The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1906-05-17
SAN FRANCISCO LETTER
Benjamin BeIIamy, who is Visiting
Here Receives Letter With De-
tails of the Earthquake.


that city thirty-six hours before the
earthquake, has received the following
interesting letter from friend in that
Inflated city:
San Francisco, Calf, May 6, 1906.
Mr.. Benjamin Bellamy, Leon, Iowa.
DEAR FRIEND; AS l have little time
to spare l will tell you of the expert
ence we had since you left here. On
the morning of April 18th about 5:15
o'clock as | was about to get up, there
was rumble, east and west, then it
shook, the house began to break and
the pictures commenced to fall. |
grabbed the baby and ran out in the
yard. AS | was getting out of the house
the rafters broke and the brick chimney
fell over the stove, covering the kitchen
and dining room with brick and lumber.
The earthquake was hard one. They
say it was hardest ever known. 1t was
four foot sway, the houses swayed so
that every chimney in San Francisco
was broken off. Houses fell. chimneys
fell, stones from high buildings fell, five
and six story buildings came crumbling
to the ground like a flash. Streets
settled ten feet in some districts, car
tracks on 9Th, Howard and Valencia
streets raised up in the air so that
man could walk under them with very
little trouble. AS soon as the big shock
came the big water mains and sewers
all over town broke, and the water sup
ply was stopped. Then the big hotels
on 9th and Howard streets fell to the
ground. The Brunswick at 9th and
Howard fell with about 800 people in it,
and many were killed and burned, At
md and Howard a five story brick hotel
fell with about as many in it. There
was no water. The fire started at 9th
and Howard streets and swept all south
of Market street to the wa.ers edge.
There We're several fires at the time,
22nd and Mission, Fulton and Cough,
but those fires were put out, except
south of Market. There was an old
woman who attempted TO start fire in
her stove at Fulton and Buchanan
streets, and was told not to do so. She
was determined to do it, so she set fire
to all the Western addition and it swept
all north Of Market from Van Ness to
the bay. Not a house in Frisco is fit to
live in. Every house is wrecked from
its foundation. The fire covered over
4 !! square miles, the biggest fire known
in the history of the world. 1t burned
three days and three nights. Chinatown,
Western addition, north of Market,
south of Market, the Mission. On 9th
and Brannon the street car tracks were
left lying on the sidewalk where the
street settled. They figure about 5000
bodies missing.
On Valencia, Howard, Folsom, be-
tween 18th and 10Th streets, it has
settled ten feet. There was creek
running up in that district in early days
and that is why it settled. The Val
lencia hotel fell straight across Val
lencia street and blocked the street
At the corner of 18th and Valencia
there was a block Of new flats, stores
underneath and three flats above, and
the stores dropped down ten feet and
left the second story flat even with the
ground. Talk about your Chicago fire
in 1872, this fire beat it six times in
area. We all lost our barns, but my
house was saved. There are only about
six of the good buildings in San Fran
cisco that will not have to come down.
the Call building, Chronicle building,
Grand building, ST. Francis hotel, Flood
building, Eddy & Powell building. The
fire swept every wha1f from the foot of
Van Ness street to the mail dock. They
are dynamiting the ruins to keep them
from falling. Out here we are getting
along fine. We are getting supplies
from all over the United States. We
are living in the street. All the streets
are full of stoves, as all the people are
compelled to cook in the street SO as tc
prevent any more fires until the chin
neys are fixed. For the first week we
had to go to bed at s o'clock, and could
have no lights. Now we are allowed tc
keep candle burning until II o'clock
We have not had much water yet. There
are big four horse water wagons haul
ing water for the people. Ben, | think
San Francisco is doomed. If you saw il
you would think the same way. Every
thing is swept away clean, and all that
is left is brick ruins. There is no liquor
in the city, and none will be allowed fol
ninety days. All the provisions in the
city were burned. The electric light
company is just beginning to get some
lights burning on the principal streets
: and the street car company is putting
i'll tracks on several Of the streets. We
are all we'll and | am kept busy hauling
, lumber for the new shacks on the
grounds. They blew up houses TO
three days in the vain hope of stopping
the fire, but it had to burn itself out
We are still having several earth
, quakes. Have had about eight or tel
since the big one. There was hi!
earthquake about 1920 on Saturday
May 9Th. All the people ran out 0
their houses into the middle of tn
street. think myself and have hear'
$ good many men say that it will TAX
$ fifty years to put San Francisco whcr
T, it was before the fire. All the business
$ men are building little shacks SO as t
3 start in business again. You are no
: allowed to build two story building a
present. Your tools are all safe. l wa
t up to see your daughter Hattie, bu
q could not find her at home. left wor
r with neighbor and told him to tell he
l was asking for the folks. He sait
your daughter wanted to telegraph t
. you and sent the message by him. H
. could not make connections with til
,. company as all wires We're down an
: business was stopped. This man sa
down and wrote the letter to you. TIL
:, house is in good condition and the folk
!, are all we'll he said. My wife and bah
L