Elmore County Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1910-1915, 1915-01-16

were with a nurse, and these also rar
with the women. But her husband
Doctor Swinton, remained with her.
go on, Smith, he told me. KeeI
an eye on the children. AS for me,
shall stay with my wife. / know she
is as already dead. but | can't leave
her. Afterward, II escape, ! shall
come to the Chemistry building, and
do you watch for me and let me in
II left him bending over his wife
and soothing her last moments, while
ran to overtake the party. We we're
the last to be admitted to the Chemis.
try building After that with our au'
tomato rifles we maintained our iso-
lation. BY our plan we had arranged
for company of sixty to be in this
refuge. Instead, every one of the num-
Der originally planned had added rela-
tives and friends and whole families
until there were over four hundred
souls. But the Chemistry building was
large, and, standing by itself, was in
no danger of being burned by the
great fires that ragged everywhere in
the city.
"A large quantity of provisions had
been gathered. and food committee
took charge of H. issuing rations daily
to the various families and groups that
arranged themselves into messes. A
number of committees were appointed,
and we developed a very efficient or
ganization. | was on the committee of
defense, though for the first day no
providers came near We could see
them in the distance, however, and by
the smoke of their fires knew that
several camps of them were occupying
the far edge of the campus. Drunken
ness was rife and often we heard
them singing ribald songs or insanely
shouting While the world crashed to
ruin about them and all the air was
filled with the smoke of it's burning,
these low creatures gave rein to their
bestiality and fought and drank and
died. And after all, what did it mat
ter? Everybody died anyway, the
good and the bad, the efficient and
the weak, those that loved to live
and those that scorned to live. They
passed Everything passed.
When twenty-four hours had gone
by and no signs of the plague were
apparent we congratulated ourselves
and set about digging a well. You
have seen the great iron pipes which
in those days carried water to all the
city dwellers. We feared that the
fires in the city would burst the pipes
and empty the reservoirs. So we tore
up the cement floor of the central
court of the Chemistry building and
dug well There were many young
men. undergraduates, with us, and we
worked night and day on the we'll
And our fears we're confirmed Three
hours before we reached water, the
pipes went dry.
"a second twenty-four hours passed,
and still the plague did not appear
among US. We thought we were
saved But we did not know what |
afterward decided to be true, namely, |
that the period of the incubation of
the plague germs in a human body |
was a matter of number of days. 1t |
slew so swiftly when once 1t mani |
tested itself that we were led to be. |
lieve that the period of incubation was
equally swift. So, when two days had
left us unscathed, we were elated with
the idea that we were free of the con-
tagion.
But the third day disillusioned us.
can never forget the night preceding
1t. ] had charge of the night guards
from eight, to twelve, and from the
roof of the building | watched the
passing of all mans glorious works.
So terrible were the local confiagra-
tons that all the sky was lighted up
One could read the finest print in the
red glare. All the world seemed
wrapped in flames. San Francisco
spouted smoke and fire from a score
Of vast CONGREGATIONS that were like
30 many active volcanoes. Oakland,
San Leandro, Haywards-all were
burning: and to the northward clear
to Point Richmond other fires were at
work. 1t was an awe-inspiring spec
tacle. Civilization, my grandsons, civ
llization was passing in a sheet of
flame and breath of death At ten
clock that night, the great powder
at Point Pinole exploded in
rapid succession. So terrific we're the
,oncussions that the strong building
rocked as in an earthquake, while ev-
cry pane of glass was broken. 1t was
hen that | left the roof and went
Town the long corridors, from room to
Dom, quieting the alarmed women and
elling them what had happened.
IAN hour later at window on the
ground floor, heard pandemonium
Freak out in the camps of the prowl-
RS. There were cries and screams,
md shots from many pistols AS we
Ifterward conjectured, this fight had
,een precipitated by an attempt on
he part of those that were well to
rive out those that were sick. At
my rate, number of the plague
tricken providers escaped across the :