Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-30
.lUPTON WAS HARD HIT
Vice Consul Tells of First Days
at MeSsina.
HIS CLOTHES NEVER OFF
Friends All Dead and House and
Effects Gone.
DUTY UNDER INTENSE STRAIN
Compelled to Act as Consul, Police
man. Relief Officer and In
formation Bureau.

Furih details of the distressful condi-
rons IN til. earthquake STRICKEN districts
of southern Italy arr contained in Off
cial reports received the State Depart
Inent.
Consul s X l.urton writes from Mes
sina. January II. ~ follows:
Their, is Il mob os laZZaroni in front
of the cons u'.tte at present. how ing for
assistance. but nearly al; % them are
carrying bundles Of food. obtained from
some other re.ef station. They are go
irsistent that they nearly caused the
death OF The policeman suard Hester
day. crushing him against the wall and
nearly tearing his clothes from his body.
| had to go down and still the tumult,
taking a rifle from sentry who seemed
terror stricken and pushing the people
back with ii, then closing the doors 10
keep the place from being carried off
piecemeal.
Vice Consul's Hard Lot.
Il cannot say that my present exist
ence in Sicily il pleasant. as / am en-
deavoring to fill the office of consul. hotel
keeper for stranded newspaper men, gen
eral information bureau, policeman and
the old consulate al odd times to be ready
TO identify anything that may be found.
When the earthquake came ! had 81 i'm
my possession, had lost the greater part
of my effects, spoke very little Italian
and nearly every person whom | had met
In the city were dead. / have not had
bath for two weeks. and did not get my
clothes off for ten days after the earth
quake. Shocks still continue at short in
tervais. there having been seven last
night and six this morning.
Il do not wish the department to sup
pose that i objec; to staying here; hut
am merely stating conditions, so that my
seeming siackness in sending reports may
he understood and the reasons therefor
be appreciated. Order is slowly being
evolved out of absolute chais, but it takes
time.
From Consul Perret.
Consul r. A. Perret of the Naples dis
trict. who went to Messina to render as
sistance, wrote from there January > as
follows:
CITY burning in three places, but not
important. American consulate complete
ruin. compact mass of stone and mortar
thirty feet high; Cheneys lived on first
floor. French and Turkish consulates
same condition. On that day very little
organized work being done. but king and
council on Regina Elena" to organize
systematic relief work Dead lying
ABOUT In horrible contorted positions and
stencil terrible. Dogs and cats being shot
to prevent their feeding on corpses
"Forty-fve thousand dead Messina is
very conservative estimate-it may reach
100000. In Catania are 4. 800 wounded. In
Reggie from $1,000 to $4,000 dead Prac-
tically no habitable houses in all Mes
s1na, city virtually destroyed. Have proof
that direction of throw at Messina was
from northeast to southwest Soundings
made by English warship Exmouth be-
tween Messna and Reggie showed fifty
fathoms where formerly there were 213
fathoms. Height of tidal wave here
about ten feet. possibly fourteen. Marina
collapsed about five feet; parallel cracks
also on Corso Garibaldi
Hotel TriHacria totally destroyed clock
stopped a 3:24. Hotel Victoria slightly
damaged-only one person killed. Our
new vice consul, Stuart Lupton escaped
also a Miss Smith and mother and a Ger
tain Conway. all English. escaped 1
think. TO Syracuse. Associated Press man
and i slept that night on the ground in
the rain without food. Heartrending
scenes everywhere. Rained necessarily
all that day.
Good Work of Foreign Sailors.
Much more systematized work by
newly arrived Italian troops, but magnifi-
taken to cemetery and covered with
quicklime. Constant streams of wounded
brought stretchers and sent off on
ships and by rail To Catania Earth
quake destroyed tower of observatory:
Prof. Rizzo tdirector) escaped: wife in
jured; both gone, l think. to Ferugia,
but professor intends returning. Slept
last night on II. Nj. S. Minerva very
courteously received. Detachment from
this ship working to liberate English
pa stor Huleatt and family: one still living
and heard groaning. This morning went
there with them. An Italian child found
dead in bed in same house. No further
grooming; hope to reach bodies tonight
Five English warships here; impossible
to reach imprisoned living persons in a
comparatively small ruin. Dead child re-
ferred to Is one OF twins. children of
Elena Spartaro, she having been eXtri-
Gated by Italian cook of the Huleatt fam
lily. Have spoken with the almost dis
tracted Elena Spartaro, who says she
saw living woman extricated from
Huleatt house. and said to be Mrs HUI
leatt. but she has not been found and
Identity cannot now he confirmed here.
Fire and Pestilence
Slight shocks continue. last one at S:li
this morning. A new fire broke out last
night, and at time OF writing u1 a.mD
Is raging. Have just learned that desire
Of authorities TO extinguish fire Is due to
fact of 2o,OOO.Oo0 lire being in neighbor-
ing bank. English soldiers called upon
for aid.
1T would be good if city were burned.
as pestilence would not break out, and
not many living can be i'm ruins; but au-
thorities are doing best TO extingush
fire. and will probably succeed. Most
pitiful scenes were witnessed. Trust
never again TO be in similar conditions
without money for humanitarian work
Have taken many photographs. Medical
and all sanitary work seems we'll carried
on. and Allieve della Scuela Medica Mill
tare being very efficient.
Maj. Lands, military attache of en-
bassy. is here. Consulate established. He
expects to make all effort to recover bod
les. Last evening at $40 fairly strong
shock threw down come walls and pro-
duced some panic. Many similar shocks
| during the night