The San Francisco call., 1909-01-05
Correspondents Reach Messina
and Tell of the Fearful
Havoc Wrought
Soldiers Exhausted and Almost
Famished While at Res
cue Work
Additional Shocks Predicted
and Devastated Cities Must
Be Abandoned

The new shocks are starting the fires
sfresh and the people are bordering
On panic.
Messina is 10 be evacuated entirely
as soon as possible. The disposition of
-he dead is one of the greatest prob
.ems confronting the authorities.
Two days spent amid the ruins of
Messina and Reggie bring convincing
evidence that the horror of the situa-
ton in the straits Of Messina has in
no. sense been exaggerated.
Two Cities Destroyed
Messina and Reggie have ceased TO
exist. In the ruins of the former city
two-thirds OF the inhabitants lie buried,
while at Reggie half the people lost
their lives Messina counted 10000
and Reggie 10000 souls
Sickening stenches arise from the
countless decomposing bodies and the
sir for many miles is polluted.
Nultures are congregating to prey
upon the dead. 1t would be a blessing
II fire should reduce what is left of
those two cities TO ashes.
Devastation Terrible
Approaching the sun lit straits of
Messina Friday morning on board the
steamer Lombardia. the first signs of
jesolation were the ruins Of several
plcturesquely situated villas ges on
sither side Of the headlands Of Scylla
and Charybdis which flank the Pen
trance Of the harbor Of Messina- The
first sights minimized the magnitude
Of the catastrophe
But the nearer the steamer ap-
preached the greater appeared the
devastation. The shattered walls still
standing in Messina We're mere empty
shells through which roofs and floors
had crashed 10 the foundations. bury
ing the inmates under masses of
debris 20 or 80 feet deep. AS most OF
the walls fell outward the streets were
mountains OF ruins.
Work in CharneI House
Eight thousand soldiers and sailors
were in this charnel house still search
ing for those who had been trapped
alive beneath the wreckage.
The scenes for a distance along the
water front made the stoutest heart
quail. Little groups Of men. women and
children half clothed slept huddled to-
gether, crazed and numbed with grief
and terror. They were awaiting the
boats TO take them away II was as
tonishing how many people still were
being dug out alive Friday morning
four days after the catastrophe. While
the correspondent fingered for an hour
near one Of these stations II wounded
were brought in They were almost
p :
and dirt and they could hardly be rec
ognized as human beings
The last was an Italian soldier who
had distinguished himself in the work
Of rescue. He had fallen three stories
while trying 10 eXtricate a woman i'm
prisoned in an attic and was mortal
ly hurt His mind wandered and he
talked OF his sweetheart and tried to
sing q song before he lost conscious
ness.
Give Noble Example
The king and queen Of Italy. on
board the battleship Regina Elena.
have given a noble example of de-
Votion. The king. with some of his
ministers at his side, has been direct
ing the relief work. Yet he has found
time 10 visit the field hospitals and en-
courage his stricken subjects The
queen has been passing Is hours day
beside the sick beds on the Regina
Elena. aiding. consoling and encourae-
ing The brunt Of the work of rescue
has fallen upon the sailors, foreigners
as well as Italian, and all have done
their duty nobly. Praises Of the Rus
slams is on every lip. They hesitated
before no danger. digging under totter-
ing walls or entering the most unsafe
shells when asked TO do so bv some
frantic woman who had not lost all
hope that husband or child was stin
alive
Wilderness of Ruin
The correspondent made two tours
about the wrecked city through streets
piled % TO 30 feet high with debris.
~ was wilderness Of ruin mile
wide and two miles long Beautiful
CHURCHES. splendid villas in the foot
hills. hospitals, barracks and the uni
versity All shared the common LOT
Two-thirds Of the magnificent Roman
cathedral. the pride Of Messina. Is in
ruins and little or nothing remains
OF the relics Of PhOenician Greek Po
man and Saracen architecture that
marked the stages Of the IS centuries
Of Messina S tumultuous history.
The loss to the world will be ire
parable.
Here and there the correspondent
encountered salvage parties al work
some distracted wife or mother who
imagined she heard a voice but usual
-ly there was no echo to the pathetic
calling. One party was trying to dig
out girl whose crying could be heard
plainly, but the correspondent
watched there was a sudden cavein. and
thereafter silence. In many places de-
composing arms and legs protruded
from heaps Of masonry and plaster.
Freaks of Earthquake
Curious freaks of the earthquake
were everywhere TO be observed. Stand
ing walls had fallen out. exposing one
tier Of rooms above another in which
nothing seemed TO have been disturbed
Pictures hung straight on the walls.
lamps were on tables and vases and
flowers on mantelpieces. In one place
two buzzsrds. their beaks full OF car
rion. were summing themselves on a
window ledge over the body OF woman
whose wealth of black hair covered
her face and shoulders. Dogs and cats
were killed by the soldiers whenever
caught feeding on the dead. The build
ing that best withstOod the shock were
the old royal palaces. where 10 lost
their lives.
To Cure n Cold I'm 0ne nav