The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1909-01-01

work of rescue.
The soldiers have bent every effort
% stop the sweep Of the flames. They
are also kept busy with the convicts
who escaped from the prison after It
had been demolished Several Of these
who were caught looting have been
shot.
The tidal wave caused more destruc-
ton in Messina and more loss Of life
than the earthquake. The great mass
of water that fell upon the city after
the shock was about fifty feet high
This great wall Of water fell upon
the town and in =, minutes had
inundated it to lis limits. Before it
everything seemed to be swept away.
The big Trinacria hotel, one Of the
largest in Sicily, disappeared entirely.
In this hotel were hundreds Of for.
eigners from all parts of the world.
Some Of the visitors were Americans.
and it was thought that these may be
among the dead.
Buildings that are completely de-
stroyed include the municipal offces,
the bourse, buildings Of the post tele-
graph companies, the cathedral and
nearly all the churches.
Arthur s. Cheney, American consul
at Messina, and his wife lost their
lives in the earthquake.
The straits of Messina have taken
an entirely new shape since the earth
quake. Navigators describe them as
twisted" Many villages and forts
along the straits have been destroyed.
Lighthouses have been swallowed up
by the sea, and navigation is imp0ssi-
BILE
Starving, bleeding from injuries and
almost insane from their terrifying ex-
periences. Messina's survivors are fee
ing in all directions. The spectacle
presented by the ruined seaport is de-
scribed as terrifying. Tumbling build
ings both killed and mutilated, while
hundreds Of the injured imprisoned I'm
the wreckage were abandoned to their
fate by the fleeing populace.
A wounded soldier from Messina
said:
"The spectacle was terrifying be-
yOnd words. Dante's Inferno gives
you but a faint idea as to what hap
pened at Messina. The first shock
came before the sun had risen. IL
shook the city to its very foundations.
Immediately the houses began to crum-
BILE. Those Of us who were not killed
at once made our way over undulating
floors to the, street Beams were crash.
ing down through the rooms. The
stairs were equally unsafe.
81 found the streets blocked by fall
en- houses. Balconies, chimneys, bell
towers, entire walls, had been thrown
down. From every side Of me arose
the screams and meanings Of the
wounded. The people were half mad
with excitement and fear. Most of
them had rushed out In their night
clothes. In a little while we were all
shivering under a tOrrential downpour
of rain. Everywhere there were dead
bOdies-nude, disfgured and mutilated.
In the ruins could see arms and legs
moving helplessly. From every quar-
ter came piteOus appeals for aid.
'"The city hall, the cathedral and the
barracks crumbled, and churches, 9TH
er public buildings and dwellings with
out number were literally razed to the
ground. There were 200 customs
agents at the barracks. Only forty
one of them were saved. At the rail-
road station only eight out of 280 en-
plOyees have been accounted for.
MANY of those who succeeded in
escaping with their lives said the first
thing they knew they were thrown out
of bed and amid crashing ceilings and
falling furniture managed to make
their way to the street. Then In the
blackness Of night and amid a pour
ing rain that added to their horror
and distress they rushed blindly away
amid the crash of tumbling buildings
and the shrieks and groans Of those
buried In the ruins. Many were struck
down while trying to escape by falling
balconies and masonry.
''LOoters and robbers by the dozen
were shot dead by the rifles Of the SOL
diers."
San Giovanni, Scilla, Cannitello and
all the other communes and villages
bordering on the straits are in ruins.
Great numbers Of dead are believed to
be still under the wreckage.
The British steamer Ebro came in
here from MessIna with sixteen wound
ed, including Alfred J. Ogston, the
British vice consul at Messina. Mrs.
Ogston lost her life.
At Riposto the tidal wave was ter
rible. At first the sea receded for q
great distance and then swept forward
with tremendous violence.
The water advanced in a huge wave
and swept before 1t every house and
building for a thousand feet from the
shore line. The waters rushed through
the streets Of Riposto to a depth OF
from ten to twenty feet
ss-s