The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, January 20, 1909, Image 6
DEAD DY EARTH
City of Messina Levelled ti
In the Sea, 44G3 Squar
Italv hv thp fippafpst l\
1IU1J UJ tltu VII UUIUUI L
Half the Population of Messina Bur!
Along the Straits Engulfed by
of Earth's Crust Changes the I
Courses of Rivers Being Chant
Rome, Italy.?One hundred t
Reggio and a score of other ti
the entire Calabrian region laid wi
far as is at present known from th<
Rome bn account of the almost cc
cation with the stricken places.
T"?? death list in Messina rang
gio, which, with "its adjacent villa
f almost the entire population. At I
sana, 1000; at Cosenza, 500, a
about 4000. The Monteleone reg
Seminara, San Giovanni, Scilla, Laz
munes and villages bordering on t
- London.?The measure of th(
greatest tragedy which has ever be
fallen the Christian world cannot yei
be calculated. It is known in genera
terms that out of a population ol
1,750,000 in the devastated area ol
Southern Italy and Sicily at leasl
100,000 perished.
The appalling news that the citj
of Reggio di Calabria has been total
ly engulfed by the sea may make il
necessary to largely increase that estimate.
Besides, the figure given takes nc
account of dozens of towns near the
centre of the disturbance whence nc
word has come and where there Is
only too good reason to fear there are
no survivors to describe their fate,
Tne destruction or property caunoi
be so great as at San Francisco, foi
Messina and Reggio, the two principal
cities destroyed, were not rich or
magnificent from a metropolitan
point of view.
As a great cataclysm of nature,
?however, this disaster is on a far
vaster scale than the California phenomena.
The whole face of the country
and the coast line have been
altered. Even Scylla and Charybdis
have changed the positions they occupied
since the legendary voyage of
Aeneas.
The three provinces where the
greatest damage was done are Mes.
? sina and Catania in Sicily and Reggio
di Calabria on the mainland. They
comprise about 4400 square miles.
Several hundred persons perished
and much damage was done outside
these provinces, but with them the
devastation was so complete that
scarcely a uuiuau iiauuauuu i cmamo,
It will be days yet before the story
of their destruction can be known.
All accounts now agree that the time
occupied by nature's gigantic spasm
was but thirty-two seconds. It was
some minutes later that a great wave
came from the sea to complete the
havoc in the ill fated coast towns.
The violence of the shock seems
to have been unprecedented, except
in volcanic eruptions of limited area.
The buildings in Messina were not
merely shaken down. Their foundations
were literally wrenched from
hp-npnth thpm Tr> nne> side or the
other they were toppled from the
perpendicular and fell in ruins alongside
their original sites.
This was the experience of Messina.
That of Reggio, on the opposite side
of the strait, must have been even
more violent, for scarcely one stone
remains on another of what was a
flourishing city only two days ago.
No one has yet been found to recount
the fate of this town and its inhabitants.
Messina probably will not rise
again from her ruins and ashes. This
last overwhelming calamity will alter
the future history of Sicily and
Southern Italy. It may be regarded
as certain that a considerable portion
of the population of this fair land
will bow before the wrath of the gods
and seek homes elsewhere.
Next to Italy itself America will
feel the effect of this calamity more
than any other country, for a large
proportion of the stricken population
will seek refuge there as soon as the
means of flight can be secured.
Although there was no eruption of
Mount Etna at the time of the earthquake,
it became active immediately
thereafter and continues to threaten
an eruption.
C. F. KING GUILTY.
Boston Jury Convicts Promoter on 27
Counts in $23,000 Larceny Case.
Boston, Mass.?Guilty on twentyseven
counts was the verdict returned
by a jury in the Suffolk County Superior
Court at midnight against Cardenio
F. King, formerly well known
as a financial agent and promoter in
this city and New York.
King naa Deen oil iriai ior two
weeks for the alleged larceny of $25,000
from patrons.
The World of Sport.
Gerard Meister, a French swimmer,
won from an Italian opponent and
four others in a race in the Seine.
G. Greiff won the holiday cup and
R. M. Owen the monthly trophy at
the New York Athletic Club shoot.
George Standing defeated Peter
Latham, of England, at racquets at
the New York Racquet and Tennis
Club.
At Los Angeles, Cal., James J. Jeffries
issued a statement declaring positively
and emphatically that under
no condition would he re-enter the
prize ring^
QUAKE AND TIDAL \
NOW ESTIMATED A
) the Ground, Reggio Engulfed ~
e Miles Made Desolate in Mc
lisaster in Modern Times.
lar
poi
of
ed in Its Ruins?All Towns and Villages ?rr
Gigantic Tidal Wave-Titanic Upheaval iss
:ace of Sicily, Hills Disappearing and the tsot?
led?Entire Island of Sicily is Desolate.
housand dead; Messina, in Sicily, and del
zei
owns in Southern Italy overwhelmed; am
iste; this is the earthquake's record as ^r<
tQ
j reports which are coming slowly into gai
jmplete destruction of lines of communi- ^h
Vil;
for
;es from 12,000 to 50,000; that of Reg- w?
01
ges, contained 45,000 persons, includes cei
>almi 1000 are reported dead; at Cas- J
gre
nd half of the population of Bagnara, pre
;ion has been devastated, and Riposto, 9J"
the
zaro and Cannitello, and all ether com- J
he strait, are in ruins. ?ue
Frt
aid
MOUNTAIN OF WAT
SHIPS I
Tnrnp^A Rnaf Pnttimon
Wrought by Tidal W
Rome.?Lieutenant Saccarese,com- hac
mander of the torpedo boat Sappho, Gai
r which arrived at Porto Santa Venere, we:
thus describes the seaquake at Mes- poi
I sina: ma
"We were anchored off Messina aro
when, at 5.20 yesterday morning, ?
there was a fearful upheaving move- sms
) ment which, coming from the bottom afti
i of the sea, struck violently all the wa1
ships anchored in the harbor.
"Then the sea suddenly arose into
! a mountain of water which, running ,
) down the strait, struck with a thunderous
crash on the piers and jetty. P??
Ships Sank at Anchor. '
"The bridge giving communcation pris
. between the breakwater and the shore plu
. was swept away. Many ships at an- Sic!
chor in the harbor were totally put
1 wrecked; the Austrian steamer An- dor
drassy was torn from her moorings "
and ran amuck, greatly damaging ing
1 other steamers. abl
"In a few moments all the harbor and
works were destroyed, me sea De- lug
came less agitated, and itB surface ap- was
peared to be absolutely covered with moi
barrels, casks and pieces of broken eru
boats. Then a black cloud came over mir
and hid the town. "
"Only when dawn broke was It pos- hav
selble to get an idea of what had hap- der
pened on land?a disaster whose hor- nak
ror and tragic magnitude no one can "
describe. The whole town was re- doll
duced to ruins, among which stood suff
the sinister skeletons of the Town "
Hall and of the Hotel Trlnacrla. All rail
the splendi^ palaces and villas which ceei
"IWf liKWAL,}" SAKS WUJJ1
TELLING OF EAR1
Catania, Sicily. ? The following ty.
graphic story is told by a woman who was
arrived here from Messina. She was by
herself badly injured. She describes of t
the horrors that accompanied the dis- "
aster at Messina in these words: tied
" 'Infernal' is the only word that clad
will adequately describe the fearful seei
and.terrifying scene," she said. in v
"When the first shock came most "
of the city was fast asleep. I was into
awakened by the rocking of the this
house. Windows swayed and rattled, The
and crockery and glass crashed to the \^a\
floor. The next moment, I was vio- roai
lently thrown out of my bed to the "
floor. I was half stunned, but knew flee!
that the only thing to do was to make buil
my way outdoors. The streets were eno
filled. the
"Everybody had rushed out In their low
night-clothes, heedless of the rain the
falling in torrents. Terrified shrieks the
arose from all sides, and we heard "
heartrending appeals for help from pal
the unfortunates pinned beneath the foui
ruins. peo|
"Walls were tottering all around whs
us, and not one of my party expected of f
to escape alive. My brothers and sis- groi
ters were with me and, in a frenzy of the
terror, we groped out way through squ
the streets, holding our own against scoi
the panic stricken people, clambering nea
over piles of ruins, until we finally scio
reached a place of comparative safe-1
SCIENTISTS SAY DISASTE
BY SINKING OF T]
Baltimore, Md.?Dr. Harry Field-1 at i
ing Reid, professor ot geological tnai
physics in the Johns Hopkins Uni- be i
versity, and one of the leading au- am
thorities in the United States on seis- was
mic disturbances, attributes the dow
earthquake in Southern Italy to a stra
general dropping down or sinking of L
the earth in that locality. Speaking the
of the shock and the reports concern- Isle
ing it, he said: sho'
"Southern Italy seems to be what beei
may be termed earthquake territory, mar
Seismic shocks occur there frequently full
RUEF GETS FOURTEEN YEARS.
T
navi
Former Boss of San Francisco Sen- stea
tenced For Bribing a Supervisor.
San Francisco, Cal.?Fourteen years of t
in the penitentiary, the maximum sen- latti
A ? J-J < M
lence pruviuea iur unucij ui a oupervisor,
was the penalty meted out
to Abraham Ruef, who tor years di- t
rected the political destinies of San
Francisco as adviseT of the adminis- in(jj
tration of Eugene E. Schmitz, former- twe<
ly Mayor. of ?
Fall River Mills Prosperous.
The review of the dividends of cot- .
ton manufacturing corporations of ? .
Fall River, Mass., for the year, shows ,,
an average dividend of 6.99 plus for . .
the year. The total payments were ,
$1,741,135 on a capital stock of $27,125,000.
in<^
Prohibition W'nve Swamps a Firm.
Giving as a reason that their busi- drei
ness, though solvent, was being run a
at a loss on account of the prohibition piac
wave, a receiver was appointed for Que
Eckhouse Brothers, wholesale liquor exe<
dealers, at Cincinnati, Ohio. and
J
,
?? . a - ....
fAVE
I OVER 100,000
RELIEF WORK IN AMERICA.
ivement to Express Sympathy in
Financial Terms is General.
Wnshinftrin D f!?Vrnm all thfi
ge cities of the country come rerts
of prompt action for the relief
the survivors of the devastation
ought by the earthquake in Southi
Italy.
Governor Guild, of Massachusetts,
ued an appeal to the people of that
ite for money to be sent by cable
the Italian Government, and Bosi
citizens began a response immeitely.
Mayor Reyburn, of Pbila;phia,
called a meeting of the Citiis'
Permanent Relief Committee,
i, upon receipt of a message from
ssident-elect Taft, national head of
s Red Cross, that organization .be1
to raise funds. In New York,
icago, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Louisle
and other large centres plans
the relief of the Italian sufferers
re under way soon after the news
the extent of the disaster was reved.
[talians all over the country were
:atly stirred by the tidings, a large
iportion of them having relatives
friends in the stricken portion of
ir native land.
San Francisco.?Mayor Taylor isid
a proclamation calling on San
inciscans and all Californians for
for the sufferers.
ER HIT
N THE HARBOR
I
apliically Tells of Havoc
ave at Messina.
I risen on the sea front and Corso
ribald! had disappeared; the streets '
re full of debris, and at various
nts the town was reduced to a
ss of horrible ruins, from which
se flames and smoke.
'Petty Officer Dennini landed in a
elII boat manned by eight sailors,
ar a long struggle with the angry
res, and entered the town.
Moans Greet Sailors' Ears.
'Cries, moans and desperate ap.ls
for help arose from the ruins
h disheartening insistence.
'Meanwhile convicts and other
joners escaped from jail began to
nder the ruins of the Bank of
lly, the Military College and other
>lic buildings; nothing could be
ie against them at first.
'Dennini and his few men, workfrom
8 o'clock until noon, were
e to dig out 150 injured people
[ keep life in many others by givthem
liquor; unhappily their force
i inadequate to the needs of the
raent.' Officers and men of the
iser Piemonte also accomplished
acles of valor and self-abnegation.
At least half the population must
e perished. The survivors wanabout
the ruins stupefied and half
:ed, imploring aid.
Italy needs several millions of
lars even to partially relieve the
ering and want.
Mourning women and men fill the
road stations here, trying to proi
to the devastated region."
AN SURVIVOR,
HQIAKE HORRORS
But this was not done before I
i struck down and badly injured
a piece of furniture that fell out
he upper story of a house.
All along the road we were josI
by scores of fleeing people, half
I, like ourselves. The houses
ned to be crashing to the ground
whatever direction we turned.
Suddenly the sea began to pour
i the town. It seemed to me that
must mean the end of everything.
oncoming waters rouea in a nuge
re, accompanied by a terrifying
r.
The sky was aglow with the retion
of burning palaces and other
Idings, and as if this was not
ugh there suddenly shot up into
sky a huge burst of flame, foled
by a crash thatseemed to shake
whole town. This probably was
gas works blowing up.
Eventually we reached the princlsquare
of Messina. Here we
ad 2000 or 3000 utterly terrified
pie assembled. None of us knew
it to do. We waited in an agony
ear. Men and women prayed and
med and shrieked. I saw one of
big buildings fronting on the .
are collapse. It seems to me that
es of persons were buried beth
the ruins. Then I lost conusness
and I remember no more."
R WAS CAUSED
HE EARTH'S CRUST
rregular intervals. The whole of
t section of the cquntry seems to
sinking in pieces, dnd personally I
inclined to think that the shock
due to this general dropping
n of that portion of the earth's
ta."
iondon, England. ? John Milne,
well known seismologist of the
of Wight, said that his records
wed the Italian earthquake to have
a the most severe in Europe in
ly years. He fears that when the
effects are known the loss of life
Navy Bureaus Consolidated. i
>10 nrnpHral cnnsoltdation of the
al bureaus of construction and of
.m engineering was effected at
jhington, D. C., the President apiting
Rear-Admiral Capps, head
he former bureau, as head of the
2r bureau, also.
Mexico Pacifies Yaquis.
he long warfare between the
:ican authorities and the Yaqui
ans has ended by a treaty bean
three chiefs and the Governor
Sonora.
Feminine Notes,
[me. Vincens ? better known by
pen name of "Arvide Barine"?
[ recently in Paris.
[rs. Jane Bancroft Robinson has
been elected president of the
nan's Home Missionary Society of
Methodist Church.
[rs. Mary Anderson de Navarro,
former American actress, accomied
by her husband and two chill,
came from England on a visit.
. mortgage deed for $70,000 was
:ed on rccord in Hawaii by former
en Liliuokalani, the deed being
:uted in favor of Claus Spreckles
_W. G. Irwin,
will prove to be even more appalling
than the present reports Indicate.
The shocks were as severe as those
which devastated San Francisco and
Valparaiso.
Vienna, Austria. ? Professor Edward
Suess, the celebrated geologist,
says he believes the earthquake in
Calabria and Sicily was not due to
volcanic eruptions, but to the subsidence
of the earth's crust, and that
it is likely to be followed by volcanic
movements. Should this settling
down of the earth's crust continue,
says Professor Suess, the granite hills
of Scylla and a great portion of the
Peloritan Mountains will be submerged
by the sea.
THE CALABRIA N CALAMITY.
City of Reggio Disappears Under the
Sea and is One Vast Sepulchre.
Naples.?Latest information received
here says Reggio, in Calabria,
is a vast sepulchre, having been utterly
destroyed. No part of the province
escaped the awful calamity.
The ominous absence of details
concerning Reggio proves xo oe aue 10
the fact that not only the city itself
but its whole population, with the exception
of a mere handful, has disappeared.
The warships which were ordered
to relieve the survivors were unable
to approach the coast owing to the
changed configuration of the Strait of
Messina. Ultimately a .torpedo boat
ran close to the shore, but was unable
to discover a trace of the city. .
Where an aggregation of buildings
and busy streets stood two days ago
there was nothing but rocks and
earth. The city had vanished as completely
as Aladdin's palace under the
magician's spell.
Only five of the city's 17,000 inhabitants
have yet been accounted.
for. These unhappy wretches reached
Cattanzaro and Palmi half demented
by fright. They were scarcely able
to talk intelligibly, but their incoherent
stories are sufficient to confirm
the horrible fate of the city.
In view of this latest development
of the catastrophe the death roll may
well reach 125,000. One estimate is
200,000 dead.
The Ministry of Marine has received
wireless reports of the obstruction
of the Strait of Messina,
showing tnat its sare navigation wm
be impossible until it is recharted,
while its future navigation is likely
to be extremely difficult. The news
has caused a deep Impression here,
for its consequences, from commercial
and military points of view, will be
incalculable.
The strait was of great strategic
Importance and the Government has
spent immense sums in fortifying it.
It is now anticipated that such fortifications
as may be undamaged will
be useless. Moreover, the strait
formed the shortest route from Marseilles,
Genoa and Naples to Egypt
and India, and if it be found impracticable
voyages to and from those
countries will be lengthened by many
hours.
Even Scylla and Charybdis, the
great whirlpools In the Strait of Messina,
which have resisted the forces
of nature for centuries, were moved
by the tidal wave, thus rendering
navigation dangerous and preventing
aid^from reaching the stricken cities
by sea. The whole channel of the
Strait of ,Messlna is altered. |
THE WORK OP RESCUE.
Rome.?The first stories of the res
cue work at Messina reveal to the full
the horrors which accompany such
catastrophes. In addition to thousands
of corpses, often hideously
mangled, hundreds of Injured are lying
beneath the wreckage.
Many of these are women and children
in their night clothes. Shrieks
and cries of pain are heard on all
sides. Now and again some unhappy
wretch, mad from terror or grief, is
seen sitting in the mud the sea deposited
in the streets, or clinging
with useless energy to some support,
fearing the sea will return and wash
him away.
Instances are recorded of such demented
persons deliberately plunging
into the burning ruins and perishing
in the flames. In one place five children
were found around their mother's
corpse, themselves only justalive.
The torrents of rain have helped to
check the fires, but make it difficult
for the rescuers to accomplish anything.
They are also aiding the decomposition
of the bodies.
Crowds of destitute, too much Hurt i
or too dazed to help themselves, huddle
in the higher parts of the town.
Many have fled into the country seeking
refuge in caves and crevices in
the mountains.
Reports from numerous places in
Calabria and Sicily bring tales of disaster,
any one of which -would alone
cause a sensation. At Riposto the
sea suddenly receded, and as suddenly
returned in a wave of enormous
height, overwhelming everything for
a distance of a quarter of a mile inland,
and in its ebb sweeping hundreds
of inhabitants into the sea. It
it stated that the dead are lying in
thousands at Monteleone and throughout
that neighborhood.
All kinds of reports of robbery in
Messina have reached here. The prison
was demolished and many of the
prisoners were killed, but others
made their escape and started to join
the vandals who were looting the city. ,
Thooo rnlihora undeterred bv the
appalling sights around them, robbed
the collapsed buildings and took valuables
from the bodies of the dead.
The fear of the pestilence that usually
follows such disasters confronts
those in charge of the situation.
Snvings Banks' Dividends.
New York City's savings banks will
pay to depositors a semi-annual interest
estimated at more than ?20,000,000.
Embezzler Lowe Caught.
Detective Flood brought back to
New York City from California Theodore
C. Lowe, accused of robbing the
United States Express Company of
$2500, whom the detective found
with the wife of an Amsterdam avenue
butcher.
Beekman Winthrop Selected.
That Beekman Winthrop has been j
seieciuu as rust nssidiaui gcticwu j
of State, upon the suggestion of
Judge Taft, was announced by Senator
Knox In Washington, D. C.
Notes From Across Sens.
The Dutch cruiser Gelderland arrived
at Willemstad, having been recalled
from Venezuelan waters.
A Royalist adherent attempted to
pull the beard of President Fallieres
in Paris and was arrested.
A picked bodyguard is being
formed to protect Prince Chun, the
Regent of China, against assassination.
M. Iswolsky, speaking before the
Russian Duma, said that the only way
to curb the aribitrary Austrian action
was through a conference of the Powers.,
i
"EXPL
(
i
?Cartoo
EARTHQVAI
| Many Thousands Killed
; ?
; 1 Losses of life in previous big
Island of Yeddo, Japan, 1705
T , Lisbon, November 1, 1755; 5
Z 000,000.^ >
Island of Krakatoa, August
. x Charleston, S. C., August 31
I $5,000,000.
; Japan, June 15, 1896; 30,00'
X St. Pierre, Martinique, May 8
+ Calabria, September 8, 1905
wiped out.
X Mount Vesuvius, April 5, 19
I ished.
San Francisco, April 18, 190
X killed; damage, $500,000,000.
Valparaiso, Chile, August 17
towns destroyed.
1 Kingston, Jamaica, January
Calabria, October, 1907; 60(
Karatagh, Russian Turkestai
X there and in adjoining villages.
[ HISTORICAL DESCRIPTION
KLUIUiy IIS HALT
EARTHQUA
Messina, the Ruined City, is 2
Many Masters an
Studied with maps and accounts of
the more recent of the great earth- 1
quake disasters of Italy, it is seen
that in the latest catastrophe the dis!
turbance reached the surface on the '
northern border, close to Swiss terrij
tory. Bomodossolo is among the
[ Alps, and the mountain range seems 1
j to have been the route of the earth- 1
I quake. It passed to the southward, ?
following the Apennines. There is a i
. twenty minutes difference between <
the time of the shocks reported in <
upper and lower Italy. 1
In Calabria, which has been laid
waste again and again by such dis- i
turbances, this earthquake first 2
touched the surfacfe with its full <
effect. Lofty signal posts of disaster i
I marked its way, for it struck with 1
J full force at the extinct volcano of <
San Giovanni, spread its devastation
across the Strait of Messina to Sicily, s
and rolled up another score of death i
and ruin all about the slopes of c
Mount Etna, reducing to ruins the t
ancient and famous city of Messina
and tumblingthebuildings of Catania,
fifty-nine miles farther south, only
to again overwhelm the busy port
soon afterward with a great tidal
wave. (
The spread of the earthquake in
Sicily and Southern Italy, according
to the cable dispatches, was through
very much the same area as that of
the earthquake of 1873, which was '
the most destructive in"\ the history
of Italy. Then, as now, the earthquake
caused enormous damage on
both sides of the Strait of Messina, <3
which separates the toe of the so- c
called "boot" of Italy from Sicily.
The historic disaster completely p
wrecked the populous seaport of Mes- t
sina in Sicily near the northern end t
of the strait and destroyed many 1
smaller cities and towns in Southern p
Italy and Sicily. t
The loss of life in .this disaster of v
1783 was estimated at 60,000, Mes- ?
sina, a city which is for the most part c
uui 111lie auuvc tuc icvci ui cuo oca, i *
suffering terribly?then, as now, from li
a tidal wave. The region to the a
south of Messina has also been often
overwhelmed by eruptions from f
Mount Etna. The southeastern and e
eastern portion of the island has been e
damaged time and again by eruptions a
of Etna and very little by earth- d
quakes, while the northeastern por- t
tion has sustained heavy loss of life b
and property from earthquakes and C
very little from volcanic eruption. b
Messina, which as in 1783 suffered c
the greatest loss of life and property 0
from this earthquake, is a city and ii
seaport of upwards of 80,000 inhab- li
itants, while in the commune em- ^
bracing the city, suburbs and adjacent c
country, the population is upward of 1<
Skirt Manufacturers Decree P
Complete New Spring Outfits.
Toledo, Ohio.?Husbands, take notice!
The makers of women's styles F
decree that you must buy your wife ti
a complete new outfit for spring, p
There's no chance to save by making o
???? Art Ka Hnno Tl
UYCI vlULliCO, IUI 11 VyUUUUL UWUU, | ti
they say. It must be a three piece : ci
suit with a hipless effect and in one e
of these colors: Ashes of roses, green, si
taupe, electric blue, reseda, stone tl
gray, catawba, cedar or wistaria. y
This edict was issued by the Na- w
tional Cloak, Suit and Skirt Makers, it
Anions: the Workers.
Holland now has an estimated
union labor membership of 75,000. n
A proposal has been made to form J
a union of clergymen in Boston, Mass.
A reorganization of the bartenders ti
and bootblacks is going on at Oak- a
land, Cal.
The British Government in India is s'
taking care that the native workers
are sharing the benefits of British
factory law. a
Notwithstanding trade disputes the P
average paid-up membership of the 0
American Federation of Labor has in- ?'
creased 47.915 in the last fiscal year. C
A,N!^ Fo
n by Davenport, in the New York Mail.
SIS'
3
T viai
~T - S the;
I in PreTlous Disasters* 7 waj
stai
earthquakes were as follows: * w?r
I; 190,000 lives lost. trai
>0,000 lives lost; damage, $100,- x 1
a S
26, 1883; 50,000 lives lost. mil
., 1886; 50 lives lost; damage, x mo1
J iul'
0 lives lost. P?3'
!, 1902; 25.000 lives lost. T ?ne
; 3000 people killed, 30 towns + ?Pa
a Unc
0 6; 500 believed to have per- X
' zem
6; earthquake and fire, 500
', ID 06'; 1000 killed; 140 small t ?em
bun
14, 1907; 1500estimatedkilled. X ?esa
) estimated killed. **up
l, October, 1907; 14,000 killed f??1
^ o? 1
OF THE was
DEVASTATED BY . yf'
IKES AND TIDAL WAVES
L
joui
'700 Years Old and Hat Had
\d Catastrophes. ?*u
* they
, Thei
' ' '* S]
152,000. Next to Palermo, It is the vem
chief commercial town of Sicily and mon
its harbor, which is formed by a that
peninsula, is the busiest in Italy from la v
the standpoint of steamboat traffic. imp*
The principal object of interest to lrntr
tourists, apart from the scenic attrac- gha<3
tions of the place, is the cathedral, n
which was begun in 1098, at the time natl<
of Norman occupation of the island, Spai
and parts of which are still standing prea
is originally constructed with the exception
of the evidences of damage
wrought by the frequent earthquakes.
Thft tnwn fa nn*> of oroot anHrmlfw
ind derived its first known name, Was
Sanole (a sickle), from the shape of
:he harbor. It was founded by Cunaen
pirates and Chalcidians in 732 . ,
B. C., and was governed by the laws ,Qt02
)f Charondas. over
In 396 B. C. the town was de- P4!*'
itroyed by the Carthaginians, but was insts
ebuilt a few years later by Dionysius ne*r
)f Syracuse, only to fall again into
he hands of the Carthaginians under Par0
Sannibal in 269. The first Punic ,e n
var, however, left the plaee in the
lands of the Romans, and the place
vas of importance second only to that 1
if Syracuse and Lilybaeum in Sicily j;
luring a period of Roman occupation
asting for several centuries.
In 831 A. D. the town was taken *'
>y the Saracens, but in 1061 it was
aken from them by the Normans. JU8U
^he city prospered greatly during the
Crusades, being a favorite rendezvous STU]
or soldiers from the continent en
oute to the Holy Land. In the Mid- Mart
lie Ages also it became a flourishing
ommercial city. ;
Its commercial importance disap- Mj
leared after a bitter struggle between mom
he aristocratic faction, or Merli, and stud<
he democratic faction, or Mavizzi, in quad
.674. The democratic faction ap- Dr. ]
lealed to the French and the other to Reicl
he Spaniards. The former faction of wl
rere at first victorious, but eventual- Eve.
y were deserted by the French, the
ity was taken by the Spaniards, and
rhen the struggle was over the popuation
was reduced from 120,000 to W
bout a tenth of that number. there
The town never fully recovered no re
rom this disaster. Whatever recov- mart
ry was made was neutralized in the Euro
ighteenth century by a series of dis- effect
sters. In 1740 about 40,000 persons to be
ied of the plague, and in 1783 the a litt
r\nrn nroo o 1 mAc?f nnfi'raltr rtrrorfVirnnrn
\J rv jlx w ao aiuivob guuiicj; vrti iuxvtiu
y the great earthquake of that year.
rreat damage was caused by bom- _
ardment in September, 1848. The be
holera carried off no fewer than 16,- ?awJ
00 victims in 1854 and earthquakes Plnea
a 1894 and 1906 also caused loss of 0CCUI
ife and property. In 1880 the town ye&T3
ras occupied by Garibaldi. It be- 0,^UDJ
ame a part of united Italy the fol- s]*cec
jwing year. shlPP
'rehistoric City Being Un- P
earthed Near Florence, Ariz. Jol
Washington, D. C.?An American
'ompeii is gradually being brought j*1
o light, according to the annual re- ?eattl
ort of Charles B. Walcott, secretary ?om^
f the Smithsonian Institution. The | ound
rorK 13 tne etcavating 01 a Duriea
tty at Casa Grande, near Flornce,
Ariz. Already a number of Ch
tructures have been discovered, but -Tudg(
tie largest one excavated during the more
ear was a building 200 feet long, soldie
ith eleven rooms, the massive walls 'n Wi
lclosing a plaza. enty-1
Newsy Paragraphs.
Mr. Taft expects to visit the Isth- ,j
lus of Panama in the latter part of oenv<
anuary. Juver
It was said that a bill would be in- I(ja
-oduced at Albany, N. Y.r making ,j}ecj
rt forgery a crime.
The burning oilship Kalorao was n
unk by shots from the Singapore be bu
)rt, two miles distant. son x
The United States, Great Britaitv fresh
nd Japan agree on most points of. the i
ropositlons submitted to a meeting stage
f delegates appointed to frame rules her fi
overning the International Prize lng o
ourt. shire,
MIT WORLD'S END
IMPS IHE PBDPHE1
llowers of Spangler Vainly Listen
For Angel's Trumpet
/ 4
ADER MAKES EARLY FLIGHT
1 ;
llowers of Lee J. Spangler Still
Await Destruction of Earth He
Predicted, While He Escapes
Prom Police.
Nyack, N. Y.?Lee J. Spangler,
0 has preferred to be known as
lie Prophet," is missing. It is just
well for Mr. Spangler's. peace of
ad that he is.
Some time ago, in a prophetic
od, this modern Isaiah ventured ...
1 prediction that Sunday, Decern- /'
27. would mark the end of all
t is destructible on this planet. In ?)
t he made an error. When the i
' of annihilation had slipped by
town was in the first stage of its
uty sleep, having got over whatr
fright it may have had.
rhe prophet's followers spent a
y uneasy night and day and part
mother night. Many of them did A
go to bed at all, determined to be
it the first blast of the trumpet of
destroying angel. At the first
1 of dawn, a party of the faithful
,11 women?performed their abla- .v-.$
is and put on white dressed, "spe- :
ly made for the occasion." Then ;
7 foregathered. After that they .'V
ked in procession to the railway
:ion to meet a party of Saints who V
e expected by the early morning
in.
n due time the train arrived. Not
laint was seen;?unloss it be the
kman arriving with the early
ning supply. Behind the "faith- ' J /f
' was a crowd. This was corned
of about l&O rude citizens.
iy made fun of the disciples of
ngier wnen no a amis appeared. s?
Liscouraged, however, the white- >2d
ones, followed by the rude citi3,
marched sorrowfully to Oak
I Cemetery. Why there, no one
ned to know, unless it be that the
etery appealed to them as a happy
ting ground. Arriving, the prodon
attracted, the attention of
erintendent Halstead. Not having .
<1 posted as to its object, and not
ag the looks of the 150 followers
the white-robed ones, Halstead
re all from the grounds..
[any of the 150 had eggs which, it
. rumored, had been sent up spely
for the occasion from New
k. City. The rumor was enough ;
Halstead; he didn't propose to
the eggs.
eaving the cemetery the faithful */ ;
neyed to the South Mountain,
re a large congregation had asbled.
' All waited for the trumpet
of the angel, but after a while
' got tired, as nothing happened,
a they dispersed.
pangler got what is known In the
tacular as "cold feet" at the last .r!-.aent.
Whether or not he ttiought
Nyack was or was not a fit place
.Li.L V J T .11 S
rumu iu us iuuuu wuei' mw an- , ^
artant moment arrived Is not
ten, Bat he left town under the ,
low of darkness in the morning.
here is a feeling of strong indig[>n
in the town over the harm
igler has wrought by his delusive
chings.
SHOT MAN FOR Ej?AJR.
Clad in Buffalo Overcoat?Ver- i
diet, Justifiable Homicide. flattanooga,
Tenn.?Mistaking an .
ticated man clad in a long buffalo
coat for a bear, Thomas Decka
well known farmer, shot and
intly killed Thomas Andrews
Lafayette, Tenn. , .
adrews h$d been in jail, but wc.s
led by the sheriff in order that
light go home for Christmas. In1
of going home he visited sevsaloons
and later sat down in
loorway of a residence, where he *
isleep. The family, thinking An's
was a bear, called Deckmar,
prodded the form with his gun,
getting no response, fired. A
aer's jury rendered a verdict of
flable homicide,
DENT HILLS 4 OP FAMILY.
?? .-4
lers Father and Sisters Because
They Refused Him Money.
linz.?Because his demands for
jy : were not gratified, a young
;nt of astronomy committed a
ruple murder, killing his father,
Rackj, a former member of the
_i. *V. AV./V
tlBlttg, auu ui? uiicc oioicior uuc
torn was betrothed on Christmas 9
Potatoes Nearly ^ 1 fl
hile potato prices have sagged M
is no change in conditions and' H
lason to look for weakness in the H
;et. Imports of potatoes from H|
pe have a somewhat unsettling M
t, but such imports are not likely H
large unless the market goes up |H
le higher. SB
flB
Pineapples From Hawaii.
pen years ago only forty acres of
lii's fruitful soli were devoted to
.pple culture; now the pineapples 99
>y more than 6500 acres. Six
ago Hawaii shipped to this
try 3000 cases of pineapples, BD
1, crushed, grated; now she is II
ing more than 400,000 cases. 9H
'ostmaster Burned to Death.
?? A n/^aror?n nAafmAofait
keeper and Crown Lands Agent' HH
nmount, Ontario, was burned to
. in a fire which destroyed his
in Tory Hill. Hi3 body was
[ in the ruins.
Former Judge Phelps Dies. h9
arles E. Phelps, formerly a flH
; of the Supreme Court of Balti- mm
, and widely known as jurist,r
;r and author, died in his home
ilbrook, a suburb. He was cev- Pflj
5ve years old. / HM
Women In the Day's News. ^XH
is said that the women voters of - IH
jr elected Judge Lindsey, of the v^H
lile Court. Bfl
i Hawley, a comic opera 3tar, Wj
in a New York private hospita^^^H
an operation for appendicitis.
seems to most theatregoers
t a few years since Mary Ander-^J^Hj
low Mme. de Navarro, in all he^^^H
youth and beauty, was one
nost prominent figures on
But recently she celebradH^^^^l
ftieth birthday. She is now livn
a pretty farm in Worcester- flB
England. BH