Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1909-01-02
BOILING WATER GUSHED
FROM EARTH'S F|SSURE

self. He was often moved to tears
at the hsartrendLag scenes he came
Upon at every turn The king was
loud iii his praise OF he splendid
work accomplished by the italian Rus
sian. and English bluejackets, who
saved many persons who otherwise
would have inevitably persisted. The
queen spent the day in the wards Of
f-aproyised hospitals visiting the
wounded, many Of whom have lost
all that vas dear to them. Her maj
esty did her best to cheer hem with
wonaanly words OF consolation, often
breaking into sobs as she listened to
their dreadful tales of suffering. The
king left Reggie last night.
Catanla, the largest city nearest to
the zone OF the disaster, is crowded
with refugees, and the continuous
stream OF fugitives coming in. the
sight Of the wounded, and repor-s OF
real or imaginary earthquakes have
SO alarmed the population that they
are becoming uncomfortable. There
| is no longer any place where the ref
ugess may find shelter
Foreigners Fate in Doubt.
The government is finding difficulty
Ia ascertaining the fate OF the many
foreigners who were in the earth
quake zone at the time of the catas-
trophe, inquiries concerning whom
are coming from all quarters of the
globe.
| The commander of the battleship
Admiral Makharoff, which arrived
with fugitiyes at Naples confirms the
report of the death Of the American
consul at Messina, Arthur 5. Cheney,
and his wife, who were buried In the
ruins of the consulate.
The number of Americans in Sic
lily and southern Italy is believed to
be small, and several of them are re-
ported to- have been staying at Taor-
nina, which is on the east coast,
about 80 miles southwest of Messina
According to the latest reports, this
place suffered no harm from the
earthquake.
Rome, Dec 9O.--The measure of the
greatest tragedy which has ever be-
fallen the Christian world can not yet
be calculated. 1t is known in general
terms that out of apopulation of L.
100000 in the devastated area of
Italy. at least 100000 persisted.
This makes no account of dozens
of towns near the center of the dis
turbance. whence no word has come,
and where there is only too good
reason to fear there are no survivors
to describe their fate.
May be $4,000 Dead in Messina.
The death list ia Messina ranges
from 10000 to $4,000: that of Reggie,
which, with its adjacent villages,
numbered $4,000 people, includes al
most the entire population.
At Palmi 1000 are reported dead;
at Cassano. 1000; at Cosenza, 500 and
half of the population of Bagbara
about 1000.
The Monteleone region has bee' de-
vastated, and Riposto, Seminara, San
Giovanni, Scilla. Lazzaro, and Canni-
tello, and all other communes and
villages bordering on the straits are
In ruins.
The destruction of property can not
be as great as at San Francisco, for
Messina and Reggie. the two princi-
pal cities destroyed, were not rich or
magnificent from metropolitan point
of view. AS a great cataclysm of
nature. however, this disaster is on
far vaster scale than the California
The whole face OF the
country and the coast line have been
altered. Even Scylla and Charybdis
have changed the positions they oc-
cupied since Aeneas legendary voy-
age.
The three provinces where the
greatest damage was done are Mess
ina and Catania, in Sicily, and Reg
gio di Calabria, on the mainland.
They comprise about 400 square
miles. Several hundred persons per-
ishei and much damage was done
outside these provinces, but within
them the devastation was so complete
that scarcely a human habitatiop re-