The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1909-01-10

uenO is in the vocabulary OF every 81 4
Gillian and CaIabrian living between Aetna I
and Vesuvius. IN the course Of the last /
10 years Italy has been shaken more 4
than 1900 times. and holds the record, /
50 far as IS known. Within the space OF /
four years the rugged southern section I
OF Italy has been visited four times by 4
death-dealing commissions OF the earth I
Three times Calabria has been afflicted /
by earthquakes, with losses Of life. says
writer in the New York Tribune On |
April 3. 1896. so OF the men and women /
who dig their gardens at the foot Of the /
soft green slopes OF Vesuvius paid toll
for the privilege. These iIiterate and
supersutious people have living memories /
OF the horrors which follow IN the train /
Of Mother Earth's adjustments Of her
contour. II any need visible reminders /
OF these previous visitations they may be |
found in the shacks covered with black /
building paper erected in the stricken vii /
lagos OF Calabria BY the Italian govern [
ment after the last ''terremoto-" The /
poverty-stricken people who were robbed 1
Of their miserable homes IN 1895 were still |
occupying the temporary novels erected I
for their comfort three years ago when /
fresh evidence last week Of the uncer- I
taInty OF the earth's crust through this /
section overlook them
Live on Mountain Sides.
Calabria and the hinterland OF Sicily 1
are among the most primitive lHterate /
and impoverished portions Of Italy. 4
Mountains, some OF those in Calabria be- 4
ing more than l,0J9 feet higher than /
Mount Washington and topped with snow I
throughout the year. although the cactus I
Of the seni-tropics Grows at their feet, 4
shut the people away from the railroads /
Scattered all through the mountains, 4
usually wei Up on their sides OF upon the 4
SUBMITS are compact villages. Although 1
agriculture IS the sole source Of income, I
the people do not as q rule live IN sep
araJed houses on their small farms but 4
il twO-stOry stone houses set together in 4
villages From these they set forth in /
the early morning TIL their vineyards on 4
the terraces Iaboriously dug out Of the 4
barren and preCipitOus hiIlsides return 4
ing in the evening. This accounts for I
the large numbers killed in the different 4
villages
Each village has its patron saint. and Il /
is 20 this that its inhabitants look in the 1
hour Of trouble This patron saint may
be represented by an image. or by a frag-
meHL With the saint OF the image. fire.
qUently Of the Virgin Mary herself is 4
often connected a story Of some parJicU- /
lar favor believed 10 have been granted 4
10 the village in times past through its 4
influence. A plague may have been /
stayed by the Intervention Of a particular 4
effigy or sanity fragment n the Ca /
thedrsl Of Syracuse are preserved the 4
skeletons Of two saints, that Of the femi- /
nine one being dressed in bridal finery
and displayed in a glass covered box at 4
tached 70 the wall At Catania. following 4
the 'terTem0to" the other day, the arch
bishop Of the see, 10 calm the frightened 4
pOpUlace, promised that the bones Of St /
Agatha should be carried through the
streets in procession. These remnants Of 4
the saint are regarded as the special de- 4
liverer of the city. according TO tradi- i
ton. having demonstrated their power on 4
several occasions. One tradition IS that 4
the city was protected through the in 4
fuence Of the saint against lava flow
from Aetna in 1669 when a fearful erup-
tons occurred. The vel OF the saints /
costume was extended toward the flaming
stream. The lava turned aside near theI
BenediCtine monastery and flowed harm 4
lessly into the sea. Only 2a01A Of Ca /
lama inhabitants lOSL Llelr lNeS on LlE j
occasion of this eruption.
Look 10 Image for Safety.
In number Of Calabrian villages on 1
Monday the villagers abandoned their
tumbling homes, and at the risk OF injury /
from the falling stones Of their churches /
brought forth the images and marched 1
through the country with them, invok- /
ing the mercy Of God.
Il is easy TO imagine the effect OF a 1
catastrophe Of the dimensions and char
acter Of an earthquake upon peasants OF /
the types TO be found in CaIabria and 4
Sicily The rafters begin 10 shake over
their heads and the heavy stones Of the /
top walls fan 10 the street outside. 9th
ers break through The TIE roof and crash 4
through sleeping rooms 10 the earthen /
floors Of gloomy apartments underneath /
The side walls rock. and cracks run
through them like 50 many streaks OF 1
lightning The ground Shivers and IS i
rent All this has happened in the course
Of a few seconds Of time. This over
towering force. whose origin none can
see, strikes terror 10 the heart. and clasp
ing children 10 their breasts, the men and |
women brave the falling stones Of the 4
street and make for the open country.
Ions. before they have reached the bar
zen hillside, however, the clashing forces /
have been silenced- Those who are to /
give up their lives have already expired. /
Those who are 10 be injured are already
bleeding beneath the piles OF debris. To 4
be caught in an Italian village by an 4
earthquake is 10 be caught Ike a mouse /
in trap. TWenty or thirty seconds is /
hardly ample time in which 10 make an I
escape from a building with ones fam
lily, not 10 say from a village Of several 4
thousand inhabitants
In times like this the terror-strfcken |
peasants are as a flock without a shep-
herd. They need the guiding and
strengthening influence Of d person Of /
authority. It is at this point that the \
soldier enters the scene. He II is who .
digs out the wounded and the bodies OF I
the dead from among the wrecksge.
Every Italian town has its carabineers,
and in every large place Ike Reggie di 4
Calabria. Messina. or COsenza are sta
toned troops II IS under their direction /
that the work Of rescue IS accomplished