The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-20
choicest valuables by their sides, and the
soldiers kept watch and order.
BUCKET BRIoADEs FoRM4r

BUCKET FORMED.
There is no water in the mains; the main
suffering was from thirst. The soldiers,
disregarding the order not to let people
move about. permitted bucket brigades to
go forth and bring back water to relieve
reach the water it was necessary some
times to go a mile to one OF the four reser-
voirs which top the hills.
talked to one man who slept in Alta
south Of them, and at intervals all night
exhausted fire fighters made their way to
the plaza and dropped, with the breath
out Of them, among the huddled people
and the bundles Of household goods. The
soldiers, who are administering affairs with
all the justice Of Judges and all the devo-
ton OF heroes, kept three or four buckets
OF water, even from the women, for these
men, who kept coming all the night long
There was a little food, also kept by the
soldiers for these emergencies, and the
sergeant had in his charge one, precious
bottle OF whAskey, from which he doled
out drinks to those who were utterly ex-
hausted.
Over in a corner Of the Plaza q band Of
men and women were praying, and one
fanatic, driven crazy by horror, was crying
out at the top Of his voice:
sThe Lord sent it, the Lordl'
His hysterical crying got on the nerves Of
the soldiers and babe fair to start a panic
among the women and children, 90 the
sergeant went over and stopped 1t by force.
All night they huddled together in this hell,
with the fire making it bright as day on all
sides; and in the morning the soldiers, using
their sense again, o~ommandeered a supply
of bread from a bakery, sent out another
water squad, and fed the refugees with a
semblanoe of breakfast.
There was one woman in the crowd who
had been separated from her husband in a
rush Of the smoke and did not know whether
he was living. The women attended to her
all night and in the morning the soldiers
passed her through the lines in her search.
A few Chinese made their way into the
crowd. They were trembling. pitifully
scared and willing to stop wherever the SOL
diers placed them. This is only a glimpse
Of the horrible night in the parks and open
places.
RICH OPEN THEIR HOUSES.
We learn here hat many Of the well to do
people in the upper residence district have
gathered in the strangers from the highways
and byways and given them shelter and
comfort for the night in their living rooms
and drawing rooms, Shelter seems to have
come more easily than food. Not an ounce
of supplies, of course, has come in for WI
days, and most of the permanent stores are
in the hands OF the soldiers, who dole them
out to all corners alike. But the hungry
cannot always find the military stores and
the news has not got about, since there are
no newspapers and no regular means Of
communication.
An Italian tells me hat he was taken
in by a family living in a three story house
in the fashionable Pacific avenue. There
were twenty refugees who passed the night
in the dra wing room Of that house, whose
mistress took down hangings to make
hem comfortable. In the morning all
the food that was left over in that home
Of wealth was enough -four and baking
powder to shake together a breakfast for
the refugees. They were hardly ready to
cave that house when the fire came their
way, and the people Of the house, together
with the refugees, who included two
Chinese, made their way to the open ground
OF the Preside With them streamed a
procession Of folks carrying valuables in
bundles.
TALES OF n AND CRIME.
There came out, too, tales Of both heroism
and crime. The firemen have been at 1t
as firemen never faced before, and they
are practically out Of it. They attempt to
do little more than give directions, while
the volunteers, thousands Of young Western
men VINO nHNb ItlHdlltu W . J. thlOuSHI
do the work. The troops have all that
they can do to handle the crowds in the
streets and prevent panios. The work of
dynamiting, tearing down and rescuing is
in the hands OF the volunteers.
This morning an eddy Of fame from the
edge Of the burning wholesale district ran
up the slope Of Russian Hill, the highest
eminence in the city. All along the edge
oil. that hill and up the slopes are little frame
houses which hold italians and Mexicans.
A corps Of volunteer aides ran along the
edge Of the fire, warning people out Of the
houses. But the flames ran too fast and
two women were caught in the upper story
of an old frame house. A young man tore
a rail from a fence, managed to climb it, and
reached the window: He bundled n wo-
man out and slid her down the rail; then the
roof caught fire, He seized another woman
and managed to drop her on the rail. down
which she slid without hurting herself q
great deal. But the roof fell while he vas
struggling with another woman and they
fell together into the Games. There must
have been hundreds Of suoh heroisms and