The Corvallis times. (Corvallis, Or.) 1888-1909, 1906-04-20
SAN FRANCISCO
HAS BECOME A PILEOF ASH
ES BY AN EARTHQUAKE
. AND HOLOCAUST.

1elIlASu eOplo husu luIO
Streets to be Felled by
Falling buildings
1000 Killed.
/ San Francisco, April 1S.-Earth-
quake and fire today ., have put
nearly half Of San, Francisco in ru-
ins. Thousands of people are home
less and destitute and all day long
streams of people have been fleeing
from the stricken districts to places
of safety. .l5rs ...s s.a .;7sIf
It was 5:15 o'clock this morning
, when terrific earthquake shook
the> whole city and surrounding
country. One shock apparently
lasted two minutes and ahere was
an almost an immediate collapse Of
fimsy structures all over the city.
J The water supply was cut off, and
when fires broke out in various Sec
tions there was nothing to do but
let the buildings burn.
The various fires have been rag
ling all day and the fire department,
has been powerless to do anything
except to dynamite the buildings
threatened. Hi day long explo'
sions have shaken the city and add.
ed terror to the inhabitants. AL
efforts to prevent the fire IRON
reaching the Palace and Grand Ho
tells were unsuccessful, and bott
were completely destroyed.
All of San Francisco's best play
houses, including the Majestic, Co
lumbia, Orpheum and Grand-Opers
house, are a mass of ruins. Tht
handsome Rialto and CasserlJ
buildings were burned to the grouno
as was every thing in that district
The city hall, built at a cost o
$3.50 o. 90, is completely ruined
Two thousand dead, hundreds o
millions Of property damaged, Sc:
of flames consuming the ruins ane
wrapping stately structures In {
mantle of fire, the boom of dyna
mite used to stay the progress of ths
flames, the crash of the collapsips S
structures, the screams of the panic
stricken mingling with the hoars'
shouts of the fir men, Is the sum
mary at noon of the havoc wrough
by the most disastrous earthquake
ia the history Of America, which
shook the inhabitants from thei
beds at $40 o'clock this morning
and wrecked the business portion
of the city by the Golden Gate.
Fires are raging in score of tn
different sections of the city. Alon.
rarket street from the ferry t,
Seventh street, 50 different fire
are raging. 1t is impossible to Sc
cure water enough to fight th
flames to advantage, as all main
were cracked by the earthquake
shock. Street-car tracks were bad
ly twisted, many costly building
have sunk four and FIVE feet, crew
ices have been torn in streets ant
sidewalks and all thoroughfares ar
thronged with people fleeing from
the scene.
Gas and electric lamps were snap
! ped and huge water mains craeked
flooding the streets.
At least 50 blocks south and eas
of Mar4et street in the region in
cluding Sansome, Mission, Front
Davis and Drummond streets wer
destroyed. Houses tumbled in al
directions. The police are Carl.
for the dead, but many are though
to have been lost In the fire whic
CONSUMED the debris
Oakland, April 19.-All effort
to check the flames in San Francis
CO are now abandoned. At moo
there is absolutely no hope OF pre-
venting a clean sweep of the cit
by fire. The flames continue
spread. Buildings on every stres
north Of Market from the ferry t
| Twelfth are burned. Thousands
! half-crazad people are trying
cross to this city. Scores are iyin
dead at San Jose and Santa Ros.
while here and there seaside reso
has been wiped out of existenc
The Cliff House, San Francisc {
Famous Pleasure Resort, was hui
ed into the sea by the earthqual
shock. Nothing remains to mai
it's site but stubs of timbers.
|, Chinatown was swept away
| 10 o'clock.
Reports from along the coast a
coming in slowly. Wires are dow
and news is secured only by Il
use of automobiles. Not word
J received from Santa Rosa, and it