The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-04-23

of some of the express and carriage
drivers however. were outrageous. !
I witnessed one case in front of the St.
Francis otel After much parley man
got an expressman to agree to take
1 himself anC wife to the ferry for $40.
/ A bell boy ran out and said: What yer
doing?' That felt0w over there got $50
| for that trip So the man had to pay
$50 or walk His vie could not walk
SO he paid it,
DR.. George Y. sehramm. a young
medical graduate. says:
AS I VIZ passing down Market
street with a new found friend an au-
! tomobile came rushing along with TWO
soldiers in it. My doctors badge pro
tected me, but the soldiers invited nay
companion q husky six footer. 10 Set
into the automobile. He said; ~ qon
want to -ide and have plenty OF business
to attend to- Once more Ihey lnNteeu
him and he refused. One of the soldiers
dropned a gun on him and said We
= ii such men as you to save women
and children and to help fight the ire
( The man was on his way to ma ms SIS
ter but he yielded to the inevitable ne
worked all day with the solaleIs esIs .a.at Saalt
when released to get lunch he felt thae
he could eonscientiously desert 10 20
and find his own loved ones
Refugees Reach Denver.
Denver Col. April 23.-EVeTy m
coming train from the west Driils7 .e,5
I
/ narrowing stories of their experiences
end give graphic descriptions of the
/ horrors that followed the earthquake
and fire ,z,-.z
Worn by the exposure, hardsll 2s
and terrors Of a two days effort TO
1 escape from the stricken city, Mrs. -.
NJ Johnson OF Utica, n. Y, ana MISS
Martha StfbbaIls Of Erie, Pa, passed
through Denver today on their way
MN IN at +tst NC knew of the
eartbouake was when we were awak-
ened In our room at the Randolph no
tel Wednesday morning by terrlnc
shaking which broke loose fragments
of the ceiling" said Miss SUD Is
I ss-Tbere followed a tremendous shock
which shook the building Sideways
and tossed 1t about with something
like a spiral motion When we reach-
ed the street people were running
hfther and thither. Some one passing
advised us to get on as high ground as
possible and we started walking as
fast as possible to the high parks back
ssFire was breaking out in hundreds
of places over the city and the streets
were becoming crowded with hurrylng
refugees Where they were unable to
nr0cure horses men and women had
harnessed themselves to carriages ana
were drawing their belongings to
Dlaces of safety. AS we passed through
! people lived we saw automobiles
drawn up and loaded down before
houses. Their owners remained until
the flames came too near and then get
ting into the machines made for the
Paid $4,000 for Use of Auto.
1--WE saw one man pay 81, 600 for
an automobile in which to take his
family TO a place Of safety.
Before night we reached the sum
,F ai1Z1 Dp0nlP half
clad uufed. hysterical, searching for
loved ones. crowded the ground. Be
meath iay the burning city and as
niehtfalI came on it presented a scene
indescribable.
1--WE passed the night sleeDless with
a panic stricken multitude In the
morning Thursday we started toward
the harbOr with the assistance OF SOL
diers from the Preside who had already
been on duty a hours. We got to the
wharf and hoped to get a launch to
/ Oakland. We We're unable to do SO,
but we were kindly treated by an old
/ skipper who was himself in deep grief
+ because his mother had been crushed
/ to death in their little house. He gave
US coffee-the only nourishment we ha
! had. excepting a few crackers in "A
hours
The skipper saw the government
boat coming in the bay and said if We
could reach the Presidio wharf we could
/ escape on the government boat
we therefore hurried toward the
Preside greatly impeded by hssures
1 which stretched long distances and
around which we had to make our way
/ At the Presidio we were taken on board
with other refugees and a short time
later we were safe in Oakland"
/ Il climbed over dead bodies picked
my way around flaming debris anc
Went over almost insurmountable OBJ
stacles to get out of San Francisco, "
said c. c. Kendall. retired Omaha
/ capitalist upon his arrival here
Thrown Out of Bed.
Il arrived in San Francisco the night
previous to the earthquake 1 was
awakened about 5:15 in the morning by
being thrown out of my bed in tbs
Palace annex. I rushed to the window
and looked out. The houses were reel.
ing and tumbling like playthings.
hurried on clothing and ran into the
street. Here I saw many dead and the
debris was piled up along Market street
i went to the Office Of the Palace
hotel and there men. women and chill
dren were rushing about crazed anC
frantic in their night clothes. The frs
shock lasted only 2S seconds but i
seemed to me two hours
A few minutes after I reached the
Palace hotel office the second shOcl
came. Tt was light compared with the
first. but it brought to the GROUND
many of the buildings that the frs
shock had unsettled
Fires were breaking out in every
direction. Market street had sunk a
least four feet 1 started for the ferry
1t is only few blocks from the Pal
ace annex to the ferry, but it took me
from a. m until 1915 a. m. to cover
the space.
Men and women fought about tn,
entrance of the ferry like band q
infuriated animals.
II made my escape do not re-
member how, for I was as desperat,
as any Of them. AS the boat pulled
over the bay the smoke and flame
buildings and the cries of the peopl,
rent the air.
The first remember Of the earth
quake was finding myself in the mid
die of the floor where with chairs ant
olnef pits OF furniture I had beer
thrown" said G. F. Burgner a b,1si
aass man Of 0scanIa vi r1-l.1. h.