The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-03-28

fair salaries all around, especially to the man
ager. When all was ready. the Earthquake
Bureau opened its doors, the clerks got their
pens ready, the manager put on his most Sc.
rious business expression, and all hands waited
for the people to come in who had something to
say. as to the best way for preventing earth
quakes
The Earthquake Bureau ran about four
months Then it dawned upon the people who
were regularly taking cash from their pockets to
support it that all the facts in creation wouldn't
stop an earthquake when it had once started,
nor would they prevent one from starting If it
wished to. So the next collection plate went
around empty. The Earthquake Bureau sus-
pended operations, and the manager talked a
new scheme into life and activity.
was present at another earthquake in San
Francisco on Sunday afternoon, while most OF
the churches were in session. Parson Stone
was accused by one of his Pensioners next day
with breaking off suddenly In the middle of a
powerful sermon and leaving his pulpit with a
certain haste which did not argue much presence
OF mind. To which Parson Stone replied that
under the circumstances he thought that lab
sence OF body from that pulpit was preferable to
presence of mind in it."
The best place to remain during an earthquake
is In the house. There you are principally OK
posed to falling plaster from the ceiling. Out of
doors you meet falling bricks from chimneys
coping stones and bogus tin zinc or stucco ex,
ternal ornamentations, which, being heavier. and
having further to fall damage more ones or
ganization if they fall upon it. The three or
four men killed during my second San Francisco
shock so met their deaths. A house, especially
II 1t contain many rooms is substantially a
series OF hollow cubes, and is, therefore, almost
impossible to shake down, though it may shatter
and crack from top to bottom, as did many in
San Francisco
There was an old hotel, the Railroad House,
on Clay street, which proved an instance in
point. 1t contained great number of those
miserable little boxes miSnamed bedrooms in
American hotels, and was five stories in height.
The building was so badly damaged by the
shock that the proprietors concluded to remove
1t and build anew. The shattered walls being
so dangerous to work or near they rugged a
big log on pair of Shears" in ancient batter
ing ram fashion, and so battered that house
down. But the siege required many days, and
proved how every partition wall increased the
solidity of the house.
A vigorous, healthy earthquake will unsettle
any settled country quicker than any other
known phenomenon on this planet A party Of
Eastern people who arrived in San Francisco by
steamer the day before the kick-up of '68, took
the next steamer for home, and in the interim
preferred to camp out on the plaza, rather than
sleep in hotel.
Bret Harte who was then conducting the Over
land Monthly, owned squarely to cowardice
in the matter Of earthquakes, and acknowledged
that the shock made him sick for a week. He
said that one symptom of this illness was having
before his eyes the undulating, wave
like motion which crept up the brick wallis of
six-story building, under which he was passing at
tno time