The Topeka state journal., 1906-04-24
WILL NEVER FORGET.
Narrowing Experience Of a Conductor
in Frisco.

Narrowing Experience Of a Conductor
in Frisco.
Chicago, April 24.-Having passed
through the most narrowing scenes of
the San Francisco earthquake. scenes
in which men and women were driven
stark mad in his very sight, John A.
Floyd, 6 Aldine square. a Pullman con-
etor on the Northwestern road. ar
in the city yesterday with a party
of@Eefugees from the devastated coast
Gives Vivid Picture
Floyd was almost dazed by the horror
of the rapid work of destruction and
death. and said that he could hardly
realize that 1t was not all a horrible
nightmare. He was almost shaking
from nervousness when he left his train
at the Wells street station, and after
fighting his way through the crowd that
had come to inquire for relatives and
friends went to his home in a cab, ,wheSe
he outlined the story of his experiences
to a porter.
IF I live thousand lifetimes I will
never forget that night" he said.
words are too feeble, entirely to IN
adequate, to portray the fear that
clutched the human breast The most
graphic pen could not faithfully por-
tray the sickening horror of that night.
AWdkCncu Dy ONdSu
Plaster falling from the walls in my
room in the fourth floor of the Terminal
hotel in Market street aroused me from
a sound sleep about 5 O'Clock in the
morning. The hotel is located about
two blocks from the ferry sat up IN
bed and got out onto the floor The
building was shaking like a reed in a
storm. literally rocking like a ham
mock. 1t was impossible for me TO
stand. Another shock threw me heavily
to the floor. I remained there for
what seemed hours to me- Then
crawled on hands and knees TO the
door, and succeeded in unlocking it
with much difficulty. I was in my
night clothes AMI without waiting 10
even pull on a pair of shoes made my
way down those swaying stairs as rap
idly as I could.
Driven Mad by Terror. =.
when 1 reached the street it was
6iId with half mad unclothed men,
women. and children, running this way
and that, hugging and fighting each
other in their frenzy.
"The loud detonations under the
earth enhanced the horror. The ground
kept swaying from side to side, then
roaring like the waves OF the ocean,
then 1olting in every conceivable direc-
ton.
buildings were parting on all sides
like egg shells the stone and brick
and iron raining down on the un-
dressed hundreds In the streets, killng
many of them outright and plnnlng
others down to die slowly OF torture
or be roasted alive by the flames that
sprang up everywhere around US.
when the rumblings of the earth
ceased every breath of wind brought
with it the cries of the dying With
other men from the hotel We broke
into a drug store and eonf1scated
everything in sight to relieve the suf-
ferings of the injured and dying
Hotel Is Shattered
tfWhen things had quieted some
what. I went back to the hotel to
dress. and discovered that the entire
wall of my room had fallen out
'sI succeeded in finding most of my
clothes. and after donning them has
tfly went back to the work of rescue
When I got back to the street from
the hotel the entire district seemed to
be in flames. Fire seemed to break
ont of the very earth on all sides of
Market street, eating up buildings as
if they were so many buildings Of pa
per. A big wholesale drug house on
Seventh street exploded, throwing
sparkling and burning embers high
into the air. These fiery pieces de-
scended on the half clad people in the
streets, causing them to run madly
for places of safety, almost crazy with
the pain.
Hearses Loaded With Corpses.
"Soon the improvised hearses began
to arrive. Out of every building
bodies were taken like carcasses out Of
a slaughter pen. Automobiles, car
riages. express wagons, private equip
ages, and vehicles of all kinds were
pressed into service and piled high
with the bodies. Everywhere these
wagon loads of dead bodies were be-
ing dragged through the Streets offer
>.
hearted sick
with three or four sailors I went
up to Seventh street to assist a num-
Der of men, women and children who
had become entombed under the debris
of fiat building
.sThey were so tightly wedged in
that we were unable to offer them any
help and had to stand by and hear
their cries as they We're slowly roasted
to death by the ever increasing flames.
I can hear the cries of one Of those
women ringing in my ears yeti guess
always will
Begs to Be Shot Dead.
Il guess 4sretty nearly every bone in
her body was broken. AS we stood by
helplessly she cried over and over again:
Don't let me die like this. Don't
let me roast. I'm cooking, cooking
alive. KIN me- shoot anything
For Gods sake have mercyP
.Others Joined her in the cry and beg
ged piteously to be quickly killed before
the flames reached them
BY this time the street level had be
come so irregular that it was almost
impossible to drag the dead wagons
over them.
Firenen Helpless.
while firemen stood helplessly about
trying to get water with which to check
the flames great streams from he
broken mains spurted through the
broken earth in geysers and running on
in the cutters uselessly. No water at al
was at hand to stay the progress of this
fire. and the engines stood by waiting
while the men made frantic efforts tC
find spring or sewer
Dynamite was then brought into use
and the buildings We're blown up like
/ ffrecrackers. Flying debris was every
where in the air, and another mad rust
! for safety ..as made. the almost nakee