The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1906-04-27
SAN FRANCISCO HORROR
A Vivid Description of the Results of the
Earthquake

| iu Bleat numDer5. In6y would rush
through the streets trailing their great
lengths of hose behind them and make
a stand, only to find there was no
water, to have the hose consumed
behind them. They would scale the
walls hundreds of feet high to have the
buildings collaps and so fall into the
seething flames So the flames bat
tiled on. Thursday and Thursday
night all our most beautiful residences
aud historical districts were swept
away and the flames went ON to
North Beach, where old Ocean has
control. The burnt district now COW
ers an area of about seventy blocks
in length and fifty in width. stood
on Pacific Heights last evening and as
far as the eye can discern there is but
desolate waste while below me towards
the bay fora distance of twenty blocks
or more it was lake Of fire, ono of
which hell itself might be proud. Our
little eight hundred policemen proved
inadequate so we drew upon the six
teen hundred men of the Presidio, who
took control and now patrol the small
remaining portion of the city.
upon this portion more than three
hundred thousand people are crowded.
We are without water, withoua
food and without shelter No lights,
no gas aud no fuel. Bread yesterday
sold for one dollar loaf. Meat so
cents per pound and everything else
in proportion. Today the federal au-
thorities have taken possession of
many small groceries in the suburbs
and are dealing out to the people but
as yet we can have no fires.
The city has more than six hundred
unidentified dead for burial. When
the troops took possession they would
consign these bodies once more to the
flames In one place they came with
twenty six charred remains which the
civilians had rescued. After saving
here watch case, there pocketbook
etc, as means of Identification they
consigned-the bodies to these fiery fur
naces as last resting place.
We do not blame them, they are
grand noble boys, working for the
good of the living-the dead takes
care of its own. We have now fallen
] into dazed condition; mere indiffer-
ence to our FATE The flames still lage
on, occasional tremb blings startle us,
but what of that We are now
crowded out for miles aud are resting
in the cemeteries aud here in these
cities of the dead we view the black
ened charred ruins of the city. A
great dead past, my city, my home,
my dead. ] have just appealed to the
police to assist me in finding Dan Gill
lis and wife, their home is swept
away, but their Mission street property
is safe. My house stood until Thurs
day noon,' then joined the rest of the
embers and left me penniless. The
firemen did all they could to save the
property above Van Ness avenue, so
bombarded the east side for blocks,
giving away only as they were COM
PEELED to. My possessions were sacri-
feed This bombardment went on
for sixty hours, tons of dynamite were
nsed, which sounded not unlike two
mighty armies at war. My loss was
comparatively small, but this disaster
has put us all on common plane.
Sometimes we meet friend. 'Tis
handshake, "God help you ;'then
like ships that pass in the night, It's
silence again aud darkness. So the
hours drag on. The government has
placed boats out short distance at sea
to take us off if need be, but the surf
is raging SO now that doubt if it |
could be done. We have no means of |
transportation, no telegraph, telephone
or postal service. All will be better !
in another day if nothing more dis
turbs us.
II accept my fate with the rest.
am absolutely destitute, as are |
thousands of others. Tell all that | |
am alive. Relief is coming this way,
the great world is kind after all and
understand that in her pulsing heart
throbs she has an ache for generous
hearted San Francisco, which is al
ways the first to respond to the ap-
peals Of any afflicted people through
out the civilized world. Wealthy San
Francisco, the home of the Argonauts
and which, even in her dire distress,
manifests the spirit of old 40. Help
to us as city is not gift, it is re-
turn in great measure Of that long
since given as loan in trust. More
than three-fourtbs of our city is
burned, but we are five hundred
thousand people pleading for aid. 1t
will be months before any labor can
be had, there is not a business house
is not SO much as a per-
fectly secure building remaining.
To-day we are threatened with
new horror, typhoid and smallpox, but
we may be able to take care of our
own."