Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1906-07-25
HAD THE ACTUAL EXPERIENCE.
Bert Leonard, Who is Now at His Home
in Alma, Tells of His Trip Ia Hawaii
and san Francisco.

Bert Leonard, Who is Now at His Home
in Alma, Tells of His Trip Ia Hawaii
and san Francisco
The following graphic description Of
the situation in San Francisco after the
earthquake, was written by Bert Leon
ard, who was in the city when the shock
was received, and for some time there
after:
1t was the first time | had ever expe-
rienced an earthquake. was awakened
from sound sleep by a terrific shaking
which lasted about a minute, and ter
minated with most emphatic jerk,
accompanied by terrible crashing as
the nearby buildings fell in ruins. Then
all was still for several seconds. The
earthquake itself was over; and the peo-
pie seemed so dazed by it that the terri
BILE events which followed caused very
little fear among the majority. Indeed,
the danger to life had passed, and it was
only property loss which was imminent.
One thing which impressed me was
the great courage and fortitude dis
played by the people throughout the
three days of terror, and the following
days of need and privation. Wednes-
day evening april lSth,) l stood with a
friend on a hill west of the city, among
thousands of refugees, their anxious faces
illuminated by the fire. | heard not a
whimper. The universal desolation
seemed to minimize the individual loss.
That night the rich lay down beside the
poor, happy if only they could find a
place to rest their weary bones.
Another thing which added to the
general uneasiness was the total absence
of news from the outside world For
two days the impression among the
majority was that the earthquake had
covered the whole United States, and
that many eastern cities, including
Chicago, had suffered the same as San
Francisco.
The month following, although try
ing one, was, for the most part, taken
up with making plans for the new San
Francisco During that time the South
ern Pacific Railroad covered the entire
southern section of the city with a net
work Of railroads for the purpose Of
clearing away the ruins The electric
car lines are now all in operation, but up
to three weeks ago not a single cable car
had been operated On MAY goth lef,
San Francisco for sea trip to the Ha-
waiian Islands. After seven days of
beautiful weather over a smooth Sea, we
reached Hilo, the largest town on the
island of Hawaii. What "A change from
the scene of desolation we had just left!
The Paradise of the Pacific" is the
name given to these islands and they
certainly deserve it. After several days
spent among the sugar plantations and
in enjoying the tropical grandeur of the
island, we sailed for Honolulu, which is
100 miles to the north on the island of
Oahu We stayed in Honolulu a week,
studying the habits of the natives and
viewing the beautiful scenery about the
island We arrived in San Francisco
after very pleasant voyage, just 81
days from the day we had left it.
The change which had been wrought
in that short time was wonderful
Nearly all of the old firms have opened
temporary stores and are doing business
as if nothing had ever happened. The
work of clearing away the ruins was
well under way and every one seemed
most optimistic concerning the future Of
San Francisco.
There are now fifty thousand people
living in tents but they expect soon to
be able to erect cottages to accommodate
all of these
On June 23rd | started for home via
the Sante Fe route. The journey
through New Mexico was very hot and
dry In Kansas and Illinois the crops
were excellent. am glad to be home.