The daily Alaskan., 1917-05-22
THE STRAIT OF MESSINA.
And tho Ancient LesondS of sOyIla and
 Charybdls.

And tho Ancient LesendS of seylla and Charybdls.
 The Slcillan and Italian banks which border the strait of Messina for nearly twenty-five miles to the east and west are among the most luxuriant to be found in a cruise of the Mediterranean. Magnificent golden groves ot lemon and orange and orchards of pomegran- ate. with their brilliant red fruit, con trast wonderfully with the flowers of the almond trees which perfume the whole region.
 The strait is entered from the Tyrrhe- nian sea, on the north, at the narrow est point, the distance between Punta del Faro, on the Sicllian shore, and the mainland lighthouse on Punta Pezzo being not more than two miles. The whole of the CaiSbrian coast is thickly sown with villages, some clinging to the beach, while others chamber up the sides of well wooded hills which cui- inate in the towering Montalto, ris- ing to an elevation of more than a mile, above the sea. Beyond the strait to the southwest looms ever threatening Etna, the highest volcano in Europe.
 The most important city situated on the strait is the once magnificent sea- port of Messlna, which bOasted popu- lation of I50OO0 inhabitants before "the worlds most cruel earthquake' Of Dec. 2S, 1908, tossed nearly lOOOOO hves away.
 The harbor of Messina Is the largest and safest fin the kingdom of Italy, with a depth of more than thirty fath- oms. Before the great calamity 1t was visited annually by more than 6,OcO vessels, which brought cargoes of wheat, cotton, wool and hardware and took away in exchange lemons, or anges, almonds, wines, olive oil and silks. Much of Its commerce was and still is carried on with the mainland of the kingdom by means of ferry line to Villa San Giovanni, only four and q half miles away, while ReggiO, the chief seaport on the Italian side of the strait and also the chief earthquake sufferer next to Messina, is ten miles to the southeast. Ferryboats ply be tween these points too. Scilla, Fare, Catona, Pallaro, Scallita and Galsd are minor towns on the shores of the strait.
 Homer did not accord a definite habi- tation for his terrible sea creatures, Scylla and Chaybdis, but mariners fla miliar with the perils of the rocks on the Italian side of the strait and with the strong eddies near the harbor of Mcsslna saw In the mythical monsters an explanation of such dangers. Scyla was supposed to be a horrible creature with six heads and a dozen feet, who parked like q dog. She dwelt in a lofty cave, from which she rushed whenever ship tried to pass beneath, and sue would snatch the unlucky sea men from the rigging or as they stood at the helm endeavoring to guide their vessels through the perilous passage. Charybdis dwelt under a rock only bowshot away, on the opposite shore. The second creature sucked in and blew out sea water three, times a day, and woe to the ship caught in the maelstrom of its mouth!
 Poets who came after the great Greek bard embroidered the legend te suit their fancy. Ovid, for example, described Scylla as the beautiful daughter of a sea god who incurred the jealousy of one of the immortals and who was changed into q sea mon ster. A second transformation made her a rock perilous to navigatOrs. Some poets described Charybdls as an old woman who seized and deYOured the cattle of Hercules, and in punishment for this act the demigod's father, all powerful Zeus, cast her into the sea, where her appetite persisted, but her tastes changed from cattle to ships and seamen.-National Geographic Society Bulletin.