installment of clothing, I went to his door. There were voices in the
office; the doctor had a patient, so I sat down outside to wait. It was
a perfect evening; the sky was still flushed with sunset, the first star
stood over the tall spire of the little Gothic church at the _campo
santo_. The dusk fell softly; on the heights above Messina, the outlines
of the old Saracen fort were blurred in the violet afterglow. The tramp
of the sentinel marked time. Another sound broke the twilight stillness,
the sound of the royal march played by a band. Where could it come from?
In all Messina there had not been found so much as a drum for the
procession. The music came nearer and nearer, a new sound mingled with
it, the sound of voices singing and cheering. Lanterns were brought out,
the mess-room door thrown open. By the light that streamed out I saw a
cab, decked with green branches, drawn by a horse gay with white ostrich
plumes. Two of our carpenters sat in the cab, which was followed by a
pair of ox-carts, filled with chairs occupied by the carpenters’ guests.
The three vehicles were surrounded by a crowd of people, singing and
cheering.
“Long live the American carpenters!”
Some of our men had spent the day at a neighboring village, that had
escaped the earthquake; they had been escorted home by the whole
population. The band departed playing the merry march; the sound grew
fainter and fainter in the distance. A bright fire lighted up the dark
interior of the little shanty, opposite the Camp, built by Zia Maddalena
and Cousin Sofia; the tinkle of Spofford’s guitar repeated the gay notes
of the march--how good it was to hear the joyous sounds!
“Will you please tell this woman,” the doctor spoke sternly to his
interpreter, “that this child has small-pox. If she doesn’t report it
immediately to the health authorities it will go hard with her. She may
be fined, or imprisoned for neglecting to do so and it may prove fatal
to her child. It’s a menace to the community. Please make her understand
this fully, as I shall immediately report the case myself.”
The poor mother, dazed and sorrow-stricken, buried her face in the
little bundle in her arms and went weeping to the hospital, where the
child--all that the earthquake had left to her--would be taken away
from her--perhaps never to be returned.
The next morning at breakfast an unmistakable hint was dropped that my
visit had best come to an end. Nothing was said about smallpox--it may,
indeed, have had nothing to do with the hint. I have always believed,
however, that had it not been for the sick baby, I might have enjoyed a
few more days at the Mosella.
That day news came to the Camp of Marion Crawford’s death.
It was known that he was ill, but hopes had been held out of his
recovery. He had written lately about the _profughi_ he had sheltered in
his villa at Sorrento. In these last months, though suffering greatly,
he worked early and late for these poor people. He wrote often
concerning them. There was no sign of weakness, either in his firm
beautiful handwriting or in his brave cheerful words.
It was strange to read the story of his death, sympathetically as it was
told, in an Italian paper. He died, at sunset on Good Friday, sitting in
his chair looking out over the Bay of Naples towards Vesuvius, just as
the procession of Mary the Mother, returning from her search for her
lost Son, passed his door. The news that his strong heart had ceased to
beat cast a shadow over the Camp. Though not one of the company except
ourselves had any personal friendship with him, each one felt that he
had lost a friend.
Our great story-teller had told his last story. Not many men have served
their generation as well as he. A wonderful man, more romantic than his
romances, more poetic than his poetry, more dramatic than his dramas,
his death was in keeping with all the rest--he was an idealist to the
last!
XVI
MESSINA
_Ave atque Vale!_
As the steamer bore me away from Messina and towards Naples, I looked my
last on the old sickle-shaped harbor of Zancle, on Cape Faro, where the
current sweeping through the narrow straits was full of bewildering
purple, blue, and green tints like a piece of shot silk. We passed a
fishing boat with a man standing on a stunted mast above his fellows at
the oars, on the lookout for swordfish; above boat and fishermen towered
the crag and castle of Scylla. To the left the glass showed a blur of
green--was it a new-leaved fig tree--a descendant of the tree Ulysses
clung to as his boat slid by “Scylla’s dread abode?” Why not? Sailor,
soldier, traveler, king, vagrants, all come and go; the island and its
people remain unchanged. I have bought in a market of Trinacria the
“hardening cheese heaped in a wicker basket” that Ulysses saw the
Cyclops make from the milk of his sheep and goats. I have heard in the
olive groves the shepherd’s flute, the neatherd’s song Theocritus heard
and preserved for all time in his verse. As the little steamer churned
her way through the Tyrrhene Sea, the sun set, the sky flushed and faded
again, the stars came out. Little by little the lights on the shore
dwindled to mere diamond points, then in a minute they were gone, and
with them that faint perfume of the lemon and orange blossoms that had
gone along with us while the breeze was from the land.
I have never seen the wonder island again; what remains to tell of the
American work there, must be told by others.
_Extracts from J.’s Letters_
“Zona Case Americane, April 28, 1909.
“The rush is increasing every minute. I cannot get the drawings
done fast enough for the carpenters at the hotel, and the sill
layers are howling for ground plans of the schools. I have tried to
do all these things and get some sketching done for myself. In the
latter I have pretty well failed,--you see I have got hold of a
live wire and can’t let go!”
[Illustration: AMERICAN VILLAGE, MESSINA. HOTEL IN CONSTRUCTION. _Page
464._]
[Illustration: AMERICAN VILLAGE, MESSINA. ENCLOSING GANG AT WORK. _Page
438._]
[Illustration: GRAND HOTEL REGINA ELENA FROM THE RAILROAD. _Page 475._]
[Illustration: AMERICAN VILLAGE, MESSINA. VIEW FROM THE HOTEL. _Page
475._]
“May 2, 1909.
“The rush has been growing greater every day; it has been
impossible to find a minute save in the evening, when I have taken
a short walk with Brofferio and gone to bed beaten out, so much so
that I slept through one of the worst earthquakes from all
accounts. We have had five very severe ones since you were here,
two of which succeeded each other within a few minutes and toppled
over a whole lot of ruins along the Marina so that it was blocked
again for a day or two. I heard a soldier exclaim, ‘Oh, my poor
dancing land!’”
“May 25, 1909.
“I am sitting on the sand by the sea, with the wonderful mountains
across the straits. There is a delightful breeze blowing. The sea
is like sapphire and emerald, and not at all beautiful to look
upon, oh no! On the other side of me looms up the roof of the
hotel; it’s above the railroad embankment and everything. It is
covered in and the clapboards are being put on. Yesterday was
Sunday. Brofferio got the loan of a Red Cross auto and we had a
magnificent spin,--the captain, Brofferio, Buchanan and I. We went
through the _torrente_ for miles. I find that nearly all of them
can be used as roads; they are picturesque to a degree. An auto is
the greatest thing in the world for seeing the country. Next
Sunday, I believe the auto is going to take us to Taormina; if not,
Derby and I are going to have a sail with Brofferio, which we
should enjoy immensely. All your boys you have sent down here have
turned out splendidly. Brush is doing finely at Reggio; I don’t
know what we should do without McGoodwin. He came in when
everything was decided, and has cheerfully taken up the hardest job
in the world, helping to carry out other people’s plans when all
the fun of making them is over! Rodolfo Serrao has become quite a
pet with every one. He makes wonderful caricatures, and has made
them of all the party. I am keeping all I can get to bring back to
you.
“The hospital at Regina Elena and all the houses are nearly
finished. Here the hotel will be finished as far as we are
concerned in a few days, and the church and schools. There are no
more houses being put up just now. I wish I could tell you how many
houses are inhabited--a great many I know. The workshop opposite
the camp that you remember, disappeared long ago and cottages are
standing on the site, so we are all shut in and living in a common
street called Via Bicknell. There is to be a street named for me
which I share with the captain. The captain does things his own way
and he says the plan (which I have drawn with all these names) is
the record of the thing that will be sent to Washington, but even
there it will be looked at once and then thrown aside.”
_Extract from Captain Belknap’s Journal, and Letters to the
American Ambassador_
“With a large increase of the force, and at the same time of the
work, especially as the hotel began to assume considerable
proportions, this tallying of the workmen took more of the head
carpenter’s time than could be spared. Opportunely, Mr. J. Lloyd
Derby, Harvard ’08, who had been one of Mr. Roosevelt’s guests in
the party visiting Messina, had accepted the invitation to join us.
He had first gone back to Rome, with the two chums with whom he had
made a trip around the world, and I had almost given him up, when
he telegraphed that he was coming and, evidently recalling our
previous shift to find accommodation for our guests, should he
bring bedding? I replied no, but asked him to call at the Embassy
and at the ‘Scorpion’ at Naples, to bring anything they might have
to send. The Embassy entrusted him with some cigars and champagne,
which was all right; but the ‘Scorpion’ produced fifty thousand
_lire_, which was startling. However, another means of sending the
money appeared, and Derby arrived with his other charge safe. He
stepped right in as Buchanan’s assistant, taking over Mr. Phillips’
work of tallying the men, and shortly after, as he found time for
more, he was made the inspector of kitchens. The shop made him a
measuring, or ‘divining’ rod, and he fared forth among the masons,
who soon found out that poor workmanship was no match for his
muscle.
“We were fortunate in gaining accessions to our managing staff just
when it would seem impossible to carry it on longer without more
help. The first one was Mr. Gerome Brush, son of the painter, whom
we sent to Reggio just as Wilcox was finding more than he could
attend to unaided. As interpreter, accountant,
[Illustration: SCYLLA. _Page 463._]
and factotum, Mr. Brush made himself invaluable. Then early in
April came Avvocato F. Saverio Donate, who had been in Messina and
lived in our camp before, as Mr. Bicknell’s secretary. He was a
faithful and untiring worker, and, with Avvocato Rodolfo Serrao,
son of the former Prefect of Rome and Messina, who joined about the
first of May, took over entirely the harassing duties attendant on
the assignment of the houses for occupancy. The last to join the
camp was Mr. R. R. McGoodwin, a young architect who was studying in
Rome. When he came, we had already begun on the hotel, church,
school-houses, laboratory, and dormitory at Messina, and the
six-building hospital group at Villaggio Regina Elena. All these
were on the lines laid out by Mr. Elliott and the work was
progressing well; but without complete plans--which were more than
one man could accomplish with so many other things to do--questions
of detail were continually arising, which Mr. McGoodwin was able in
large measure to settle. Mr. Elliott, McGoodwin and I made the
traditional three required for every good firm of architects; but
in justice to them it must be said that, on account of our
exceptional circumstances, I assumed to outvote them occasionally,
to the detriment of artistic effect.
“Two English ex-soldiers applied for work about the same time, and
proved good hands, remaining until the last of our party left.”
“April 18, 1909.
“An urgent request having come from the Genio Civile and from Mr.
Bowdoin, for a man to help erect the portable houses at Ali, Mr.
Dowling, superintendent carpenter, was sent to Ali, to superintend
that work, and assist in any way he could. He was glad to have the
detail; Mr. Bowdoin writes me that he has taken hold well; and it
will prevent the pieces of those portable houses from being
mismated and so going to waste.
“In general since you left here, events have been thick and
important.”
“April 26, 1909.
“I shall reserve the cigars and champagne Derby brought for an
appropriate occasion, perhaps to celebrate the completion of the
hospital, or of the work. Of the cigars, I took one box over to
Reggio and told the mess there that it was sent with your
compliments, and did the same with the other box here. Thank you
also for the newspaper extracts about Mr. Roosevelt’s visit.
“The past two weeks have been very full ones, so that I have not
been able to get the time necessary to draw up a money statement,
but that I hope to do in a day or two. All or most of us have had a
little touch of stomach or bowel trouble, rather disturbing to
work, due to flies or meat probably; but now all of our fly screens
have come and been put in place, and we have cut the meat out of
our bill of fare almost entirely, so that I hope we may get on
without any further sick days.
“The food question really gave us a good deal of trouble and some
uneasiness, as soon as the supply of pork loins and turkey had been
consumed. These had been loaded on board the ‘Celtic’ for the
delectation of our men on board of the world-circling fleet; but we
enjoyed them just as much, as they certainly did taste good after a
long day’s work in the open. By the beginning of April, however, we
had to depend on the local markets for meat. Fish was good and
poultry killed in the camp was safe enough, and all meat offered
for sale bore the stamp of inspection; but when half the table was
dining on soft-boiled eggs, something had to be done, and we could
not quite determine what. Dr. Donelson was in charge of our mess
and of sanitary supervision in the camp generally; but a steady
stream of native patients, from early until late, of all ages and
conditions and ailments, left him little time to experiment with
the bill of fare. Had it not been for the spaghetti family of
dishes, we might have been in a bad way. Our Sicilian cook’s
repertoire was limited too; but when the Reggio camp was broken up,
we took on Baker, ship’s cook, who immediately gave us a change and
some familiar dishes.
“The water was good, and we found that we could freely use it
without boiling. Our supply was so convenient for the neighbors
that our one outside faucet for general use was, in fact, nearly
worn out, before the city water supply reached our camp.
“Notwithstanding indifferent fare, our mess was a jolly one. Our
latest accession, Avvocato Serrao, contributed much entertainment.
He was a talented caricaturist and often, during the
[Illustration: VIA BELKNAP, AMERICAN VILLAGE, MESSINA. _Page
467._]
course of the day, would disappear to his room for a while,
evidently to record his impressions pictorially. Nearly every
evening he would produce one or two caricatures at the dinner
table, setting forth the latest camp event. Mr. Elliott managed to
capture all these,--sometimes, unfortunately, failing to do so
before they got into the butter,--and it is hoped that some day we
may have them all reproduced.
“One evening there was an alarm of fire during dinner, and every
one rushed to the scene with whatever water receptacle lay nearest
to his hand. It proved to be not smoke, only the dust of a heated
domestic argument; but it gave Serrao a fine opportunity to portray
each one of us. Mr. Elliott was always represented with a roll of
the hotel drawings in his hand; and Dr. Donelson with a squalling
baby on his arm.
“For our beds, or bunks, we had sea-grass mattresses, of the kind
used in steamer steerages, costing forty or fifty cents apiece, and
cheap cotton blankets, at two dollars or less each. I have felt
softer and warmer beds, yet we soon get accustomed to conditions;
and the fact that we lived comfortably in our own cottages for
three months, is a good proof of their habitability. There were
some leaky roofs; but this is a fault shared by some more expensive
structures; and in the heat of the day, they were hot, as all
unceiled structures must be. The ventilators in the gable ends
helped this much, but of course the best remedy was to ceil the
interior, which some of the occupants assigned to the houses very
sensibly proceeded at once to do.
“Earthquakes were of frequent, almost daily, occurrence. A severe
one came as we sat at our first dinner in camp, and the jar and
loud rumbling were rather startling, though we had nothing to fear.
There were some casualties in the city, however, and our Sicilian
servants were frightened and anxious for the safety of their
families.
“In the middle of May we had a severe shock about 9 o’clock, our
little frame structures quivering for nearly half a minute. It
caused a small panic among our workmen, a stream of them leaving
their work and coming to the office for their discharge, saying
they were not going to work in Messina any more. An hour or so
later, one of the engineers passed by, with the news that Palermo
was destroyed. He belonged there and seemed much disturbed.”
“May 10, 1909.
“So far, only white paint has been put on; yet the improvement is
so great that we have great difficulty in restraining an impatient
populace from rushing the uncompleted houses. When the green
trimmings and brick-colored base go on, we may need a regiment. The
cottages do look very attractive, especially in many places where
they are nested among the trees; and there is nothing anywhere
around that can touch their appearance. The white color marks them
out from a good distance.
“Our other work at Mosella is progressing well, especially the
hotel, which will have the second story begun in a day or two. It
is a larger building than any one had thought it was going to be
and has aroused a good deal of interest. It is being well
constructed throughout.
“After much consideration, the idea has occurred to me that about
the best disposition to make of our camp and camp outfit here would
be to turn the whole establishment over to the Little Sisters of
the Poor. Yesterday I sent Mr. Elliott and Mr. Phillips, head
carpenter here, out to examine their former building, to see
whether we could do anything to help them; but it is in complete
ruin, requiring to be rebuilt from the ground up--an undertaking of
course beyond us. They still have the property and garden, and in
time their house could be rebuilt. Meantime if they want this camp
and its equipment as a temporary dwelling, it would be suitable and
available. I know of no other charitable disposition equally good;
and as the Little Sisters are indeed poor, it would not trouble
them much to move what little they own in, as we move out. Of
course all we take will be our personal belongings, and everything
else--bedding, table gear, lamps, and such furniture as we have,
would be theirs.
“One of the houses near the camp has a family recently moved in, in
direct competition with the one in the Queen’s house in Reggio, for
the first baby born in an American house. I shall telegraph the
arrival, whether it occur here or at Reggio.
The same day also the Pro-Sindaco came, Commendatore Martino, who
expressed much
[Illustration: ELIZABETH GRISCOM HOSPITAL, VILLAGGIO REGINA ELENA.
_Page 469._]
satisfaction with all he saw, and was very complimentary, even
intimating that he would become a siren to endeavor to retain our
party here, to continue such energetic work.
“In fact the work has spread so since you were here that what you
saw is comparatively insignificant. Mr. Derby said this morning
that, remembering how comparatively little there was when he was
here in April, six weeks ago, he can hardly realize that it is the
same place. The growth, the white paint, and the clearing up of the
streets, have made a complete transformation; and from the top of
the hotel one gets a view of the whole settlements that gives an
idea not to be gained in any other way.
“At Villaggio Regina Elena, all our houses were finished on Friday
afternoon; the door and window hanging and the kitchens will
probably be done by the end of this week; and a contract has been
given to another painter to paint them by the end of this month.
The job has been done very well and quickly, and when the white
paint is on the appearance will be all that could be desired.
“The foundation for the main buildings of the hospital is
finished, and the framing is beginning today. I will push that work
all possible, so that we may leave a cleanly finished set of
buildings. The roofing, foundation, and plastering will each cost
more than I had estimated, considerably; and the hardware for doors
and windows must be bought.
“Here at Messina, we are on the last week of cottage building, all
houses being framed that we are going to build. I have told the
Prefect that I would leave here on June 12th.
“As the houses are completed, after Mr. Derby has inspected the
kitchens and passed them, Lieutenant Brofferio and Avvocato Donate
go over them, note whether they are ready for occupancy, or whether
some minor repairs are needed, and then, on the revised list given
by Brofferio, I report to the Prefect that the houses specified are
ready for occupation. After the Prefect’s Committee have assigned a
house, the applicant brings the written authorization here, and
Donate installs him, or, generally, her.
“The new aspect of the settlement, since the painting began, and
the towering bulk of the hotel, have brought a steady stream of
visitors; and on Sunday there were crowds, all over the place and
through the hotel. These conditions are gratifying, but they make
it difficult for us to remain and work; so that the date, June
12th, must be regarded as definitely fixed.”
Translation of an inscription on a visiting card
left in camp office
(Crown)
“COMM. LUIGI MAJOLINO
“MESSINA.
“Having the concession for the American house of A-7, No.
11,--before occupying it, I feel it due to salute the Egregious
Doctor Donelson, Commandant Belknap, Lieutenant Buchanan, and
Sub-Lieutenant Spofford, who, with love and self-sacrifice, have
borne in among us for all time the good will of the great nation of
the United States of America.
“(Signed) LUIGI MAJOLINO.
“Our last Sunday in camp, June 6th, the great Italian national festival,
was celebrated at Villaggio Regina Elena, by throwing open the bridge
which had been jointly built by the Italian and American working
parties, connecting our respective quarters in the village. A very
festal occasion was made of this, the children marching around the
village in procession, guided by the teachers of the schools provided
for them by the Queen, all of them dressed in clothes made in the
village _laboratorio_, and waving paper flags of all sizes and
nationalities, the Stars and Stripes being prominent.
“On the day of departure of the main body from Messina, June 11, I gave
a lunch in the dining-room of the hotel we had built, to which were
invited Lieutenant-General Del Rosso, commanding the division, with his
brigadiers and chief of staff, Major Andrea Graziani (since promoted to
lieutenant-colonel, for exceptional services rendered at the time of the
earthquake), the new Prefect, Commendatore Buganza, Pro-Sindaco
Commendatore Martino, Captain Pericoli, the senior naval officer,
representatives of the Genio Civile, other officials of the Government,
our own party, including Mr. Bowdoin and Mr. Wood, from Taormina, and
our faithful contractors, Signor Pella and Signor Saraconi, the painter.
In all, about seventy persons sat down to a horseshoe table built for
the occasion. The room was freely decorated
[Illustration: GRAND HOTEL REGINA ELENA AND CHURCH OF SANTA CROCE,
AMERICAN VILLAGE, MESSINA. _Page 478._]