Capitol Hill News (Capitol Hill, Okla.), Vol. 4, No. 18, Ed. 1 Saturday, January 16, 1909 Page: 3 of 8
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Wawki
Tfte CommhmTer of The Russian lift-!
th'shlp Mukhamff. who brought word
i of American Consul Cheney’s death,
described the fearful scenes at Mes-
sina. He declared that many of the
resident a of that place had been bur-
ied alive, ns groans were heard ootn-
! lug from far down iu the fissures of
. the earth, which could only be ap-
proached with the greatest precau-
tion. At these points the tottering
walls threatened further collapse The
I anguished cries of the victims caused
a half frenzy among the sailors, who
In several cases excavated under dan-
j gerous places and rescued wounded
people. In other cases they reached
j bodies that separated in parts when
efforts were made to drag them from
the wreckage.
I-’or an entire day the Russian sail-
ors, divided Into squads, gave assist-
ance wherever needed. Amid tilt
I ruins of the Hank'of Sicily they found
j a safe containing many millions and
delivered It aboard the warship. Front
| one house alone they rescued ten per-
sons alive.
. APLES, Italy—The hor-
rors accompanying the
earthquake, fire and tidal
wave that devastated Sic-
ily and Calabria almost
defy description. Now
that it is possible to obtain coherent
accounts from the few that escaped
from the stricken district with their
lives—many w'ere for a time without
the light of reason—it is realized that
certainly not for 20 centuries—per-
haps never-—have such Beenes been
enacted on the earth.
One of the first of the survivors that
reached the steamship Therapie the
day following the catastrophe thus
described his experiences:
“I was asleep when the first shock
awoke me. I lit my lamp, but all was
quiet, and I turned to sleep again.
Suddenly fresh shocks occurred, vio-
lent and terrifying. I arose quickly
but the house was swaying and my
door was jammed. I tore the sheets
from the bed and made a rope and
lowered myself from the window to
the street. An Italian family of five
persons escaped from the house by
the aid of my rope.
Wandered All Day.
“No sooner were we In the street
than the house collapsed. 1 tried to
assist in the work of rescue, but It
was useless. The horror and confu-
sion were indescribable. All day I
wandered In the wrecked streets. N«
food could be secured. I had only a
few nuts to eat. The prison was de-
stroyed and the warders killed, but
most of the convicts escaped. They
prowled about the ruins, robbing and
murdering. They cut off the fingers
of the dead and wounded to get the
rings. Some of them were singing
songs of liberty as they piled the
knife.
"A Russian vessel lying In the har-
bor was thrown into the street by the
tidal wave. Railway lines were swal-
lowed up. The square known as the
Cas Campo Santo collapsed and sank.
Only the summits of a few ruined
buildings still emerged from tho
wreck.”
Not one of the numerous hotels of
the city remained standing. A fissure
60 feet deep opened near the Church
of Santa Maria, and houses fell bod-
ily into It.
During the voyage of the Therapio
to Naples a child was born.
Houses Vanished Instantly.
A physician named Condo, a native
of Messina, said he escaped by climb-
ing over tile fallen roofs. Houses van-
ished with the suddenness of a dream
and daylight showed nearly two miles
of ruins. Steamships put out to cross
the straits for help after the first
shock of the earthquake, but half way
over they met vessels from the oppo-
site coast which carried the news lhat
Reggio, too, hail perished.
The wounded refugees that reached
this city presented a sickening sight,
some appeared hardly human; others
among the fugitives had no apparent
injuries, but were in such a deplora-
ble mental condition that they seemed
the worst of all. The horror of that
tragic minute appe' • be ineradl-
cably fixed upon Ih . j. On the
relief ships the refugees were heaped
everywhere. Some of them r wl
to be stricken with a kind of iuiocy,
looking aimlessly before them: others
completely mad, howled wildly. The
commander of the Therapie gave a
thrilling description of the rescues ef-
fected by his men when his ship ar-
rived at Messina. As the vessel drew
up before the city it was surrounded
by a flotilla of boats and tugs loaded
to the gunwales with men and women
who piteously cried for food and
drink, for they had nothing for 24
hours. On entering the port a tre-
mendous clamor greeted their ears. It
was the survivors screaming for help.
From the water front Messina appear-
ed to be intact, as the facades of the
fine buildings along that line of
streets still were standing, but behind
was emptiness and ruin. The princi-
pal square presented an aweinspiring
aspect. Everywhere were enormous
cracks into which the sea pouted,
whence clouds of steam and sulphur-
ous vapors arose.
Mother Killed, Child Saved.
A dispatch from Palermo described
the experience of A. J. Ogston, British
vice-consul al Messina, who arrived
| with Ills daughter at Palermo, he him-
self being injured.
"At the first shock," said the vice-
consul, “my wife rushed to a cot and
snatched up the child. We ran down
stairs, and found the door blocked
! with wreckage. We clambered
through a window, but as we were
passing a building a balcony fell and
killed my wife instantly. By a miracle
the child escaped unhurt. I rushed to
the municipal square, where 50 people
had gathered, and we ran madly for
the open country, balconies, columns
and chimneys falling around us In a
terrifying manner. The members of
our party were struck down, some-
times singly and sometimes a half
dozen at a time, and when we reached
| a place of safety only four of the
party remained. The others undoubt-
edly were killed."
One tragic phase of the disaster
was the fight for life made by the
prisoners in the jail above Messina.
I There were nearly 1,000 of these, in-
| eluding 300 women. The building col-
lapsed at the first shock and the In-
mates were caught like rats. Several
rows of cells- remained intact and
j those who were locked within them
; could bo heard pounding the walls and
j crying aloud for help. Then came
another shock which completed the
destruction. All were killed with the
exception of the few who had escaped
after the first shock.
An artilleryman, Gaspare Valenti,
says he was engaged in rescue work
at Messina with his comrades when
an enormous wave strurk him and
swept him off his feet. Dike a piece
of straw, he declares, he was whirledj
out to sea. Being a good swimmer,
Lhe kept up for a long time, becoming
tired, however, and just as he was
I about to sink he was picked up by a
I fisherman, who landed him on the
| beach. Then, r l-'M with terror, he
| ran blindly for 1 a and dropped
I exhausted near vie, a distance of
j about 50 miles it*. ssinn.
Corpses Heaped in Streets.
In all the streets—or what had
once been streets—corpses were
heaped, their desperate attitude and
contorted features showing the horror
of the death struggles.
The ruins of the buildings formed
hillocks 30 feet high, under which
thousands of persons were buried. The
vessel waB soon loaded down to its*
utmost capacity with survivors and
then steamed to this cltv.
All along the way it was seen that
the smiling villages on the Calabrian
coast had disappeared. Both Scylla
and Charybdis had vanished with
them.
Iu Naples public buildings and pri-
vate houses were thrown open to the
refugees and everything possible was
done for their comfort. The duchess
of Aosta was indefatigable in her min-
istrations. going from steamship to
steamship and bringing to the su 7c -
ers a word of ct " n The wounded
were carried to .!. ambulances be-
tween two files of soldiers to protect
them from the too expressive mani-
festations of sympathy from tho crowd
lhat had gathered at the piers. The
means of transportation was aug-
mented by strong arms of sympa-
thizers, in which some of the more
seriously wounded were carried in lieu
o" Utters.
Searchers Killed at Reggio.
A refugee from Calabria staled that
an express Ira’n on the road from
Reggio to Naples was brought to a
stop by the shock when about 18 miles
along the road iu Its journey. The
passeDgers demanded t’ at they be
taken back to lleggio, \v... re they
found a scene of desolation. While
searching for friends iresh shocks oc-
curred and practically all the passen-
gers were killed.
At Messina, after rapid work of or
ganization, progress was n .de in the
work of succoring the wounded sur-
vivors, but no attempt was at first
made to remove the wreckage. The
troops and sailors were obliged to
shoot down robbers who persisted in
looting. The entire local treasury of
the Messina branch of lhe Batik of
Italy, some $2,000,000, was saved and
placed on board an Italian warship.
Many of the people of Messina re-
fused to leave the ruins of their
houses. They clung to the sites of
their homes, crying out that their only
safety was in fidelity to the wrecks
of their houses. Force often was
necessary to get them to the ships in
the harbor. There were large num-
bers in the suburbs of Messina who
would not come back into the city for
fear of a recurrence of lhe shocks.
Hopeless Search for Relatives.
The German steamer Serapin
brought stories of heartrending sep-
aration of families, and the hopeless
and frantic seeking of relatives one
for the other. Shortly after the Sera-
pin docked a gangplank was lowe-ed
and a few persons were allowed on
hoard. The refugees were found sit-
ting iu isolated groups.
They gave evidence of great mental
depression, and were utterly exhaust-
ed. They seemed scarcely conscious
of their surroundings. Most of them
were held in tile thrall of their terri-
ble experiences.
One old man was carrying a little
girl In his arms. The child was cov-
ered with blood.
"Is that your child?" he was asked.
“No,” he replied. "I found her on
| the pavement in Messina. 1 picked
j her up and cured for her. No one
I claimed her and I could not abandon
| her. I have had her iu my arms ever
I since.”
With this touching explanation the
| old man became oblivious to his ques-
| l loner and everything around him.
The Serapin brought into this port
records of numberless tragedies. Fam-
| ilies separated, mothers moaning and
! crying for their dead children, hug-
i bands and wives lost to each other, or
’ ’ ------” ....... " ——-
a sole survivor wishing that, he hid
not been spared.
There was one girl ou board the
steatite- ’ er clothing tattered Tnd
toru, who had saved a canary bird.
She was a music hall singer ana had
clung to her pet throughout the terri-
ble seceues of devastation. The bird
was the only happy tiling on the ves-
sel.
F*lt Five Floors; Uninjured.
The stories told by these unfortu-
nate refugees are almost unbelievable.
A soldier named Emilio de Castro, re-
lates that on Sunday, the day before
the disaster, he was taken sick and
was sent to the military hospital.
Early Monday morni. a was
awakened by u tremendo' iring
sound.
His bed struck the floor below, and
he was still on it. It paused a mo-
ment, aud was again precipitated.
He struck the next floor, but this gave
way at once, and thus man and bed
came down from tire fifth floor of the
hospital to the ground. The soldier
was not Mured.
Imprisoned with the Dead.
Prof. Palermo of the University of
Messina lost two sons.
"I was sleeping in my bed,’ he said,
"when I was thrown out of bed, which
fell on top of me. The ceiling col-
lapsed, the floor opened and T was
thrown into the first floor apartment
of Mme. Pernici. She was reaching
for her sister and son, whom we
found dead. We remained all day
and night alone without help, keeping
the rain off with planks.
"Thus we were without food or
drink among the screams of the bur-
ied. The latter ceased somewhat at
night. No one came with assistance
and we were as if in a tomb alongside
the bodies. Children, wounded, were
around us, but invisible under the
ruins and weeping in despair or burst-
ing into piercing cries at every sound
heard without. When we finally es-
caped from the ruins we were taken
by sailors to tho Cristoforo Colombo,
which brought us to Naples.
"We passed through streets that
felt as if they were the bottoms of
valleys or climbed heights which were
an that remained of the finest palaces
of Messina. I will never forget It as
long as 1 live.”
Beginnings of
Christian Church
Sunday School Lesson for Jan. 17, 1903
Specially Arranged lor This Paper
LESSON TEXT.—Acts 2:22-47. Memory
verses, 2 2 23.
GOLDEN TEXT,—"They continued
steadfastly in the upostles* doctrine and
fellowship, and it) hreakinic of bread and
ia prayers."—Acts 2:42.
TIME.—Probably oa Sunday, May 28,
A. l>. 3d. Tlie same day as our last les-
son. and tlie days following.
PI-AGE. Jerusalem. Peter preached iti
the vicin'*-' * ' the upper room, or Iu (lie
tempi*- court. Titan in the temple court,
utal In the I tomes of tho people.
PEACE IN HISTORY. Tho birth of
tho Christian church.
Royal Couple Assist Rescuers.
The king and queen of Italy went to
Messina in the battleship Vittorio
Emmanuele, and his majesty grasped
the situation and set to work all the
powers he controlled to alleviate the
horrors of the situation. He partici-
pated actively in the work of actual
rescue.
Immediately on his arrival at Mes-
sina the king joined a rescue patty
and labored as unremittingly as the
others. He personally extricated sev-
eral injured persons pinned under the
ruins.
The queen also look active part in
(he work. She rescued with her own
hand a boy of three years, who was
bleeding from many cuts, and herself
carried him to the (lock where she
handed him over to members of the
hospital corps. She devoted her at-
tention principally to the lit tie chil-
dren and labored long amid the scenes
of horror.
Those who brought news here from
Catania of the visit of the 'ring and
queen said that the horrors of the
ruined city were added to by the
countless number of bodi.s lying all
about. Such a force of laborers as
it would be impossible to gather,
equip and sent to Messina would have
been needed to bury the dead. The
task was regarded as beyond human
power of accomplishment within the
period which would make such dis-
posal of the bodies effective.
Lime Spread Over the City.
So It was arrange*’ ,o have tens of
thousands of tons of lime taken to
Me“«:na in ships and carried over the
cit- and spread everywhere.
The messengers from Messina couid
not find words of sufficiently high
praise for the conduct of the king and
queen. They said that their majesties
left the battle ship and hurried into
the ruins of lhe city as if their own
near and dear ones lay amid the
wreckage.
Owing to the overwhelming (Tr-
ader of the disaster, the hastily es-
tablished hospital and relief corps
were woefully inadequate to the work.
So it was that before their majesties
had gone more than a few rods from
the dock they found themselves
among the ruins with tho dead all
about them. Even the dying pinned
beneath walls and masonry heard the
wild cries of welcome mingled with
the chorus of wailing as a great mob
of half-distracted men and women
crowded about the royal couple and
followed them as their guards made a
way into the ruins.
The king made himself dear to all
his subjects, especially to those in
the earthquake zone, by his prompt
and personal aid in times of disaster.
This makes lilausible a story told by
his companions, who said that as the
rdVal pair and Hie crowd surrounding
them made their way through the
ruins a man pinned inkier a great
block of stone and supposed to be
dead raised his head, repeated the
cries of acclaim and dropped back
deau.
There was a deep coaliug of mud all
over and their majesties walked
through it in theii work. The queen
was frequently affected to tears by
the sight of the homeless, helpless
women who followed her crying for
pity, half-crazed by their misfortunes.
If she looked upon them they threw
themselves upon their knees In the
mire and with clasped hands prayed
for her help.
Comment and Suggestive Thought.
“With this sermon we must com-
pare St. Peter's other sermons—to the
Jewish people (Acts 3:12-26) and to
the Gentiles (Acts 10:84-43).”—
Rackant.
Peter's object was to prove
Jesus of Nazareth was their ,>.
ised Messiah, whom they were expect-
ing. The reasoning of Peter was con-
clusive-anil unanswerable. Slaied in
brief modern form it was us fol-
lows:
1. What, has taken place In your
presence is exactly what your proph-
ets foretold would characterize lhe
Messianic times for which you are
hoping. Turn to the prophet Joel,
and you will see that both what
has been done to Ht" disciples and
the things you are suffering under the
Roman yoke are tho fulfillment of
Joel's picture of the limes.
2. Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled the
prophecies concerning the expected
Messiah deliverer, us many of you
have seen and experienced. God in-
dorsed and approved him "by mira-
cles and wonders and signs.”
3. Moreover, God reversed your
wicked work by raising him from the
dead, according to your Scriptures. He
is not dead, but living.
4. We are witnesses of the fact cl
his resurrection.
5. Another proof lhat he Is living
is the gift of the Holy Spirit. “He
hath shed forth this which ye now
see and hear."
Peter’s hearers were convicted of
sin and its danger. V. 37. “They were
pricked in their hearts." The Greek
for pricked means “pricked with a
sharp point Intensely, deeply." "For
the word of God is living, and active,
and sharper than any two-edged
sword, and piercing even to the divid-
ing of soul and spirit . . . and quick
to discern the thoughts and intents of
the heart," for “all tilings arc naked
ami laid open before tlie eyes of him
with whom we have to do."—lleb.
4:12-13.
"The sense of sin is the plowshare
that r-ens tlie soil of the heart for
the re*.opt ion of every true grace of
character."
Tlie Second Duty.—Believing in
Jesus ns Master, Messiah, King, Sav-
iour, and Gtilde—a faith which trusts
the whole life to ills gtti? ...e and
control. This is implied in the re-
quirement lo lie baptized.
The third duty was to confess Christ
publicly, openly, by baplism; that they
henceforth are ills disciples for life
and death, it was like taking an oath
of allegiance when one becomes a cit-
izen of a country.
This picture of lhe early church is
so attractive, so beauiTui, so ideal,
lhat some commentators have felt
lhat it was idealized by late writers,
and was not literally true. But as a
matter of fact, it has been repeated
over and over again *or short spaces
of time. Our own eyes have seen it.
V 14. “All that believed . . . had all
things common.” They were mem-
bers of one family and held things in
common, just as members of a family
do. Every+trtng was for tlie good of
all. No one, "said that anything was
his own," but all was for the use of
friends and of whatever Christian had
need.
Oriental Light—It. Talbot Kelly,
speaking of the Bedouin of the desert,
says: “Conducting me to my tent, he
added: 'This house is yours, and all
it contains; do what you will with it,
and with us, your servants.’ ”—Cen-
tury, February, 1897, p. 556. All true
Christian hospitality Is filled with the
same spirit.
This was necessary because so
many were strangers and visitors. It
was an emergency.
It was not an instance of what is
now called communion. It was not a
new business enterprise, nor a new
sociological organization.
Individuals did not give up all their
property to the church.
It was one expression of an eternal
principle, “lhat all possessing goods
and industries arc to lie consecrated
to God in the service of humanity is
a fundamental Christian principle
(Matt. 25:14-30; Luke 13:6-9), but
neither experience nor Scripture in-
dicates that selling all and dividing io
the poor !b (lie best method calculated
to serve humanity, or even the poor."
"Tlie sacrament of holy communion
has always been recognized as lhe
central means und test of fellowship
with the church.”—Rackam.
"Prayer makes a person a magazine
of power."
There is nolhlng magieul in the
communion service, but it is a real
power, for which there is no substi-
tute.
The greatest of all miracles was tlie
conversion of 3,000 ill a day, and lhe
change made in these men.
God is still working Ids marvels
through his faithful disciples. The
influence of Christ's religion ia heal
ng more sick, helping more )Kior, sav-
ing more life, than he himself had
•rno to do on earth; according to his
own promise iu John 14:12.
KHY HUT OWN liny?
ONE OF THE BEST WAYS TO
MAKE MONEY IS TO INVEST
IN WESTERN CANADA.
Jtvn In the nature of every
p .4. constituted man is the desire
to own some land." A writer in the
Iowa Stale Register thus tersely ex
presses a well-known truth. The ques-
tion is where is the best land lo be
hr.*1 n* the lowest prices, and this the
Ban writer points out in lhe same ar-
ticle. The fact is not disguised that
the writer has a personal interest In
the statement of Ids case, and there is
no hidden meaning when he refers lo
Western Canada as presenting great-
er possibilities than any other part of
tho American Continent, lo lhe man
who Is inclined to till the soil for a
livelihood and possible competence.
What Interests are the arguments
advanced j this writer, and when
fairly analyzed the conelusion i1
reached that no matter what persona-
interest tlie writer may have had, ill
reasons appear to have the quality o’
great soundness. The climatic coml:
tions of Western Cnnadn are fully as
good us those of Minnesota, the Bake
tas or Iowa, the productiveness of \
soil la as great, the social conditions
are ou a parity, the laws are as well
established and as carefully observed.
In addition to these the prieo of land
is much less, easier lo secure. So, with
these advantages, why'shouldn't this
—the offer of Western Canada—be'
embraced. The hundreds of thousands
of settlers now there, whoso homes
were originally in the United States,
appear to be—are satisfied. Once In
awhile complaints are heard, but the
Canadians have never spoken of the
country as an Eldorado no matter
what they may have thought. The
writer happened to have at hand a few
letters, writlen by former residents of
the United States, from which one, or
two extracts are submitted. These go
to prove that tho writer In the Regis-
ter has a good basis of fact in support
of his statements regarding the excel-
lency of the grain growing area of
Manitoba. Saskatchewan and Alberta.
On the 29th of April of this year W.
It. Conley, of lxittgheetl. Alberta, wrote
a friend iu Detroit. He says: "The
weather has been just line ever since
I catno here in March, and I believe
one could find if ho wanted lo some
small bunches of snot. round tlie
edge of the lake. There Is a frost near-
ly every morning: at sunrise it begins
to fatle away, then those blue flow-
ers open and look as fresh as If there
had bean no frost for a week. . . .
There is no reason why this country
should not become a garden of Eden;
the wealth is in the ground and only
needs a little encouragement from tho
government to induce capital in here.
There is everything here io build
with: good av for brick; coal under-
neath, plenty of water in the spring
lakes, and good springs coming oat of
the banka.”
Valuable Conch Shells.
Tho conch shell is highly prized in
India. In many of tho temples they
are blown daily to scare away the ma-
lignant spirits while the god receives
his daily meal. A conch with the
spiral twistings .to the right instead of
to the left is supposed to be worth
Its weight In gold. Some years ago a
conch of that, description was offered
for sale in Calcutta, with a reserve
price of a lakh of rupees placed on It.
It was eventually bought In for $20,000.
"Nails.”
"Nalls are a mighty good thing—
particularly finger nails—hut I don’t
believe they were intended solely for
scratching, though I used mine largely
for that purpose for several years. I
was sorely afflicted and had it to do.
One application of Hunt’s Cure, how-
ever, relieved my itch and leBS than
one box cured me entirely.”
J. M. WARD,
Index, Texas.
Too Skeptical for Fairies.
The modern child believes in fairies
probably no more than be does in San-
ta Claus. The next generation will
most likely dispense with children’s
books altogether. And yet. It Is said,
and no doubt truly, that there was
never an age when so much literature
for children’s use was written.—La-
dies’ Field.
It’s Dangerous,
To neglect a cold the results are too
often very serious. Bronchitis. Pleu-
risy, Pneumonia and Consumption are
frequently the consequences. Upon the
appearance of a cold, sore throat or
chest, use Simmons' Cough Syrup. It
soothes the irritation, loosens the
phlegm and promptly cures you.
A Rare Change.
A Boston woman says she can’t live
with ner husband because he is too
good.
And the wicked bromide user will
probably suggest that he is too good
to be true.—Cleveland Plain Dealer.
{important to Mothers.
Examino carefully every bottle of
CASTORIA a safe and sure remedy for
infants and children, and see that It
Bears tho
Signature ot(_^_ _
In Use For Over ,’{(> Ycara.
The Kind You Have Always Bought
Every missionary society with over
$10,000 income per year will l)p asked
to send delegates to the world confer-
ence at Edinburgh two years hence.
only oni: “jiromo orininI-:"
That is LAXATIVE ItltOMU QUININE. Look fit!
tho s ,[,,.iniiti i-t l: W. OitOVK. lisril tho World
over to Cure a Cold in Ono L>ay. 25c.
Tbx ; estorday Is thy past; thy to-
day Is thy future; *hy tomorrow Is
st sewret.—Wycliffo.
; *
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Capitol Hill News (Capitol Hill, Okla.), Vol. 4, No. 18, Ed. 1 Saturday, January 16, 1909, newspaper, January 16, 1909; Capitol Hill and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc936234/m1/3/: accessed March 28, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.