The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-01-01
REFUGEES TELL OF OFEARTHQUAKE Vivid Account of Their
 Experiences. MANY MIRACULOUS ESCAPES M - Scenes of IndeseribaNe Horror in
 Streets. AIFew skeleton Houses Here sss Thefs Ass Aii That hs~a,n ef oses Be.stifsI and i'rs.per-
 sps City. lH -aa

| Rome, Dec. 31--A young doctor nan1ca Ross., at Messina, grves | yIvio accoun. vl hts, experiences. a< s1 His esvupei Was miraculous and by his calnness and enefgy, he was able te rescue others from imminent death. The doctor was preparing to leave Mss- sins by. an early tram Monday mornz ing. the day of the earthqdake disaster.
 suddenly the profound silence was broken by an extraordinary noise liko the bursting of a thousand bombs,r he says This was followed by rushing and torrential rain. Then I heard a sinister whistling sound that can Iiken to thousand red hot rods missing in water. Suddenly -there came vio- lent rhymthic movements of the earth and the crashing down of nearby walls made me fcaIize the awful fact of an earthquake.
 Failing glass, bursting roofs and thick cloud of dust added to the horror cf,.the situStion., while the extraordin- arys double movement, rising and faiil ing -at the game time crumbled walls iniperiiled my life; ,s a.,es sI rushed Into the room where were my mother and sister and with a rope which fortunately had with me. suc- ceeded 5in rescuing them. I was also g | number of other persons who had given themselves mp for lost Then some soldiers came and helped me and together we dragged forth several wo- men and children from the tottering walls of . half destroyed palace near by. A few seconds later this. bulld- ing was entirely demolished. e
 There were scenes of indescribable horror in the streets and squares through which my party made its way We finally gained the open couun- tryP \
 Another survivor of Messina, says:
 The hFst |. thing knew was thrown out of bed. Then the floor of my room collapsed and I fell Into the apartment under me. Here found distracted woman seaTchiag for her We remained irf~the ruins for twenty four hours. entirely alons. without food or drink. We made rough shell ter of boards to keep off tae rnIns. Dur ears were assaiicd with the cries and moans of the injured. trhese sounds abated somewhat during Monday night. Etill no one came to 1ur assistance. We were as in q tomb with the dead bodies of our, children beside us. We could see no one.
 Tuesday morning VIC finally ven- tuFed forth and were taken aboard 8 vessel in the harbor on Nvhich we came to. Naples. Messipa is entirely de- ytroyed. se sss ss..,5, <.
 vast crevices and cllnbed ever great mounds of ruins lHd wreckaE Ee that was all that remained ct the inest palaces of Messina-"
 Ne Drsaking Water.
 This refugee lost his two children. He arrived in Rome half clad and cov- cred with dust and burns. . His wife was clothed in little Tess than an old oounterpane.. Other refugees estimate that not more than coco persons of the eptire population of Messina, 1so,- 0oeo people, -escaned with their lives. The suffering was intensided. by the lack of drinking water, the water sys- tenn having been entirely demolished. The wounds of the injured had to be washed with, sea. water. Grocer shops were, ransached for mineral water or anything else to drink.
 Just. as the, British steamer Ebro was preparing to leaves Messina with refugees. an outburst of frtghtful cries was heard from the shore. The refu- gees on board saw q crowd of mad dened persons. of every age break into the custom house. Some were naked, others -haIf-cIothed and they sali were mud,spattered. and haif-demepted. Many were injured and bleeding They | sacked. exerything that name to their hands, seekipR food, drink and cloth. ing. Revolver shots rang out over. the horrible. ;. din. and confusion. Finally tongves- oe' flame shot up fin the dark ness, showing, that ire was complet- ing the work of destruction.
 This was only one of the many scenes of anguish and horror that could be seen from the decks of the Ebro. Mes sina was burning and masses of flames in the darkness sh owed where fire was competing the destructive beginning of the earthquake. A few skeleton houses here and there were all that re- mained of the once beautiful and pros tered in the semidarkness. risking their lives among the -tottering ruins, not to assist the .a.gonized sufferers which had overwhelmed the city. They were robbing the dead and dying and ae- quirinE possessions, which they had no means of protecting or conveying away. t2 s
 Paoia Rizo.. the Mayor of caprieio, reached Rome today, He was in Mes slna on a. pleasure trip that fatal Monda y morning, He was awkened by fearful roar of the first sh ock The floor of his room fell' ap6 half uncon- scious he was precipitsted into a mass of rubbish. His body landed in a niche in walt and he was pinned down by a heavy beam, his face being covered by a carpet that threatened to suffocate him. He managed 10 move the carpet with his teeth until he had made an opening In the folds through which he could breathe. The man lay in this position for five hours expecting death at any moment. Had 1t been possible. he says, he would have committed suicide Once hope sprang up in his breast. A man passed by and the Mayor called to hims
 What do you want?" asked the new conner
 .""wbat do I,wsnt?s repeated the May or. s"Isn't it clear? Help me get out of here" but just at this moment. anoth CT shock came and the man ran, away. leaving the Mayor again alone.
 Finally tbe proprietor of the hotel where the Mayor had been stopping came an erected his release.