The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-04-20
HORROR CANNOT
Be DESCRIBED
Stories Told by Survivors Who
Have Reached Los Angeles
From Earthquake Center.
SCENE AFTER FIRST SHOCK
STREETS FILLED WITH PEOPLE
WILD WITH TERROR.
SCENE AFTER FIRST SHOCK

Los Angeles. April 19.-Survivors Of
the San Francisco earthquake arrived
in this city today at noon on a train
. over the Valley line OF the Southern
4 Pncific. Many Of them were in a pitia-
b bic condition as result of their eX-
3 periences. They relate stories graphic
in detail and almost unbelievable.
Egbert II. Gould. president of the
4 Chicago Car Heating company OF Chi
/ cago, was one of the three persons to
arrive in Los Angeles on the first train
from San Francisco which reached here
at IL o'clock today
Story of Fire and Blood.
AS one who passed through the ter
rOrs of those hours between 5:15 and
; O'Clock yesterday morning, the descrip-
! ton Of the scenes Mr. Gould witnessed
is a story of fire and blood.
Il was asleep on the seventh hOOr of
! the Palace hotel" he said, AT the
! time of the first quake I was thrown
out of my bed and half way across the
room Immediately realizing the i'm
J port of the occurrence, and fearing that
the building was about 10 collapse, l
made my way down the six Nights of
stairs and into the main corridor. I
was the first guest to appear. The
clerks and hotel employees were run
ming about as If they were mad. Within
. other guests began TO flock into the
corridor. Few, if any, of them wore
other than their night clothing: Men,
women and children with blanched
faces stood as if dazed. The children
and women cried the men were hard
~ less affected.
.s Wires Were All Down.
Il returned to my room and got my
clothing, then walked to the offices of
the Western Union n nv ne q and
bare feet to telegraph to my wife in
Los Angeles I found the telegra pliers
there, but all the wires were down I
sat down on the sidewalk. picked the
broken glass ont Of the sOles of my
feet and put my clothing on. All this,
/ suppose took d little more than
twenty minutes. Within that time, be-
low the Palace the buildings for more
than three blocks were a mass OF
flames, which quickly communicated to
other buildings. The scene was a terri
BILE one. BillOWs of fire seemed to roll
from the business blocks soon half
consumed, 10 other blocks in the vi
cinity. only to climb and loom again.
Like Leaning Tower.
The Call building at the corner Of
Third and Market streets, as l passed,
/ saw TO be more than a foot out of
plumb and hanging over the street like
the leaning tower Of Pisa. I remained
in San Francisco until O'Clock and
then took the ferry for Oakland, put
returned to the burning city an hour
and a half later. At that time the city
seemed doomed. l remained but for
few minutes, then made my way back
to the ferry station. l hope I may
never be called upon to pass through
such an experience again. People by
the thousands, and seemingly devoid of
reason, were crowded around the ferry
station. At the iron gates they claWeG
with their hands as SO many maniaCs.
They sought to break the bars, and
failing in that turned upon each other.
Fighting my way TO the gate like the
others, the thought came into my mind
of what rats in "A trap we We're. Had
not been a strong man [ should Ger
tainIy have been killed.
Rush to the Ferry,
when the ferry drew up to the slip
and the gates were thrown open the
rush to safety was tremendous. The
people flowed through the passa geway
like a mountain torrent that, meeting
rocks in it's path. dashes over them
Those who fell saved themselves as
best they could.
Il left Oakland at about ) o'clock. At
that time San Francisco was hidden in
a pail Of smoke. The sun shOne bright
/ ly upOn it without any seeming pene-
tration- Flames at times cleft the
darkness. This cloud was five miles in
height, and at it's top changed into a
milk white"
Rescuing the Guests.
J. Ritter Of Houston, Tex. said:
Il was in the Golden West hotel
when the first shock came. When I
. awoke the hotel was shaking like a
cradle. While I was dressing the rear
wall of the hotel fell into the dining
room. I was dressed by the time the
second shock came and was going to
rush out Of the building, but the ap-
peals Of the women on the same floor
stopped me. With some of the other
men guests on the fifth floor we man
aged 10 get the women out. 1t was no
slight task-most of the women were
hysterical
The first sight outside was that Of
naked and haIf-dressed persons in the
streets. running about crying, screech-
ing wild with fear, while buildings
were topping down around them and
choking UP the streets. Many were
wrapped only in bed clothes.
1T took me two hours to get around
the fire and across the bay. 1 think the
entire city viii be destroyed
r. A. Cole, a hOTseman well known
over the country, was at the Palace
hotel in the midst of the scenes of hor-
rOr, Wednesday morning
My GOdI I never saw anything like
MATHpE'C hYhTINE TIE