The San Francisco call., 1908-12-24
FIRE DESTROYS
CARS OF GIFTS
FOR CHRISTMAS
Loads of California Mail for the
East Make Huge B0nfires
in Wyoming
Kin and SWeethearts Will Ac=
Cuse Unlucky Senders of
Dire Forgetfulness
Lack of Asbestos Santa Claus
Causes Loss of Many
Yuletide Tokens
Could they devise in Wonderland
SANITY quite devoid of flaws,
They'd surely make, we understand,
A real asbestos Santa Claus.
From Rhymes of the Giftless.

Many a heart will be aching, if you
could read them all, along the cold
Atlantic seaboard on Christmas morn
owing to disastrous fires that occurred
In wyoming this week. BY the same
token, many Californian, now bask-
ing IN the glowing anticipation of see
ing himself put first tomorrow morn
ing In the hearts of his friends. will
be the unconscious and undeserving
sounding board for the reproaches of
generation of kin and sweethearts.
Fate appeared in the tragedy locally
December La and 19, Thursday and Sat
urday of last week, when two teeming
trainloads of Christmas cheer rolled out
of the Oakland mole with the intention
OF carrying joy beyond the Mississippi.
Presents mailed early in the day and
afternoon of December II in San Fran
cisco and Oakland sped away on Union
Pacific train No. 6, which left the Oak
land mole at $40. Presents mailed be-
fore o'clock on that evening went
on train No. 10, which left at 8 o'clock.
These two trains were made up at
Ogden. They carried 700 pouches of
mail; 500 pouches of second, third and
fourth class matter in a baggage car
and 200 pouches in the mail car.
FIRE DESTROYS CARS
On the night of December 20 the two
by fire at Hanna, Wyo. The same trains
left Oakland on the night of December
1 carrying 500 pouches of second, third
and fourth class mail matter. On the
night of December 2 these loving tokens
were destroyed by fire at Dale Creek,
25 miles west of Cheyenne, Wyo.
No one can estimate the shattered
romances that went up in flames on
the bleak plains of Wyoming. From
the Banks of the Wabash far away
to- THE Old Kentucky home good
night there will be chorus of lamen-
tations. The aged parents on the
homestead will weep their hearts out
because the son out west forgot them
on Christmas day. They will sob and
wonder what could have estranged him.
The maidenly Bell Brandon. waiting
under the shade of the old arbor tree
at least that is what Dick Jose vocally
insists she does-will find that her tur-
key tastes like Dead sea fruit, because
Jack (they are always Jack in Christ
mas tales) has apparently forgotten
her. She'll wonder what sort of a girl
of the golden west has captured him
now.
ASBESTOS SANTA NEEDED
And the kids will rush off TO the ex-
press Office in vain and wonder with
tear stained faces why papa, way out
in San Francisco, did not remember
them.
And all that is to happen because
there is no asbestos Santa Claus.
Superintendent of the Railway Mail
Service A. III. Stephens of this district
telegraphed to Cheyenne to ascertain
the extent of the damage to California
mail He received a large number of
telephone calls yesterday from persons
in San Francisco, who inquired If their
Christmas boxes were destroyed in the
fires. Superintendent Stephens received
la telegram from Cheyenne yesterday
afternoon informing him that the mail
matter burned was destined for points
east of the Mississippi river. excepting
the states of Ohio, Pennsylvania and
Minnesota
Word also was received from Kansas
City yesterday afternoon by Superin-
tendent stephens that the pouch of reg
istered mail stolen in that city Tuesday
afternoon was local pouch. It'll was
at first reported that this was a pouch
made up in California, but the telegram
from the postmaster at Kansas City
stated that the sack contained matter
mailed in Kansas City for eastern
points.