Evening star., 1928-11-10
MOUNT ETNALAVA
CUTS RAIL TRAVEL
Another Town InguIfed and
Ranks of Homeless and
Suffering Increase.

BY the Associated Press.
CATANIA, Sicily, November 10.-The
railway bridge at Mascali today fell prey
to the molten torrent of lava pouring
down the eastern slope of Mount Etna,
which has destroyed the town of Mas
cali and was devastating the neighbor-
ing village of Nunziata.
The flow across the railroad tracks
cut communications between Catania
and Messina. Steamship service be-
tween the two places was inaugurated,
four trips being made daily by four
ships.
Inhabitants Flee Villages.
The village of Carrabba was cleared
of inhabitants. Factories and mills in
the region were being dismantled.
The inhabitants of NunZiata fed from
the village as the lava advanced. AS the
smoking volcano became more active
the glowing current crept into the town,
destroying part of 1t.
Pushing steadily onward at rate of
five meters an hour the principal fiery
current passed point so meters from
the railway station at Mascali and con-
tinued its advance. A stream that had
been advancing to the north joined the
larger and central one and added force.
The third and southernmost stream was
advancing at a rate of 80 feet an hour.
The spirit of the Sicilians is un-
daunted in the face of this menace of
the mountain on whose slopes they dwell
and which periodically destroys their
property. The inhabitants of Mascali
have been comforted by promise of
the government to rebuild their town
when the eruption Is considered to be
at an end. The government will con-
struct 200 to 800 new houses at its ex-
penSe.
Many i'm Dire Straits.
The plight of the peasant folk is pitt
able. The lava stream poured across
land valued at from $4,000 to $4,000 an
acre. Those who owned Is or more
acres of this fruitful land were con-
sidered rich. This year there had been
an enormous demand for lemons. which
are gathered twice yearly. The fruit
was bringing nearly 3 cents apiece on
the tree. Now the molten stream is
creeping through these orchards and
destroying them.
Once prosperous farmers today were
trees. Singing wine bottles over their
shoulders and trudging away from the
scene of desolation or begging rides to
safety. Others were selling for a song
what was left of their once ample stores
of fruit and wines
Crowds of spectators we're journeying
to the zone of fire. Mainly they were
Sicilians, but there also were foreign
visitors, who had come to spend the
Winter in Taomina and its environs.
Pillagers Are Arrested.
Small bands of ne'er -do-wells seemed
to have concentrated on the stricken
zone from all over Sicily and Calabria.
There we're number of arrests of
these pillagers. Police and military re-
strictions we're tightened up and special
passes were required to get near the
lava flow.
Nevertheless numerous persons sue
ceeded in getting through police lines
A number of small boys armed with
flow They obtained pieces Of incan-
descent lava, which they were selling as
souvenirs.
Some witnesses were Indignantly de-
scribing the tactics of farmers and
landed proprietors in regions that had
been spared They said that these per-
sons, knowing that many small farm
ers and old retired couples had been
living on their little gardens and were
now penniless, we're invading the coun-
try and offering jobs in the fields and
homes at very low wages. The recently
impoverished people We're forced to ac-
cept these jobs in many cases.
When 1t is considered that Etna's
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