The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1906-06-02

ashes and ~smothering smoke Of perish
ing POmpeii or Herculaneum. Let him
imagine the tide Of refugees, stripped of
all human attributes but the primal in
stinct of self-preServatiOn. madly hur-
rylng along the avenues of their
doomed city, ferociOusly struggling
with each other to make their way
through the narrow streets. Then
Imagine the jOStling mass suddenly cleft
by a column of khaki-clad troopers,
blue-shirted sentinels flung out On
every corner, Skirmish lines intercept
Ing with ~bayOnets the human tide to
keep 1t from flowing down the most
perllous streets and byways. Think of
the United States army, through its
signal corps, its quartermaster depart
ment and medical service, rushing
the frantic POmpeiians, in tugs.
launches, ferl y-bOats, automobiles. es-
cOrt wagons, DOughertyS and ambu-
lances, out from the smother and foul
gases, away from the tottering vans,
the burying ash, into the green, unde-
vaStated fields Of the countryside,
across friendly arms of the sea, keep
Ing up the Samaritan work, day and
night, until, after a week of such battle
as even the defenders of BadajOS might
be proud of, the soldiers, who had never
changed their clothes, never unlaced
their leggingS during the whole terrible
time, hardly had snatched one hours
sleep in 4S or stopped ever to wipe the
sweat from their grimy faces, saw old
NeSuviuS stand smoking in Sullen,
malignant but futile wrath, cheated Of
all but a few neutrality-suspicious. a
thOuSand-victims, instead of the tens
Of thousands whom the demon of the
earth caverns had hoped to claim.
Imagine not only this, but the Amer
lean forces, by desperate feats of dy-
namiting imperiled palaces and blow
ing down menaced villas, checking the
onward rush of cOnf1agratiOn, and
finally defeating parent Nature in
her work of destroying her children.
Let one picture all this to himself,
and then, with a slight change in the
setting Of the scene he will have an
adequate idea of nov the United States
regulars fought to save the people of
San Francisco and the remnant of
their city.
The shocks began to heave the
foundations of the city at precisely
5:13 on the morning of April IS. 1t
was 13l years g that night that Paul
Revere started on his ride that reused
the minute men of Sandy Middlesex.
LOngfellow was a prophet when he
wrote:
Elm hour of darkness and peril and need
the peopleashall waken. and listen
to hear fte-tSLF
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed
and the midnight message of rauI
Revere"
Soldiers Presence a Blessing.
1t was a GodSend to the peOp;e of
San Francisco that 1000 soldiers wera
quartered at the Presidio. so near at
hand. No human police force, of apv I
city, no matter how brave and eff
Cient it's personnel, how splendid fra
discipline and organization, could h; va ,
alone with such a situation Tho ;
work OF ghouls and Iooters had to be E
and reckoned with. Be- ,
the day of disaster had grown =
hardly three hours older plunde-ers :
and despoilers of the dead met spd- !
den death at the hands OF the soldiers q
No questions were askeE, no chance p
for an explanation were given. Judg- d
ment was grim and summary. 1t was 6
only by resOlute %sternness that loss G
Of life could be curtailed. Peop,e n
rush into the verv core of fra in 4