Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1909-01-07
Messina and Reggie and a Score Of
Other Towns in Southern Italy
and Sicily Devastated.
Considerable Advance Has Been Made in
Rescue rk---Murderers and Rob-
bers Pi|Iage and Loot.

nature has left undone.'
The dispatches from the stricken
zone say that large army would be
required to cope with even the press
ing needs of the unfortunate people
who are roaming about half clad and
starving, some of them dragging ar
ticles of clothing from the smouldering
ruins to protect themselves from the
piercing winds. A terrible suffering
is inevitable before the much needed
relief stores can arrive
The rescue parties, military, naval
and civil of different nationalities are
performing prodigies, but the task be
fore them is almost hopeless. Added
to the difficulty of obtaining food and
water, there are no drugs or surgical
appliances. Heart breaking appeals
for help are heard on every side, to
which only the most inadequate re-
sponse is possible. Temporary hos
pitfalls are being rigged up, but only a
comparatively few can be relieved and
the scenes of horror defy description.
The survivors of the earthquake are
suffering cruel eXtremities and in Mes
sina may be seen everywhere vainly
searching in the dust and debris for
morsels of food
Late dispatches state that the city
of Palmi contains 1900 dead and twice
as many injured Two-thirds of the
town was laid waste. All the villages
adjacent suffered as severely.
The king has telegraphed Premier
Giolitti inforW!ng him that Reggie is
in the same .Nful condition as Messina
and announcing that Russian
steamer with 500 injured will arrive
at Naples to-day. His majesty asks
that all preparations be made for their
reception at the hospitals and requests
that the ship be sent back with all the
doctors that can be mustered.
Dispatches from Catania describe
Messina as appearing like a huge in
candescent furnace. The fire spread
to the buildings that had not yet fallen,
completing the work of destruction.
The Strait of Messina is now choked
with corpses of men and animals. At
the present time there are Is warships
at Messina, four Italian, four British
and four Russian. as well as a number
of destroyers and steamers, the latter
belonging to the Italian General Navi-
cation Co. The injured are being car
ried aboard the steamers and will be
removed to Naples
Gen. MaraZZi, commandant at Catan-
zaro, has telegraphed to the govern
ment that he has tried vainly for two
days to reach Reggie by land and sea-
The roads are impracticable and the
shore has been so torn and twisted as
far as he travelled in Calabria that it
was impossible to approach the water
At the ministry of marine word has
been received that frightful looting and
pillage occurred at Reggie. This place
already overwhelmed, will have few
survivors, as it has been impossible
for the relief expedition to reach it.
The wounded refugees present a
sickening sight. Some appear hardly
human; others among the fugitives
have no apparent injuries, but are in
such a deplorable mental condition
that they seem the worst of all The
horror of that tragic minute is in
eradicably fixed upon their faces. On
the relief ships the refugees were
heaped everywhere. Some of them ap-
pear to be stricken with a kind of
idiocy looking aimelessly before them;
others completely mad, howl wildly.
The commander of the Thrapie gives
a thrilling description Of the rescucs
effected by his men when his ship ar
rived at Messina from Malta under in
structions to convey the survivors to
Naples. Twenty different conflagra-
tions were raging. AS the vessel drew
up before the city it was surrounded
by flotilla of boats and tugs loaded
to the gunwales with men and women
who piteously cried for food and drink.
for they had nothing for "a hours. On
entering the port tremendous clamor
greeted their ears. 1t was the sur
vivors screaming for help. From the
water front Messiaa appeared to be in
tact, as the facades of the fine build
ings along that line of streets still
were standing, but behind was empti-
ness and ruin.
There is the greatest danger that a
| pestilence will follow the destruction
of the towns where, ON account Of the
bodies that viii lie unblrried for weeks