Omaha daily bee., 1906-04-19
THOUSAND DEAD Z.
IN SMOKING RUINS
lcontinued from lis Pagel

persons whomsoever found engaged ia
looting the effects Of any citizen or other
wise engaged In the commission of crime
Under these circumstances request that
all citizens whose business does not imper-
atively require their absence from home
after dark to remain at home during the
night time until order. shall have been re-
stored. ! beg to warn an citizens or the
destroyed chimneys. gas fixtures and the
light +. Il. SCHMITZ, Mayor.
At o'clock tonight the fremen were as
far as ever from checking the progress of
the flames. In the northern section of the
down town business section the fire swept
around the Hall Of Justice and commun-
Gated to Chinatown,, thence proceeding
westward into the heart, of that colony.
1t then began rapidly eating its way south
ward on both sides Of Kearney street and
at this writing e D.. NJ was within
block Of the, California hotel This point
is in the direct vicinity of the plant of the
Bulletin, an evening publication in which
the three morning papers had agreed to
! issue Jointly a four sheet paper tomorrow
morning but that plan was abandoned.
About 6 o'clock tonight the worlds famous
Palace hotel fell prey to. the connagration
and the Crocker building across the street
began splitting smoke.
st. IRnatIus College Destroyed p
! One OF the big losses of the day was the
destruction of st. Ignatius church and col
lege at VanNess avenue and Hayes street
This was the greatest Jesuitical ihstitu-
ton in the west and was built at a cost Of
a couple of million dollars
At o'clock tonight the fire had swept
from the south side of town across Market
street into the district called the Western
addition and was burning houses at Golden
| Gate avenue and Octavia This result was
/ reached AZ epntbprn dist igt
! from Ninth street 10. the eastern water
! front had been converted into a blackened
waste. In this section were hundreds Of
| factories, wholesale houses and many bust
ness firms in addition TO thousands of
| homes.
On the north side the fire tonight was not
| making such rapid Roadway in the
western addition, where there is a
limited water supply available and the
fremen are making desperate efforts to
prevent encroachments of the devastation.
| Temporary headquarters were established
in tents i'm Portsmouth Square this evening
for Mayor Schmitz; Chief of Police Dineen
and General Funston. but this site became
! too dangerous about o'clock and was
abandoned Later the flames swept the
| square.
In the south side district on Ricon hill,
~ "ti > lpSllitdl n lhHulihIhs NOii-
structed by the Sisters Of Mercy, was re-
duced to ashes
Thousands Are Homeless.
Throughout the city wherever there is a
public square a scene Of desolation is pre-
scented. Tents have been pitched by for
tunate possessors OF canvas, but the ma.
jority Of the homeless people are huddled
in frightened groups about the household
belongings they managed to save from the
general ruin.
From Golden Gate park comes news OF
the total destruction OF the immense build
ing covering portion OF the chlldren''
playground. The walls are battered beyond
repair and the roof has fallen in. The
pillars of the new stone gates at the parl
| entrances are twisted and torn from thei
foundations, Sonic Of them. welghins
nearly four tons each were shifted Q,
though they were Constructed Of chan. p.
In tniotr sdpste 'Bapk, where number q
} the homeless .tarba 'beSng given tetnporar!
shelter, the mighty Dewey monument hal
been shifted from it's BASE 1t now stands
leaning at angle OF ten degrees ant
there is danger Of the immense stone struc
ture falling. ',E ..t
Ferry Service Resumed.
This afternoon the ferryboats resume,
running from Oakland and tonight thou
sands of homeless and panic-stricken PEG
pie are leaving the city and are seeking
shelter in Oakland and other suburbai
! towns The suffering and hardship beg
gars description. Countless numbers o
residents OF the city. including the Chinese
4 Japanese and Italian quarters, have bee
rendered homeless and unless supplies am
aid reach the city within twenty-four hour
e starvation will add to the awful calamity
Nearly every famous landmark that hu
made San Francisco famous over the worl
: has been laid in ruins or burned TO tn
ground in the dire catastrophe. Neve
has the fate Of city been more disas
= trous.
For three miles along the water iron
buildings have been swept clean and "a
night the backened beams and great skelC
= tons of factories and offices stand ST
T. houetted against background of fam
that is slowly spreading over the ehtir
city. The whole commercial and office sec
ton on the north side of Market street
the ferry building on Tenth street, Ina
n been consumed in the hell OF flames, Will
= hardly a building is standing in the dis
r trict south Of Market street
Many Buildings Are Blown Up.
AT 2 o'clock, despite the heroic work c
who RACED building after building and bic
d up property valued at millions, the flame
- spread across Market street to the mort
p side and swept up Montgomery to Wasf
ington street Among Montgomery streC
are some of the richest banks and CONNER
= cial houses in San Francisco. The famou
Mills building and the new MerchaDts' eS
!. change in which is situated the marin
:" and stock exchanges, are still standing
but the Mutual Life Insurance buildiu
and scores OF bank and office buildings al
:, on fire, while blocks of other houses are
the path of the flames and nothing seen
Y. to be at hand to stay their progress, Bloc
after block of banking houses are no
It masses of redhot ruin, and 1t will be month
before the money that was housed i'm the
p" valuable vaults can be reached.
d. Fire Chief Injured.
=. The earthquake caused the partial wreC
of the California hotel on Bush and Kea
p ney streets and the falling chimney ar
cornice of the hotel crashed through n
fire house adjoining, severely injuring FL
q, Chief Sullivan so that he was unable
no direct the work of FIRE ightng. He is no
"A in a hospital in precarious condition
az Despite the disheartening accident, Il
AZ entire fire department assisted by part
,aar