New-York tribune., 1906-04-22

Los Angeles, Cal, April 21.--Most thrilling of
all stories yet related of adventures in stricken
san Francisco during the days of horror and
nights Of terror is that of a party of four, two
women and two men. who arrived here yester-
day after spending night and the greater
part of two days on the hills about Golden Gate
Park. This party was composed of Mrs. Francis
Winter Miss Bessie Marley, Dr. Ernest w.
Fleming and Oliver ". Posey. all well known
local people All were guests at the Palace
Tuesday night.
They arrived here with feet swollen and
bruised from miles of walking over ragged,
broken streets. and with flesh scared and bis
tered from cinder and flame. The women has
tened TO local hotel. where they remained all
the afternoon and evening Frustrated from the
shock and the exposure denying themselves
even to friends Mr. Posey went directly home.
but DIR Fleming unkempt and disheyelled, went
to the Chamber of Commerce to give sugges-
tions for succoring the stricken ones who had
not been fortunate enough TO flee from the city
of desolation.
1t was on mis- advice that the relief COMMITTEES
purchased linen and bandages to send north
He said that the number Of killed had been
greatly exaggerated. but that hundreds. prob
ably thousands, were suffering from burns, and
hundreds Of thousands from hunger and ex-
posure.
The party Of which he a member formed
I'm the streets of San Francisco on Wednesday
morning when the second shock had made the
Palace Hotel mtenable. They were strangers
until then.
To a representative of the press Or Fleming
told of his adventures.
Il was sleeping i'm a room on the third floor
of the hotel" said DR.. Fleming. when the first
shock occurred. An earthquake in San Fran
cisco was no new sensation to me. l was there
in 1865, when a boy ten years old. when the
first great earthquake came. But that was a
gentle rocking of a cradle to the one Of Wednes-
day.
Five charred bodies We're found on Mob Hill
Il woke to the groaning OF timbers 5ne grind
ing creaking sound; then came the roaring
street PIastering and wall decorations fell.
The sensation was as though the buildings were
stretching and writhng like snakes The dark
ness was intense Shrieks cf women, higher.
sbriller than the noise Of the creaking timbers.
cut the air l tumbled from bed and crawled
toward the door. The twisting and writhtns
anneared TO increase. The air was oppressive
7 seemed To be saying to myself. Will il never.
ra.r s+ouo' | wrenched the lock; the door Of
the room swung back against my shoulder
Inst then the building seemed to breathe, stag
ger and right itself
Put fed from that building as from fall
mo wall could not believe that II could
dure such shock and still stand
uAIF-CI.AD THRONG IN STREET.
..7,he next I remember was standing in the
street laughing AT half a hundred men clad in
pajamas-and less.
."The women were in their night robes They
made = better appearance than the men The
street was rainbow of colcrs In the early
morning light There was raiment OF every nue
and i'm many cases raiment never intended 10
be seen outside the bOudoir
Il looked at a man my side. He was
laughing at me- Then for the first time De
came aware of the fact That l was in pajamas
myself l turned and fled back TO my room
There dressed. packed my grip and FASTENED
hack IN the street All the big buildings in
Market street toward the ferry were standing,
hut l marked four separate hres. The fronts of
The small buildings had fallen out into the
streets and at some places the debris had
broken through the sidewalk into cellars.
II noticed two women near me. They were
anpareatIy without escort. one said TO the
other What wouldn't give to be back in Los
Angeles again
THAT awakened kindred feeling. and I
pronertd my assistance. l put my overcoat
on the stone steps OF a building and told them
TO sit there
I'm less than two minutes those steps ap-
peared to pitch everything forward-to be fly
ing at me The groanins and writhing started
afres'..
'But | just stunned l stood there in the
street with debris falling about me. 1t seemed
the natural thing for the tops OF buildings to