Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-04-21
SCENES Of DEsoLATIoN.
Continued from Page ~

problematical. Correspondents on the
spot do not ATTEMPT to number either
the dead or injured guessing the for
mer at 1000 and thu latter as high as
l0,0O0 There Is no way of telling
now many are buried in the debris.
Inc temporary morgues and hospitals
are crowded, and the volunteer physi-
clans doing all in their power to allie
vfate suffering.
Three Fires Arc Burning.
All night three distinct fires were
burning. These marked three sides
OF the parallelogram that had already
been destroyed. The fourth side is
made by the waters of the bay. The
one reaching from Mob hill east to-
ward the waters edge was slowly
making its way toward Telegraph hill.
The second was in the center of the
Mission district in the neighborhood
Of Twenty-third and Mission streets.
The third and most dangerous was
that which had already destroyed Mob
hill and is pushing on toward the
western addition to the city. 1t moved
forward In the form of a wedge and
the firemen battled with it but in vain.
Heavy Exodus Continues.
The flight Of the residents from the
city continued yesterday in the nature
OF panic, a slight earthquake in the
j morning accentuating their terrors.
The ferry-boats to adjacent counties
were crowded to the utmost, and to
the westward portion Of the peninsula
a constant throng of homeless people,
carrying their portable household be-
1ongings, were adding to the colonies
in the secure sand hills and the parks.
Golden Gate park and the unimproved
blocks Of the district south and north
of the park present the appearance Of
tented cities, many varieties of shell
ter being fmprovised from bedding
and blankets.
The wind changed yesterday to the
west, and the flames changed their de-
vouring direction southwark and be-
gan eating their wide swath from the
water front on the north of Market
street-up to what is known as Mob
hill, eminence that had ben selected
years ago by the multi-millionaires Of
the bonanza days" upon which to
erect their mansions. This hill is
surmounted by the hotel Paramount,
just finished at cost of more than a
million dollars. 1t is beautiful struc-
ture of wl.ite stone, visible from al
most every point Of the city, and the
horror was universal when it's destruc-
ton seemed inevitable.
Steadily but surely the fire ate its
way up the slope, consuming the home
Of the late Mrs. Jane Stanford and the
Hopkins Art institute, built by Mark
Hopkins of Central Pacific fame.
From the upward slope the fire also
took a direction northwesterly into the
district that had previously been left
untouched. This portion of the town
embraces the Latin quarter, populated
by people of various nationalities, and
the houses are all of flinlsy construc-
ton.
Mission District.
In the Mission district, to the south
of Market street, the zone Of ruin was
Sextended furtheH westward, toward
the extreme southern portion, but was
checked at Fourteenth and Mission
streets by the wholesale use of dyna-
mite. At this point are located the
Southern Pacific hospital, the St.Fran
els hospital, and the College of Physi-
clans and Surgeons. In order to save
these institutions buildings were blown
up all around them, and the danger
threatening them had been averted
for time, at least.
In the Hayes Valley district, south
of McAllister, north of Market, and
east of Octavia streets the destruction
was complete. Therein were located
SIT Ignatius school and church, Of
which only the sidewalks remain.
OF the Mechanics pavilion, the
scene of hundreds of great political,
social, and sporting event, not a tim
Der remains. Opposite 1t was the st.
Nicholas hotel, and it is now simply
a pile of ruined bricks, ruin among