The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1906-05-10
For the Reporter.
Outside The Earthquake

bdih HUM iub hihAhuGG bOH0uEu ike
gigantic locusth covering some wheat
field made brown by summer suns on a
torrid August day IN Maine 1t came
nearer and soon resolved itself into
frer zed but articulate yell of
ExrRAsl ExTRAsl III about the great
earthquake and fires in San Frdnciscot
rushed to the door aud bought a
paper, and the family set around pallid
and sickeued as | read the first account
of the calamity that had befallen our
sister city. Details accumulated rapid
ly. Extra succeeded extra till the at
mosphere of the entire city was one of
intense gloom and forebodng. Nearly
every one had some friend or relative ia
the north, many had Sons and daughters
at the Universities, ard the inability TO
communicate with any one either by
wire or telephone made many persons
almost crazy The telegraph offices
were beseiged by frantic husbands and
fathers who had families in the stricken
district, and any amount of money was
offered If their messages would be car
ried. Men mopped their beaded brows
in agony saying that the suspense was
beyond endurance But they had to en-
dure 1t, and gathered such scraps of in
formation as WAS possible by lining the
streets by the daily's office windows and
scanning the fresh bulletins that appear
ed there at short intervals Everyone
added to the terror of the people as ae-
cumulated horrors enlarged the list al
ready known
do not deny that | was frightened
though | can hnd few people brave
enough to admit his cuwardice or COW
ardly enough to have felt I'll Evsry
time a door slammed | was prepared TO
rush for the street and | think if the
steam roller had appeared on those first
dreadful days that | should have gone
up in cloud or died OF spontaneous
combustionl One professor in our
midst caused the following consoling
thought to be published in one of our
daily's; he announced that 1.-THE entire
Pacific coast was of recent formation,
and therefore that the seismic disturb.
ance in san Francisco WAS not unexpect-
ed, but that we need have no cause for
alarm down here "a very logical de
ducuon considering his first clause
However he ID related by marriage to
Christian Science, SO perhaps he thought
We must not summon earthquakes by
holding earthquake thoughts
But seriously the fact remains that no
sDCh disturbances have ever occurred to
any alarming extent in this region with
in historic times, and that the earth
quake that sunk the most territory &C.
Cured in the middle west-in Arkansas,
"issouri and Illinois in lS12-many
Thousand acres of heavily timbered land
being submerged, lakes now covering
much of that region. AS our geologist
said "the old earth is very uneasy
creature and 1t is impossible to tell
where she will break out next
TO return to the state of affairs in
Pasadena and nearby towns Almost
Immediately after the first shock people
began making plans to help. Two car
loads of food and clothing left Los An
geles AZ soon as they could be collected,
followed by many others, and Others
still are going. Here in Pasadena school
and business was suspended while men
subscribed and collected, women cooked
and express carts carried load after load
of things to the Board of Trade rooms
where many willing hands unloaded and
epacked with dispatch for the waiting
cars The Mayor of Los Angeles receiv
ed telegram foIty-eight hours after the
cisco saying.
For Gods sake send food and clothing
The people are starving and freezing !"
The Mayor here requested that every
school boy and girl bring an Individual
lunch to the board of Trade rooms all
ready to eat as there was no way to pre-
pare food for the multitude in the north
vet And this was done. Pasadena
raised $27 900 90 in money beside tons
of donations IN the way of food and
wearing apparel The Shakespear Club,
body of 400 women, postponed their
regular meeting and sewed all day Sat
urday and Sunday on baby garments;
for most distressing reports came of
many children born in the midst of the
disolation without thread of clothes to
protect them from the cold. The Catho
lie church had twenty-five sewing ma
chimes running all day long that Sunday
ana other societies found it "mete to do
good on the Sabbath day, and the
week days following have continued the
work.
One business man who has a large
trade here said that business had fallen
of third since The northern calamity
and some one answered, Everyone is
economizing to help. There are many
things we can do without if we only
think So! But the Wholesale houses in
Los Angeles are doing an enormous
business and can hardly keep up with
the demand.
Those first four days were days of
great gloom and suspense Friends in
the north who sent kilograms to those
here could not get them through for
two or three days. The cries of news
boys from half dozen different news
papers would be within hearing at once,
hoarse, wild, fordboding At last they
seemed to me like buzzards lowering
over the dead. They made good thing
out of it financially, but helped shatter
everyone's nerves in the process AS a
consequence of my "emotional female
mind Ito quote a sarcastic senator) |
asked one of my masculine relatives If
be wasn't alarmed, and was met by the
philosophical reply-a result of the
illogical male mind, NO, everyone
can't get killed" Evidently one must
not expect too much even of earth
quakes.
| wrote at once TO Mrs. Brainerd at
Alameda to inquire of her safety, and
received the following reply, dated
April 81: I'VE are safe and sound.
Left San Francisco, Saturday night.
The shock was very heavy here, but no
q eat damage done. No one can begin
to realize the horror of the situation in
san Francisco, who has not been here.
None of the accounts in the papers have