New-York tribune., 1906-04-30
HOW THE SHOCKS CAME.
"Tzcister" Follozped "See-Sazc-
Mann Thought 1t End of WorLd.

Pacific Coast. To-day she lies huihoiou III eio
dust an object of pity for the whole worio. On
Wednesday morning last, just as the hrst gray
streak of dawn appeared over the Berkeley
hills across the bay such of her inhabitants
| were not already awake and stirring were
| aroused from their slumbers by a series Of
seismic disturbances of duration and severity
such as had never before been experienced here.
While they were still trembling with apprehen-
sion and before they had time to realize the ex-
tent of the damage done by the earthquake,
fires broke out in three directions simultaneous
ly, and within forty-eight hours three-fourtns
of the entire city was in ruins.
At 513 o'clock light sleepers We're awakened
by a loud rumbling which was Immediately foi-
| lowed by a wavelike motion of the earth. north
and south After an interval of few SECONDS
came very violent see-saw. or verticai no'ioi''
which lasted over half minute. and then came
the worst shock of all-the "twister
Amid showers of falling bricks and plaster.
those who were not already up crawled from
their beds and. hurredly dressing. made Tor the
streets Their haste prompted by other
wavelike motions, a few seconds apart, as the
earth seemed to settle back into It's place again
| These while not so nerve-racking the verti-
| cal and twisting motions were OF sunicient
severity to dislodge loose plaster and other
debris, making 1t extremely dangerous to re-
main inside damaged buildings.
THOUGHT END OF WORLD HAD COME.
| After the first shock there was an
ominous stiffness everywhere; but with the Sec
ond shock cries of hysterical women and shouts
of frightened men mingled with the roar OF
falling debris the crash of breaking glass and
the creaking of rocking timbers, as they heaved
and swayed with the earths motion. Many
thought the end of the world had come. Wom-
en- fell upon their knees in the middle of the
Str IN n
Men wringing their hands. too terrified to
don the clothes they had grabbed before rush
ing from their dwellings. while others stood In
little groups at the street crossings, wondering
| which way to turn.
| Suddenly over the tops of the houses east,
! south and north, three columns of smoke curled
upward and in every direction heard the
| changing gongs OF fire engines. the clatter of
hoofs and the rumbling of scurrying wheels.
few minutes later alarms coming in from
a dozen different directions. At that time
one even dreamed that a danger threat
ened the city, for San Francisco had fire de-
partment of which she was justly proud. and
there apparently why II should
not be equal to the emergency.
Within half an hour however. all three fires
had assumed such proportions that people began
to marvel, and then the rumor was circulated
that the water mains were destroyed by the
!
less" Within incredibly short space OF time
the roar of flames. the cracking of timbers
and explosions OF gas and boilers could be heard
iii almost every part of the city, and crowds
began to pour in the direction OF the confagra-
tions, drawn by curiosity.
! The Mayor. realizing that the double disaster
which had overtaken the city was more serious
| than the people generally seemed TO believe and
that the police would be unable to cope with
I ,soI.
within the fire zone. called upon General Fun
ston for troops. Within an hour soldiers were
driving the people back from the blazing build
ings and clearing the streets I'm order that the
work of salvage might proceed without inter-
ruption. But for the promptitude with which
the military took command Of the situation there
is no question that the lives of scores of those
whose curiosity overcame their anxiety for their
personal safety would have been sacrificed.
At first these crowds resented the interference
of the soldiers but the latter. upon finding that
no attention was paid to their orders, adopted
more severe measures, and after number of
people had been hurt the mob realized that the
regulars were not to be trified WITH and treated
them with a wholesome respect.
FIRE LEAPED FROM BLOCK TO BLOCK
Meantime the fires. which had started in
Smiths Cash Store. six story brick and
steel building in Market street, near the ferry;
in small restaurant which COLLAPSED at the
corner of Sd and Mission streets and in the
midst of the tenement house section south of
Market street were spreading with fearful
rapidity. Block by block the flames roared
along the line of Market street on both sides
through the wholesale district uptown The
Mission street fire, after having devoured sew
eral blocks of small frame dwellings, and lodg- |
ing houses, attacked the modern skyscraping
an1t tbo
sweeping from these to the big buildings IN |
Market street from the rear burst with re-
doubled fury from their fronts and roared down |
upon the Call Building, the handsomest of the |
the names licked the window castings of the |
lower stories. and then from the ton Of tho !
DOME eighteen stories above the street curled n |
tiny column of smoke Within fifteen p,inutaa
this had become dense black column and half |
an hour later the entire structure was a roaring
furnace. Flames shot from every window and /
high This, the most spectacular feature of the !
fire, lasted less than a hour and then the onca |
beautiful building stood blackened skeleton.
By this time IL o'clock. the fire devoured blocl,
after block on the south side OF Market stree, |
until the whole of that side as far as tho o,,o |
could reach was ablaze. South of Market straa,
where block after block of old frame dwe,Iipgs |
and shanties had stood. the flames had made a |
clean sweep for over two miles, and were widen !
ing out toward the bay. In the wholesale dis |
trict north of Market street they were devourinr
the very heart of the mercantile section and |
there was nothing to stop their progress
An attempt had been made, as soon as II wa,
found that there was no water IN uttIiza tho