The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-23
INCIDENTS AS THE FIRE RACED
PECULIAR THINGS THAT HEN
NOTICED HERE AND THERE.
A New Yorker Who Saw a Ma n Carrying His
Dead WIfc-Woman Pushing n Sewing
Machine IN the Cheerful Woman
40 Years Old -ImprOvised Vehicles.

Los ANGELES, Cal, April 22.-Among the
refugees from San Francisco who arrived
in Los Angeles to-day we're several New
York persons, among them A. Dalrymple
and G. II, McWilliams. Mr.. D%alrymple
said: "There was little panic or fright
shown by the crowds of people in the streets
after tn e shock. The first serious incident
| recall was a man, with blood streaming
from cuts on head and body, carrying a
dead woman in his arms. He placed the
body on the foor of the court and then
told me he had beenthe %janitor Of the build
ing next to the Crooker-Woolwort bank.
Il The first he knew Of the catastrophe he
N found himself in the basement of the three
story building, his dead wife beside him
and all tho belongings they had in their
room scattered about him. even to the
cook stove. The building had simply
split in two and thrown him and his wife
down the three stories into the cellar.
There were other sights which I did not
think funny al the time, but which appear
4. ridiculous new. During those hours We
forgot that there was anything funny in
the world. ! saw one big fat man, with a
nightgown covering his rounded form,
calmly walking on upper Market street,
carrying a huge bird cage in his arms and
the cage was absolutely empty. Not a
bird in IL. The man was as self-possessed
as if he were completely dressed and seemed
TO enjoy looking at the wrecked buildings.
Another man was leading a huge New
foundland dog II carrying kitten in his
arms; he kept talking to the kitten. On
Fell street | noticed an old lady, scantily
dressed. pushing Il sewing machine up the
hill. She would progress n little, and then
became exhausted and rest. To her task
she vent again. That sewing machine
was her world.
when | got to the park there was a man
toiling in carrying a large carved wooden
Japanese statue. That was all he had.
land he laid it carefully down on the grass
as il it had been his wife or child.
1T seemed as if every person was carry
ing a phonograph with the big trumpet
tucked under the arm. ! never "a 30
many Photographs in my life, Didn't
know there we're that many.
There were two men who had take n
two bicycles and, placing them side by side,
had placed a mattress on top. On the mat
tress they had a sewing machine and an oil
painting. This they were pushing along
toward the park.
~ got TO Panhandle by evening. and there
the soldiers had tents for us. Our group
found an eighty-year-o ld woman and we
gave her shelter. She told me she had
owned two buildings south of Market street,
and Of course they were gone, i have
not a relative in the world she said. and
now / have nothing to live on But that
old lady was the most cheerful one in the
park. She era cked jokes with us, told
stories and laughed at our feeble efforts
to make merry.
allow will | live?' she said when we
asked her Well, boys, you see ! haven't
got much longer to live, and there are good
country farmsin California and good people.
There's no good worrying. Let's go to
sleep and she turned over on her mat
tress and was soon asleep.
-There were all the fine carriages of the
rich people driving out to the park, with
children on the box by the driver and the
people inside with their laps piled high
With bedclothes and provisions. . Their
were no rich or poor; we all met on the
level of a tent loor and one was just as
rich as the other for the time. When l
left Yesterday forenoon the entire city was
wiped out from Fillmore street to the water
front"
c. r. McWilliams of Syracuse was at the
Grand Hotel. He said:
Il can give you the names Of several
commercial travellers who were in San
Francisco who are all right. These are:
F. A. Yeaton, Boston; j. S. Horner, Detroit;
George H. Cooper, Boston; James F. Mckee,
Boston; Z. l.. Nelson, Rochester; Frank
Quinn. Rochester; William j. jackson,
Carlisle, Pa; h. James, Boston.
"After/I recovered from my first fright
went to the 81. Francis and watched the
: fire. | stayed in the st Francis until IL
O'Clock, when We were ordered out by the
military. as the adjoining buildings were to
, be dynamited. But the ~dynamiting was OF
no use. These great sheets of fire jumped
any and all obstacles"
sydney P. Harris, composer of music,
notably among his pieces being the "Cava-
lier," came in with the refugees compelled
by the soldiers to get down in the huge
holes and work, digging out the ruins suf-
fcient to eNc2ya:e the ovens of the bakeries
in order TO lake bread for the famished
people. at was terrible" said Mr.. Harris.
Sometimes it was impossible to get
across the huge assures that the earthquake
had forged in the streets. We had to obtain
old DlanhS 10 Walk upoH' Solhc VI VhO
breaks in the pavements are IS and 20 feet
wide and the bottoms are invisible
Frank Walsh and his family arrived this
afternoon from San Francisco. They had
landed from Honolulu on Friday when the
Mongolia docked and had rooms at the
Palace Hotel, where they were staying
until the grand opera season was over
The ruin of San Francisco is more
ma onifoent. if YOU can term IL that, even
than that of Pompeii, said Col. Walsh
last night, Square miles Of homes. bust
ness buildings and factories are ruins and
all the buildings that remain are skeletons
The damage to San Francisco from the
earthquake was not 10 per cent. of the
total damage after the fire had completed
its work, and this fact should be especially
emphasized"
Gertrude Coghlan, the actress, tells how
q theatrical troupe fed between blazing
ruins.