Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1906-05-02
MADISON BOY
IN FRISCO FIRE
WAYNE D. BIRD DETAILS HIS Ex-
PERIENcES.
WAS THROWN FROM BED
Then Fiees to Hills and Finally to
BerkeIey-Report There That Chi
caeo, Too, Had Suffered-Co-eds
Do Heroic Duty as Nurses and
Cooks.

Wayne d. Bird. son of Captain and
Mrs. F. A. Bird OF Madison, VINO is on
the San Francisco Bulletin, writes
wildly to his parents of his own ex-
periences and observations. Writing
from Berkeley, under date of April
10, The next day after the great earth
quake, he says
sent wire this afternoon and
trust that it reached you before any
Of the press reports from this sec
ton. was in the Palace hotel when
the first shock came and | am mighty
glad l was in the best hotel thai
could be found With the exception
Of bad shaking up. l escaped unin-
jured, with my clothes and a night
shirt and a couple pairs of stockings.
and consider myself very lucky. r
moved toward the hills all day yes
terday and las, night. This morning
| got a ferry for Berkeley and am now
out OF all danger of fire or anything
else. Just ate for the first time in %
hours.
Il don't want to think. or reflect
on the awful sights in the city and
won't attempt TO depict them. When
| left, the whole business section of
the town was fiat, new buildings and
all. The fire had reached the uest
portion of the resident section an. by
morning there will be no San Fran
cisco and nearly a half a million PEG
pie from that place will be homeless
and penniless. A famine will of course
| be the result but ! shall move south
or north in a couple of days. A couple
of our fellows Just came in from Palo
! Alto. Stanford is totally wrecked
Thought That Chicago Was Hit Too.
Some of the reports are to the
effect that Chicago and surrounding
territory got it but there are no in.
coming wires, so no reports are au-
thentic. trust that you didn't get
any Of it,"
A little later Mr.. Bird rushed off
another letter to Madison, saying:
Thrown from Bed.
AT SIP ! was sound asleep in the
Palace hotel At 5:l3 a terrific shak-
ing of the earth, together with the
falling of the dishes and silverware
from the sideboards in the dining
room, mingled with the screaming of
women, woke me, | was no more
than awake when the second shock
came. throwing me from the bed and
/ knocking the plaster from the ceiling
The atmosphere was at once full of
dust and escaping gas. at once
filled nv suit case. dressed and es-
capped. Everyone escaped from the
hotel safely.
At 5:15 the streets were fun Of
half-dressed people all of whom were
greatly dazed. Buildings We're falling
and the streets were fun of debris
Fire at once broke ont on the south
whole business section Of the city was
shortly in flames From the cheaper
lodging houses which were not thrown
fiat came clerks. the poorer transient
guests and painted women of the
streets. From Chinatown came hun
dreds of Mongolians, Latins, gamblers
Of the tenderloin resorts and drunken
/ hangers-on. Mingling promiscously
they dragged their worldly posses
sioDs through the streets and few
hours later met the aristocracy Of the
city at Van Ness avenue.
Dragging Their Goods.
People iocked to the city parks
but the fire soon overlook them and
they fed to the outskirts OF The city
dragging their trunks, dogs, bird
cages, bedding, etc, with them The
city was soon under martial law. The
soldiers erected tents for the home
less. soothed frightened women and
gave out blankets for the masses to
sleep on Then darkness came,--not
the usual darkness but that caused by
The dull, red, angry glare of distant
flames.
People Shot Down.
Three hundred thousand PEG
pie were homeless that night
and slept on the hills in
distant peaks. IN the cemeteries
/ and on the ocean beach Thousands
dragged their beds through the
streets: hundreds were being swal-
/ lowed by openings in the earth caused
| by ne explosions of oil tanks and
ga People on top Of burning build
! ings called to the soldiers to shoot
them down and some Of the requests.
at least. were granted. Dead and
badly injured fremen were being
hustled through the streets in dray
wagons; old women were carried
| through the streets on mattresses;
the sick from the hospitals we're car
rled away in any kind of an obtain
able conveyance Such are d few Of
the awful sights witnessed by those
Of US who we're fortunate enough to
escape
| The Real Tragedies.
Thursday morning nitiable sights
were everywhere and the real TRACE
dies began Thousands escaped from
/ the city Countless thousands re-
NAMED. I left the city on a launch mt
2 am. There was then no hope To
save any portion Of the city Water
/ from here rkeley-slacked the
ithirst Of the people till midnight, and