Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-04-24

Spreckels' handsome house at Cough
and Pacific avenue. The lawn was
riven from end to end in great gashes,
the ornamental Italian rail leading to
the imposing entrance was q battered
heap.
Rudolph Spreckels, his wife, his little
son, his mother-in-law and sisters-in-
law and maid servants had set up their
household on the sidewalks. The wom-
en- were wrapped in rugs and coverlets
and huddled in easy chairs hastily roll
ed out.
They were having their morning tea
on the sidewalk and the silver service
was spread ON the stone coping. At
house after house of the wealthy and
fashionable this scene was repeated.
Turning into Van Ness avenue, there
on the left was st. Bridget'S stone
church at Broadway and Van Ness,
with its tall towers fallen and the stone
walls hanging loosely from the top.
There on my right. couple of blocks
away, was st. Luke'S church, total
wreck, its tower of stone just heap
of waste The churches have suffered
greatly. st. Patrick's and st. Domi-
hicks are wrecked. and the old Mis-
sion Dolores of the Franciscan Fathers
has the ancient tiles of its roof crush
ed in, though the adobe walls still
church beside 1t in topping over crush
ed in it's roof.
Fashionables Flee In Bare Feet.
All along the two avenues of fashion
hr.ia alin1nar loft standing
In every block there are tons and tons
of wreckage. Claus Spreckels' home
on Van Ness avenue had its cornices
and parapet crumbIed like a pie crust.
Walter Hobart's house, that was built
for Amy Croker when she became
Mrs Porter Ashe, has all one side
wrecked.
The st. Dunstan, at Suffer and Van
Ness, one of the smartest apartment
houses, built Of stone, has its top story
tumbled off and its solid walls crack
ed. At McNutt's hospital. nearly op-
posite the St. Dunstan, on Suffer street,
the patients who could be moved had
been brought to the door and sidewalk,
and anxious inquirers were rushing up
to get news of dear ones within who
are bedridden or recently operated
upon.
The new national bank on Polk street,
near Suffer street, is Il wreck. with its
plate glass windows in splinters on
the pavements. All Suffer street as l
look ahead seems an avenue of ruin.
The Granada, big fashionable hotel,
has its top and front shattered. Whole
houses. can see, are tumbled down. l
must pick my way among the middle
of the streets between the heaps of
ruins. 1 find the streets swarming
with people, white. wide eyed. still
awed, and others, again, exceedingly
voluble in their terror. telling to every
one their story of what has happened
to himself.
Van Ness avenue is swarming. There
are no cars, of course. Every one must
walk who has no automobile or car
riage or wagon. Automobiles are tear
ing and honking madly in every direc
ton, filled with frightened men and
women and children, some dressed as
though for a promenade, others partly
dressed or wrapped in bedclothes.
Never were stranger automobile par
ties than these.
y
baby, her tear wet face clinging to it's
baby cheeks, and she wears only her
nightdress and a kimono, and her ten
der bare feet patter across the side
walk from a mansion door to an auto
mobile. Here again is an old, old wo-
man with wrinkled face, paper white,
somebody's grandmother she is, and
she is being trundled along in an in
valid chair, her family, with hastily
made bundles of clothes and valuables,
all about her.
1t is only when 1 get as far as the
top of Leavenworth street and look
down into the city's heart that 1 can
get a glimmering of what an awful
thing an earthquake is to a city. Great
clouds of smoke rise dull and dark on
every side and red angry flames shoot
long tongues through them.
Msohfu Door Of Eloruac