Omaha daily bee., 1906-04-20
STORY or ONE OF ran SUMMONS
Pacific Grove Resident who Escapes
from san Francisco Talks.

/ AntnOnN, a business man OF racine OlONei
arrived IN this city this mornins having
made the trip from san Francisco by
automobile He left there at 6 O'Clock last
evening MIR. Anthony is the first eye-wit-
ness to bring direct Information from san
Francisco. His story lie graphic and COM
/ plete. Mr. Anthony says that he was
/ sleeping In his room at the Ramona hotel
on Ellis street, near Mason, and was sud
| denly awakened at 5:23 a. m. The first
! shock that brought him out OF bed, he
says, was appalling I'm lite terrible force.
/ The whole earth seemed to heave and
| fall. The building where he was housed
| which is six stories high, was lifted from
! Its foundation and the roof caved in. A
| score or more OF guests, men and women,
/ Immediately made their way to the street,
which was soon filled with people, and a
1 perfect panic ensued. Debris showered
into the street from the buildings on every
side. AS a result, Mr. Anthony says he
saw score or more of people killed.
/ Women became hysterical and prayed in
| the streets, while men sat on the curbng,
appearing to be ,dazed. 1t was twenty
minutes before those in the vicinity APP
peared to realize the enormity of the catas-
/ trophe. The crowds became larger, and
in the public squares of the city and in
empty lots thousands Of people gathered.
1t was 9 o'clock before the police were
| In control Of the situation. When they
finally resumed charge the officers directed
their energy toward warning the people In
the streets away from the dangerous
buildings which were on the brink OF top
ping over
Tall Buildings sway.
Mr. Anthony says he was walking on
Market street near the Emporium. about
9 a. m, when a severe shock was felt. At
once the street filled again with excited
persons and thousands were soon gathered
in the vicinity paralyzed with fear. Be
| fore the spectators could realize what had
| happened the walls of the building swayed
| distance of three feet. The thousands
OF bystanders stood as If paralysed. eN-
pecting every moment that they would be
| crushed, but another tremor seemed to
| restore the building TO its natural posi-
| ton. Mr.. Anthony said that he momentar-
| lily expected that, with thousands of 9TH
srs who were in the neighborhood, he
would be crushed to death in a few mo-
ments. He made his way down Market
street as far as the Call building, from
| which flames were issuing at every win
| dow, with the blaze shooting out through
the roof. A similar condition prevailed in
| the Examiner building across the street
He then started for the depot at Third
and Townsend streets determined to leave
/ the city. He found a procession of several
thousands of other persons headed I'm the
same direction. All south of Market street
about that time was a cracking mass Of
| flames. He made his way to Eighth and
Market, thence down Eighth TO Townsend
and TO Third street and the entire section
which he traversed was afre, making Il
impossible for him to reach his destination.
Retreat Cut on by Flames.
He attempted to back track, but found
! that his retreat had been cut or by the
flames He then went to Twelfth street
and reached Market again by the city
hall. San Franciscos magnificent munich
pal building had conceived like an egg shell.
| The steel dome was still standing, but the
rest OF the 100000 structure was a mass
| OF charred ruins.
1t was not yet noon, but the citys
hospitals were already filled with dead and
| injured and all available store rooms were
being pressed into service. Bodies were
being carried from the streets in garbage
wagons. In every direction hysterical
women were seen. Men walked through
! the streets weeping and others with
| blanched faces. Transfer men were being
| OHtTeu ldDuiOuS sums 10 remove mousse
| hold goods even for block distant
Horses had been turned loose and were
running at large to prevent their being
moderated in the burning buildings.
Women had loaded their personal belong
ings on carts and were pulling them
through the city, the property being hud-
died out of the public squares.
Chicago Man Describes Scene.
| LOS ANGELES, April 19.-Albert II.
Gould, president of the Chicago Car Heat
| ing company of Chicago. was one of the
three persons to arrive in Los Angeles on
the first train from San Francisco, which
reached here at IL o'clock today Il was
asleep on the seventh floor of the Palace
hotel" he said, lat the time of the first
| quake. / was thrown out of my bed and
half way across the room. Immediately
realizing the import of the occurrence and
! fearing that the building was about to COL
lapse / made my way down the six flights
| of stairs and into the main corridor.
was the first guest to appear The clerks
and hotel employees were running about
| as IL they were mad. Within two minutes
after had appeared other guests began
/ to flock into the corridor. Few, If any Of
| them, wore other than their night clothes.
| Men, women and children with blanched
| faces stood as IL fixed. Children and
women cried; the men were hardly less
effected.
81 returned to my room and got my cloth
\ ing. then walked to the Offices of the
Western Union in my pajamas and bare
/ feet to telegraph 20 my wife in Los An
geles. I found the telegraphers there. but
| all the wires were down. I sat down on
! the sidewalk. picked the broken glass out
! Of the soles of my feet and put my clothes
on. All this l suppose took a little more
! than twenty minutes. Within that time
the buildings for more than three blocks
below the Palace hotel had become a
| mass Of DANES. The scene was a terrible
! one Billows Of fire seemed to roll from
] the business blocks, soon half consumed to
! other blocks in the vicinity, only To climb
and loom again.
Call building Out of Plumb.
The Call building at the corner OF Third
/ and Market streets as l passed | saw to be
more than foot out OF plumb and hanging
/ over the street like leaning tower of Pisa
! Il remained i'm San Francisco until s
O'Clock and then took a ferry boat for
! Oakland. but returned to the burning city
| an hour and half later Al that timG
/ the city seemed doomed.
4 remained but for few minutes then
made my way back to the ferry station.
4 hope / may. never be called upon to pass
/