The morning call., 1893-07-06

about 70 o'clock, when rocket. evidently
imperfectly made, "squibbed," as the ex-
perts call it, and Instead Of mounting high
in air, rose but few feet, and then, with
a graceful curve, pltehpn over the brow of
the elf on which the FL Monte Hotel Is
situated, and fell blazing and full OF eX-
p'OsiveS among The buildings at the foot Of
the bluff below.
At the time a half dozen of the more
cautious guests suggested that it would be
Il wise thing to send men to look after the
skyrocket, but they were laughed ut as
aiarmI5Is, and the exhibition went on.
Suddenly some one, small boy, yelled
fire, fire, and blaze was seen In the
direction taken by the rocket mentioned.
oh its only the grass. and the boys will
get Il out" was the general exclamation.
But it wasn't the grass. The blaze came
{rom the roof Of the wooden house occu-
pieo by George CHM as saloon, and once
II gained headway the house burned like
finder. Be it said to the credit Of the
"dudes," as they are called, who were
posing about the p0rticoS of the hotel in
tennis flannel suits with silk sashes,
they were the first to realize the danger
and get t0 work
From the FL Monte Hotel to the roadway
on the beach below is good 200 yards,
covered with a stairway with landings.
Tine men rushed down this stairway and
into the street, expecting TO find some sort
of fire apparatus at hand, and more than
willing TO help use if. The fire was burn
ing hercely in the center OF long row OF
frame buildings. and every one realized
Ihat it must be checked at once or it would
spread not only long the row Of build
ings at the foot of the hill, but among the
frame cottages on the hills
"Wateri wafer! waterp' was the cry
that went UP from 200 throats. The bay
was less than fifty feet away from the
burning building, and there was an ocean
Of water at hand, but no way to get it on
the IRE. There was no IRE engine of any
kind; no buckets to form bucket brigade;
in fact, the would-be workers were power
less.
From Ginn's saloon the fire spread rap
idly on both sides. The steamers San
Rafael and Tamalpais were lying at the
wharf. and rush was made for them TO
get the fire hose and man the pumps.
The Tamalpals was lying fully $50 feet
nearer the fire than the San Rafael, and
the object of the men was to attach the
hose to the pumps or the Tamalpais and
get a stream OF water Oh the fire. The
man in charge. who could not he found
after the fire or on yesterday, ordered the
railway employees to run the hose to the
San Rafael and they obeyed him. Then
ne found the end Of his hose 2C0 feet away
from the fire, and ordered it tran sferred 10
the hand pump of the Tamalpais, but by
tie time this was done the fire had almost
burned itself out.
While all this was going on the fire was
spreading from house to house around the
foot OF the hill.
Suddenly cry went up.
The dry grass on the bluff had caught
fire and the flames were racing toward tic
IL Monte Hotel and the houses on the
cliff,
There was 10 water-at least, no water
that could be used to eXtinguisn the flames.
and 500 meu stood idle in the roadway, all
wiling 20 work. but none of them with
anything tn work with.
About this time the English ships in the
harbor sent boatl0ads of sailors ashore,
and they at once mounted the cliff and be-
gan lighting the grass fires with their
coats. few gunny- sacks We're obtained
from the hotel stables anG distributed
among the men. and then the force of CAi-
nese help at the FL Monte turned out
armed with wet blankets. They beat out
the grass fires and kept them from mount
ing the brow of the cliff.
A B. Bennett, San Francisco man who
was helping to fight the grass fires, saw
blaze creep over the brow Of tho cliff some
twenty feet from him. He made a rush
fer the flames, and just rs he reached them
slipped and fell, pitching over the edge of
the cliff.
Sixty feet below Bennett were the re-
mains of the burned buildings. and had lie
fallen over the cliff he would have Dropped
into a bed of living coa.- ten feet in depth.
just as he slipped a Chinese caugh. his
loot and held to it. yelling for help. Ben
nett wns not over the brow Of the cliff
twenty seconds before he was pulled back,
but IN that time his face and hands were
badly burned.
Down below the men, finding there was
no water TO be had. no hose, no buckets,
began tearing down houses to STOP the
advance of the flames, and in doing this
were successful 50 far as staying the
progress oil the fire toward old Sau.alito.
In the other direction they could do no,h-
ing, and those who worked al that end Of
the row OF buildings gave all their att~n-
lion 10 getting out the furniture and
household eeects in the houses doomed to