THE ITALIAN EARTHQUAKE.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 13343, 8 February 1909, Page 7

THE ITALIAN EARTHQUAKE.

ENTOMBED FOR THIRTY-SEVEN DAYS. United Press Acociation —By Klectric Teiegiaph—Copyright. ROME. February 6. A ir:.3ii was rct'cued aliv? at Medina after having lx>?n buried for thirtysev?n da3-e in the ruins of a oonieetioners slion. He sustained life on i!ie' sweetmeats and licjuers at hand. MORE DETAILS BY MAIL. STORIES OF SURVIVORS. Australian papers to h-ind on Saturday contain details ft<>Jegrephed from Fremantle) of tlte Italian carthquekc. Among thoso who arrived at Rome shortly afterwards ivas Signor Birgot. Syndic of Capriola, ivho -escaped from ihe Hotel Trinacria. His room was near the top of the house. Ho was awakened' by a violent shock about o a.m. which nearly throw him from his bed. He had barely put his feet to the groutul , when he felt himseJf hurled into the air, and then falling, with the roof coming down over him. When he recovered his censes he- found himself imprisoned in a narrow ep-ncc. unable- to move hand or foot. He noticed a feeble ray of light near his head which came through an opening blocked by some stuff, curtain or oa-rpet, which pressed against his face. This stuff ho literally bit away with his teeth till he made a ckerer passage, and then not long after he could make his voico heard. He managed to attract attention, and was rescued from the ruins, which pack«di him in.

Tho Ebro, of the Wilson lino, was moored off Meesina when the earthquake occurred. iSlie brought away many ,■wounded fugitives, among them Mr Ogston, British Consul. Of many other English people in Mr Ogston's house nearly all were killed. Mr Ogston, who was badly injured, escaped with one of his children by a miracle. He was living at the top of a high house with his wife and children. Ho remembers being roused' by his wife, who called him to fetch their infant child. He shouted to her to follow him through the door of c room. Then the roof rrtuet have fallen, and he was found iv the street with tho child in, his arms calling for help an hour ana a half afterwards, having till then lain unconscious. An English clergyman's family and the- American Consul and his family were all killed. Tho majority of the German colony ■were saved) and' taken off ou the eteamer Therapia to Naples.

A carbineer named Castro tol&i how the day before th<v disaster, being unwell, ho was sent to the military hospital. Roused during tlie early 'moming by a ti*r.K>ndous roaring ho thought it .was the nightmare, and as he ielfc himself falling it seemed to him nj. though he had awoke in hell to the sound of infernal shrieks. He s-00-n realised what had happened. He lay still in bed', which struck tho floor below, and -was precipitated still further until finally it reached tho ground, with tlw> man still on it uninjured. A day or two later a more complete survey of the city became possible. The Marquis di Ruvolito, one of the fir.st correspondents who arrived at Messina, «>nt tho following account to the "Daily Mail" by motor-car to Catania: —"When the steamer arrived in front, of this town she was surrounded by a flotilla of boats, loaded with men and women, who demanded food and drink. From tho sea %h& captain gained the impression that Messina was intact, for the large palaces on the. froat were still standing, but behind all was emptinees and ruin. The beach was furrowed with enormous clefts, into which the <sea rushed, and from which sulphurous vapours wore escaping. The sailors landed, and the work of rescue began at once. Among th» buildings demolished was tie barracks of the Carabineers. Fifty of the Carabineers perished _in its ruins.- A palace of twe-nty-six rooms collapsed, and of its inmates only four escaped. Of the Hotel Trinacria only the facade remains. The Cathedral, with all Its works of art, has been destroyed. The famous Victor Emmanuel Theatre no longer exists. The seaward fronts of University and Palazzo Sfunicinalo remain, but the interiors were burnt out. The buildings along the waterside collapsed like a house of cards. The Santella Barracks were destroyed, with ?nost of the troops in them, only thirty soldiers escaping of 230. The immense Military Hospital was wrecked, with sick and convalescent within. Tiie prison collapsed, and buried 400 prisoners, while thirty others made their escape. The Corso Cavour at Messina is nothing but a huge mound of stones. "We first saw a homeless famUv sitting on a heap of stones. They were half-naked, and huddled together under a single umbrella. Herd by a poor, white-haired woman was shivering on the ground, covered only with a " bed quilt. She bested help, saying she had been an artiste at Pclolo Theatre. She was barefooted, practically naked, and said she had eaten nothing for three days. The station .was thronged with a half-mad, terrified crowd. There was no water, nothing to eat, now'riere to sit down. Xuinbors of peasants from the country surronnding Messina have flocked into tomi to rob cornsos and sack the ruins. The authorities have ordered that those ghouls, when found be immediately shot. Twenty were thus executed yesterday. Martial law has been proclaimed." Considerably lesi v.az known of what happened, at Reggio. Wrecked by the earthquake and half obliterated by the ■sea, Reggio was forsaken for three whole days, while rrscuer.s were at work in 'Messina on tho other side of the Straits. It wrs only after tho arrival of King Victor £iumaniir>l that any systematic rescue work was attempted. Every town within 23 miles had been wrecked. No train could approach nearer than this. At one little place, Bagnara, surgical operations ■were being performed -with pruning knives. Amonpet some fugitives from Reggio. -who arrived at the station Catsnzaro Slarina, were tiro monks of tho Capuchin and Franciscan ord're, | accompanied by" three young ladies j from an institution of St. Vincent *le Paul. In words 'broken by emotion the j monks told- a pitiful story- "We vrere I in our cells when we felt a most violent shook of earthquake. We immediately hurried across tie yard, praying Cod t<» preserve ns from a terrible collapse, and the Almightly kept us from harm. It, was truly a. miracle. Reggio—alas, '• i% is almost entirely demolished. A fow buildings, the Bank of Naples and the Bank of Italy, are still standing, but j it is feared that they, too, will soon { collapse. CastelJo is in ruin?;., and the ; barracks fell, burying 750 out of 900 soldiers. The citizens Trho are left are suffering from hanger and thirst. The water supply has completely disappeared, , and, of course, there is no i breadv" I

Three young: ladies ham-ed Franssoh, irho had travelled in conrpnny uith the monks, told the story of their nliraeuloiie escape from disaster. "We were in bed." said one, "when there wae a loud rumbling around us. The school building seemed to be falling to pieces. &cc-

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ing tho imminence of my peril I threw myself out of tlie window. It was on the fo\wth story, and 1 fell tc» the pavement below, but was only elightly hurt. t>on>e of my companions foUowe<l my oxanvple. arvd were save*!. Or 21 nuns seven «re dead, ami the others aro badly injured. Of 60 pupils all aro <Jeal exeep-t 11, and they are in a serious condition. All the servants of the convent are dead."