The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1906-08-26
HONOLULU ANS FIGURE IN
THE DIARY OF A SAN
FRANCISCOREFUGEE GIRL

r hydrant from which trailed a strini
of empty hose. A woman darted GU
of the crowd and ran up to him.
Whats the matter. Tom?'
There's no water
ITp to now we had only felt fear. nov
we knew fear. No water. and fires OF
every sidel The fireman kissed th'
woman and told her to go back to th'
folks, assuring her that he was al
i right. The woman did not cry but hel
/ lips trembled. She realized better thar
we could the terrible import of these
words.
We then started for the editorial
rooms of Sunset Magazine in the Sunset
Press building at the other end of Mar
| ket street At every cross street
streams of people from south of Mar
ket came, staggering under the weight
| OF the burden of their loads. san
Francisco will burn said somebody.
| Dixon thought he ought to try and save
| something from his studio-he and his
/ wife turned back-I obstinately insist
| ed upon going to Sunset office-ins1st-
| ed that 1 wasn't afraid to proceed
alone. So soon as they left me 1 was
sorry and tried to catch them, but they
were lost in the confusion. There was
much to see. Earthquakes uncover
strange secrets. The ruins of our
monster seven million dollar City Hall
cried to heaven the shame OF the men
who built it. At Sunset Press the
printers were gathered in the street.
The front wall of the top story had
fallen revealing the machinery of the
engraving plant.
While 1 waited there feeling like a
1v-if inc ca
one of my fellow editors, Allan Dunn,
hove in sight. I hailed him. He threw
me line. as it were, and towed me up
to his house on the top of Hyde street
hill Mrs. Dunn was walking up and
down in front of the house clad in her
best tailor suit, her pretty new opera
cloak on her arm. We went inside and
burned up all the gas left in the pipes |
making coffee
A slight temhlor sent US helter- |
SHELTER into the street where the crowd ,
going toward the fire caught us up and |
whirled US along to the top of the hill |
On Sacramento street. The fire was |
roaring over an immense territory. |
We wanted to get into the thick of
things and went on down to Union
Square. 1t was full of refugees sitting
IN their household goods. There were
gathered Cinnamon, Italians, muck
srs' from south of Market street,
Grand Opera singers; painted women
Who blinked as though they had not
een daylight for months; and fashion
Lble people in evening dress donned
when they were awakened
~ the earthquakes succotash of civil
iZation-I didn't see any policemen.
There was no need of any-the crowd
vas perfectly quiet-it was this I'M
arthly. unnatural calm which made
ne afraid TO speak I saw only one
alkative person. She was a beautiful
reature of stunning style who walked
etween two men, her hands in her
huff I believe she was the only
vonlan in all San Francisco that day.
Tho acted unconcerned. AS the trio
allied past me I heard her say, 20,
fe1l have a good time as long as our
honey lasts"
Tatch g. topping wall found myself I
ext an old colored man. AS he spoke
recognized in him the negro ex-
orter. I had sometimes listened when
e was holding forth from his OPEN
ir platforms Now he was exclaim-
,g: {
Haven't l prophesied all this?
haven't I told you this wicked town l
'ould be consumed with fire and brim-
tone? But now I'm sorry I spoke" {
At the Secuoia Club we rescued Mrs.
oily Walter. Later she and 1 detached
urselves from the Dunns and walked
ack to my house. The residence
treets looked like circus day in coun- {
y village. The women were all sit ]
ng on chairs in their front yards
ecure in the feeling that Van Ness
venue was too wide for fire to cross
:. By noon today both sides of the
Tide boulevard were lined with people
nd furniture. Sometimes woman ,
'ould have saved only one easy chair ,
nd was comfortably rocking in it, I :
gain it was a bedroom set that had
cen snatched from the burning-but :
ways there were monographs and ;
arrots and dogs and canary birds. :,
[ere, as everywhere. the crowd show :
no emotion. except when the earth :
rembled, as it did now and then, :
lightly. Then everyone would rush for :
ne middle of the street.
---------s-$ Co.. :,