Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1906-05-02
.ET|ERFROM MBERTLEONARD.
intensely interesting Account OF
San Francisco Earthquake BY
One Who Was There
100000 HUNGRY PEOPLE
Thrown From His Berth He Awakens
10 Find Himself in the Midst OF
an Earthquake.
DEAR FRIEND


was not at any time in danger of
losing my life or starving. We have
made our regular trips and have carried
thousands of people away from the city,
and l never saw more hungry lot.
We have had TO work something 'fear
full" 1t is a terrible disaster, but l
think perhaps the eastern papers have
made the loss of lives greater than 1t Is.
1t is very small in comparison to the
magnitude of the earth4 BE and the
fire which followed. l was sleeping
very soundly Wednesday morning,
(having been in the city very late Tues
day night, viewing the richly bejeweled
and silken dressed crowds leaving the
Grand Opera House, after the perform
ance of Carmen" Suddenly L was
awakened at 5:16 a. III. by violent
shaking of the boat which caused the
water TO dance about like mad. just
as l was waking there was a terrific
crash, / don't know whether l was
thrown or whether / jumped from my
bed anyway found myself on my feet
and dressing. Not knowing what was
wrong yelled to the fellow in the next
room to get out as quickly as possible
for the boat was about to sink. We
were, (of course alongside Mission
Pier ,, and as soon as l reached the
deck, discovered that the crash was
the large warehouse on the pier and
which was totally demolished by the
'quake" 1t luckily fell in an opposite
direction from us or my story might
not have been so smooth. | looked
toward the Ferry building and saw the
tower of it shattered and the end of the
r south wing entirely gone. though at
that time we were in n cyclone, as /
could hear dull rumbling sound going
farther and farther away, so | asked
Captain Hatch if it was a cyclone.
The men all laughed at my ignorance,
and told me it was an earthquake, then
as looked about more and more | could
see different brick buildings all broken
to pieces and in ruins.
AS SOOIl Us lOullNl Nilhb iihh iie'll'NhSh'
| left the boat and went into the streets
and what a terrible sight it was. The
pavement had sunken several feet and
street car tracks were so upheaved IN
places that they resembled an ocean
wave" fire alarms were ringing every
where. Ambulances and police patrol
wagons were running helter-skelter
about in the widest confusion and to add
to the terror the water pipes all over the
city were destroyed Itwas plainly Wis
ible 10 everyone that Frisco" was
doomed, but no one dreamed then
that the destruct tion would be so COM
plete. Live wires were hanging down
everywhere, endangering peoples lives.
The Emergency Hospital which stands
az the end of Pier ? was quickly filed
with the injured from nearby places
Within a half hour it was impossible tc
20 more than block up Market street
from the ferry, owing to the dense
smoke From that time on the scenes
to be witnessed were too terrible to de
scribe. Words can never express the
thoughts which passed through my
mind at that time. Thinking theil
homes secure many men left theil
families to help fight the fires in Other
parts of the city, only to return and
find the fire had progressed so rapidly
they could not get near where theil
homes had stood few hours before
Their families had fled with what few
belongings they could gather up, bu
the question comes, "among the thous
ands and thousands of refugees" vii
they ever find their loved ones. At si'
O'Clock in the evening l, again left tn,
boat with my friend, Mr. Lockwood t
see If we could save anything from hi
home at corner of third and Harrison
streets At noon when we came to tn,
boat he had left his sister alone thinking
the place perfectly safe. We could no
get within several blocks of the house
At this time, about twelve hours afte
the earthquake, the fire covered an aret
of about . blocks wide and Is block
long. AS we hurried along, we saw
thousands of smoke begrimed peopl
trudging along, carrying articles takel
from their dwellings which were dear T.
them. What a picture of desolatiol
they were. Everywhere were throng
of homeless people. watching the de
struction of their life's work and saw
ings, beggared in day. rich and poor
naughty and humble, mingling togethe
in one mad rush for safety. On and o.
we walked till we had skirted the entir