The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1906-04-27
WERE IN The MAD CROWD
That Was Iostled About the Streets
of San Francisco After the
Quake Tore Buildings.
IMrNNEAPoLIs JOURNAL SPECIAL


Benson. of 1881 Third street n and
George H. Cook of 240O Bryant avenue
S, Minneapolis. Few tales are more
thrilling and vivid than those told by
these two Minneapolis lumbermen, who
escaped from the scenes of terror UNI
harmed.
If there is such thing as God Al
mighty he was certainly with the peo-
pie of the Palace hotel when the earth
quake ruined San Francisco" said Mr..
Benson to The Minneapolis Journal rep
resentative. "How it stood, | will never
be able to tell. 1t is a profound my
stery In that house were from 1000
to $500 souls, and all would have been
killed had it collapsed.
Mr. Cook and occupied rooms in the
very top story and in one corner, where
the shock struck the building the
worst. | shall never forget the awful
sound that woke us that morning The
room where we were was rocking and
jumping and swaying like bucking
broncho. Our bed went sliding down the
floor, first to one corner, then to the
other. Shelves and articles of furniture
piled along the wall fell with a crash.
A magnificent mirror struck the foot OF
the bed and was broken into fragments.
SIN out corner we got it the worst.
Right where the two conforming walls
came together, the boards creaked and
cracked Nails pulled out with rasp-
ING sound. Plaster fell everywhere and
in. the suffocating dust we gasped and
choked.
in our night clothes we jumped from
e our beds and started for the stairs. In
the halls and corridors and down every
stairway people leaped and jumped in a
frenzy or terror. Order there was none.
Hurrying and scurrying, they thought of
safety alone.
"And such sights! In the first wild
rush everybody picked up some valu-
able to save. Usually they took some
thing they would have left had they
been in their right senses. The con
fusion was awful. Those stairways were
covered with dust and plaster; whole
boards torn loose sometimes; yet the
way was clear. 1t was miracle. Ev.
erybody, so far as | now, got to the
street and no one was killed in that
hotel Buildings all around crumpled
to the ground and killed scores that
were i'll them.
Zone amusing incident struck me then
and almost without knowing it 1 had to
laugh. There was Caruso, the Italian
tenor, who the night before had played
in grand opera. Clad in scanty gar
ments and so excited he rushed here
and there almost without purpose, he
still could not forget his dandy man
ners. As he ran and shouted his long
fingers went to his immaculate mus
tache, and even while people were jost
ling and pushing around him, he twirled
the dainty ends as always. His com
panion, Alice Fremstad, is a Minneap-
oils girl. l tried to get to her, but
/ could not. She is safe.
''Out in the street we huddled. Ev-
erybody wanted to 90 to the ferry.
Some were there without stitch of
clothing on their backs. Stark naked,
they did not realize it, and in the ex
element they ran with the rest.
''Then somebody came along and said
that Oakland was in even worse condition
that San Francisco. That muddled and
confused the people worse than before.
Even while we waited there came a
second tremble. 1t was only light
one-a passing shock-but women faint
ed and strong men shook in their fright.
'Mr. Cook and | had only our pa
jamas on. / said Let's rush back and
get out Clothes We started up the
stairs. That was perilous trip. Great
chasms had opened i'll the stairways
that we had to crawl and jump over
and no moment knew when the whole
structure would fall on our heads. Did
we put them on therey No; we just took
everything in sight in one scoop and
rushed to the street; there we dressed.
l got about half my clothes and Mr..
Cook did about the same.
'We had some strenuous experiences
before we got to the train three days
later and started for Portland. We tele-
graphed our folks from Oakland and
asked them to communicate with us at
the Portland hotel in Portland. We
have heard nothing yet. They probably
have not received our message and think
us dead. We will rest here two or three
days and then go home"
The tale told by Mr. Cook covers the
three days wandering of the two men
from the time they left the Palace no.