Los Angeles herald., 1906-04-22


geles yesterday from the grief stricken
city Of the north was George M. Bah
cock of Los Angeles, vice president and
general manager of the Southern Cali
fornia Advertising company. Mr.. Bah
cock was on the train just reaching the
city on the morning of the disaster. He
was spared the awful terror of the first
mighty shock and therefore able to
take better note of the destruction of
the city than those who were terror
stricken by the first disturbance.
Like Dante's "Inferno"
Il reached San Francisco just in the
middle of the first quake" said Mr..
Babcock yesterday. II had been in San
Francisco so often that l was paying
! little heed to the hustle and did not
feel the shock of the temblor as the
train hurried along. Imagine my feel
ings as left the train and started into
the city. 1t was as though I had been
lifted from a modern sleeping car and
suddenly set down in the very middle
of that awful inferno described by
Dante, only this was a real living hell
tearing the very pulse from a mans
body and causing him to turn sick at
the very thought of 1t.
Displayed Great Heroism
All through the long day 1 Travelled
UP and down the streets, watching the
people as they moved about among the
ruins of that great city. There was no
hurrying, no frenzied terror, no scream
ing and rushing and pushing about. The
men and women moved slowly and car
rled what little things they had with
them. Everyone was kind and con-
siderate of his neighbor. That first
shock had carried hysteria away with it
and left the souls and hearts of those
Franciscans bare and unpublished. They
were men and women and their heroism
was indescribable.
Meets Former Mayor
II met the one man in all that city
that I would have rather seen. 1t was
Former Mayor James D. Phelan, who
with hat showed well back from his
forehead stood by and watched the fire.
We simply spoke to one another in
casual way He did not even ask when
I had arrived in town. There was but
one thing to think of and people passed
by their own parents and relatives
without seeming to recognize them.
People Like Dumb Animals
with Phelan visited the ruins. The
little man seemed one mass of energy
and nerves as he dashed here and there
In his automobile, humping over the
debris and moving always. We saw
the endless human chain go past us.
Men, women and children, carrying
their little possessions with them as
they went, stopping here and there,
within a few blocks of the mighty
flames and turning to gaze back at the
fire thinking themselves safe. Their
minds seemed unable to comprehend
IA ifryo sc fIaf ~,
like dumb animals they walked YEARLY
onward as the fire drove them from one
place to another. At each resting place
they left some of their possessions so
that when they finally reached the out
skirts of the city they had only hand
full of stuff with them.
Rich and Poor Share Food
"The ragmuftins of the gutter shared
their biscuits with millionaires and all
were contented. The man with me, Jim
Phelan. had lost $5,000,000 in business
property between the rising and setting
suns but he laughed his quick little
laugh as we rested for moment in the
home of j. Downey Harvey at 2550
Webster street. The home was one of
the most beautiful in the city and it
was then along in the evening. Boys
said Phelan, 1 am penniless, but we
must get supplies to the sufferers. |
will pledge s25,0OO for starter and we
must have million by tomorrow night
Homes Burn Like Tinder
"'All turn in now and sleep till day
light, the house will last that long,
remarked Harvey as he looked about
his mansion with a grim smile. We
took a little rest and by daylight we
were hurrying from the danger zone.
All that was saved from that mag
nificent residence was a bundle of
brooms which the servants took with
them. We saw one man walking down
the street holding a feather duster in
one hand and pair of slippers in
the other.
Telegraph Hill went in one mighty
blaze of hellish glory. The flames burst
out In dozens of places at once and
1t looked like some gigantic bonfire.
Rich Thankful for Safety
I'VE stood on Mob Hill, that field
of the millionaire homes, and watched
the flames leap like hungry wolves
upon their prey. At times the great
sheets, fifty feet and more in width,
driven by a heavy wind, would leap
the length of three blocks and settle
down upon it's victims. The palaces
of the millionaires were deserted. the
owners simply locking the doors and
With a pillow or blanket held tightly
to them. they marched toward Golden
Gate park, with the one expression:
Thank God we have our lives
Curiosity Causes Many Deaths
1T was through the crazy curiosity
of the poor and ignorant that the ter
rible loss of life occurred. Back to
the scenes of the fires they went like
fear-maddened horses, only to be
caught as some great sheet of fire
headed them off. Under the walls and
crushed by the debris they screamed
out their lives or with clenched teeth
died like heroes
"In Chinatown the loss of life was
awful. Where the long queer streets
of that famous foreign section jingled
to the tones of oriental music, there
was only great quiet mass of black
ened stumps when 1 left. Many of the
celestials dashed to their underground
homes at the first shock and the walls
tumbling about their ears held them
like rats in a trap.
Cremation Instead of Disease
Then came the sickening sight OF
the great disaster Bodies of every de-
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