Jasper County Democrat, Volume 16, Number 83, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 January 1914 — HUNGER AND RUIN SEEN EVERYWHERE AROUND VOLCANO [ARTICLE]

HUNGER AND RUIN SEEN EVERYWHERE AROUND VOLCANO

Homeless Japanese Return to Kagoshima. WILSON ASKS U. S. FOR AID Sailors Rescue Party From Hot Ashes Breast Deep on Sakura Isle — Feared Mountain of SakuraJima Will Collapse. Kagoshima. Jan. 16.—A relief party reports that in four villages of Sakura 1,000 households were destroyed and buried in lava by Sakura-Jima s first eruption. Villages pn the coast are still Burning. The villages of Arlmura and Yokohama were exterminated Part of Refugees Return. Kagoshima, Jan. 16. —Officers of the cruiser squadron sent by the Japanese government have taken charge of the •ituatlon created by the volcanic eruption and earthquakes and are rapidly restoring a semblance of order along the water front.

Many of the people of Kagoshima returned to the city. All their houses were in ruins and the returning refugees were compelled to camp, in the open. The warships brought a large stock of food and supplies, which were dispensed freely. The property loss in this city is immense The clearing away of ashes and debris has not gone far enough to allow even an approximate estimate of the loss of human life.

Fear Mount Will Collapse. Houses on the Island of Sakura that remain standing are enveloped in lava and resemble gigantic wasps. Refugees who returned are in a terrified condition and refuse to enter the houses except to make a hurried search for valuables. It is feared the. mountain of Sakura-Jima will collapse. Throughout the eruptions the staff of the Kagoshima observatory remained at their posts, facing extermination and calmly recording each phase. They were almost suffocated by poisonous gases. Find 33 Last Survivors. Thirty-three refugees were rescued amid a great waste of steaming kiva at the foot of the volcano ■ SakuraJlma. \\ ith their rescue no Jiving being remained, so far as known, on the Island of Sakura. The rescue was effected by a boat’s crew of the Japan ese. flagship. After a perilous trip an officer in one of the launches noticed something being waved in the air a short distance from the shore. A detach!: ' f i<: :i heavily bundled to pr. them from the heat, was l.u 1. Tn w hur l struggle they made their way through soft -..••• r .:ashesi hr< : • high until they reached a great rock. •

Escaped in Cave. .-hflteretj behind this rock they Tout'd 33 persons, all coated with thick dust, starving, thirsty and weak. The refugees- were taken on board a warship and provided with food and .drink. They explained 'hat they had hidden in a great cave near the shore Until the rain of ashes was over. Quake Panic in Italy. Leghorn, Italy, Jan. 16. Six violent earthquakes caused a panic among the inhabitants of this city. The people rushed into* the streets and gathered in groups on the squares. The shocks started at 4:25 a. m. and lasted till 9:27. No casualties were reported. Wilson Appeals for Aid.

Washington, Jan. 16. —President Wilson issued an appeal to the American people as president of the American Red Cross for funds to people of Japan. The appeal says: “Our sister nation of Japan is suffering from two very serious disasters. failure of crops in the northeastern part of that country has brought hundreds of thousands of persons face to face with the terrible mis ery of slow starvation and in the southwestern islands of Kiushiu a sudden volcanic eruption, has carried death and desolation to large numbers.

“I appeal to the humanity 1 of our American people' that they may give expression to their sympathy for the suffering and distress of so many of their fellow men by generous contributions for their aid. “Such contributions can be made to the local Red Cross treasurers or Sent directly to the American Red Cross, Washington, D. C.” Q6l. Robert M. Thompson, chairman of the executive committee of the Navy league, started a subscription list with $1,250.