Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1909-01-23
Mother Killed, Child Saved.

| the experience of A. J. Ogston, British
vice-consul at Messina, who arrived
with his daughter at Palermo, he him
self being injured.
| AT the first shock" said the vice
consul. my wife rushed to cot and
snatched up the child. We ran down
stairs, and found the door blocked
| with wreckage. We clambered
| through a window, but as we were
passing a building a balcony fell and
| killed my wife instantly. By miracle
| the child escaped unhurt. 1 rushed to
| the municipal square, where so people
had gathered, and we ran madly for
| the open country, balconies, columns
and chimneys falling around us in
! terrifying manner. The members of
our party were struck down, some
times singly and sometimes a half
dozen at time, and when we reached
a place of safety only four of the
party remained. The others undoubt-
| eddy were killed"
| One tragic phase of the disaster
was the fight for life made by the
prisoners in the Jail above Messina-
| There were nearly 1000 of these, in
| Guiding 800 women. The building col
| lapsed at the first shock and the in
mates were caught like rats. Several
rows of cells remained intact and
those who were locked within them
could be heard pounding the walls and
crying aloud for help. Then came
another shock which completed the
| destruction. All were killed with the
exception of the few who had escaped
| after the first shock.
| An artilleryman, Gaspare Valenti,
says he was engaged in rescue work
at Messina with his comrades when
| an enormous wave struck him and
| swept him off his feet. Like a piece
| of straw, he declares, he was whirledj
| out to sea. Being a good swimmer,
he kept up for a long time, becoming
| tired, however, and just as he was
about to sink he was picked up by a
| fisherman, who landed him on the
| beach Then, seized with terror, he
ran blind1y for IL hours and dropped
exhausted near Aeiheale, distance of
about so miles from Messina.
| Searchers Killed at Reggie.
A refugee from Calabria stated that
an express train on the road from
Reggie to Naples was brought to
stop by the shock when about Is miles
along the road in it's journey. The
/
taken back to Reggie, where they
| found a scene of desolation- While
searching for friends fresh shocks oc-
Cured and practically all the passen-
gers were killed.
| At Messina, after rapid work of or
ganization, progress was made in the
work of succoring the wounded sur
| vivors, but no attempt was at first
made to remove the wreckage. The
| troops and sailors were obliged to
| shoot down robbers who persisted in
| looting- The entire local treasury of
| the Messina branch of the Bank of
Italy, some 81, 900 900, was saved and
placed on board an Italian warship.
Many of the people of Messina re-
! fused to leave the ruins of their
houses. They chung to the sites of
| their homes, crying out that their only
safety was in fidelity to the wrecks
| of their houses. Force often was
necessary to get them to the ships in
| the harbor. There were large num-
| bers in the suburbs of Messina who
would not come back into the city for
fear of recurrence of the shocks.
| Hopeless Search for Relatives.
| The German steamer Serapin
| DrOuSnL SUITES Oh sep
aration of families, and the hopeless
| and frantic seeking of relatives one
1 for the other Shortly after the Sera-
| pin locked gangplank was lowered
\ and a few persons were allowed on
| board The refugees were found sit
ting in isolated groups.
| They gave evidence of great mental
depression, and were utterly exhaust
ed. They seemed scarcely conscious
of their surroundings Most of them
were held in the thrall of their terri
BILE experiences.
One old man was carrying a little
| girl in his arms. The child was COW
l cred with blood
is that your child2" he was asked.
NO" he replied. Il found her on
| the pavement in Messina- l picked
her up and cared for her. No one
| claimed her and / could not abandon
her 1 have had her in my arms ever
4 since
| With this touching explanation the
! old man became oblivious to his ques-
toner and everything around him
The Serapin brought into this port
records of numberless tragedies. Fam
| lilies separated, mothers moaning and
+ crying for their dead children, hus-
| bands and wives lost to each other. or