The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-04-19
Early Morning Seismic Disturbances Topp Buildings and Then the Flam Break OuWa Supply Off, and Dynamite Used in Vain Effort
 Stay the Fes-Sanford University in Berkeley Alameda

public square a scene of desolation is presented Tents have been pitched by fortunate possessors of canvas but the majority of the homeless people arc huddled in frightened groups about the household belongings they managed to save froe-t the general ruin
 --tr-rom ..., den Gate Park comes news ofS the total destruction of the i'm mense building which covered DOT ton of tho children's playground.
 In Union Square Park. where num- Der of the homeless are now being given temporary shelter. the mighty Dewey monument has been shifted from its base It now stands leaning at an angle of ten degrees, but there is no danger of the immense stone struct- ure falling.
 Under the fierce heat of the noonday sun nineteen bodies lay In Washington souare where they were taken at the of- der of the Mayor when the morgues and Hall of Justice basement held all that could be cared for.
 President George Davidson of the University of California. formerly con- nected with the United States Geod- etic Survey said tonight:
 'The earthquake came from north to south and the only description am able to give of It's effect to me is that 1t seemed like terrier shaking rat. J was in bed but was awakened at the first shock. I began to count the sec onds as I went towards the table where my watch was, being able through much practice to closely ap- proximate the time in that manner. The shock came at 5:12 o'clock, the first sixty seconds being the most severe. From that time the slightest percepn- ble iull then the shoe cF6continued Tor sixty seconds longer. being shghter i'll degree in this minute than in any part of the preceding minutes and a half. Thre were two very slight shocks, which I did not time. At 5:14 o'clock I recorded shock or five sec- onds duration and one at 5:15 of two seconds. There were slight shocks which I did not record at 5:17 and b:27- At 6:5o p. m. there was sharp shock of several sesonds."
 HUNDREDS INClNERATED
 OR BURNED IN RUINS.
 It win be many days before the com pIete story of tho ruin wrought by the double calamity of earthquake and ire that visited San Francisco today will ba written, and there will still remain untold countless tales of pitiful tragedy. The exact loss of life will never De known, as hundreds of unfortunates have been incinerated in the flames which made the rescue of those buried under toppling steeples and falling walls impossible. Temporary morgues were improvised at many points, only to be razed by the flames. Tonight the oity resembles one vast shamble with the red glare of fire throwing weird shadows across the worn and panic stricken faces of the homeless who are wandering the streets or sleeping on piles of mattresses and clothing In the parks and on the sidewalks in those districts not yet reached by the fire.
 Forgetting for moment the terrible suffering, physical and financial, that trails in the wake of the fire. the scene is one of unspeakable grandeur. Look ing over the city from high hill Tn the Western Addition. the flames can be seen rolling skyward for miles ana miles. while in the midst of the spouting and belching tongues of red fire can be seen the black skeleton and falling towers of the doomed buildings
 At regular intervals the booming or the dynamite tells of the work of the brave army of men who are attempting to save the city from complete anni- hiIation, many of them meeting death at their task Through all streets au- tomobfles and express wagons are hur- rying, carrying the dead and injured to the morgues and the hospitals. At the morgue in the Hall of Justice, fifty bodies lie on the slabs. The flames ra pidly approach this building and the work of removing the bodies to Jack son Square, opposite. began.
 While the soldiers and police were carrying the dead to what appeared safe places, a shower of bricks from building dynamited to cheek the pro- gross of the sweeping flames. injured many of the workmen and sent soldier after soldier hurrying to the hospitals. The work of removing the bodies stopp cd and the reminder of the dead, left to possible cremation in the morgue.
 THIEVES SHOT TO DEATH BY
 ORDER OF THE MAYOR.
 The city is under stringent martial aW and squads of cavalry and troops of infantry arc patrolling the street and guarding the sections that have not yet been visited by the flames Despite their efforts to keep the crowds from the section now being dynamited many slipped through the guards and not a few suff ' ed for their temerity.
 From the Ba4 Dary coast the horde of vicious and criminal that infest that section poured forth and started early in the evening to loot the stores and rob the dead. Fearing such a fiendish climax to this day of horror. Mayor Schmitz and Police Chief Dinan issued orders for the soldiers to kill outright all who engaged in such work. Before the eyes of an Associated Press repre- sentative three thieves were shot in the back and fatally wounded in the burning commercial district.
 The earthquake has worked aston. ishing havoc in San Franciscos famous Chinatown. The Chinese theatres and joss houses are In ruins and rookerv after rookery has collapsed, covering alive hundreds of the CelestiaIs Panic reigns nmoug the countless thousands of the Chinese and they fill the streets. dragging whatever they could save from the wreck.
 The Japanese quarter has been burned out and from the part not de- stroyed the people have fled in terror. packing on their backs what house.