The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1909-01-06
FALLING WALLS
Awake the People of MessiHa
Who Fled to Die
NFlRE AND FLOOD

a tlteIS VI w AAO
: Rational to Tell Of Their Eyrcri
cnces-ThoGsands OF People Liter
ally Tunbled Out of Homes.
: Catania, Dec. 29.-The following
!, graphic story is told by wor1an
: who arrived here from Messina this
:. orning, badly injured:
g Internal is the only word that
Will adequately describe the fearful
: AMI terrifying scene," she said.
| When the first shock came, most
of the city was fast asleep. l WAS
awakened by the rocking of the
!, house Windows swayed and ratified
and crockery and glass crashed 10
the floor. The next moment was
violently thrown out Of my bed to
the floor. I was half stunned but
knew that the only thing to do was
to make my way out doors. The
streets Were filed. Everybody had
rushed out N their night clothes,
needless of The rain falling in tor
rents. Terrified shrieks arose from
all sides, and we heard heartrendiEy
appeals for help from the unfor
tunate pinned beneath the ruins
Walls were tottering all around
us, and not one OF our party eXpt ct
ed to escape alive. Ny brothers ani
sisters were with me, and in frenzy
Of terror We groped cur way through
the streets, holding our own against
the panic-strickeD people, clambaring
over piles Of ruins, until We finally
reached place of comparative SAT-
ETY.. But this was not done before |
was struck down and badly injuerd
by a piece Of furniture that fell out
Of the upper story Of house.
''All along the road we were jos
tied by fleeing people ha!k clad like
ourselves. The houses seerlsd t.
be crashing to the ground in what
ever direction We turned.
Suddenly the sea began to pour
into the town. It seemed that this
must mean the end of everything.
The on-coming waters rolled in
huge wave, accompanied by terri
flying roar.
TIE SKY was ag1ow With the rs
ae2tion of burning palaces and other
buildings. and as if this was not
enough, there suddenly shot UP into
the sky a huge burst Of fame, fol-
lowed by a crash that seemed 10
shake the whole town. This pro:aD-
" was the gas works blowing up.
Eventually we reached the prin-
cipal square OF Messina. Her" we
found two or three thousand utterly
terrified people assembled. None Of
Us knew what to do. We waited IN
agony OF fear. Mer and women
prayed. groan>d and shrieked. saw
one of the big buildings fronting
IN the square collapse. 1t seemed
to me that scores Of persons were
buried beneath the ruins. Tl.en
lost consciousness and I remember
no more
a wounded soldier from MessiNa
said:
The spectacle was terrifying be-
vond words Dante's Inferno gives
you but faint idea as to what hap
rened yesterday morning at Messina.
The first shock came before tie sun
had risen. It shook the city to its
very foundations. Immediately the
houses began to crumble. Those OF
us who were not killed at once made
our way over undulating floors to the
streets. Beams were crashing down
through the rooms and the STAIRS
were equally unsafe.
Il found the streets blockaded by
fallen houses. Balconies. chir'n"Es
| bel, towers. entire walls had brcn
thrown down. From every side OF
ne arose the screenings and moan
inss of the wounded The p-n,rlr
we're half mad with excitement aid
Gear. Most Of them had rushed cut
IN their night clothes. In little
While we we're al shivering unl:r
oriental downpour of rain. tvcry-
where there were dead bodies, made.
iisfgured and mutilated. In the
~uins l could see arms and legs nlov-
ing helplessly. From every quarter
:ame piteous appeals for aid.
The portion of the town down
1ear the water was inundated by She
.idai wave. The water reached u"
rhe shoulders of the fugltlveS ana
swept them away.
The city hall. the cathedral ana
he barracks crumbled. and other
public buildings and dwellings with
/ out number were literally idz"d to
20 the ground. There wsre TWO
hundred customs agents at the bar
racks: ONLY i were saved. At the
railroad station only eight out OF
200 employees have been accounted
for.
"N1anv Of those who succeeIcd in
escaping. with their lives are IN
capable of relating their experiences
: coharently. I questioned ali who
wore in q condition to tall. Most 81
them told the same story. They
: said the first thing they knew they
: were thrown ont Of bed, and amiS
. crashing ceilings and falling furni'
, t,,re managed to make thei! way tc
irhe street. Then in the h'ackneSs D
night ard amid pouring rain .ha
added to their horror and distress
: they rushed blindly away amid tht
V crash Of tumhling buildings AMI ta'
:. shr;eks and groans Of those burne,
: in the ruins. Many while trying e
: escane we're struck down by falling
6 balconies and masonry. ard still
Z many others lost their reason an