Omaha daily bee., 1906-04-20
SAN FRANcrsoo~ oArAsrRorHE
None 90 EqusI q, IN che history Of
the United states

None 90 Equnl ~ IN the history OF
the United states.
San Francisco has experienced earth
quskes before aud has been scourged by
/ ore. but never before have both destructive
elements combined 20 ravage the city. The
ruin wrought on Wednesday morning and
/ by the succeeding besom OF fame has no
comparable record IN the history of the
/ United States Losses In property and life
overtops tho record Of hre-swept Chicago.
/ The only record Of similar nature In the
history Of the country was the Charleston
earthquake In 1856 when 10 lives were lost
and property valued az ti50O0.O0O was de-
| Ftroyed. The tremor Travelled over an area
Of 10000 square miles II was felt At Bos-
/ ton. 50 miles; La Crosse, $50 miles. Ber-
muda $50 miles, and cuba, 100 miles away.
The lines Of all the railroads in tho vicinity
within a radius Of twenty miles were
twisted and loosened.
! Charleston at that time was a city of
| ~ 900 inhabitants. The city IL built on beds
Of low, nat sandy country. in regions Of
ailuvial deposits The earthquake selected
Broad street, the leading thoroughfare, for
| it's cruelest work Shock after shock rent
the city. Dwelling houses were forsaken In
the night and the terrified people, half
| clothed and shiverlng with fear, sought
refuge In the outlying country. Fire added
TO the horrors OF the scene, and negroes,
superstitious and crazed with panic, we're
held 10 the spot by fear Kneelng IN the
trembling streets, they prayed The rum
! bling and rocking OF the earth continued
without iutermisslon during thirty-slX
hours and hundreds OF men and women
temporarily lost their reason.
1t was the repeated manifestations OF
the phenomenon, which continued for many
days. that caused a general Generalization
OF the inhabitants more terrible to con
template than the wrecking OF thousands
OF buildings
San Francisco il one OF the oldest cities
on the Pacific coast, It's first settlement
dating from l776, when two Franciscan
monks established an Indian mission which
! they called San Francisco de Assist A
small trading village grew up IN the place,
| but Il had not made much Roadway when
| the Americans took possession I'm 1876.
When gold was discovered in 1913 In Cali
fornla the town began to grow with tre-
mendous rapldty and It quickly became
the metropolis Of the Pacific coast, n posi-
ton which IT. has since maintained.
! It's population at the present time Is
close to $4,000 about one-third OF the in
| habitants being Of foreign birth, including
some 1900 Chinese. u does n large busl-
ness with the orient and It's harbor is WIS.,
tied by craft from all parts Of the world.
Tho bay OF San Francisco is one OF the
finest I'm the world, Much Of the city was
built with a view to withstanding earth
quake shocks, but not to withstand FIRE.
| Frame buildings predominant. In 1900 there
were 1894 frame buildings and only 1881
| hi, Of
has not reduced this proportion in favor
Of unsubstantial structures and in 1906
many now houses are built OF timber.
part OF San Francisco is built on land
reclaimed from the bay. Market street,
the great thoroughfare, is several miles
| long and a level street as are the streets
south Of g. but those from the north and
west intersecting II strike boldly from the
| hills and have gradients I'm some instances
az steep as fifty feet, This feature gives
the city most striking sky line, and from
the bay the houses seem piled on top OF
one another.
The majority OF the thoroughfares have
a generous width. The slippery asphalt
pavements in numerous instances are in
terseoted by strip OF cobblo TO enable
horses TO make way up and down.
The center about which San Francisco
revolves In the green turf OF Union square,
with it's statue and flower beds, overtopped
by the towering st. Francis hotel, a sky
scraper among skyscrapers and palace
among hotels. This immense structure OF
steel and tiles, stone and brick, was an ex-
pertinent In a city Of earthquakes.
The Palace hotel has been for years the
Mecca OF the western traveller. Time
was when Il was a gded palace and
though others rank with Il today for hon
ors. the Palace takes precedence as land
mark. 1t il oorpulent and bullying and has
n distinctive look OF its own No other
hotel In the country Is Just like II. It's
great central court opens to the sky and
its balconies suggest southern days, San
Francisco teens with comfortable hotels,
lofty beyond the average and constructed
Of wood,
| THE VnIIouiuC ora the graat