THE WORLD'S MOST CRUEL EARTHQUAKE 



385 



into the night, often without food or shel- 

 ter. The wounded were removed from 

 the city as fast as possible by boats to 

 Naples and by train to Palermo and Ca- 

 tania, where they were cared for in the 

 hospitals, hotels, and private houses. 



Systematic relief work was not in- 

 augurated until a week after the mis- 

 fortune, when the city was divided into 

 three sections, each in charge of a detach- 

 ment ot soldiers, who camped in the 

 public parks. Food and clothing were 

 distributed to the survivors belonging to 

 each section, but the main work of the 

 soldiers was to assist in digging out those 

 still under the ruins alive, and, worst of 

 all, to guard the places and people against 

 thieves. The earthquake opened the 

 prison doors, and many of Italy's great- 

 est criminals were liberated. They imme- 

 diately set to work robbing the dead and 

 the dying, so as to leave the city with full 

 pockets. This shameless looting was 

 soon put to an end when the soldiers 

 were in full charge, the offenders being 

 shot on the spot. Dozens of such thieves 

 are said to have been killled. 



In regard to the survivors, it is said 

 that they behaved like children, running 

 about the streets, aimlessly seeking food, 

 and too stupid to leave the town for 

 the country, where they could have 

 found both food and shelter. One of 

 the striking features which I could not 

 help noticing was the apathy of the 

 sufferers, their dazed expression and 

 amazing resignation. Many doubtless 

 are bearing their sorrows bravely, but 

 some seem to be mentally benumbed. 



Little of the actual suffering will ever 

 be known, and lucky were those who 

 were instantly killed. As some were 

 brought alive out of the ruins after two 

 wxeks, there were many probablv who 

 withstood torture and starvation for at 

 least a week before they were relieved 

 by death. 



BURIED ALIVE FOR 1 8 DAYS 



Francesco Minissale, a young lad of 

 ten, shown in the picture on this page 

 and his two sisters, Giovannina and Nata- 

 line, 14 and 16 years of age, probably 



FRANCESCO, THE LAD WHO DUG HIMSELF 

 OUT OF THE RUINS OF MESSINA, 

 WHERE HE AND HIS TWO 

 SISTERS WERE IMPRIS- 

 ONED FOR l8 DAYS 



had the most remarkable experiences of 

 any survivors. It was my pleasure to 

 meet them on board «a freight steamer 

 through the kindness of its captain. 

 This is their seemingly incredible tale : 



"We were sleeping in a large room on 

 the ground floor. Our house collapsed, 

 killing our mother and imprisoning us. 

 Providentially, in the same room there 

 was food which we had purchased for 

 the New Year's feast — figs, cookies, a 

 bag of onions, a bottle of vinegar, and 

 besides these there was a small barrel of 

 water into which a large bottle of oil had 

 tumbled and been broken, but the oil was 

 not lost. On these provisions we lived, 

 but were never very hungry. Fresh water 

 and fresh air were what we wanted most. 

 The room was quite dark, and although 

 we were there for 18 days it hardly 

 seemed more than four. Finally Fran- 

 cesco began pounding the plaster wall 

 with a cobble-stone, breaking it down bit 



