Middletown transcript., 1906-04-28
a LETTER FROM SAN FRANCISCO
Mr.. j. M. Foster Receives the Glad News
That His Relatives are Safe

InaI his Relatives are SAFE
j The following letter was received b
| Mr.. J. M. Foster this week from his niece
Miss Katherine Foster, Of San Francisco
CAL, and will be interesting reading 70
many of our subscribers:
SAN FRANcrscn, Cali, April l0th, 1906.
DEAR UNcLE JAKE You no danl,
heard by this time vi the terrible catas
| trophe which has befallen our dear ole
Frisco. The worst that can be told doe
not describe the horror of it all. / neyel
before was frightened of an earthquake
for we have SO many that no one eyel
thinks that harm can come of it; but
yesterday morning. Oh my, ii l live tC
be a hundred l shall never forget the
roar and shake that threw US all out Of
bed. They say it only lasted a minute,
/ guess that's all it did, but no one. can
imagine how long minute seems when
the earth is shaking and rumbling under
your feet and the bay is roaring and
houses falling all around on and no place
to run for safety. l tell yeu I never want
to go through it again. As soon as the
big shake stopped We tried to dress and
get out on the street, it didn't take us
longI can tell you. Most of the people
didn't wait to dress for fear of all the
small shakes that followed about every
minute, but don't think it took US three
minutes TO dress and get out.
Oh the sight when we did get out, fire,
fire, fire, every direction you looked it
just seemed as though the fire started
with the earthquake. With our neigh
bors we camped on the front steps wait
ing to see which way We could go. Mind
you, our house didn't fall though; it's a
big, tall, narrow building three stories,'
but | tell you it rocked like cradle.
There wasn't thing breakable but was
smashed to atoms, even my big piano
that can't move was swung out into the
middle OF the room just as though it had
been pasteboard box. We were just
debating which way to run when along
up through inferno of fire comes George
and papa. They paid man five dollars
to take them across the bay in bis steam
launch, SO after they had rested awhile
we all walked over Stockton street to
Broadway, down Broadway and scrambled
through the buildings that had been
burned and blown up till we reached the
ferry. They were running boats by that
time, one every hour, SO we got to Ala
media at ten o'clock last night after day
the like of which I never want to go
through again, for along with the earth
quakes every little while, there was no
water to fight the fire. The earthquakes
had twisted all of the hydrants SO that
the only chance of fighting the fire was
blowing up the buildings with dynamite.
Now just imagine all around you roar
ing furnace, the earth shaking under
your feet and every few minutes terrific
explosion. I'll send you copy of the
Call, Chronicle and Examiner all in one,
run off on the Chronicle press, the only
one left standing, it can give you better
idea Of how things are than can.
1t was not so bad in Alameda for the
reason that the houses here are mostly
cottages and they don't feel the shake SO
badly, besides it wasn't as severe this
side the bay, though all of the pictures and
ornaments and some handsome Chinese
taberets that George had were smashed
and your old clock was completely turned
around and thrown down, the top came
off and it stopped but papa says he can
fix it again. Laura started back to Frisco
this morning not knowing whether she
would be allowed to land. l guess she
got there all right or she would be back
by this time. She is anxious to know
about the bulletin and see if our place is
still standing, if it is we'll go back to-
morrow, il not we'll stay here for while.
l don't see how it can be though, for just
before we started away ventured back
upstairs and tried to make some coffee
with little water that happened to be
left standing in the kettle from the night
before, all that could get, and boiled it
by holding it over the flames of an old
coaloil lamp we happened to have. By |
the time it was done we had TO fly with |
out drinking drop, the fire was too close.
Laura just got back, she says there's
not vestige left of the city, SO l guess
we'll stay where we are for while and |
lucky to be here. Just think, dear Uncle
Jake, every thing you held dear in the |
world, things that money couldn't buy, |
snatched from you in an instant. Pm
too blue to write any more SO good-by. l
hope this finds you all well and happy
and that none of you will ever have to go
through such seige.
KATHRINE