The sun., 1909-01-17

down. Did tell the little story Of how
parrot saved two lives on Sunday A
party Of rescuers heard a faint raucous
cry OF AMnriai Mariai" coming from
deep down in O great pile OF rubble.
They thought Il the voice Of sufferer in
delirium and they began to dig. They
worked for two hours and finally reached
bird cage containing what had once
been q bright plumaged bird, now be-
draggled and dust covered but still vol
uble and lively. The diggers were so
exasperated that they yanked out the cage
and one Of them suggested that they
wiring the worthless creatures neck.
But the removal Of the cage uncovered
a human hand. The hand moved. They
fell to work In greater earnest and pres
emily they dragged from the dirt two
living women. The doctors at the hos
pital said that both would recover.
Tho animals Of Messina are worth a
word, perhaps, In the chronicle OF victims
Those which survived Of course are slowly
starving. / tried to photograph yes
terday a small monkey on the top OF
four story wall whence he could not
descend and the pitiful way In which he
chattercd to me as climbed over the
rubbish beneath him was almost human.
As I passed the door OF a warehouse to-
day the interior Of which had collapsed
| saw two dirty paws sticking out for
half an inch through small crack be-
meath and there came from within the
most heart rtrending walls that feline
throat could utter. | had chicken and
meat in my pocket and poked half my
Iunoh under the crack Of that door. The
thanks received were" more eloquent
than any ever given me by human tongue.
The day before the earthquake new
daily newspaper was established in Mes
sina. entitled Tho Future Of Messina and
Calabriar 1t published single number
and all its newly organized stan are dead.
A weekly newspaper, the Telephone. Of
Messin8. published the day before Christ
mas some sarcastic and sacrilegious verses
In protest against the local communal fees,
which we're very heavy. The last few
lines we're in the form OF prayer 10 the
Infant Christ on Christmas Day In this
sense: 20. little Child. true man, true God,
for love Of Thy Cross let US hear Thy voice.
Thou that knowest, to whom nothing is
unknown, send us an earthquake as q
sign"
ALL cAIABRA MADE OVER.
Scarcely half the story has been told
when the fate OF Messina Is recorded.
The actual earthquake was more violent
on the opposite side Of the strait. In beau
tiful Calabria. The damage was less in
loss Of life and material ruin only because
there was less TO destroy. Reggie. tho
capital OF the province, which comprises
the toe and the instep OF the Italian penin-
sula, was a thriving oity Of about $1,000
people. II was less pretentious than its
neighbor nine miles across the water. and
its buildings were more modest in size.
A considerable number Of two story
structures in Messina escaped serious
damage, but not 80 in Reggie. Nature
in a rage flung about the i'll fated town
until scarcely one stone remained upon
another.
A great change has taken place in the
foundations Of the coast line and OF the
sea In front Some soundings taken by
a British war ship opposite Reggie two
days ago show that where the charts
indicate a depth OF more than 500 feet
there Is now shallow water. One would
naturally conclude that there had been
| a great upheaval OF the bed OF the sea
! and that this had caused the tidal wave
which swept across 10 Mcssina a few
minutes after the earthquake. One or
two experts who have arrived here ques-
ton this theory. They point out that
Reggie especially now stands at a con-
siderably lower level than before the
disaster. They affirm that there has
been a great subterranean land slip from
beneath the foundations Of the Calabrian
Mountains into the straits. where there
exists or did exist the thinnest and most
sensitive spot OF line in the earth's crust.
This process Of adjusting balance, or
evening up the globes surface may con-
tinue until the present sensitiveness dis
appears.
At oil events, when this great mass Of
matter slipped from beneath tho Gala
brian coast it tossed about the towns and
villages on the surface like corks on the
surface OF agitated waters. II seems sur
prising TO the non-scientiic mind that the
surface OF the landscape did not 60 with
the rest and completely close the straits,
until Sicily became again as il is supposed
to have been in early geological times, q
part OF the mainland. One does not
know yet whether the range OF mountains
few miles back Of the coast have les
seped in height. They felt the full force
of the cataclysm. for the scattered inhabi-
tants OF their slopes have lost every
vestige OF their habitatiors except the
dust and stones which we're scattered in
all directions. The disturbance extended
farther iniard in Calabriar than In
Sicily. but most OF the population was
concentrated along tho coast line, where
the conhguration Is not changed except
within few yards OF the shore. Scylla,
San Giovanni and Reggie in the order
named stretch from the north to the
south alor the coast for about ter miles
with smaller hamlets between, The in
habitants of this line OF greatest violence
numbered about 10000.
More than third OF them perished
The ruin is not 30 imp pressive as at Messina
but az have said 1t is proportionateiy
greater. There was a long closely built
sea facade at Reggie with broad parade
and open docks in front. The deceptive
array OF empty walls toward the sea
which gives the illusion at Messina that
there are buildings behind does not exist
at Reggie. The outer part Of the stone
dock has fallen into the sea. A big stone
lefty which stretched out for some dis
tance forming a hsrbor has completely
disappeared beneath the waves On
approachinR from tho strait the remains