The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1906-05-04
REV. P. mitchell
Writes From California
! stating that he is O. X.
Tells of Earthquake.

Tells of Earthquake.
D. j. Macarthur received the fol-
lowing letter from Rev. Mitchell, who
recently left here for California:
Oakland Cal.
April 28, '08.
Thanks for your letter of inquiry
which I received this morning; it
made me feel ashamed that had not
written you sooner. But the fact of
the matter is this, we got so shaken
up in the late awful earthquake, that
we are hardly down to our usual con-
ditions. So many sights and scenes,
the result of the catastrophe appeal
ing to our sympathy and interest.
40 as to upset all notion of letter
writing.
lam glad to say that We all escaped
nuhurt, and are still on this planet,
though we did think during the fate
full moments of the quake, mother
earth was doing her best to shake US
off.
''Sudden destruction yes that is
what it was. The outside world
did not give us the least hint of
the impending disaster. On my
journey homeward nature never seemed
to me more beautiful or peaceful.
Mount Shasta, the sentinel of the
coast, stood majestically silent, the
bills and valleys clad in spring
attire, the banks of yellow poppies
the blooming fruit trees, the dash
ing streams, presented a picture of
delight especially to Dakota eyes.
had scarcely got over my family
reception when the rocking to and
fro began. but 1 must qualify that
word rocking for it was a most un-
earthly and unusual rock. In this un-
friendly world I have had some des-
perate tossings on sea. and some un-
kindly bumps on land, but none of
these suggest the fearful shaking dur
ing this earthquake.
Fancy the floor tossing up and
down in quick jerky movements, and
every movable thing flying hither,
and yonder, pictures and chandeliers
H Full swing, walls creaking plates
falling, brick chtmneys tumbling
overhead and the dread of yawning
earth below, together with crash
ing roar and you have a faint, idea Vt
our situation.
While California gave me this un-
gracious reception I am not altogether
sorry, now that it is over, I was here.
For it is some thing to be able to
say one has experienced the most dis
astrous earthquake this country has
passed through and witnessed the big
gest fire on record.
Oakland when compared with her
sister city has had marvellous es-
cape, notwithstanding her property
loss amounting to ten million.
Some Of our finest buildings though
still standing are danger to life and
must be taken down. Somewhere
about twenty lives have been lost by
falling walls.
To save plundering, the city is un-
der martial law, thouasnd armed
men protecting property from the
thief. These men have been given
the authority to shoot and shoot to
kill all men countervening their
orders, which are of the strictest kind,
and am sorry to say many have
tasted their bullets.
You can imagine the mixed motley
crew that is now in Oakland, when I
tell you that over three hundred thous-
and refugees, embracing all classes of
people. from the millionaire down to
the ballet dancer and professional
house breaker with the sick and
wounded are huddled in the streets of
our city.
It is a pathetic picture to 60 into
some of our churches which have been
turned into hospitals for the sick and
homes for the poor; here we find chill
dren without fathers and mothers
minus their families. The odd side
of things being evident in the mater
ial the people snatched from their
burning homes. One woman saved
only jar Of gold fish another man a
step ladder. while one poor lonely las
sic saved her kitty but lost father and
mother.
Herds Of Chinese, Portuguese and
almost every other nationality swarm
respectively in groups but while this
diversity appears, yet all seem melted
into one comon humanity by the one
disaster that rendered them alike
homeless and destitute.
You Dakota people have seen a
prairie fire. but seven square miles Of
burning city is a very different thing
to a rim Of blazing grass. We