The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-05-19
A SHOWER OF ROCK.
Tt Patters Down Thickly on Mr..
FOrster's House.
Careless Blasting Does Serious Damage-Ear-
row Escape Of the 1nmates-The ParlOr
Badly Wrecked.

A party of workmen in the employ of
Copeland 81 Buchanan, firm Of contractors,
have been for the last few months engaged
in grading jackson street, between Maple
and Cherry. about four blocks beyond Cen
trail avenue. The street at this point passes
through cut, and the work OF clearing the
rock away necessitates frequent blasting.
Yesterday morning, about 80 O'Clock,
the workmen put in blast and warned the
inmates of the only two houses on the block
to keep away from the front of their DOM
iciles. When the explosion took place the
debris was hurled in the direction Of John
FOrster's house, which stands on the north
side of Jackson street and is about fifty feet
distant from the point TO which the cutting
has been already pushed.
The front and side of the house were badly
wrecked and present the appearance of hav-
ing been subjected to protraeted lombard
meLt. A fence standing on the side nearest
the blast was badly shattered, and saved the
exposed side of the house from serious dam
age.
GENERAL DESTRUCTION
One piece of rock, however, smashed clean
through the side of the house and, dislodg-
ing several square inches of plaster in the
parl0T, knocked down n platter suspended
on the wall. Another large piece crashed
through the side Of the cellar, and the whole
OF the surrounding space is strewn thickly
with more or less bulky fragments. Three
large pieces crashed clean through the roof,
and pieces weighing several pounds were
thrown right over the house and fell broad
cast in the yard at the rear.
Mrs. Forster and her little girl were in the
garden, and both had narrow escapes. A
bulky piece of rock fell within yard of
Mrs. Forster, and another just shaved her
little glr, and still a larger piece fell only
two feet away from her.
An artist named Won Peybrandt, who
lives in the house, was sitting in the bay
window Of the parlor just before the explo-
sion, ana only left the apartment after
being warned more than once by Mrs.
Forster. He had lucky escape, for every
thing in the parl0r bay-wind0w is badly
smashed.
AS IF BY A CYCLONE.
Most of the damage was done in the par
lOI, and the room presents an appearances of
having been struck by cyclone. The
floor is Uttered tnickly with debris and
pieces of rock. The whole OF the window
paneS, except two, are torn completely ont,
and the woodwork on the side of the Win
dow nearest the explosion is torn away
from the wall and hangs in shreds, and
pieces of II, one six feet In length, are
thrown about the room.
table which was standing in the win
dow was shattered to pieces, the top was
torn off and thrown through the broken
window. The only other piece of furniture
in the space incloSed by the window a sew
lug machine, is also badly wrecked and
Uttered thick with pieces of rock. The win
dows in the cellar also suffered badly, none
of them escaping.
The house has also been badly damaged
by previous blasts particularly by blast
about a week ago. This shifted the wooden
framework Of the house several inches on
the foundation and dislodged it c0nsidera-
bly, from the perpendicular.