Omaha daily bee., 1906-04-23

near the Ferry depot. which was thought
to be sinking. The engineer stopped his
train every few minutes and we ran very
slowly as we feared collision with another
train going into San Francisco. We ran
without a dining car conductor, as he had
gone back into town 20 get some supplies
and could not get back to his train.
'The passengers on the Limited carried
kilograms by the hundreds from people in
Oakland TO relatives and friends in diff
ferent parts OF the country, and we would
file them at stations along the way, most
Of them at ogden, where there were wires
10 all points. In Wyoming every station
we came to was crowded with ranchers
who had heard rumors Of the earthquake
and wanted to know the particulars. Salt
Lake City papers that the porters carried
on the trains brought from 50 cents to 81
each at these stations.
wild RumOrs of the Extent,
Before leaving San Francisco there were
many wild rumors regarding the extent Of
the earthquake. We were told that Port
land, Seattle. Tacoma, Vancouver and all
of the western half OF washington and
Oregon had disappeared into the sea, also
that Chicago was wrecked by the earth
quake, as well as Minneapolis. st. Paul
and Omaha. We almost believed IL, too,
for the terror was 30 great in San Fran
cisco and Oakland that we thought the
world was coming to an end.
''When 1 reached Denver, being the first
man to arrive there direct from San Fran
cisco since the earthquake. was besieged
at the Brown Palace hotel with people
who had friends in San Francisco and
wanted to know some OF the particulars
and the fate Of their friends, One man
came to me and asked II / could tell him
anything of his people. OF course could
| not, but Just then It occurred TO me that
a party named Wilson had given me tele-
gram at San Francisco TO some one named
Wilson in Denver. telling that his family
was all right This message 1 filed at
| Ogden. Wilson said, got the telegram,
| thank Cod and then he threw his arms
| around me, kissed me and cried like a
| child. asking me in the meanwhile IL 1
could tell him any more about his people.
Sort of seasickness.
ut is pretty hard to try to tell just
what my sensations were during the earth
| quake. 1t was a sort of seasickness while
1 was in the Palace hotel; seemed to take
! my breath and made me sick at my
stomach. In coming through on the
| sleeper every time the car would stop l
| would wake up startled and felt almost the
| same sensations.
"A peculiar feature Of the earthquake
was the simultaneousness with which the
| fire broke out over In the direction Of
| Chinatown and in a hundred points at
once. This was, Of course, caused by the
breaking OF the gas mains and the ex-
| plosions of coal oil and gasoline. which is
| very largely used for cooking in Chinatown
and tenement districts. / noticed that the
steel structured buildings stood the shock
the best. With some OF them the steel
frames are standing, but the brick and
stone work has been torn away by the
shock. The apparently solidly built struc-
lures and lighter frame structures were
first to give way.
Stores Open over in Oakland.
MANY Of the great department stores
will open Immediately in Oakland. All Of
them have unlimited credit in the east
For a time they will sell only the cheaper
grades of goods. Buyers for these great
stores in the east have been wired to
buy everything they can get and ship it
at once to Oakland.
'Oh, yes: San Francisco will be rebuilt
grander and better than ever.
Eyes, lost all of my personal baggage
at the Palace hotel. However, had
shipped my sample trunks from Portland
via Ogden and thus saved them.
when the city was burning in all d.
rections-and that was as soon as the peo-
pie got out in to the open away from
falling buildings, like at Union square-the
men, women and children stoioaly stood
there expecting at any moment to be en-
quilted in a general catastrophe and seem
ingly fascinated with the possibility of
death OF to be swallowed up in the earth.
Many Of them thought the end Of the
world was at hand and simply waited for
the end, almost as II enjoying the prospect
Of seeing the end of the world.
II didn't look at it that way, but con
cluded to get out of there, and did. Some
Of them actually laughed at US for think
ing we could escape"