San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-09-17

cial difficulties of some of the desti-
tute survivors.
Photographs of scenes connected
with the disaster sold at high prem
ium and eyewitness stories of survi-
vors some times brought as high as
500.
Il haven't cent, but / have a
story" said one woman in borrowed
clothes who had lost every thing she
had in the world and was laced with
the necessity of finding work in a
strange land Immediately. She asked
..r $50.
Fair enough" said a repor,er and
the deal was closed.
Pictures in Demand.
Photographs were in the greatest
demand. 1t was said that one trans
action for less than -wo complete rolls
of undeveloped films involved money
transfer of $4,000. Photographs were
hastily gathered on the as she
lay at the Canadian government quar-
antine station at William-Head and
dispatched by airplane to Victoria and
Van Couver, B. c., Seattle, and other
coast points. Others were hurried
eastward by fast mail.
Nearly two score reporters and
newspaper Photograph boarded the
vessel.
Few had been able to save any of
their personal belongings as they hur-
ried from the stricken japanese cities
and many wore borrowed garments
when they left the Jefferson.
Members Of the vessels CIV gener-
ously loaned clothing to those who had
escaped in only scanty attire and in
addition gave up their berths and slept
where they could. so that their tired
guests. some of whom had been unable
to find accommodations, might rest in
comfort.
Some of the passengers who we..s to
sleep Saturday night with scarcely
enough money to purchase cigarettes
awakened Sunday morning to find that
they had been well provided for. With
in a few hours after the Jefferson's ar
rival telegraph companies had deliv-
cred money transfers aggregating in
the neighborhood of 100000. Messages
to the refugees poured in by scores.
Stories Are Confused. o..
The destruction of the japanese
cities, the survivors related, was pre-
ceded by electrical disturbances that
lighted the city brilliantly at night,
hot, humid days and an atmosphere al
most sitting. On the morning of
September the sun rose hot and bril-
liant.
Landscape Is Changed.
The first tremor came an instant
hafAra tha hAan,spv 81 ho ha
marked noon. 1t was a perpendicular
shock, violent. and destructive. Then
came horizontal quake and the land
scape was changed in an instant to
one of DISSOLUTION.
Miss Ann Jeffrey. principal of the
foreign school at Toxic. described the
destruction of her school.
1T was quiet except for truck that
rumbled over the pavement past our
door. Then came two shocks in quick
succession, just as the noon gun sound
ed: Houses tumbled down like cards.
Our school was destroyed and l barely
escaped with my life. One of our
teachers was crushed to death. Luck
lily none of our 75 pupils was there.
almost instantly the fires started.
Men and women rushed about aimless-
ly. 1 saw many killed by falling
walls. Others were burned TO death.
it was CHASTITY"
was later rescued by the crew of
British vessel in the harbor.
Mrs. Bertha Vest of New York City,
hurrying to safety, saw one of the en-
ployes of the Y. NJ. C. A. at Yoko-
hama imprisoned tightly in the wreck
age of the ruined building. His leg
had been crushed, she said. and blood
poisoning had set in. He begged pit
iously for release and finally his
friends. frantically trying to aid him,
attempted to amputate his leg with
pocket knife. He died few moments
later from loss of blood.
Horror Is Indiscribable.
Mrs. Shoji Osato, formerly Miss
Fitzpatrick of Chicago and Omaha,
Nebraska, was in Yokohama on a
holiday with one Of her two children
while her husband and the other baby
remained at their home in Toxic. She
escaped the earthquake and later at
tempted to reach Toxic in an effort to
find her husband and child. She was
unsuccessful and reached the British
freighter Dongoli in an exhausted con-
dition with her baby Sono. They were
taken to Kobe, where they boarred
the Jefferson.
mo one can describe the horror of
it ALL" Mrs. Osato said. 81 know
what happened in my small district; /
saw enormous assures open in the
earth. l saw the pillage and murder
that followed. But what 1 saw was
no more than kernel of grain in
cargo"
Officers of the Jefferson described
the changed aspect of Yokohama har-
Dor after the quake. The harbor was
destroyed. Channels were cut in the
bottom and anehorsges that had been