I am sorry to say that I could not find out anything much about
Red Cross relief work in Naples. When I landed there on May
8th, the eruption of Vesuvius was a thing of the past. The
streets were all cleaned up, the roads open, and the people who
had at first crowded into the city from the destroyed towns
had all been sent back or away. I went to the Red Cross rooms,
and was shown the garments for distribution, which a committee
of ladies had been attending to. That was the only sign of
activity there, and only one man, and he not an official, but a
subordinate, was in the rooms. He told me all the relief work
now carried on was in the towns themselves—Bosco Tre Case and
Ottajano. So I started off for them next day.
Bosco Tre Case is very easy to reach and to examine. The road
is clear, up to where the mass of lava has blocked the railway.
The officers of the municipality, three in number, were
standing at the entrance of the road into the village, with a
plate, asking contributions from the tourists, who were driving
through in numbers. The lava, a black, rough mass, covering
fields, and what had been houses, was still smoking. But its
path was not very wide, this village only being destroyed, and
on each side of it the fields were in their usual state. The
destruction in the path of the lava was absolutely complete,
of course. I could not find any Red Cross people there, so I
drove on to Pompeii, and took the next train to Ottajano. As
we went up toward Ottajano, the ashes began to show in the
fields. At first only a thin gray dust, they increased as we
ascended. It was a pitiful sight, the vineyards and orchards
dying in the ashes. It was like a tremendous snowfall, with
drifts here and there, but smooth in most places. For miles,
the vineyards are three feet deep in ashes. Here and there,
women and children, with small baskets on their heads, were
laborously carrying away the ashes and dumping them on the
side of the roads. But it would be about as easy to empty Lake
Erie with a tablespoon. At Ottajano, I found the army and the
Red Cross in full control. Seven hundred homeless people are
here cared for. One thousand have been sent to friends or to
America, or scattered here and there where work can be found
for them. The Red Cross people said that it was impossible to
tell how long those who remained would have to be looked after.
Perhaps six months would not be enough. Three hundred was too
large an estimate, they said, of those killed in the eruption;
but certainly over one hundred had perished, and very likely
many more. The soldiers and the men were at work digging ashes,
and casting them away on tiny freight cars. The women were
sitting in groups, with nothing to do. Some sewing is now being
given out by the Red Cross. The houses are full of ashes to the
second story, and the roofs either gone altogether, or broken
and unsafe from the weight of the ashes on them. The Red Cross
gives out rations and clothes and seems to be extremely well
conducted. There are various officials and Sisters of Mercy,
all working constantly and with great system.
The covering of the fields by ashes is the worst part of the
disaster, for it means that the livelihood of the people is
gone for an indefinite time. They are hardworking, deserving
peasants, and now their crops are gone, and the soil will not
bear anything for three or four years, till the ashes are
assimilated. They are far too deep to be plowed in at present.
There is no possible place to dump them. Every road is full,
every waste space heaped up high.
The Red Cross has not as yet published any bulletin or account
of their work. They will do so, however, in the end. Of course
they need money, and will continue to need it for months. I
hope America can send them some, for they certainly deserve it.
Sincerely yours,