OCR Text |
Show STORY OF 'HORROR' iUjuII Proprietor Describes the Destruction of His Hotel Rome. Jan. 2 Signer Serao, the proprietor of the house in Messina, where A. J. Ogston, tho English consul con-sul resided, arrived here today. He said that outside the consulate, there ha3 not been an American resident in Messina for forty years past. The part of the house where Serao lives did not fall: . , The Italian rushed out of tne houso immediately after the first ehock and met Stuart D. Lupton, the American vice-consul, on tho street. Together the two men made their wav to the American consulate. They found it had collapsed completely, and they came to the conclusion that A. S, Cheney, the consul, and his wife wre dead- " They male a hurried but unsuccessful un-successful search for the bodle6. Slgnor Serao said that, with Mr. Lupton, Lup-ton, he satisfied himself that tne guests at the Hotel Trincario, which was completely demolished, were all saved with the exception of the Swedish Swed-ish consulate and an Italian girl. He does not believe that there were any Americans at this hotel. Taormlna, where there were a number num-ber of American tourists, is absolutely safe. It did not suffer from the earthquake earth-quake In any serious way. Continuing, Continu-ing, Serao says; "It is impossible for the wildest imagination im-agination to picture anything more terrific than the destruction of Mes-stna. Mes-stna. It seemed as if the entire city had been Buddenlv transformed into a whirlpool. We were ipetrifled with fear. It was next to impossible to proceed pro-ceed amid the plled-up wreckage wnlch Pffoced all traces of all former 'r; 1 There were heart rending cries from 1 |