 escaped convicts
armed with rifles which they had stolen
from the barracks opened fire on the party.
Cagni and his men were unarmed, so they
returned to their boat and signaled to the
battleshlp to dispatch at once 200 sailors
armed with rifles and two quick-firinE
guns. Within ten minutes the sailors were
landed. Cagni assumed command, lined
them on the beach and gave the order to
march.
The convicts opened fire on them from
behind the ruined houses. The sailors fired
a volley i'm the air, and then, as the con-
victs continued to fire, Cagni ordered his
men to fire on the c%onvicts, which they
did. The firing continued for five minutes
until most of the convicts were killed and
the remainder surrendered.
Captain Cagni in his report does not
state how many were killed, but he says
that his first step was to secure all the
escaped convicts he could find, convey
them on board in irons and sail to a port
In Sicily, where he handed them to the po-
lice, and he did this before rendering any
help to the victims, as he considered 1t Of
the utmost Importance to free the city from
this band 'of ~looters.
A raforanca to tho Incident .o,. L.. i.
was stopped by the press censor, as loot
ing was officially denied.
Many Of the earthquake survivors owe
their lives to strange circumstances Some
fell, bed and ali, from top stories to cell
lars and were not hurt. A sacred picture
served as a shield from the crumblinR
walls to others, while some were shot from
their beds in the street without sustain
ing any injury.
One family owe their lives to a dog. q
mastiff, who, seeming the approach Of the
earthquake ahead of them, barked and
bayed for twelve hours before the catas-
trophe, alarming, his master so much that
neither he nor his family could sleep all
night. The dogs barking grew fiercer and
louder as morning came until at the first
shock he leaped toward the door. begging
with his eyes for his master and the fam
lily to follow him. He guided them down
a street over a mass OF ruins to the cathe-
oral barking all the time and looking back
to see If they were still following him.
The master and his family sought shell
ter under a flight of steps. but the dog
refused TO stop, and no sooner had they
followed him than the stairs collapsed.
owing to a fresh shock. The dog was only
satisfied when they reached the Marina,
where they found a boat which conveyed
them to a man-o'-war.
There are many cases Of wives saving
their husbands, which shows that Italian
women under stress of circumstances
play a better part than the men. One
courageous woman dug out herself, her
husband and five children
Another young girl, with two small
brothers, was taken out after eight days,
living in a corner of a cellar upon which
nearly all the rest of the house had
fallen. She dug for three days with her
hands until she had opened a small hole
for air and by reaching out her hand and
signaling she caught the attention of a
passing squad of soldiers, who rescued
the trio Just as the two children were
about to die.
A party of soldiers removed a portion
of a crumbling wall at Messina which
blocked a room in which a husband and
wife were discovered in bed. Their heads
appeared first side by side on the saro
pillow. The husband was dead. while the
woman was alive. A soldier seeing hi
took off his coat and covered the mans
face to hide 1t from the wife.
Never mind" she said. Il know he is
dead and his arms are around me"
When the bodies were removed II was
found that the poor man had embraced
MS wife when he died, and the doctors
had TO amputate the arms TO detach the
dead from the living body. The wife ala
not ry.-Ne York Sun.