The San Francisco call., 1906-05-07
CITY LOSES ITS
LIARS COLONY
One Beneficial Ef-
feet of Earth
quake.
Some Lurid Tales
Published in
the East.

Sdl lttQQct tic~S SCSA Tic SAOdaS OI 0tlIA
Franeisce's colony of liars. With the
fear Of God In their hearts these disci-
pies OF Ananias crowded the first ferry
boats departing from the foot Of Mar
ket street on that memorable 18th Of
April and now they are scattered to
the four winds of heaven. The trails
they followed have been blazed with
atrocious prevarications and exaggera-
tions, and it Is not to be wondered at
that for several days after the catas-
trophe the people Of the East believed
that San Francisco's great populace
had found it's tomb In the ruins Of the
destroyed city.
| First prize In the liars division prob
ably will be awarded to Sydney P. Har-
ris, heralded In a Los Angeles dispatch
as a noted composer of music, who
was in the forefront OF the San Fran
cisco refugees that reached the angel
city. Here is his account of the cata-
clysm. as published, In the Cincinnati
Enquirer:
"It was TERRIBLE" said Mr.. Harris
"I could not do anything but look Oh
with wonder and fear and tremble, as
did the rest OF the terror-stricken In
habitants. The people were driven
around the streets by eoldiers as II
they were wild beasts instead Of hu-
man beings. I say were, because there
are not many Of them left. I saw peo-
pie die from hunger and from the ter
rible dread. saw many die from ths
agonies Of suspense. There was no
way Of quieting the ravenous unfortu-
mates and they would cry like babies
for food. was frightened as much as
they. Every one was In the same con-
ton, In fear of his life. Sometimes it
was impossible to get across the hugo
fissures that the earthquake had forged
in the streets. We had to obtain old
planks to walk upon. Some of tue
breaks In the pavements are 18 and 20
feet wide and the bottoms are invisi-
ble"
The foregoing Is only a sample o.
some Of the lurid tales with which the
fleeing colony regaled outsiders. John
A. Floyd, a Pullman car conductor, who
got out Of the State on The first train
to leave the Oakland mole on the morn
ing OF the quake, exhausted himself in
supplying Chicago reporters with mis-
information. According to Floyd, he
put IN several hours after the temblor
in travelling from hotel to hotel, watch
ing them collapse In orderly rotation,
burying their inmates in the ruins. The
scenes Of carnage that he witnessed
would have appalled, a less courageous
man, and even he was at last forced to
turn from the sickening spectacle and
attend to his own safety. The earth
quake had left Of the ferry building
only enough to permit Of his egress to
the boat, and while he was crossing the
bay he saw the remnant of the great
structure topple into the water.
A man named Anthony. who escaped
from San Francisco in an autonobile
and was interviewed in every city be-
tween here ana Los Angeles. had great
difficulty in making his way out, owing
to the heaps of dead stacked up like
cordwood on the streets.
Another member OF the departing
colony regaled newspaper men along
the line Of his flight with an account
Of the throwing overheard from fer
ry-boat OF one thousand men, women
and children because in the crush to
escape the vessel had been overcrow l.
ed and was in danger OF sinking.
Column after column of such tales as
these was published in the Eastern
press while the battle with the flames
was being waged In the stricken city.
AS matter Of fact, one Of the bright
features Of the black days following
the earthquake was the calm spirit In
which the people Of San Francisco &C.
cepted the terrible visitation. Perhaps
it was the courage Of despair or Of res
ignation, but 1t was sublime. There was
no weeping and no Mysteries; on the
contrary an attempt at cheerfulness
was manifested everywhere and this
spirit was noted with astonishment by
press correspondents and others who
entered the city while the flames were
yet uncontrolled.