Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1906-05-11
AN EYEWITNESS
OF THE SAN FRANCISCO HOR-
ROR TELLS THE STORY.


TsrseIy Told. by Miss Myrtle Robertson, of
This City, Who Was Student in the Mark
Hopkins Art Institute. That Was Wholly
Dsstroyed-She Says the Consensus Of Opin.
ion Is That the Loss and Damage Has Not
Been Overrated.
Last Saturday Miss Myrtle Robert.
son. who has been a student in the
Mark Hopkins Art Institute, the past
three years, returned to her home in
this city; that noted school of instruc-
ton as we'll as treasury of art having
been wholly destroyed by the terrible
visitation.
Miss RS personal experience was by
no means exciting, and she seems to
have been specially favored in that re-
spect, for while the building in which
she lived was shaken up quite severely,
so much SO as to overthrow furniture
and displace nearly everything that
was movable, her room was an ex.
ception, and was subjected to nothing
more than a succession of quite severe
shocks, which, while they gave unmis-
taxable portept of calamity, conveyed
little idea of the magnitude OF the
dreadful ordeal at hand.
In reply to the query as to whether
the loss and suffering were as great as
stated by the newspaper accounts. she
declared that she could not we'll see
how they could be exaggerated either
in sacrifice of life and property or the
tribulations suffered by many people
who had so suddenly been changed
from a condition probably OF affiuence
to absolute restitution and want. She
attributes mitigation of the latter to
the admirable discipline established
and protection afforded by the U. 8.
troops and the city police force, who
checked at once any manifest disposi-
ton to get control Of affairs while
everything was in a chaotic condition.
Her narrative we give substantially
in her own words, as follows:
at was early in the. morning, before
San Franciscans were out of bed, that
the earthquake happened. Without
any warning, beds. floors and walls
began to rock violently, windows rat.
tied, bookcases fell crashing down,
dishes and bric.a.brao slid from shelves,
and were broken into bits; stoves
tipped over and pictures, mirrors and
plaster lay in heaps on the floor. Out
side there were strange sights and
sounds. The chimneys on the roofs
came tumbling to the ground, tele.
phone wites and clotheslines were
dancing and jerking as il bewitched,
great buildings were swaying and the
streets themselves were wavering.
1.-The earthquake lasted twent EIGHT
seconds. In fifteen minutes nearly
everybody was dressed and out 10 the
streets. The fire engines dashed by,
and it was said that there was q fire
south of Market street. Nobody ate
much breakfast that morning. By
and bye we were told that all beyond
Market, and the wholesale houses were
burning up. There had been slight
tremblores at intervals since the great
one, but three hours after the heavy
shock there came another, equally
violent, but lasting only one-fifth so
long.
II was alone in the house at tho
time and I promptly decided that 1t
was safer out OF doors. went down
California etreet toward the Art Insti-
tute. Every house passed showed
the effect Of the earthquake by fallen
chimneys, broken window-panes, loos.
ened pillars, or twisted roof. The
whole front of one brick building was
in heap on the ground. Crowds of
sober-faced people, many OF them
dressed as for journey, filled the
"The art school was on Mob hill,
about ten blocks north of Market and
an equal distance from the water.
front on the east. II commanded full
view Of the south and east parts OF the
city. Multitudes were congregated
there watching the burning. which by
this time had spread farther in every
There was no wind to
drive the flames onward or to check
them on any side.
II proceeded nearer to the fire, and
learned that from the beginning tho
fire department was helpless, for the
had broken the mains and
there was no water. That was the
cause of San Francisco's calamity.
and police took possession OF
the burning region and kept the
throngs at safe distance. Merchants,
when they found their places threat.
ened, speedily moved what goods they
could to places Of safety and aban-
doned the remainder.
ut was not many hours until the
Gre had in its clutches that noble
group of buildings at Newspaper Cor
ner. The Examiner building was soon
laid low. The Call and the Chronicle
were eaten out inside, but
being OF steel, their frames still stand,
and they will probably both be made
ready for occupancy again in q few
weeks. The Palace Hotel, the Grand,
the Emporium, Sanborn and Wallis
Halls, the Lincoln school, and scores
Of lesser ones. were devoured one after
another. Only the Mint came out
ain the other direction the fire was
creeping towards Chinatown. at once
the plague-spot and wonderland OF
San Francisco. When the flames
reached this district, it ignited like
1t covered only seven
or eight blocks, but ten thousand
people we're packed in il. It was said
to be fairly hOney-combed underneath
with human habitations. OF all the
suffering from the fire, I think the
despised Chinese Jared the worst. for
they we're the poorest and no American
homes were open to them. II was
from Chinatown that most of the dead
bodies were taken, and no doubt un.
told numbers are still lying under the
debris. Probably many of them were