The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-04-24
ROCK LIKE CRADLE
Topeka Refugees From San
Francisco Tell Experiences.
Mrs. LoOmis and Daughter, Mrs.
BurdseIl, Reach Home.
WERE AT GRAND HOTEL
building Rocked and Chandeliers
Fell.
They Walked Miles to Fort and
Got AWAY on Ferry.
WERE AT GRAND HOTEL


The first survivors Of the San Fran
cisco earthquake to reach Topeka
were Mrs. Ellen Loomis and Mrs.
Francis Burdsell, mother and sister
of N H Loomis of this city. who
arrived this morning over the Union
Pacific from the ill fated city.
Both women showed remarkable
fortitude and coolness in making their
escape frem the multitude of dangers
which surr. unded them. especially
when it is considered that Mrs. J.oonis
is IS years of age and that both wo-
men were alone and had no man COM
panion to aid them. They stooa the
shock of their experiences well and
though somewhat fatigued Oh arr living
this morning showed no nervous ex-
haustion.
Mrs. Loomis' former experience in
going through the great I'''i-ago FIRE
stood her in good stead. "I think
that what I learned from the Chicago
fire helped me a great deal in getting
out of San Francisco. I knew that
we must KEEP going away from the
fire and that we must keep food with
US IS they overcharge you so, she
said. Mrs. z-oomis walked four rrliIes
to reach a place of safety.
Arriving In San Francisco from Los
Angeles at 2 O'Clock Wednesday
morning, but three hours before the
earthquake, Mrs. LOomis and her
daughter, Mrs. BurdseH. Immediately
took apartments at the Grand an an
mex of the Palace hotel. The Grand
was situated at the junction of Mar
ket and Montgomery strets and almost
Ia the center of the district where the
/ greatest devastation occurred.
Chandelier Fell.
I'VE had a. suite of three rooms in the
! Grand said Mrs. Burdsen. Il don't
know exactly what awakened US; I
J presume 1t was the plaster, for 1 no.
ticed lot of it on the bed coverings.
4 The chandeliers in all three of the
1 rooms were dashed to the floor and
+ were lying there broken up in a heap.
/ The building shook just as If il were
a great big cradle. We dressed right
away and on going over to a window
and rocking out / noticed flames and
smoke coming up from below.
i thought it was simply some fire. We
started TO go out and met man who
! told us that 1t was an earthqua ke
and that we should go back and pack
our things. We went back into the
rooms and gathered our things to-
/ gether, those we thought we needed
i the most and started out of the
\ huilGing. We had no difficulty what
ever in getting out. There were d
great many OF the people from the
hotel out on the sidewalk and street
4 in their night gowns. women in their
J gowns with their hair hanging down
/ were putting on stockings and shoes.
/ We started out-We didn't know
where We were going, for 1t was a
strange city to us-and finally got
over to a central park in front Of the
st. Francis hotel. about five or Six
blocks from the Grand.
Goes Back for a Diamond.
When we got over there rernen-
bered that had left a diamond pin in
my room and 1 went back and got it:
I left my toilet set there and afterwards
wished that 1 had taken that, too. we
stayed at this little park but there were
so many dagoes and Chinese that 1 vas
afraid to stay there. I was really more
| afraid of them than l was of the earth
quake. They kept crowding in all the
! time and finally we got up and went
out of there We still didn't know
where We were going but we went I'D
a big nil which was right next to Knob
| Hill, afterwards, I found out that it
was Rincon Hill We came to a house
which looked like a real nice boarding
house before luncheon time. about 10
O'Clock [ guess it was. The. people were
very nice. We took luncheon there
| though when we left the hotel we had
taken chocolate and some crackers With
US. We stayed here for a while hut
we finally decided to push on further.
/ We let some of our suit cases here be-
cause they were too heavy for us to
carry. We kept on walking towards
where we thought the ocean was"
I felt that if we reached the ocean
our lives would be safe.'' interjected
l Mrs. Loomis.
Reach Military Reservation.
Il presume We must have walked
fully three miles by the time we reached
the government military reservation in
| the evening. Before we got there We
rested on a vacant lot, then we would
walk some more and sit down again.
4 This part of the town. was filing up
rapidly with people We finally decided
to stay with a man who drove a wagon
4 for Armour and who lived in a pre- tty
| little cottage right on the edge of the
reservation. We felt that if we needed
wagon to get away IN it would be a
| good idea to stay at this place Ne
( got there about O'Clock Wednesday
4 evening. It looked rather quiet AID
peaceful toward evening and we rather
expected that we could 60 back to the
4 hotel after awhile. All the time that we
I were walking in the afternoon and
[ morning we could see the flames down
IN the business district but IN the even
+ ing it lookei as if it had gone out. Next
morning however the fire seemed to be
burning more fercely. It was then
about s blocks away. We decided It
would be best to get away on the ferry,
I a ferry ran over to Oakland from the
4 reservation. We asked some of the sol
/ diers there and they told Us to get right
on the ferry We missed the first boat
but got on all right on the second.
jam on the Boat
'Oh. but there was a jam. Dagoes