Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-04-23
HESH0CK ATOAKLAED
PERSONAL KxPxHIEncx on THE
MORNING or THE EARTHoUAKE.

Mr.. Louis C. Drapeau. a secretary OF
Senator Perkins. who lives in Oakland.
Cal. across the bay from San Francisco.
received the following letter this morning
from member Of his family, written on
the morning of the earquake:
OAKLAND, Cal, April IS, 1906.
Seven O'Clock in the morning.
Well, I suppose you will have heard of
the terrible earthquake that happened at
$40 this morning before you get this let
ter. Oh. 1t was awful. Mama had just got
up and got halfway Down the stairs In her
night dress when the shaking began, so
she ran for the front door. The frst shake
woke me up and I rushed into nama's
ROOM calling to her. but / saw she was
gone, and Eva sat up in bed, and rushed
over to Harold's bed and grabbed him out,
and every one of Us started down stairs.
The shake was something terrible and In
all directions at once. could hardly hold
the baby, for the stairs were going up and
down and the plaster was coming out of
the wall all over the stairs. I slipped and
would have fallen down all the stairs IL
Arthur and Eva had not caught hold of
me. We expected that the house would go
In before we got out. Just as we got to
the door all the bricks of our chimney fell
down on the sidewalk.
Every ones doorstep was covered with
people. the women and children in night
dresses and bare feet. Our stove chimney
in the house came down and the walls and
floor were covered in about two inches of
SCOT. Lamps and bottles of medicine were
smashed all over the floor. the curtains
fell off the windows, everything fell down
in my room all over the floor; the walls
were cracked. Oh! it's awful
AS soon as my aunt could get dressed
she came up and we all went down to her
house to get breakfast on the gas stove. as
no one could make a fire in their stoves. 1
am writing this now on my aunt 8 back
porch in the sun. All along the streets
are nothing but bricks and scarcely two
slA inv, ~
1th street said up around our way We all
got on easy, for down there houses came
right down The chimney from the house
next door came all through my aunts win
doWS into her bedroom.
The new Prescott school which is not
quite finished is total wreck, for 1t fell
down. The Empire Theater fell in and
crushed five people and one man was killed
at bakery. They say the walls of the
stores uptown fell in and all the windows
are broken. No cars are running and all
the telegraph and telephone wires are
down. The water was cut off, and talk
about fire bells ringing,
Jack Fahy. the policeman, came home a
little while ago, having been on duty all
night and not able to get OFF yet. and he
was telling us of the dreadful damage done
He said below Sd street in San Francisco
Is a total wreck. The last reports said
that about thousand fires had started in
San Francisco and no water can be gotten
at all. If no water can be had by night
he said that san francisco Will De IN dSHeS
Large cracks are in Market street and the
water flowing out of them. They are blow
ing up buildings with dynamite to keep the
fire from spreading.
Isn't it terrible? l did not attempt to
go to work today. l was too frightened,
and Jack said the ferry building is on fire.
Wasn't it lucky 1t happened when 1t did,
and not at about 10 o'clock when every one
was at work or in school. l would have
been frightened to death, for We are below
Sd street.
Jack said the Call building was sunk
four feet and the new Chronicle building
fell down OF course. we do not know how
much Ia actually SO. but can tell you 1t
was awful, and every one said 1t was the
worst we ever had There have been four
or five smaller shocks since. one as hard as
we usually have, but everything seems
quiet now III bet heaps were Killed III the
city. r.
well, I'll not write any more now, Ior l
must 60 home, as mamma wants TO
surely thought it was the Last Days OF
Oakland "