Los Angeles herald., 1906-04-21
PENNED WITH
FRENz|EO HORSES
RANCHER HAS A THRILLING
EXPERIENCE
Animals Perished Through Fright in
the Big Fire at San Francisco.
Dynamite Drives the Owner
Away

TO be penned in livery stable with
dozens of maddened horses while try
ing to separate his own from the num-
Der, was the exciting experience of An
son L. Morse, a wealthy horseman now
making his home at 442 Griffin avenue.
Mr. Morse owns large stock ranch
in Alturas, and leaving his family in
this city he went north after some
blooded horses which he expected to sell
in San Francisco.
Mr.. Morse stopped at the Golden West
hotel and kept his animals in the near
est livery stable, while others were in
corral at Oakland. The latter were
saved but those in the stable perished
through fright that impels animals to
rush into danger although a way of
safety is offered them.
Previous Runaway
The Morses are descended from early
pioneers and two of the daughters were
the heroines in an exciting runaway in
Watsonville, where they lived for q
time prior to coming to this city. Miss
Georgia Morse said yesterday after
noon:
1--WE have just received a letter from
papa, dated Wednesday, and mailed at
Oakland. He went UP to Alturas to
get a lot of horses to sell in San Fran
cisco. Most of them were left in Oak
land but some of the thoroughbreds
were sent to a livery stable in San
Francisco to be shown to purchasers. L
will read the letter to you and you can
take as much as you please"
The first part was devoted to personal
affairs and expressions of thankfulnesS
at being saved, although in the thick
of the disaster.
Here / am writing to you girls as
the fire RACES across the bay. ! had
an exciting time and nearly got penned
in at the livery stable where some o2
the horses were burned up in spite of all
1 could do.
People Nearly Crazy
'Tt has been terrible and people are
nearly crazy. 1 will tell you all about
it when 1 come down to Los Angeles,
but will say just a few words about
this wednesday, morning.
1.-THE shock came as l was dressing
(you know your dad is an early riser),
and it threw me on the floor. / knew
what it was all right and got up and
looked out 1 could see clouds of dust
kind of smoke that covered every
thing L finished dressing and went
down stairs and went to the livery
stable to see that the horses were safe.
The building was in pretty bad shape,
but the corral was, of course, all right.
"I guess this is a bad one. 1 said
to the buggy washer, who was swearing
and working on his wagons. They had
been slammed around pretty much
helter-skelter
"I went back to the hotel. 1t had
been roughly used and toppled TO one
side.
"A number of big buildings had
tumbled down they told me, and ruin
was everywhere.
Fire Breaks Out
"The Golden West stood the shock
pretty well. 1t is a long, rather low
building and while looking dilapidated,
was fit to live in. Later l was told that
fire had broken out near the livery
stable and l went there to take our
horses to some other place.
"I found the whole street afire and
when we tried to get the animals out
they became panic stricken, and we had
to give them up. l was in the stable
until the firemen ordered me out. They
had no water and were blowing up
buildings, as we say up country to
back-fire.
This afternoon got over to Oak
land where / am writing this at the
Westmoreland hotel
Jam at the Ferry
"There was an awful jam on the
ferry and | made a long trip around
Market to get to the ferry at all.
1T is the most terrible thing that ever
happened and so much has been doing
that 1 don't know how to write about
it.
"The horses here in the railroad corr
rails are all right.
"They say here Frisco is liable to be
swept clean by fire and this afternoon
1t is q mass of black smoke. thousands
are watching the fires from the water
front.
II have wired to you that l am safe
and this letter ought to reach you Fri
cay | won't come home until sell the
stock and look after my business here.
Will have to see some Frisco people
who ought to come over here, II they
can get across the bay"
CASA BLANCA