Produced by Suzanne Shell, Sam W. and the Online Distributed
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Transcriber's Note
Chapters 27 and 33 both end abruptly in the middle of a sentence.
There are no omitted page numbers, so it is likely that this was an
error made by the publisher when the book was in preparation.
There are some instances where sections of text are repeated, and
these are preserved as printed. It may be that this book was published
very hurriedly following the earthquake, and that these repetitions
were simply missed.
Bold text is marked with = signs, =like this=.
COMPLETE STORY OF THE
San Francisco Horror
INTRODUCTION BY RT. REV. SAMUEL FALLOWS, D. D., LL. D.
A Comprehensive and Connected Account of the Terrible
Tragedy that Befell the People of Our Golden City--The
Metropolis of the Golden Gate, and the Death and Ruin
Dealt Many Adjacent Cities and Surrounding Country.
Destroying Earthquake Comes Without Warning, in the Early
Hours of the Morning; Immense Structures Topple and
Crumble; Great Leland Stanford University Succumbs; Water
Mains Demolished and Fire Completes Devastation; Fighting
Fire With Dynamite.
SCENES OF DEATH AND TERROR
Thousands Killed, Maimed, or Unaccounted For; Tens of
Thousands Without Food or Shelter; Martial Law Declared;
Millions Donated for Relief; Congress Makes an
Appropriation; Sympathetic Citizens Throughout the Land
Untie Their Purse-Strings to Aid the Suffering and
Destitute; Property Loss Hundreds of Millions; Appalling
Stories by Eye Witnesses and Survivors; The Disaster as
Viewed by Scientists, etc.
Comprising Also a Vivid Portrayal of the Recent
Death-Dealing
ERUPTION OF MT. VESUVIUS
BY RICHARD LINTHICUM of the Editorial Staff of the Chicago
Chronicle.
Together with twelve descriptive chapters giving a graphic
and detailed account of the most interesting and historic
disasters of the past from ancient times to the present
day.
BY TRUMBULL WHITE Historian, Traveler and Geographer.
Profusely Illustrated with Photographic Scenes of the
Great Disasters and Views of the Devastated Cities and
Their People.
[Illustration: =THE AWFUL HORROR OF AN EARTHQUAKE.=
Lives, homes and property lost in a few seconds.]
[Illustration: =A PANORAMA OF THE RUINS.=
Photographed from Nob Hill--City Hall at the left.]
[Illustration: =BUSINESS DISTRICT IN SAN FRANCISCO.=
View from Nob Hill.]
COPYRIGHT 1906
BY
HUBERT D. RUSSELL
PREFACE
In presenting this history of the San Francisco Earthquake Horror and
Conflagration to the public, the publishers can assure the reader that
it is the most complete and authentic history of the great disaster
published.
The publishers set out with the determination to produce a work that
would leave no room for any other history on this subject, a task for
which they had the best facilities and the most perfect equipment.
The question of cost was not taken into consideration. The publishers
wanted the best writers, the best illustrations, the best paper,
printing and binding and proceeded immediately to get them. The
services of the two best historical writers in the United States were
secured within an hour after the first news of the catastrophe was
received. The names and historical works of Richard Linthicum and
Trumbull White are known in every household in the United States where
current history is read. They are the authors of many standard works,
including histories of recent wars and books of permanent reference,
and rank among the world's greatest descriptive writers.
A large staff of photographers have supplied illustrations for this
great historical work depicting every phase of the catastrophe from
the first shock of earthquake to the final work of relief. These
illustrations have special interest and value because they are made
from actual photographs taken by trained and skilled photographers.
This history of the most recent of the world's great disasters is
beyond all comparison the most sumptuously and completely illustrated
of any publication on this subject. So numerous are the illustrations
and so accurately do they portray every detail of the quake and fire
that they constitute in themselves a complete, graphic and
comprehensive pictorial history of the great catastrophe.
The story as told by the authors, however, is one of absorbing
interest that thrills the reader with emotion and depicts the scenes
of terror, destruction, misery and suffering as vividly as if the
reader were an eye-witness to all the details of the stupendous
disaster.
The history of the Earthquake and Fire Horror is told consecutively
and systematically from beginning to end.
"The Doomed City" is a pen picture of San Francisco while its
destruction was impending.
The four days of the conflagration are described each in separate
chapters in such a way that the reader can follow the progress of the
fire from the time of the first alarm until it was conquered by the
dynamite squad of heroes.
A great amount of space has been devoted to "Thrilling Personal
Experiences" and "Scenes of Death and Terror," so that the reader has
a thousand and one phases of the horror as witnessed by those who
passed through the awful experience of the earthquake shock and the
ordeal of the conflagration.
For purposes of comparison a chapter has been devoted to a magnificent
description of San Francisco before the fire, "The City of a Hundred
Hills," the Mecca of sight-seers and pleasure loving travelers.
The descriptions of the Refuge Camps established in Golden Gate Park,
the Presidio and other open spaces depict the sorrow and the suffering
of the stricken people in words that appeal to the heart.
The magnificent manner in which the whole nation responded with aid
and the conduct of the relief work are told in a way that brings a
thrill of pride to every American heart.
"Fighting the Fire with Dynamite" is a thrilling chapter of personal
bravery and heroism, and the work of the "Boys in Blue" who patrolled
the city and guarded life and property is adequately narrated.
Chinatown in San Francisco was one of the sights of the world and was
visited by practically every tourist that passed through the Golden
Gate. That odd corner of Cathay which was converted into a roaring
furnace and completely consumed is described with breathless interest.
The "Ruin and Havoc in Other Coast Cities" describes the destruction
of the great Leland Stanford, Jr., University, the scenes of horror
and death at the State Asylum which collapsed, and in other ruined
cities of the Pacific coast.
"The Earthquake as Viewed by Scientists" is a valuable addition to the
seismology of the world--a science that is too little known, but which
possesses tremendous interest for everyone.
The threatened destruction of Naples by the volcano of Vesuvius
preceding the San Francisco disaster is fully described. The chapters
on Vesuvius are especially valuable and interesting, by reason of the
scientific belief that the two disasters are intimately related.
Altogether this volume is the best and most complete history of all
the great disasters of the world and one that should be in the hands
of every intelligent citizen, both as a historical and reference
volume.
THE PUBLISHERS.
CONTENTS
Preface 7
Introduction 21
CHAPTER I.
THE DOOMED CITY.
Earthquake Begins the Wreck of San Francisco
and a Conflagration without Parallel Completes
the Work of Destruction--Tremendous Loss of
Life in Quake and Fire--Property Loss
$200,000,000 33
CHAPTER II.
SAN FRANCISCO A ROARING FURNACE.
Flames Spread in a Hundred Directions and the
Fire Becomes the Greatest Conflagration of
Modern Times--Entire Business Section and
Fairest Part of Residence District Wiped Off
the Map--Palaces of Millionaires Vanish in
Flames or are Blown Up by Dynamite--The Worst
Day of the Catastrophe 46
CHAPTER III.
THIRD DAY ADDS TO HORROR.
Fire Spreads North and South Attended by Many
Spectacular Features--Heroic Work of Soldiers
Under General Funston--Explosions of Gas Add
to General Terror 57
CHAPTER IV.
TWENTY SQUARE MILES OF WRECK AND RUIN.
Fierce Battle to Save the Famous Ferry
Station, the Chief Inlet to and Egress from
San Francisco--Fire Tugs and Vessels in the
Bay Aid in Heroic Fight--Fort Mason, General
Funston's Temporary Headquarters, has Narrow
Escape--A Survey of the Scene of Desolation 69
CHAPTER V.
THE CITY OF A HUNDRED HILLS.
A Description of San Francisco, the Metropolis
of the Pacific Coast, Before the Fire--One of
the Most Beautiful and Picturesque Cities in
America--Home of the California Bonanza Kings 78
[Illustration: =JAMES D. PHELAN.=
Former Mayor of San Francisco, and who gave $1,000,000 for the
relief of the sufferers. Largest sum given by an individual.]
[Illustration: =EUGENE E. SCHMITZ.=
Mayor of San Francisco and who rendered great assistance in bringing
order out of chaos.]
[Illustration: =LOOKING EAST ON MARKET STREET.=]
[Illustration: =VIEW FROM FIFTH AND MARKET STREETS.=]
CHAPTER VI.
SCENES OF TERROR, DEATH AND HEROISM.
Thrilling Escapes and Deeds of Daring--Sublime
Bravery and Self-Sacrifice by Men and
Women--How the United States Mint and the
Treasuries Were Saved and Protected by Devoted
Employes and Soldiers--Pathetic Street
Incidents--Soldiers and Police Compel
Fashionably Attired to Assist in Cleaning
Streets--Italians Drench Homes with Wine 103
CHAPTER VII.
THRILLING PERSONAL EXPERIENCES.
Scenes of Horror and Panic Described by
Victims of the Quake Who Escaped--How Helpless
People Were Crushed to Death by Falling
Buildings and Debris--Some Marvelous Escapes 119
CHAPTER VIII.
THRILLING PERSONAL EXPERIENCES--CONTINUED.
Hairbreadth Escapes from the Hotels Whose
Walls Crumbled--Frantic Mothers Seek Children
from Whom They Were Torn by the
Quake--Reckless Use of Firearms by Cadet
Militia--Tales of Heroism and Suffering 132
CHAPTER IX.
THROUGH LANES OF MISERY.
A Graphic Pen Picture of San Francisco in
Flames and in Ruins--Scenes and Stories of
Human Interest where Millionaires and Paupers
Mingled in a Common Brotherhood--A Harrowing
Trip in an Automobile 141
CHAPTER X.
WHOLE NATION RESPONDS WITH AID.
Government Appropriates Millions and Chicago
Leads All Other Cities with a Round Million
of Dollars--People in All Ranks of Life from
President Roosevelt to the Humblest Wage
Earner Give Promptly and Freely 157
CHAPTER XI.
ALL CO-OPERATE IN RELIEF WORK.
Citizens' Committee Takes Charge of the
Distribution of Supplies, Aided by the Red
Cross Society and the Army--Nearly
Three-Fourths of the Entire Population Fed
and Sheltered in Refuge Camps 162
CHAPTER XII.
OUR BOYS IN BLUE PROVE HEROISM.
United States Troops at the Presidio and Fort
Mason Under Command of General Funston Bring
Order Out of Chaos and Save City from
Pestilence--San Francisco Said "Thank God
for the Boys in Blue"--Stricken City
Patrolled by Soldiers 171
CHAPTER XIII.
IN THE REFUGE CAMPS.
Scenes of Destitution in the Parks Where the
Homeless Were Gathered--Rich and Poor Share
Food and Bed Alike--All Distinctions of Wealth
and Social Position Wiped Out by the Great
Calamity 178
CHAPTER XIV.
RUINS AND HAVOC IN COAST CITIES.
San Jose, the Prettiest Place in the State,
Wrecked by Quake--State Insane Asylum
Collapsed and Buried Many Patients Beneath
the Crumbled Walls--Enormous Damage at Santa
Rosa 189
CHAPTER XV.
DESTRUCTION OF GREAT STANFORD UNIVERSITY.
California's Magnificent Educational
Institution, the Pride of the State, Wrecked
by Quake--Founded by the Late Senator Leland
Stanford as a Memorial to His Son and
Namesake--Loss $3,000,000 198
CHAPTER XVI.
FIGHTING FIRE WITH DYNAMITE.
San Francisco Conflagration Eventually Checked
by the Use of Explosives--Lesson of Baltimore
Needed in Coast City--Western Remnant of City
in Residence Section Saved by Blowing Up
Beautiful Homes of the Rich 208
CHAPTER XVII.
MISCELLANEOUS FACTS AND INCIDENTS.
Many Babies Born in Refuge Camps--Expressions
of Sympathy from Foreign Nations--San
Francisco's Famous Restaurants--Plight of
Newspaper and Telegraph Offices 214
CHAPTER XVIII.
DISASTER AS VIEWED BY SCIENTISTS.
Scientists are Divided Upon the Theories
Concerning the Shock That Wrought Havoc in the
Golden Gate City--May Have Originated Miles
Under the Ocean--Growth of the Sierra Madre
Mountains May Have Been the Cause 230
CHAPTER XIX.
CHINATOWN, A PLAGUE SPOT BLOTTED OUT.
An Oriental Hell within an American City--Foreign
in Its Stores, Gambling Dens and Inhabitants--The
Mecca of All San Francisco Sight Seers--Secret
Passages, Opium Joints and Slave Trade Its Chief
Features 246
CHAPTER XX.
THE NEW SAN FRANCISCO.
A Modern City of Steel on the Ruins of the City
that Was--A Beautiful Vista of Boulevards, Parks
and Open Spaces Flanked by the Massive Structures
of Commerce and the Palaces of Wealth and Fashion 255
CHAPTER XXI.
VESUVIUS THREATENS NAPLES.
Beautiful Italian City on the Mediterranean
Almost Engulfed in Ashes and Lava from the
Terrible Volcano--Worst Eruption Since the
Days of Pompeii and Herculaneum--Buildings
Crushed and Thousands Rendered Homeless 267
CHAPTER XXII.
SCENES IN FRIGHTENED NAPLES.
Blistering Showers of Hot Ashes--The People
Frantic--Cry Everywhere "When Will It
End?"--Atmosphere Charged with Electricity
and Poisonous Fumes 279
CHAPTER XXIII.
VOLCANOES AND EARTHQUAKES EXPLAINED.
BY TRUMBULL WHITE.
The Theories of Science on Seismic
Convulsions--Volcanoes Likened to Boils on
the Human Body, Through Which the Fires
and Impurities of the Blood Manifest
Themselves--Seepage of Ocean Waters Through
Crevices in the Rocks Reaches the Internal
Fires of the Earth--Steam Is Generated and
an Explosion Follows--Geysers and Steam Boilers
as Illustrations--Views of the World's Most
Eminent Scientists Concerning the Causes of
the Eruptions of Mount Pelee and La Soufriere 285
CHAPTER XXIV.
TERRIBLE VOLCANIC DISASTERS OF THE PAST.
BY TRUMBULL WHITE.
Destruction of Sodom, Gomorrah and the Other
Cities of the Plain--The Bible Account a
Graphic Description of the Event--Ancient
Writers Tell of Earthquakes and Volcanoes of
Antiquity--Discovery of Buried Cities of
Which No Records Remain--Formation of the
Dead Sea--The Valley of the Jordan and Its
Physical Characteristics 303
CHAPTER XXV.
VESUVIUS AND THE DESTRUCTION OF POMPEII.
BY TRUMBULL WHITE.
Most Famous Volcanic Eruption in History--Roman
Cities Overwhelmed--Scenes of Horror Described by
Pliny, the Great Classic Writer, an Eye-Witness
of the Disaster--Buried in Ashes and Lava--The
Stricken Towns Preserved for Centuries Excavated
in Modern Times as a Wonderful Museum of the Life
of 1,800 Years Ago 309
CHAPTER XXVI.
MOUNT AETNA AND THE SICILIAN HORRORS.
BY TRUMBULL WHITE.
A Volcano with a Record of Twenty-five
Centuries--Seventy-eight Recorded
Eruptions--Three Hundred Thousand Inhabitants
Dwelling on the Slopes of the Mountain and in the
Valleys at Its Base--Stories of Earthquake Shocks
and Lava Flows--Tales of Destruction--Described
by Ancient and Modern Writers and Eye-Witnesses 321
CHAPTER XXVII.
LISBON EARTHQUAKE SCOURGED.
BY TRUMBULL WHITE.
Sixty Thousand Lives Lost in a Few Moments--An
Opulent and Populous Capital Destroyed--Graphic
Account by an English Merchant Who Resided in
the Stricken City--Tidal Waves Drown Thousands
in the City Streets--Ships Engulfed in the
Harbor--Criminals Rob and Burn--Terrible
Desolation and Suffering 334
CHAPTER XXVIII.
JAPAN AND ITS DISASTROUS EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES.
BY TRUMBULL WHITE.
The Island Empire Subject to Convulsions of
Nature--Legends of Ancient Disturbances--Famous
Volcano of Fuji-yama Formed in One Night--More
Than One Hundred Volcanoes in Japan--Two Hundred
and Thirty-two Eruptions Recorded--Devastation of
Thriving Towns and Busy Cities--The Capital a
Sufferer--Scenes of Desolation after the Most
Recent Great Earthquakes 344
CHAPTER XXIX.
KRAKATOA, THE GREATEST OF VOLCANIC EXPLOSIONS.
BY TRUMBULL WHITE.
East Indian Catastrophes--The Volcano that Blew
Its Own Head Off--The Terrific Crash Heard Three
Thousand Miles--Atmospheric Waves Travel Seven
Times Around the Earth--A Pillar of Dust
Seventeen Miles High--Islands of the Malay
Archipelago Blotted Out of Existence--Native
Villages Annihilated--Other Disastrous Upheavals
in the East Indies 353
CHAPTER XXX.
OUR GREAT HAWAIIAN AND ALASKAN VOLCANOES.
BY TRUMBULL WHITE.
Greatest Volcanoes in the World Are Under the
American Flag--Huge Craters in Our Pacific
Islands--Native Worship of the Gods of the
Flaming Mountains--Eruptions of the Past--Heroic
Defiance of Pele, the Goddess of Volcanoes by a
Brave Hawaiian Queen--The Spell of Superstition
Broken--Volcanic Peaks in Alaska, Our Northern
Territory--Aleutian Islands Report Eruptions 363
CHAPTER XXXI.
SOUTH AMERICAN CITIES DESTROYED.
BY TRUMBULL WHITE.
Earthquakes Ravage the Coast Cities of Peru and
the Neighboring Countries--Spanish Capitals in
the New World Frequent Sufferers--Lima, Callao
and Caracas Devastated--Tidal Waves Accompany
the Earthquakes--Juan Fernandez Island
Shaken--Fissures Engulf Men and Animals--Peculiar
Effects Observed 373
CHAPTER XXXII.
EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES IN CENTRAL AMERICA AND MEXICO.
BY TRUMBULL WHITE.
A Region Frequently Disturbed by Subterranean
Forces--Guatemala a Fated City--A Lake Eruption
in Honduras Described by a Great Painter--City of
San Jose Destroyed--Inhabitants Leave the
Vicinity to Wander as Beggars--Disturbances on
the Route of the Proposed Nicaragua Canal--San
Salvador Is Shaken--Mexican Cities Suffer 382
CHAPTER XXXIII.
CHARLESTON, GALVESTON, JOHNSTOWN--OUR AMERICAN DISASTERS.
BY TRUMBULL WHITE.
Earthquake Shock in South Carolina--Many Lives
Lost in the Riven City--Galveston Smitten by
Tidal Wave and Hurricane--Thousands Die in
Flood and Shattered Buildings--The Gulf Coast
Desolated--Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Swept by
Water from a Bursting Reservoir--Scenes of
Horror 389
CHAPTER XXXIV.
ST. PIERRE, MARTINIQUE, ANNIHILATED BY A VOLCANO.
BY TRUMBULL WHITE.
Fifty Thousand Men, Women and Children Slain in
an Instant--Molten Fire and Suffocating Gases Rob
Multitudes of Life--Death Reigns in the Streets
of the Stricken City--The Governor and Foreign
Consuls Die at Their Posts of Duty--No Escape for
the Hapless Residents in the Fated Town--Scenes
of Suffering Described--Desolation Over All--Few
Left to Tell the Tale of the Morning of Disaster 397
ILLUSTRATIONS
The Awful Horror of an Earthquake Frontispiece
A Panorama of the Ruins Frontispiece
Business District of San Francisco Frontispiece
Former Mayor James D. Phelan 11
Mayor Eugene E. Schmitz 11
Looking East on Market Street 12
View from Fifth and Market Streets 12
Market Street, Scene of Ruins 31
United States Guards in Charge of Dead 32
Street Torn Up by Earthquake 41
Stockton Street 42
Grant Avenue 42
Mission Street 43
O'Farrell Street 43
Looking North from Sixth and Market Streets 44
The Orpheum Theatre 44
San Francisco on Fire 53
Destroyed Wholesale Houses 54
Cracks in Earth 63
Ruins of Emporium Building 63
Map--Bird's-Eye View of San Francisco 64
Ruins of Hall of Justice 65
Looking Down Market Toward Call Building 66
From California Street Toward Call Building 66
Market Street Before the Disaster 75
The Devouring Flames 76
Mark Hopkins Institute, Nob Hill 85
United States Mint 86
New Postoffice Building 87
Jefferson Square 88
Chronicle Building 97
St. Francis Hotel (Before the Earthquake) 97
Ferry House 98
Free Water 115
Distributing Clothes 115
Wires Destroyed 116
Military Camp 116
Kitchens in the Street 133
Wing of City Hall, Crumbled 133
Cattle Killed 134
St. John's Church, Ruined 134
Camp Kitchen in Ball Park 151
Shacks in Golden Gate Park 151
Governor Pardee 152
Major General Adolphus Greely 152
Refugees on Telegraph Hill 169
General Funston and Wife 170
Vendome Hotel, San Jose 187
Postoffice, San Jose 188
Corner of Baptist Church 205
Kearney Street, San Francisco 205
Ferry Building 206
Military Quarters 206
Randolph Storage 223
Switchboard Destroyed 223
St. Dominici Church, Freak with Steeple 224
St. Dominici Church, Wrecked 224
Chinese Refugees 241
Flat Building, Sunk 242
Seeking Lost Friends 259
All that Was Left of a Fine Residence 259
Soldiers' Encampment 260
Alameda Park 260
Dolores Mission 277
Wreck and Ruin 278
Wreck and Ruin 278
Crack in Earth 295
Ghoulish Thieves Looting the Dead 296
Effect of Earthquake on Modern Steel Building 313
Vesuvius During Recent Eruption 314
Road Leading to Vesuvius Before Eruption 314
[Illustration: =MAP OF SAN FRANCISCO AND VICINITY.=
Showing towns and section of country that suffered the most from
effects of earthquake.]
INTRODUCTION
BY THE RT. REV. SAMUEL FALLOWS, D. D., LL. D.
A bright, intelligent unbeliever in the Providential government of the
world has just said to me in discussing this greatest of calamities
which has occurred in our nation's history, "Where is your benevolent
God?" I answered "He still lives and guides the affairs of men."
Another said, "The preachers would do well not to meddle with the
subject." But the reply was made, "It is precisely the subject with
which they, more than others, should concern themselves."
It is for them, when the hearts of men are failing to confidently
proclaim that God has not abdicated his throne, and that man is not
the sport of malign and lawless forces.
All events are ordered for the best; and the evils which we suffer are
parts of a great movement conducted by Almighty power, under the
direction of Infinite Wisdom and Goodness. God's creation is a perfect
work. The world in which we live is the best possible world on the
whole; not the best possible to the individual at any given moment,
but the best possible on the whole, all creatures considered and all
the ages of man taken into the account. This is the affirmation of a
triumphant optimism.
John Stuart Mill averred that a better world could have been made and
more favorable conditions for man devised. But before this hypothesis
can be sustained, the skeptic from the beginning of time must have
scanned the history of every individual and studied it in its minutest
details. He must have explored every rill and river of influence
entering into his character. He must have understood every relation of
the individual to every other person through all the ages. He must
have mastered all the facts and laws of our earth. And as it sustains
a vital connection with the solar system, he must have grasped all the
mysteries which are involved in it.
As this system is related to the still grander one of which it is a
part, he must have known the law and workings of its every star and
sun. Still more, he must have gone from system to system with their
millions of worlds and become familiar with every part of the vast
stupendous whole. He must have learned every secret of all Nature's
forces, and have penetrated into the interior recesses of the Divine
Being. He must have taken the place of God Himself.
A Divine Providence.
Amid all our doubts and distresses we must hold fast to the belief
that there is a God who maketh the clouds His chariot and walketh upon
the wings of the wind--a God who is present in every summer breath and
every wintry blast, in every budding leaf, and every opening flower,
in the fall of every sparrow and the wheeling of every world. His
Providence is in every swinging of the tides, in every circulation of
the air, in all attractions and repulsions, in all cohesions and
gravitations. These, and the varied phenomena of nature are the direct
expressions of the Divine Energy, the modes of operation of the Divine
Mind, the manifestations of the Divine Wisdom and the expressions of
the Divine Love.
The very thunderbolt that rives the oak and by its shock sunders the
soul from the body of some unfortunate one purifies the air that
millions may breathe the breath of life.
The very earthquake which shakes the earth to its center and shatters
cities into ruin, prevents by that very concussion the graver
catastrophes which bury continents out of sight.
The very hurricane which comes sweeping down and on, prostrating
forests, hurling mighty tidal waves on the shore and sending down many
a gallant ship with all its crew, bears on its destructive wings, "the
incense of the sea," to remotest parts, that there may be the blooming
of flowers, the upspringing of grass, the waving of all the banners of
green, and the carrying away of the vapors of death that spring from
decaying mold.
Man the Conqueror.
Pascal said "man is but a reed, the feeblest thing in nature, but he
is a reed that thinks." The elemental forces break loose and for the
time being he cannot control them. Amid nature's convulsions he is
utterly helpless and insignificant.
It is but for a moment, however, that he yields. He knows that he is
the central figure in the universe of worlds. "He is not one part of
the furniture of this planet, not the highest merely in the scale of
its creatures but the lord of all." He is not a parasite but the
paragon of the globe. He has faith in the unchangeableness of the laws
he is mastering while suffering from them. He confidently declares
there is nothing fitful, nothing capricious, nothing irregular in
their action. The greater the calamity the more earnest his effort to
ascertain its causes and learn the lessons it teaches.
Fearlessly man must meet the events of life as they come. Speculations
as to future cataclysms and fearful forebodings as to the immediate
end of the world must all be given to the winds. There will be at some
time an end to our globe. It may be frozen out, or burned out, or
scattered into impalpable dust by the terrific explosion of steam
generated by an ocean of water precipitated into an ocean of fire. But
cycles of millenniums will intervene before such an apocalypse takes
place.
In the spirit of Campbell's "Last Man" we must live, and act;
"Go sun, while mercy holds me up
On nature's awful waste
To taste the last and bitter cup
Of death, that man must taste:
Go, say thou saw'st the last of Adam's race
On earth's sepulchral clod,
The darkening Universe defy,
To quench his immortality
Or shake his trust in God."
Wickedness not the Cause of Destruction.
There are among us men who seem to suppose that they have been let
into the counsels of the Almighty and have the right to aver that this
calamity so colossal in its proportions and awful in its character is
a judgment upon our sister city for its great wickedness. I heard
similar declarations when Chicago was swept by its tornado of flame.
Neither Chicago nor San Francisco could claim to be pre-eminent in
righteousness, but, that Divine Providence should visit the vials of
His wrath in an especial manner upon them because of their iniquity,
is utterly repugnant both to reason and Holy Scripture. Only by a
special revelation from the Most High, accompanied with evidence
corresponding to that which substantiates the claims of an Old
Testament prophet can any warrant be given to any man to declare that
a great catastrophe is the consequence of the moral sins of a given
community.
The Book of Job gives the emphatic denial to the claim that specific
human misery and suffering are the sure signs of the retribution for
specific guilt or sin. The Great Teacher and Divine Savior of men
reaffirmed the truth of the teachings of that ancient poem by
asserting that the man born blind was not thus grievously afflicted
because he himself or his parents had been guilty of some peculiar
iniquity. He declared that the eighteen persons who had been killed by
the falling of the Tower of Siloam (probably from an earthquake
shock), were not greater sinners than those who were hearing him
speak.
The Unity of Humanity.
This great disaster has given a new emphasis to our National Unity.
Congress for the first time has voted to aid directly a city in
distress within the bounds of our country. State Legislatures have
followed its example, while municipal organizations by the score have
poured out their benefactions.
From all quarters of the civilized globe expressions of sympathy have
come and tenders of help made, without parallel in the annals of time.
All this has revealed the essential oneness of Humanity. It has shown
that beneath all the artificial distinctions of society man is the
equal of his fellow man. All the barriers of nationality, creed,
color, social position, riches, poverty have been broken down in the
common sufferings of the stricken people on our Western Coast. The
chord of brotherhood is vibrating in all our hearts. Its divine
melodies are heard above the roar and rush of business in our streets.
We have been amassing wealth too often selfishly, and madly. We have
been making money our god; and now we see how vain a thing it is in
which to put our trust. Now we feel "it is more blessed to give than
to receive." Now, kindness and tenderness melt the hardness of our
natures. Now, as we stretch the helping hand and witness the joy and
gratitude evoked, by our God-like deeds, we feel in every fiber of our
being the thrill of the poet's rapt exclamation:
"O, if there be an Elysium on earth
It is this, it is this."
Recovery from Earthquakes.
Earthquakes throughout the world have not disturbed the ultimate
confidence of man in the stability of this old and often seemingly
wayward earth. All Greece was convulsed centuries ago from center to
circumference and Constantinople for the second time was overturned
with the loss of tens of thousands of lives. Five hundred years
afterwards the city was again shaken and a large number of its
buildings destroyed with an appalling loss of life. Again and again
was the ancient city of Antioch shattered in almost every portion but
each time she arose stronger than before. Fifteen hundred years ago
one mighty shock cost the lives of 250,000 of its people, but Antioch
remains, although its grandeur from other causes has departed. Twice
at least has Naples been partly destroyed along with its neighboring
towns and more than 100,000 people have perished. But Naples is still
on the map of the earth.
Lisbon, one hundred and fifty years ago lost 50,000 of its inhabitants
and had a part of its territory suddenly submerged under 600 feet of
water. For 5,000 miles the earthquake extended and shook Scotland
itself, alarming the English people and causing fasting and prayer and
special sermons in the Scotch and Anglican churches.
Two hundred years ago Tokio was almost entirely destroyed. Every
building was practically in ruins and more than 200,000 were numbered
among its mangled dead. Again in 1855 it nearly suffered a similar
fate with a decreased though very large loss of life. But Tokio has
helped Japan play its dramatic part in the recent history of the
world.
Graphic descriptions have been left us by eye witnesses of the
tremendous upheaval in the great Mississippi Valley in 1811, when the
flow of the mighty river was stopped, and the land on its banks for
vast distances from its current was sunk for a stretch of nearly 300
miles. But the Father of Waters still goes on unvexed to the sea.
Charleston was sadly shaken twenty years ago, but her streets are not
deserted. Senator Tillman still speaks vigorously as the
representative of her wide-awake and increasing population.
Some of us have not forgotten when we saw Chicago burning in 1871, the
doubts and fears of our own hearts regarding the future of our city.
Jeremiads were oracularly and dolefully uttered by many a prophetic
pessimist that Chicago would never be rebuilt, that it would be burned
again if it should rise from its ashes. Well! it did rise. It was
again sadly burned. It again arose. It has been rising and growing
ever since. And it is now ready to send its millions of dollars and
more if needed to the stricken cities on our Pacific coast.
Not in fear then, but in hope, must our homes, our churches, our
schools, our manufactories, our marts of trade, our bank buildings,
our office buildings and other needed structures be established.
San Francisco will be Rebuilt.
The prophets of evil may croak as dismally as they may desire and
predict that the earth will again shudder and quake and imperil if not
destroy any city man may attempt to create on the now dismantled and
disfigured site. But San Francisco will as surely be rebuilt as the
sun rises in heaven. No earthquake upheaval can shake the determined
will of the unconquerable American to recover from disaster. It will
simply serve to make him more rock-rooted and firm in his purpose to
pluck victory from defeat. No fiery blasts can burn up the asbestos of
his unconsumable energy. No disaster, however seemingly overwhelming,
can daunt his faith or dim his hope, or prevent his progress.
San Francisco occupies the imperial gateway of the Pacific. Her
harbor, one of the best in the world, still preserves its contour and
extends its protecting arms as when Francis Drake found his way into
it nearly four hundred years ago. The finger of Providence still
points to it amid wreck and ruin and smoldering ashes as the place
where a teeming city with every mark of a splendid civilization shall
be the pride of our Western shores. Her wailing Miserere shall be
turned into a joyful Te Deum.
Not for a moment after the temporary paralysis is past will the work
of reconstruction be delayed. We know not when another shock may come
or whether it will come again at all. No matter. The city shall rise
again. And with it, shall the other cities that have suffered from the
earth's commotion rise again into newness of life. California will not
cease to be the land of fruits and flowers, of beauty and bounty, of
sunshine and splendor from this temporary disturbance. It will
continue to maintain its just reputation for all that is admirable in
the American character, of pluck and perseverance, of vigor and
versatility, and above all of the royal hospitality of its homes and
of the welcome it always extends to every new and inspiring thought.
Samuel Fallows
[Illustration: =MARKET STREET SCENE OF RUINS.=
Looking west on Market Street from 5th Street. The man in gutter was
probably shot by the soldiers.]
[Illustration: Copyright by R. L. Forrest 1906.
=U. S. GUARDS IN CHARGE OF DEAD.=
A scene in Jefferson Square where the U. S. Guards are caring for
the dead. Note the caskets, dead person laid out on mattress, also
guard tents, embalming fluids in demijohns, etc. Name or description
of the dead being recorded.]
CHAPTER I.
THE DOOMED CITY.
=Earthquake Begins the Wreck of San Francisco and a
Conflagration without Parallel Completes the Awful Work
of Destruction--Tremendous Loss of life in Quake and
Fire--Property Loss $200,000,000.=
After four days and three nights that have no parallel outside of
Dante's Inferno, the city of San Francisco, the American metropolis by
the Golden Gate, was a mass of glowing embers fast resolving into
heaps and winrows of grey ashes emblematic of devastation and death.
Where on the morning of April 18, 1906, stood a city of magnificent
splendor, wealthier and more prosperous than Tyre and Sidon of
antiquity, enriched by the mines of Ophir, there lay but a scene of
desolation. The proud and beautiful city had been shorn of its
manifold glories, its palaces and vast commercial emporiums levelled
to the earth and its wide area of homes, where dwelt a happy and a
prosperous people, lay prostrate in thin ashes. Here and there in the
charred ruins and the streets lately blackened by waves of flame, lay
crushed or charred corpses, unheeded by the survivors, some of whom
were fighting desperately for their lives and property, while others
were panic stricken and paralyzed by fear. Thousands of lives had been
sacrificed and millions upon millions of dollars in property utterly
destroyed.
The beginning of the unparalleled catastrophe was on the morning of
April 18, 1906. In the grey dawn, when but few had arisen for the day,
a shock of earthquake rocked the foundations of the city and
precipitated scenes of panic and terror throughout the business and
residence districts.
It was 5:15 o'clock in the morning when the terrific earthquake shook
San Francisco and the surrounding country. One shock apparently lasted
two minutes and there was an almost immediate collapse of flimsy
structures all over the former city. The water supply was cut off and
when fires broke out in various sections there was nothing to do but
to let the buildings burn. Telegraphic and telephone communication was
shut off. Electric light and gas plants were rendered useless and the
city was left without water, light or power. Street car tracks were
twisted out of shape and even the ferry-boats ceased to run.
The dreadful earthquake shock came without warning, its motion
apparently being from east to west. At first the upheaval of the earth
was gradual, but in a few seconds it increased in intensity. Chimneys
began to fall and buildings to crack, tottering on their foundations.
People became panic stricken and rushed into the streets, most of them
in their night attire. They were met by showers of falling buildings,
bricks, cornices and walls. Many were instantly crushed to death,
while others were dreadfully mangled. Those who remained indoors
generally escaped with their lives, though scores were hit by detached
plaster, pictures and articles thrown to the floor by the shock.
Scarcely had the earth ceased to shake when fires broke out
simultaneously in many places. The fire department promptly responded
to the first calls for aid, but it was found that the water mains had
been rendered useless by the underground movement. Fanned by a light
breeze, the flames quickly spread and soon many blocks were seen to be
doomed.
Then dynamite was resorted to and the sound of frequent explosions
added to the terror of the people. All efforts to stay the progress of
the fire, however, proved futile. The south side of Market street from
Ninth street to the bay was soon ablaze, the fire covering a belt two
blocks wide. On this, the main thoroughfare of the city, are located
many of the finest edifices in the city, including the Grant,
Parrott, Flood, Call, Examiner and Monadnock buildings, the Palace and
Grand hotels and numerous wholesale houses.
At the same time the commercial establishments and banks north of
Market street were burning. The burning district in this section
extended from Sansome street to the water front and from Market street
to Broadway. Fires also broke out in the mission and the entire city
seemed to be in flames.
The fire swept down the streets so rapidly that it was practically
impossible to save anything in its way. It reached the Grand Opera
House on Mission street and in a moment had burned through the roof.
The Metropolitan opera company from New York had just opened its
season there and all the expensive scenery and costumes were soon
reduced to ashes. From the opera house the fire leaped from building
to building, leveling them almost to the ground in quick succession.
The Call editorial and mechanical departments were totally destroyed
in a few minutes and the flames leaped across Stevenson street toward
the fine fifteen-story stone and iron Claus Spreckels building, which
with its lofty dome is the most notable edifice in San Francisco. Two
small wooden buildings furnished fuel to ignite the splendid pile.
Thousands of people watched the hungry tongues of flame licking the
stone walls. At first no impression was made, but suddenly there was a
cracking of glass and an entrance was affected. The interior
furnishings of the fourth floor were the first to go. Then as though
by magic, smoke issued from the top of the dome.
This was followed by a most spectacular illumination. The round
windows of the dome shone like so many full moons; they burst and gave
vent to long, waving streamers of flame. The crowd watched the
spectacle with bated breath. One woman wrung her hands and burst into
a torrent of tears.
"It is so terrible!" she sobbed. The tall and slender structure which
had withstood the forces of the earth appeared doomed to fall a prey
to fire. After a while, however, the light grew less intense and the
flames, finding nothing more to consume, gradually went, leaving the
building standing but completely burned out.
The Palace Hotel, the rear of which was constantly threatened, was the
scene of much excitement, the guests leaving in haste, many only with
the clothing they wore. Finding that the hotel, being surrounded on
all sides by streets, was likely to remain immune, many returned and
made arrangements for the removal of their belongings, though little
could be taken away owing to the utter absence of transportation
facilities. The fire broke out anew and the building was soon a mass
of ruins.
The Parrott building, in which were located the chambers of the state
supreme court, the lower floors being devoted to an immense department
store, was ruined, though its massive walls were not all destroyed.
A little farther down Market street the Academy of Sciences and the
Jennie Flood building and the History building kindled and burned like
tinder. Sparks carried across the wide street ignited the Phelan
building and the army headquarters of the department of California,
General Funston commanding, were burned.
Still nearing the bay, the waters of which did the firemen good
service, along the docks, the fire took the Rialto building, a
handsome skyscraper, and converted scores of solid business blocks
into smoldering piles of brick.
Banks and commercial houses, supposed to be fireproof though not of
modern build, burned quickly and the roar of the flames could be heard
even on the hills, which were out of the danger zone. Here many
thousands of people congregated and witnessed the awful scene. Great
sheets of flame rose high in the heavens or rushed down some narrow
street, joining midway between the sidewalks and making a horizontal
chimney of the former passage ways.
The dense smoke that arose from the entire business spread out like an
immense funnel and could have been seen for miles out at sea.
Occasionally, as some drug house or place stored with chemicals was
reached, most fantastic effects were produced by the colored flames
and smoke which rolled out against the darker background.
When the first shock occurred at 5:15 a. m. most of the population
were in bed and many lodging houses collapsed with every occupant.
There was no warning of the awful catastrophe. First came a slight
shock, followed almost immediately by a second and then the great
shock that sent buildings swaying and tumbling. Fire broke out
immediately. Every able-bodied man who could be pressed into service
was put to work rescuing the victims.
Panic seized most of the people and they rushed frantically about.
Toward the ferry building there was a rush of those fleeing to cross
the bay. Few carried any effects and some were hardly dressed. The
streets were filled immediately with panic-stricken people and the
frequently occurring shocks sent them into unreasoning panic. Fires
lighted up the sky in every direction in the breaking dawn. In the
business district devastation met the eye on every hand.
The area bounded by Washington, Mission and Montgomery streets and
extending to the bay front was quickly devastated. That represented
the heart of the handsome business section.
The greatest destruction on the first day occurred in that part of the
city which was reclaimed from San Francisco Bay. Much of the
devastated district was at one time low marshy ground entirely covered
by water at high tide. As the city grew it became necessary to fill in
many acres of this low ground in order to reach deep water. The
Merchants' Exchange building, a fourteen-story steel structure, was
situated on the edge of this reclaimed ground. It had just been
completed and the executive offices of the Southern Pacific Company
occupied the greater part of the building.
The damage by the earthquake to the residence portion of the city, the
finest part of which was on Nob Hill and Pacific Heights, was slight
but the fire completely destroyed that section on the following day.
To the westward, on Pacific Heights, were many fine, new residences,
but little injury was done to any of them by the quake.
The Palace Hotel, a seven-story building about 300 feet square, was
built thirty years ago by the late Senator Sharon, whose estate was in
the courts for many years. At the time it was erected the Palace was
considered the best equipped hotel in the west.
The offices of the three morning papers, the Chronicle, the Call and
the Examiner, were located within 100 feet of each other. The
Chronicle, situated at the corner of Market and Kearney streets, was a
ten-story steel frame building and was one of the finest buildings of
its character put up in San Francisco.
The Spreckels building, in which were located the business office of
the Call, was sixteen stories high and very narrow. The editorial
rooms, composing room and pressroom were in a small three-story
building immediately in the rear of the Spreckels building.
Just across Third street was the home of the Examiner, seven stories
high, with a frontage of 100 feet on Market street.
The postoffice was a fine, grey stone structure and had been completed
less than two years. It covered half a block on Mission street between
Sixth and Seventh streets. The ground on which the building stood was
of a swampy character and some difficulty was experienced in obtaining
a solid foundation.
The City Hall, which was badly wrecked by the quake and afterwards
swept by the fire, was a mile and a half from the water front. It was
an imposing structure with a dome 150 feet high. The building covered
about three acres and cost more than $7,000,000.
The Grand Opera House, where the Metropolitan Opera Company opened a
two weeks' engagement the previous Monday night, was one of the oldest
theaters in San Francisco. It was located on Mission street between
Third and Fourth streets and for a number of years was the leading
playhouse of the city.
In 1885 when business began to move off of Mission street and to seek
modern structures this playhouse was closed for some time and later
devoted to vaudeville. Within the past four years, however, numerous
fine buildings had been erected on Mission street and the Grand Opera
house had been used by many of the leading independent theatrical
companies.
All efforts to prevent the fire from reaching the Palace and Grand
hotels were unsuccessful and both were completely destroyed together
with all their contents.
All of San Francisco's best playhouses, including the Majestic,
Columbia, Orpheum and Grand Opera house were soon a mass of ruins. The
earthquake demolished them for all practical purposes and the fire
completed the work of demolition. The handsome Rialto and Casserly
buildings were burned to the ground, as was everything in that
district.
The scene at the Mechanics' Pavilion during the early hours of the
morning and up until noon, when all the injured and dead were removed
because of the threatened destruction of the building by fire, was one
of indescribable sadness. Sisters, brothers, wives and sweethearts
searched eagerly for some missing dear one.
Thousands of persons hurriedly went through the building inspecting
the cots on which the sufferers lay in the hope that they would locate
some loved one that was missing.
The dead were placed in one portion of the building and the remainder
was devoted to hospital purposes. The fire forced the nurses and
physicians to desert the building; the eager crowds followed them to
the Presidio and the Children's hospital, where they renewed their
search for missing relatives.
The experience of the first day of the fire was a great testimonial to
the modern steel building. A score of those structures were in course
of erection and not one of them suffered. The completed modern
buildings were also immune from harm by earthquake. The buildings that
collapsed were all flimsy, wooden and old-fashioned brick structures.
On the evening of Wednesday, April 18, the first day of the fire, an
area of thickly covered ground of eight square miles had been burned
over and it was apparent that the entire city was doomed to
destruction.
Nearly every famous landmark that had made San Francisco famous over
the world had been laid in ruins or burned to the ground in the dire
catastrophe. Never was the fate of a city more disastrous.
For three miles along the water front buildings had been swept clean
and the blackened beams and great skeletons of factories and offices
stood silhouetted against a background of flame that was slowly
spreading over the entire city.
The whole commercial and office section of the city on the north side
of Market street from the ferry building to Tenth street had been
consumed in the hell of flame, while hardly a building was standing in
the district south of Market street. At 2 o'clock in the afternoon,
despite the heroic work of the firemen and the troops of dynamiters,
who razed building after building and blew up property valued at
millions, the flames spread across Market street to the north side and
swept up Montgomery street, practically to Washington street. Along
Montgomery street were some of the richest banks and commercial houses
in San Francisco.
[Illustration: Copyright by R. L. Forrest 1906.
=STREET TORN UP BY EARTHQUAKE.=
A photograph of street in front of new Postoffice. Note how the car
tracks are thrown up and twisted.]
[Illustration: =STOCKTON STREET FROM UNION SQUARE.=]
[Illustration: =GRANT AVENUE FROM MARKET STREET.=]
[Illustration: =MISSION STREET, SAN FRANCISCO.=
Photographed from Fourth Street.]
[Illustration: =O'FARRELL STREET.=
A new steel building which was being erected shown at the right.]
[Illustration: =LOOKING NORTH FROM SIXTH AND MARKET STREETS.=]
[Illustration: =THE ORPHEUM THEATER ON O'FARRELL STREET.=]
The famous Mills building and the new Merchants Exchange were still
standing, but the Mutual Life Insurance building and scores of bank
and office buildings were on fire, while blocks of other houses were
in the path of the flames and nothing seemed to be at hand to stay
their progress.
Nearly every big factory building had been wiped out of existence and
a complete enumeration of them would look like a copy of the city
directory.
Many of the finest buildings in the city had been leveled to dust by
the terrific charges of dynamite in hopeless effort to stay the horror
of fire. In this work many heroic soldiers, policemen and firemen were
maimed or killed outright.
At 10 o'clock at night the fire was unabated and thousands of people
were fleeing to the hills and clamoring for places on the ferry boats
at the ferry landing.
From the Cliff House came word that the great pleasure resort and show
place of the city, which stood upon a foundation of solid rock, had
been swept into the sea. This report proved to be unfounded, but it
was not until three days later that any one got close enough to the
Cliff House to discover that it was still safe.
One of the big losses of the day was the destruction of St. Ignatius'
church and college at Van Ness avenue and Hayes street. This was the
greatest Jesuitical institution in the west and built at a cost of
$2,000,000.
By 7 o'clock at night the fire had swept from the south side of the
town across Market street into the district called the Western
addition and was burning houses at Golden Gate avenue and Octavia.
This result was reached after almost the entire southern district from
Ninth street to the eastern water front had been converted into a
blackened waste. In this section were hundreds of factories, wholesale
houses and many business firms, in addition to thousands of homes.