The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1906-04-26

AND THE FIRE FIEND.

,pIe Are Forced to Face an Awful
Death in The Streets or Their
Wrecked Homes. Fire
Adds to Horror.
EARTHQUAKE and fire on Wednesday
caused the greatest calamity Califor'
mia has ever known. San Francisco
was almost destroyed and thousands
of people in that city were Killed OF
hurt. A dispatch from San Francisco
says the dreadful earthquake SHOCK
came without warning at precisely
s5.l3 o'clcck, its motion apparently
being from east to west. At first the
uphesyal Of the earth was gradual
hut in q few seconds it increased In
intensity. ChimneVs began tc fall
and buildings to crack, tottering on
their foundations. The people be-
came panic sticken and rushed into
the streets, most Of them In their
NIGHT attirs. They were met by
showers Of falling buildings, cornlces'
abricks and walls. Many were Instant
ly crushed to death, while others were
.dreadfully mapgled. Those who re-
NAMED indoors generally escaped with
their lives, though scores were hit os
detached plaster, pictures and articles
thrown to the hoor by the shock. Ii
ia believed that more or less less was
sustained by nearly every family In
the city.
The tall steel frame structures
stood the strain better than brick
buildings, few of them being badly
damaged. The big eleven story Nc
nado Office building, in course of con-
.struction, adjoining the Palace HoteS,
was an exception, however, It's rear
wall collapsing, many CRACKS oelne
made across its front. Some OF the
edacks and freight sheds alorg the va
ter front slid into the bay. Deep
:fissu res opened in the flled-1n grouao
near the shore and the Union ferry
depot was injured. Its high tower
still stands, but will have to be torn
down. a portion Of the new .Olty
fhall. which cost over seven million
<doalsrs, collapsed, the root sliding into
the court yard and smaller towers
.tumbling down. The great dome Wss
moved but did not fail The nev puSt
1fice, ons Of the fine,t IN the United
States, was badly shattered. Ice
Valencia Hotel, four story wooden
building, ssnk into the basement q
nile of spllntered timbers, under which
were pinned many dead and dying &C.
rcu pants OF the house. The basemeL Q
was full of water and some OF the
helpless victims were drowned.
Scarcely had the earth ceased 10
shake when fires broke oua simultans
>ously in many places. The hre os'
partment promptly responded to the
first call for aid, but it was found baat
the water mains had been rendereo
useless by the underground move
ment. Famed by q light breeZe, the
flames quickly spread and soon msny
5lccks were seen to be doomed. Taen
dynamite vas rssorted to and the
sound of frequent explo ions added TO
the terror Of the population. All
efforts to stay the progress OF the hre,
however, proved futile. The souto
side OF Market street from Ninth
street to Bay was soon ablazs, the bre
covering a belt two blocks wide. On
this, the main thoroughfare of the
city, are located many OF the haest
edifses in the city, including the
Grant, Parrott, Flood, Call" Ex
amlne-," and Monadnock buildings,
the PLACE and Grand Hotels, and
numerous wholesale houses. At the
same time tue commercial estsbilsn
ments and banks uorth Of Market
street were burning. The burning
district in this se"tion OF the CITY ex
tended from Sansone strest to the
water front, and from Market street
to Broadway Fires also broke out 10
the Mission and the entire ci0y seemed
to be in flames.
The fines, famed by the rising
bre. z, swept down the main streets
Until within q few hundred feet OF the
ferry depot, the high tower OF which
stooo at dangerous angle. The big
wholesale grocery establishment OF
Weelman, Peck & Co., was on IRE
from csller to roof, and the heat was
so oppressive that passengers from the
ferry boats were obliged to keep close
to the waters edge in order to get
past the burning structure. 1t was
impossible to reach the center OF the
city from the bay without skirsing
the shore for a long distance 80 as to
get entirely around the burning dis
trict.
At 8 O'Clock the Southern Pacific
off1, als refused to allow any more
psssenpers from Trans bay points >tc
land and sent back those already on
the boats. Tue ferry and train ser
vice of the Ksy route was entirely
abandoned, owing to damage done the
power house by the earthquake at
Eneryvills.
At 9 o'clock "Wednesday morning 3
Thousand men from the Presidio sr-
rived down town to patrol the city
streets. The I'h:.tec22:h infantry,
nno st-nr- arrived t-SC Angel IS