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San Francisco's Horror 
 
 OF 
 
 EARTHQUAKE AND FIRE 
 
 TERRIBLE DEVASTATION AND 
 HEART-RENDING SCENES 
 
 IMMENSE LOSS OF LIFE AND HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS 
 OF PROPERTY DESTROYED 
 
 THE MOST APPALLING DISASTER 
 OF MODERN TIMES 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 A VIVID DESCRIPTION OF THIS OVERWHELMING CALAMITY- 
 SUDDENNESS OF THE BLOW— GREAT NUMBER OF 
 VICTIMS— FALL OF GREAT BUILDINGS— THOU- 
 SANDS DRIVEN FROM THEIR HOMES 
 
 THIS UNPARALLELED CATASTROPHE 
 
 LEAVES SAN FRANCISCO A HEAP OF SMOULDERING RUINS- 
 FIERCE FLAMES SWEEP THE DOOMED CITY 
 BEAUTIFUL BUILDINGS IN ASHES 
 
 TO WHICH IS ADDED 
 
 GRAPHIC ACCOUNTS OF THE ERUPTIONS OF VESUVIUS AND MANY 
 
 OTHER VOLCANOES, EXPLAINING THE CAUSES OF 
 
 VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS AND EARTHQUAKES 
 
 COMPILED FROM STORIES TOLD BY EYE WITNESSES OF THESE FRIGHTFUL SCENES 
 
 By JAMES RUSSEL WILSON, the Well-known Author 
 
 Embellished with a Great Number of Superb Photographic Views taken 
 before and after the Terrible Calamity. 
 
 NATIONAL PUBLISHING CO. 
 
 235 TO 243 SOUTH AMERICAN STREET 
 
 PHILADELPHIA, PA. 
 
•. \^/ % 
 
 LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
 TwoCoDles RfCfiived 
 
 MAY 22 1906 
 
 Copyright Entry 
 
 CUVSS 
 ' ^ r.c 
 
 COPY B 
 
 .,.e«0 ACCO«0,.0 TO ACT O. CONa«.SS, ,. THE VE*R 19U. B. 
 
 GEORGE W. BERTRON 
 
 ,„. O.P.CE OP TH. UB.-.,*H O. CO.0-,eSS. AT W.SH,..TO.. 0. c . u s. 
 

 ^ 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 CHIVERING, but sure in its rock-ribbed grasp, the hand of Destruction 
 O has reached up through the thin crust of the world and, waving a 
 giant torch of quenchless flame, swept from her proud seat at the edge of 
 the sunset sea the splendid city of the Golden Gate. 
 
 But yesterday the inbound mariner saw from his lookout her jeweled 
 hills, aglow with life. As his prow cleaved the clear green of the Pacific 
 and bore him on to the matchless harbor he marked the towers and columns, 
 the serried ranks of homes and the great ships cradled at this door of com- 
 
 merce. , i i i. 
 
 To-day he sees a shroud of smoke, outspread above a charred skeleton. 
 A great wail of distress is borne across the waters which lap these shores 
 of desolation. From out the black playground of Death rise huge phan- 
 tom shapes of Hunger and Thirst. A mass of smouldering embers tell 
 grimly of Nature's dread orgies. 
 
 Three terrible minutes have vanquished the work of years. 
 
 A shiver of fevered pain has swept along the spine of Earth, and 
 
 San Francisco is ashes. j j j 
 
 Out of the curling smoke that rises like incense for the dead and 
 
 destroyed two pictures are formed. _ ^ 
 
 One is a scene of horror beyond the power of words to depict. It is 
 a picture of men and women being roused from dreams of the dawn to the 
 sternest reality of Night-Night aflame with huge torches of consuming 
 greed eating their way unimpeded through the vitals of human effort. 
 
 There is nothing to turn to. The very ground, upon which all has 
 been based, is rising and falling like the waves of the ocean beyond and 
 the shrieks of the pierced and pinned mingle with the weeping of the 
 homeless and childless and fatherless. 
 
 Nature has plotted well. She has cut the arte.ies of protection agamst 
 
Tl INTRODUCTION 
 
 fire, and the blazing demon leaps and dances through walls and high-built 
 
 battlements of stone as though they were paper. 
 
 So awful is the task that Earth itself still trembles at the thought of 
 all that is. A sick sun looks down on the ruins. 
 
 The other picture is different. 
 
 It is a picture of the human heart, often called cold and cheerless m 
 these days — the human heart of the whole world melted by these same 
 flames into one vast mass of charity. 
 
 The first gasp of horror is not spent before a helping hand is stretched 
 out to the city of desolation. Every village in the land hastens to do its 
 share. The call of the hungry and homeless is answered almost before it is 
 heard. No purse remains unopened. No effort lags. 
 
 A traveler has fallen by the sea. The world is a Good Samaritan, 
 stooping to bind his wounds, and with willing hands lifting him to start 
 again on his journey. 
 
 Out of these ruins rises the sun of human brotherhood, and, though 
 it be soon clouded in the renewed rage for place and gain, the world will 
 be brighter and better because of its having shone. 
 
 San Francisco shall not have died in vain. There will be a resurrec- 
 tion of Charity. 
 
 And there should be* a resurrection of something else. 
 
 Through this ghastly veil of loss and suffering we should be able to 
 see a sign. It can be seen at other times, but such times as these seem to 
 make it shine out more clearly. 
 
 What is all our planning and striving for temporal gain? What is 
 all our rushing and rising, our seeking and obtaining, our boasting and 
 pride in the accomplishments of our own hands? 
 
 Do we not allow these insignificant things to blind us to greater truths? 
 Can we not learn from these ruins something of value, something that will 
 in a measure make up for the loss and destruction ? 
 
 Yes, if we will. 
 
 We can learn that it is not well to tempt Nature. Men have always 
 known that the ground upon which San Francisco was built was unstable. 
 They have always known there was a possibility of just what has happened. 
 
 We can learn something of value as to our own stature in the universe. 
 
INTRODUCTION "^ 
 
 It would seem we needed a lesson of the sort in times when man and man's 
 work are given such large consideration, and God and God's worK so 
 
 little, comparatively. . 
 
 It is blasphemy to assume that such a disaster as this is a visitation o 
 the Almighty. Bui it is sanity of the best sort to believe that it is a good 
 illustration of the weakness of man when unaided by the countless gifts 
 
 of the Creator. 
 
 And no nation needs to learn this more than our own. 
 
 We have been so favored by every wind that blows that we have 
 grown insolently proud in many an instance. We have contracted a habit 
 of thinking we are always right and others always wrong when not agree- 
 
 ing with us. , i i i^ 
 
 We need a great deal more humility of spirit than we have, and while 
 we do not believe such a disaster as this is "sent" to awaken us to our 
 lack it is well that we should get out of it all the good there may be m it^ 
 'Xhe beginning of San Francisco's late greatness was the discovery of 
 .old in California. In a mad rush for the precious stuff men disregarded 
 all caution as to the nature of the country into which their desire for 
 fortune led them, and though repeatedly warned by Nature herself, per- 
 sisted in placing their estimate above hers. 
 
 In a thousand ways we are lured on by gold. If we could only see 
 above all other sorts of gold the everlasting gold of good and make that the 
 goal of our seeking, how much safer and happier we might be! 
 
 How often are we lured on by the gleam of the Golden Gate in the 
 distance, only to find, when we have come to the place where we thought 
 it was, a mass of smouldering ruins ! 
 
 Where San Francisco lies prone in its ashes, and looks up to its deso- 
 lated hills will arise a new and splendid city. Yet when it has been builded 
 and the bitterness of the present time forgotten, then will abide a sense of 
 loss The old San Francisco is no more, and never can it be recalled save 
 as a memory. The local color, atmosphere, that which might be termed 
 temperament, vanished with the clustered houses, as rich in tradition as the 
 ancient missions in whose cloisters worshiped the Spanish padre "before 
 
 the Gringo came." 
 
 While many Americans knew San Francisco, more of them knew 
 
^"> INTRODUCTION 
 
 Paris, London and Rome. To most of them this fair citv of their own 
 land was as a place distant and foreign. But such as entered it, and 
 learned of its people and their ways, learned to love it. 
 
 Unique it was, almost grotesque perhaps, certainly defiant of precedent 
 in its customs, its pleasures, its manner of living. One who had .stood 
 on an eminence there, beholding a vision of ocean, bay and circling moun- 
 tams, had seen the billowing fog banks roll in through the Golden Gate 
 crowning the abrupt slopes of Saucelito until in the sky there seemed a 
 range of fantastic mountains, in their phantom valleys shifting lakes that 
 changed tints with the sun. remembered ever after a panorama beautiful 
 and appeahng. This picture no fury of rocking- earth mav destroy. 
 
 But the scenic impressiveness only prepared the mind for appreciation 
 of that part of San Francisco which has been swept into h^^tory and 
 which hardly may be described. It was a very essence, a subtle difference 
 not so much m mental attitude and mbral perception and warmth of fellow- 
 sh,p_although all of these quickly might be discerned-as in the form of 
 the expressions these qualities had taken. 
 
 One of San Francisco's charms was in its defiance of precedent There 
 were hills to be conquered, and San Francisco's expanding traffic hurled 
 Itself at the face of them. It went up and up, with no thought of finding 
 a way around. So it happened that on some of the streets the steepness 
 was too great for horses. In the centre there are cable roads, and on 
 either side of the rails grass grows through the cobbles. The earlier 
 structures on the level were put together in haste. For the most part 
 they remained essentially unchanged until they fell with a crash True 
 they had become stained by time, unkempt, dwarfed by new neighbors but 
 nobody desired to efface them. 
 
 Away from the business section houses appeared on the various hills, 
 perched precariously near the brink; houses reached by long flights of steps 
 and grown over with roses. The bathing fogs touched them with gray 
 Moss grew on their roofs. In the little, lofty yards calla lilies bloomed 
 with the profusion of weeds. But inside these homes what hospitality- as '' 
 inside the rickety restaurants down toward the water front there wa= 
 cneer. 
 
 The "two bit" dinner of the Italian or Mexican chef in New York 
 
INTRODUCTION 5x 
 
 would have cost ten times as much. Those whom they drew into comrade- 
 ship, no matter from what rank in Bohemia or of PhiUstines astray, were 
 made acquainted with a pervasive equaUty not witnessed elsewhere in 
 
 civilization. 
 
 The natural beauty of the site, the quaintness of the commercial and 
 social development of which it became the centre, attracted the poet and the 
 artist It incited them to paint the attractions and to sing the praises of 
 their chosen habitat. For the outside world, who cared? Surely not they. 
 They lived in a world of their own, and it was good enough. 
 
 Now and then some member of the group went to the larger world 
 outside, and perchance found fame, but the heart of the wanderer turned 
 back to' the gray and shadowy city. Here Stevenson paused before gomg 
 to the islands to die, and made his home in a rookery. Happy and content 
 was he as he sat for hours in Portsmouth Square, where now a monument 
 to his memory has been jarred askew. Here young Norris gathered the 
 inspiration for his books. Here, too, in an older day, Bret Harte did his 
 best work and Mark Twain found his real beginning. 
 
 The people of 'San Francisco know the shock of calamity, but they do 
 not know defeat. They will have their city again. It cannot be the old 
 city nor suggestive of the old. Disaster seems to have swept away the 
 barriers that afforded pleasing isolation. The new San Francisco will be 
 as other prosperous cities, its distinctiveness only that which springs from 
 its site as an outpost overlooking the Pacific. 
 
Amm 
 
MAGNIFICENT STATUE, erected bybequest of late Peter Donahue. 
 Battery, Bush and Market Sts. 
 
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CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 Awful Havoc by Earthquake and Fire in San Erancisco • • 33 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 San Francisco's Fine Residences in Flames and Whole Busi- 
 ness Section Destroyed 46 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 Woman Refugee and Other Eye-Witnesses Relate Their 
 
 Thrilling Experiences 65 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 Pitiful Scenes Where Once Stood a Great City ...... 80 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 The Doomed Metropolis a Mass of Smoldering Ruins ... 92 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 Heroism of Brave Men Fighting for Life 103 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 Famine and Pestilence Follow Earthquake and Fire 117 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 President Calls for Aid and Congress Makes a Generous 
 
 Appropriation 130 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 The Queen City of the Pacific Coast Paralyzed with Terror 
 
 and Distress 144 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 Homeless Refugees Relate Tales of Agonizing Horror . . . 157 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 Chinatown Secrets Laid Bare by Disaster ......... 173 
 
 XI 
 
j^jj CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 Narrative of a Victim Surrounded by a Frantic Multitude 182 
 
 CHAPTER Xni. 
 Cremating the Dead and Feeding tlie Living I94 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 Unsheltered Thousands Drenched by Rain in Parks ... 308 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 Harrowing Incidents Related by Survivors 229 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 North American Volcanoes. Famous Mount Shasta. North- 
 ern Arizona. Volcanic Glass. Craters on the Pacific 
 Coast 241 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 Ridge of Panama and the Andes. The Great Canyon. Cali- 
 fornia and Utah. Yellowstone Park. Mexico and South 
 America ^55 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. , 
 Amazing Phenomena Connected with Volcanoes and Earth- 
 quakes. Fiery Explosions and Mountains in Convul- 
 sions. Changes in the Surface of the Earth. By Sir 
 John F. W. Herschel, Bart 273 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 Great Volcanic Eruptions in Many Parts of the World. Story 
 of Mount Etna. Convulsions in South America and Else- 
 where 29^ 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 Eruption of Etna in the Year 1865. Mutual Dependence 
 of all Terrestrial Phenomena. Sea Coast Line of Vol- 
 canoes. The Pacific " Circle of Fire " 310 
 
CONTENTS xni 
 
 PAGfi 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 Torrents of Steam Escaping From Craters. Gases Produced 
 by the Decomposition of Sea Water. Hypotheses as to 
 the Origin of Eruption. Growth of Volcanoes .... 329 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 Various Kinds of Lava. Beautiful Cave in Scotland. Crev- 
 ices in Volcanoes. Snow Under Burning Dust .... 349 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 Volcanic Projectiles. Explosions in Ashes. Subordinate 
 Volcanoes- Mountains Reduced to Dust. Flashes and 
 Flames Proceeding from Volcanoes 365 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 Volcanic Thermal Springs. Geysers. Springs in New Zea- 
 land. Craters of Carbonic Acid 379 
 
 APPENDIX 385 
 
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BIRD'S-EYE ViEV^ 
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SAN FRANCISCO CATASTROPHE— LOOKING WEST ON MARKET 
 STREET FROM KEARNEY— THIRD AND GEARY STS. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 AWFUL HAVOC BY EARTHQUAKE AND FIRE IN 
 SAN FRANCISCO. 
 
 SWIFT as a thunderbolt from a clear sky the appalling calamity fell 
 which devastated the fairest portion of California. Smitten by the 
 hand of God, doubly visited by the awful vong-eance of earthquake and of 
 fire, the Queen City of the Pacilic lay prostrate on the earth gashed by 
 yawning- fissures and still heaving as if in pain, beneath a sky atlame with 
 the reflection of an uncontrollable conflagration. 
 
 The population, awakened at the dawn of day by the trembling of 
 the earth — followed by an appalling shock as the foundations of the world 
 gave way — rushing, such as were not crushed beneath their own roofs, 
 half clad to the streets to And walls tottering, streets yawning and fire 
 spreading — the population of San Francisco feared the day of doom had 
 come. 
 
 Panic seized the people as they realized that thousands of lives might 
 be lost. 
 
 Many square miles in the city's heart were wrecked. Two hundred 
 million dollars' worth of property was lost. Terror reigned, even above 
 sorrow for the dead and the injured and grief for destroyed homes and 
 ruined property, for there is no human sensation like that of feeling the 
 earth no longer stable beneath the feet. 
 
 No one was sure that the tremors might not at an}- moment swell again 
 into annihilating shocks. Thousands were fleeing from the city by ever}^ 
 means of egress remaining open. ]\Iartial law was declared and troops 
 under General Funston were in control. Streets in ever\- part of town were 
 filled with wreckage, while in the business section south of Market Street 
 the devastation is complete. 
 
 Excited crowds watched the flames devour skyscrapers which the day 
 before were the pride of the Pacific Coast. The water mains were broker. 
 and little water was available. On every side was heard the explosion of 
 dynamite, employed to stay the devouring march of the flames ; the roar of 
 
 S— S. F. <^ 
 
34 AWFUL HAVOC BY EARTHQUAKE AND FIRE 
 
 the conflagration pervaded every part of the city and now and again there 
 
 seemed to mingle with it the moan of the travaihng earth. 
 
 An earthquake lasting possibly not many seconds, but the most terrific 
 ever known on this coast, shook the city shortly after five o'clock Wednes- 
 day morning, April i8, 1906. Soon after the first shock fires broke out in 
 several places. Then the discovery was made that the v/ater mains had 
 been so injured that there were no streams available. In instances the 
 firehouses had been so damaged that the apparatus could not be gotten out, 
 although it would have been practically useless. 
 
 Such was the confusion at this time that no complete list of the dead 
 could be made. The only wire running out of the city was through the 
 Ferry Building, at the foot of Market Street, which still stood, although 
 its high tower leaned at a dangerous angle. 
 
 REGULAR TROOPS ON GUARD, 
 
 All traffic ceased. Regular troops patroled the streets, with orders to 
 shoot any one found looting. Two hundred thousand persons were home- 
 less and great crowds had gathered in the parks. Either they had lost their 
 homes or were afraid to go back to their houses. Some brought their 
 household goods with them. Mayor Schmitz gave orders that all of these 
 be fed. 
 
 Over a scene of desolation unspeakable there hovered a pall of smoke. 
 The district from Eighth Street to the water front, embracing many of 
 the large hotels and lodging houses, and including the south side of Market 
 Street to Folsom, was a blackened waste, swept by fire. Within it stood the 
 Grant, Parrott and Flood Buildings, the first housing the largest depart- 
 ment store of the city. 
 
 Close to them was the Academy of Sciences. 
 
 The Claus Spreckels Building, a towering steeple-like structure of 
 eighteen stories, resisted the earthquake, but became a victim of the flames. 
 The Call Building, a three-story structure in the rear, was gone. 
 
 Just across the alley lo the south, the Winchester, an eight-story hotel 
 of cheap construction, but with a veneer of brick, burned. It was this 
 that proved the undoing of the Spreckels Building, although it was attacked 
 from the west also. The Examiner Building, across Third from the 
 
AWFUL HAVOC BY EARTFIQUAKE AND FIRE 35 
 
 Spreckels, collapsed from the shock of the earthquake. It was a flimsy 
 edifice, and from the time of its erection regarded as dangerous. 
 
 FLED FROM FLAMES. 
 
 Across Market from the Examiner, and diagonally across from the 
 vSpreckels Building, stood the Chronicle. It was a dozen stories in height, 
 but escaped the earthquake only to become a prey to the flames. Still 
 farther down Market Street the Palace Hotel was destroyed, but all the 
 guests fled long before the danger had become acute. 
 
 The hotel was thirty years old and was built by the late Senator 
 Sharon. The Crocker Building, opposite, escaped with small damage. The 
 Telegraph Building, in which was the office of the Postal Telegraph Co., 
 had to be deserted when portions of it collapsed and the roar of the flames 
 was near. 
 
 Below this point the elements showed no favors. On both sides of 
 Market Street they made a clean sweep. Mission, Howard and Folsom, 
 running parallel to Market, were devastated to the water front. Along the 
 water front itself there was a fringe of fire for many blocks, the wharfs at 
 Green and Broadway Streets being destroyed. Between this point and the 
 other end of the bay the blaze w^as a stretch of at least a mile and a half 
 long. 
 
 The Ferry Building was spared the flames by reason of a broad area 
 paved with basalt that cuts it off from the nearest buildings. The Phelan 
 Building, which had been for years the headquarters of the army, and 
 which was one of the most valuable properties in the city, burned like 
 tinder. 
 
 The same was true of many others that had been regarded as fireproof, 
 although not of modern construction. It was true also of some of the 
 newer structures — the Rialto, for instance, which stood at the corner of 
 Third and Mission, and was generally accepted as the finest specimen of 
 business architecture. 
 
 There were several additional shocks, none severe, but grimly sugges- 
 tive. The jar of explosions and of falling walls led the frightened people 
 to imagine more shocks than really occurred, but the earth appeared to 
 tremble at intervals, and it was considered unsafe to be high up in any 
 building. 
 
36 AWFUL HAVOC BY EARTHQUAKE AND FIRE 
 
 Rumors came in from surrounding towns of damage and deaths, San 
 Jose being down for twenty fatalities and Santa Cruz for a smaller number. 
 
 The roar of the flames could be heard even on the hills which were 
 out of the danger zone. Here many thousands congregated and viewed 
 the scene. Great sheets of flame rose high in the heavens, or rushed down 
 narrow streets, joining midway between the sidewalks. 
 
 A portion of the City Hall, which cost over $6,000,000. collapsed, the 
 roof sliding into the court3-ard, and smaller towers tumbling down. The 
 great dome was moved, but did not fall. The new post ofliice, one of the 
 finest in the United States, was badly shattered, as was the Mint, near it. 
 The latter building was also on fire and was doomed. 
 
 The Valencia Hotel, a four-stor}-- wooden building, sank into the 
 basement, a pile of splintered timbers, under which were pinned many 
 persons. The basement was full of water and some of the helpless victims 
 were drowned. 
 
 Wliile the big wholesale grocery establishment of Wellman, Peck & 
 Co. was on fire from cellar to roof, the heat was so oppressive that pas- 
 sengers from the ferryboats were obliged to keep close to the water's edge 
 in order to get past the burning stnicture. 
 
 The prisoners confined in the city prison on the fifth floor of the Hall 
 of Justice were transferred in irons to the basement of the structure. Later 
 they were removed to the Broadway jail. One of the first orders issued by 
 Qiief of Police Dinan was to close every saloon in the city. This step was 
 taken to prevent drink-crazed men from rioting. 
 
 DRIVEN MAD BY SCENES. 
 
 A. W. Hussey came to the station at the Hall of Justice and told how, 
 at the direction of a policeman whom he did not know, but whose star num- 
 ber he gave as 615, he had cut the arteries in the wrists of a man pinioned 
 under timbers at the St. Katherine Hotel. According to the statement 
 made by Hussey, the man was begging to be killed, and the policeman shot 
 .^.t him, but his aim was defective and the bullet went wn'de of the mark. 
 The ofiicer then handed Hussey a knife, with instructions to cut the veins 
 in the suffering man's wrists, and Hussey obeyed orders. 
 
 Chief of Police Dinan directed that Hussey be locked up. There was 
 
AWFUL HAVOC BY EARTHQUAKE AND FIRE 87 
 
 no opportunity to investigate his story, but the police believe that the awful 
 calamity rendered him insane, and that the incident reported to them had no 
 existence excepting in his imagination. 
 
 Mayor Schmitz sent out orders that physical necessities of the sufferers 
 be first attended to. Goldberg, Bowen & Co. sent word that they had 
 placed all of their stores at the disposal of the city, including the provisions 
 contained therein. 
 
 The fire sv^-ept down the streets so rapidly that it was almost impossible 
 to save anything in its way. It reached the Grand Opera House on Mission 
 Street and in a moment had burned through the roof. From the opera 
 house the fire leaped from building to building, leveling them to the ground 
 in quick succession. 
 
 Thousands of people watched the flames licking the stone walls of the 
 Spreckels Building. At first no impression was made, but suddenly there 
 was a cracking of glass and an entrance was effected. The inner furnish- 
 ings of the fourth floor were the first to go. Then, as if by magic, smoke 
 issued from the top of the dome. This was followed by a most spectacular 
 illumination. The round windows of the dome shone like so many full 
 moons ; then long waving streamers of flames burst forth. 
 
 The tall and slender structure, which had withstood the forces of the 
 earth, appeared doomed to fall before the fire. But after a time the light 
 grew less intense, and the flames, finding nothing to consume, died out, 
 leaving the building standing, but completely gutted. 
 
 The fifteenth floor was devoted to a restaurant, the sixteenth and 
 seventeenth occupied by the Denver Club. 
 
 WOMEN WEEP AT FLAMES. 
 
 Women wrung their hands and wept, crying, "It is so terrible.' 
 The position of the operator at the Ferry Building was one of extreme 
 peril, and any message was likely to be the last. There was no chance to 
 verify any story brought in. All that could be said with certainty was that 
 the fire was still awful in its ravages and appalling in the extent of the 
 territory covered, this reaching from the water front to Eighth Street, in a 
 strip varying from four to twelve blocks, with scattered fires in the Mission, 
 a section remote from the centre of the ravages. 
 
«8 
 
 AWFUL HAVOC BY EARTHQUAKE AND FIRE 
 
 S'ANTA CLARA 
 
 SAN JOSt 
 
 MAP OF SAX FKAXCISCO AND VICINITY. 
 The towns named suffered great loss from etTecte. of the earthuuake. 
 
AWFUL HAVOC BY EARTHQUAKE AND FIRE 39 
 
 Several looters were shot by the soldiers who were patrolling the 
 streets. General Funston issued orders to this effect, and four men caught 
 stealing- were summarily shot. 
 
 The greatest destruction occurred in that part of the city which was 
 reclaimed from San Francisco Bay. Much of the devastated district was 
 at one time low marshy ground, covered by water at high tide. As the 
 city grew it became necessary to fill in many acres of this low ground in 
 order to reach ilcep water. The Alerchants' ICxchange Building, a fourteen- 
 story steel structure, was situated on the edge of this reclaimed ground. It 
 had just been completed, and the executive offices of the Southern Pacific 
 Company occupied the greater part of the building. 
 
 RESIDENCE SECTION DOOMED. 
 
 The damage by the earthquake to the residence portion of the city, 
 the finest part of which is on Nob Flill and Pacific Heights, seems to have 
 been slight. On Nob Hill are the residences of many of the millionaires 
 who in the early 70's became w^ealthy through mining investments or the 
 construction of the Central Pacific Railway. They include the Stanfords, 
 Huntingdons, Hopkins, Crockers, Floods and others. 
 
 The magnificent Fairmount Flotel stands on the brink of Nob Hill 
 overlooking the bay. The hotel was not seriously damaged by the earth- 
 c|uake, but destroyed by fire. The construction of the lu)tcl was started 
 by Mrs. Herman Oelrichs, of New York, as a monument to her father, 
 Senator James Fair, but she sold it for $3,000,000. 
 
 A Committee of Safety was appointed by Mayor Schmitz, and the 
 members were to assist in keeping order and directing relief. The Mayor 
 notified bakers and milk dealers that their stock nuist be kept for use of 
 the homeless. 
 
 While buildings were being blow^n up with dynamite, premature 
 explosions killed many men. The Terminal Hotel, at the river front on 
 Market Street, fell and buried twenty persons under the debris. All of 
 San Francisco's playhouses, including the Majestic, Columbia, Orpheum 
 and Grand Opera House, are a mass of ruins. The earthquake demolished 
 them for all practical purposes and the fire completed the destruction. The 
 handsome Rialtc^ and Casserly buildings were burned to the ground, as wm 
 everything in that district. 
 
40 AWFUL HAVOC BY EARTHQUAKE AND FIRE 
 
 The scene at the IMechanics' Pavilion, where the dead and injured 
 were taken, was one of indescribable horror. Sisters, brothers, wives and 
 sweethearts searched eagerly for some missing dear one. Thousands of 
 persons hurriedly went through the building, inspecting cots on which the 
 sufferers lay, in the hope that they would find some loved one who was 
 missing. 
 
 FIRE ROUTS HOSPITAL CORPS. 
 
 The dead were placed in one portion of the building, and the remainder 
 was devoted to hospital purposes. Later on the fire forced the nurses and 
 physicians to desert the place with their patients, and the eager crowds 
 followed tliem to the Presidio and the Children's Hospital, where they 
 renewed their search for missing relatives. 
 
 The day's experience was a testimonial to the modern steel building. 
 A score of these structures were in course of construction, and not one 
 suffered from the earthquake shock. The completed modern buildings 
 were also virtually immune from harm from the seismic movements. The 
 damage by earthquake did not compare with the loss by fire. 
 
 The freaks of the earthquake were many. Wide fissures were made 
 in the streets, street railways were twisted out of line, sewers and water 
 pipes were burst, and it was feared that there would be an epidemic of 
 disease. Provisions were sold at fancy prices, and even water was vended 
 by the glass. 
 
 At a meeting of the Committee of Safety, Mayor Schmitz issued the 
 following proclamation : 
 
 "The Federal troops which are now policing a portion of the city, 
 as well as the regiilar and special members of the police force, have been 
 authorized by me to kill any persons whomsoever found engaged in looting 
 the effects of any citizen or otherwise engaged in the commission of crime. 
 
 "Under these circumstances I request that all citizens whose business 
 does not imperatively require their absence from home after dark remain 
 at home during the night time until order shall have been restored. I beg- 
 to warn all citizens of the danger of fire on account of defective or 
 destroyed chimneys, gns pipes, gas fixtures and the like." 
 
 At 5 o'clock at night the firemen were as far as eA-er from checking 
 
 I 
 
AWFUL HAVOC BY EARTHQUAKE AND FIRE 41 
 
 the progress of the flames. In the northern part of the downtown business 
 section the fire swept around the Hall of Justice and communicated to 
 Chinatown, thence proceeding- westward into the heart of that colony. 
 It then began rapidly eating its way southward on both sides of Kearney 
 Street, and at 7 P. M. was within a block of the California Hotel. This 
 point is near the plant of the Evoiijig Bulletin, in which the three morning 
 papers had agreed to join to issue a four-sheet paper in the morning. 
 That plan was abandoned, as the Bulletin lay directly in the path of the 
 flames. 
 
 One of the big losses of the day was the destruction of St, Ignatius's 
 Church and College, at Van Ness Avenue and Hayes Street. This was 
 the greatest Jesuit institution in the West, and was built at a cost of a 
 couple of millions. 
 
 At 7 o'clock the fire had swept from the south side of the town across 
 Market Street into the western addition, and was burning houses at 
 Golden Gate Avenue and Octavia Street. This result was reached after 
 almost the entire southern district from Ninth Street to the eastern water 
 front had been converted into a blackened waste. In this quarter were 
 hundreds of factories, wholesale houses and many business firms, in addi- 
 tion to thousands of homes. 
 
 MAYOR ROUTED BY FIRE. 
 
 Temporary headquarters were established in tents in Portmouth 
 Square for Mayor Schmitz, Chief of Police Dinen and General Funston, 
 but this site became too dangerous about 6 o'clock and was abandoned. 
 Later the flames swept the square. In the south side district on Rincon 
 Hill, St. Mary's Hospital, a landmark, conducted by the Sisters of Mercy, 
 was reduced to ashes. 
 
 Throughout the city, wherever there was a public square, a scene of 
 desolation was presented. Tents were pitched by fortunate possessors of 
 canvas, but most of the homeless people were huddled in frig'htened groups 
 about the household belongings they managed to save from the general 
 ruin. 
 
 Despite the heroic work of the firemen and the troops of dynamiters, 
 who razed building after building, and blew up property valued at millions. 
 
42 AWFUL HAVOC BY EARTHQUAKE AND FIRE 
 
 tbe flames spread across Market Street to the north side, and swept up 
 Montgomery Street, almost to Washington Street. Along Montgomery 
 Street are some of the richest banks and commercial houses in San 
 Francisco. The Mutual Life Insurance Building and scores of bank and 
 office buildings were on fire, while blocks of other houses were in the patfi 
 of the flames, and nothing seemed to be at hand to stay their progress. 
 Block after block of banking houses were now masses of red-hot ruin. 
 
 KNEEL IN PRAYER ON PAVEMENT. 
 
 The pastor of St, Francis's Church, on the slope of Telegraph Hill, 
 a few blocks from the raging furnace, gathered his flock about him on the 
 sidewalk, where all knelt in prayer. There was neither gas nor electric 
 light in San Francisco at night. The plant of one of the gas companies 
 blew up in the morning, and as a measure of precaution all the other gas 
 in the city was turned ofi. 
 
 From Golden Gate Park came news of the total destruction of the 
 immense building covering a portion of the children's playground. The 
 pillars of the new stone gates at the park entrances were twisted and 
 torn from their foundations. Some of them, weighing nearly four tons, 
 were shifted as though they were constructed of cork. 
 
 In Union Square Park the mighty Dewey monument was shifted 
 from its base and stood leaning at an angle of lo degrees. 
 
 Prof. George Davidson, of the University of California, formerly 
 connected with the United States Geodetic Survey, said : 
 
 "The earthquake came from north to south, and the only description 
 I am able to give of its effect is that it seemed like a terrier shaking a rat. 
 I was in bed, but was awakened at the first shock. I began to count the 
 seconds as I went toward the table where my watch was, being able 
 through much practice closely to approximate the time in that manner. 
 The shock came at 5.12 o'clock. 
 
 "There were two slight shocks afterward. At 8.14 o'clock I recorded 
 a shock of five seconds' duration and one at 4.15 of two seconds. There 
 were slight shocks which I did not record at 5.17 and 5.27. At 6.50 
 P. M. there was a sharp shock of several seconds." 
 
 It was long the aim of Leland Stanford, builder of great railroads, 
 
AWFUL HAVOC BY EARTHQUAKE AND FIRE 43 
 
 United States Senator and Governor of the State of California, to estab- 
 lish a mighty educational institution for the perpetuation of his name. 
 And when, in 1885, his only son, Leland Stanford, Jr., died, Senator 
 Stanford and his wife determined to undertake at once the establishment 
 of the university so long in contemplation. 
 
 For an example of such public service they had before them the 
 University of California at Berkeley, which owed a large part of its 
 endowment, if not its very claim to continuing existence, to the generosity 
 of another family which had made its millions in the development of 
 railroad facilities, for Mrs. Pheebe Herst had already determined to devote 
 a large part of her great fortune to the elder institution. 
 
 Palo Alto, in the heart of the Santa Clara Valley, was chosen for the 
 site, and work, started soon after the death of the younger Stanford, was 
 pushed with a celerity that enabled the opening of the institution before 
 the decade had closed. 
 
 BUILT TO RESIST EARTHQUAKES. 
 
 It is of peculiar interest at this time that the plan oi the buildings of 
 Leland Stanford, Jr., University contemplated a type which was thought 
 to be well able to resist earthquake shock. None of the structures around 
 the great quadrangle was raised more than a story in height, the general 
 style of architecture being that of the old mission buildings which remained 
 throughout California as relics of an earlier age. 
 
 The asphalted court, or quadrangle, was 586 feet long and 246 v/ide, 
 and contained more than three acres of space. To the beautification of 
 the establishment some of the most celebrated artists of the world were 
 called, among them St. Gaudens, who personally designed and superin- 
 tended the erection of some of the massive gateways that led into the 
 inner courts. 
 
 Stanford University grew fast. By 1899 it had 1400 students, 500 
 of them girls, and in six years its membership grew to over 2000 students 
 all told. After the death of Senator Stanford, in 1893, Mrs. Stanford 
 devoted virtually her entire time to the institution, having so close a 
 watch over its departments and instruction, indeed, that at times there 
 was trouble in its teaching corps as a result of her activities. David Starr 
 
44 AWFUL HAVOC BY EARTHQUAKE AND FIRE 
 
 Jordan has been th-e very efficient president of the university since 1891. 
 
 Palo Alto is thirty-three miles south of San Francisco, on the coast 
 line of the Southern Pacific Railroad. The university was endowed to the 
 extent of nearly $30,000,000. The university buildings are built of brown- 
 stone, and said to be the finest cluster of buildings used for educational 
 purposes in this country. The memorial chapel, which is situated in the 
 center of the group of buildings, was built at a cost of more than 
 $3,000,000. 
 
 The town of Palo Alto has a population of about 5000, and the 
 country for a radius of several miles is level. 
 
 GREAT EARTHQUAKES OF THE LAST TWENTY YEARS. 
 
 June 10, 1886 — Tarawera, New Zealand. Earthquake and volcanic 
 eruption. Many persons perished. 
 
 August 31, 1 886 — Earthquake shock felt throughout nearly the entire 
 portion of the United States east of the Mississippi River, the shocks being 
 experienced from the Gulf northward to the upper lakes and from points 
 near the Mississippi eastward to the Atlantic Coast. The shock was 
 particularly severe at points in the South, and in Charleston, Savannah, 
 Augusta and nearby places the shock was repeated. Charleston was the 
 center of the disturbance and suffered the greatest damage. A number 
 of the houses in that city v/ere either entirely demolished or rendered unfit 
 'for occupancy. The losses ran into millions and thirty-five lives were lost. 
 Shocks returned at intervals throughout the entire months of September, 
 October and November. From August 28th to September 30th no less 
 than thirty shocks were recorded; during October, twenty-eight, and during 
 November, fourteen. Many of the disturbances recorded, however, were 
 so slight as to be hardly noticeable. 
 
 May 3, 1887 — Mexico. Earthquake and volcanic eruption; thirteen 
 killed. 
 
 December, 1887 — Yunnan, China; 5,000 killed. Lo-Chan, China, 
 10,000 killed. 
 
 March 10, 1888 — Yellow River, China. Flood and earthquake; 
 100,000 killed. 
 
 July 30, 1889 — Japan. Many lives lost. 
 
AWFUL HAVOC BY EARTHQUAKE AND FIRE 45 
 
 October 28, rS9i — Japan; 6500 killed. 
 
 January 28, 1894 — Persia; 12,000 killed. 
 
 April 23, 1894 — Greece, 22^ killed. 
 
 May 9, 1894 — Venezuela; 11,000 killed. 
 
 July 10, 1894 — Constantinople; 1000 killed 
 
 January 17, 1902 — Mexico; 300 killed. 
 
 September 25, 1902 — Turkestan, 667 killed. 
 
 January 22-27, 1903 — State of Chihuahua, Mexico. Four ^' 
 were felt, eighteen houses wrecked and the entire population became ^.. 
 stricken. 
 
 February 8, 1903 — United States. Shocks startled Illinois, Missouri 
 and Kentucky. Little damage was done. Southern Illinois and Eastern 
 Missouri were much disturbed by two severe shocks, which caused chimneys 
 to topple over, stopped clocks, broke windows and sent the people fleeing 
 in terror. At Owensboro, Ky., the shocks were quite severe and many 
 buildings were damaged. On the same day earthquake shocks were felt 
 at Brest, St. Breuc and on the island of Moleve, in France. 
 
 March 30, 1903 — Jerusalem. Shock of unprecedented violence. The 
 people were panic-stricken, but damage slight. 
 
 April 4, 1905 — Seven shocks were felt in the Valley of Kangra, India, 
 causing severe destruction and suffering. 
 
 September 8, 1905 — Province of Calabra, Italy. Very destructive. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO'S FINE RESIDENCES IN FLAMES AND 
 WHOLE BUSINESS SECTION DESTROYED. 
 
 SUCH was the news that appalled the world on the afternoon of April 
 19th. The startling despatch was as follows : 
 
 "The great conflagration is sweeping through the residential section 
 of San Francisco. Flames have reached the Fairmount Hotel, on Nob 
 Hill, and are rapidly encroaching upon the homes of the Crockers, the 
 Huntingtons and other wealthy Californians in that aristocratic portion of 
 the city. Every business building in the city has been destroyed. 
 
 "The water supply, which was crippled by the earthquake shocks, has 
 been completely shut off, and there is no water to fight the fire. To add 
 to the desperate situation, explosives used to blow up buildings in the fire's 
 path are becoming exhausted. 
 
 "The city at latest accounts is doomed to destruction by fire. There 
 is no possible means now to check the course of the flames, and they will 
 probably burn until there is nothing left for them to feed upon. 
 
 "Nothing now remains of the business section of the city but a dreary 
 waste of smouldering ruins. The fire has already burned its way over an 
 area of ten square miles. 
 
 "From the interior of the State come the most alarming reports. 
 Santa Rosa, one of the prettiest cities, is a total wreck. The loss of life 
 has not been estimated. It will reach thousands. There are 10,000 home- 
 less men, women and children huddled in the open spaces of that city. The 
 whole business portion of the town seemed to crumble into ruins with the 
 earthquake shock. What was not destroyed by seismic violence was oblit- 
 erated by flames. 
 
 INSANE ASYLUM DEMOLISHED. 
 
 "In San Jose and Oakland the havoc was fearful. Agnew's Insane 
 Asylum was demolished by the shock, and many of the inmates were 
 buried in the ruins. Those who escaped death or injury fled and are 
 roaming about the stricken country. 
 
 46 
 
WHOLE BUSINESS SECTION DESTROYED, .47 
 
 "A late \\'estern Union dispatch say's the section surrounding the spot 
 upon which the building of that company stood is in a mass of flames. 
 The burning territory is surrounded by United States troops. 
 
 "The fears of the inhabitants of Oakland were intensified by another 
 sharp earthquake shock, which lasted about five seconds. This shock was 
 felt in San Francisco, and buildings are reported to have been shaken 
 down. 
 
 "The United States Mint, which contained $39,000,000 of coin and 
 bullion, escaped destruction, although all around it buildings were burned 
 to the ground. The employees of the mint battled with the encroaching 
 flames for hours, and often at the risk of their lives. 
 
 "In spite of the vigilance of the police and the United States troops, 
 who are patrolling the burned and burning section, thieves and vandals 
 worked. The shooting of three fiends caught in the act of robbing the 
 dead had a tendency to check pillage and theft, but failed to stop it." 
 
 Of the scenes which marked the transformation of this the gayest, 
 most careless city on the continent, into a wreck and a hell, it is hard to 
 write. That the day started with a blind, general panic goes without 
 saying. People woke with a start to find themselves flung on the floor. 
 In such an earthquake as this it is the human instinct to get out of doors, 
 away from falling walls. The people stumbled across the floors of their 
 heaving houses to find that even the good earth upon which they placed 
 their reliance was swaying and rising and falling so that the sidewalks 
 cracked and great rents opened in the ground. 
 
 ROAR IN THE AIR LIKE THUNDER. 
 
 The three minutes which followed were an eternity of terror. Prob- 
 ably a dozen or more persons died of pure fright in that three minutes, 
 when there seemed no help in earth or heaven. There was a roar in the 
 air like a great burst of thunder, and from all about came the crash of 
 falling walls. It died down at last, leaving the earth quaking and quivering 
 like jelly. Men would run forward, stop as another shock, which might 
 be greater any moment, seemed to take the earth from under their feet, 
 and throw themselves face downward on the ground in an agony of fear. 
 
 It seemed to be two or three minutes after the great shock was over 
 
48 WHOLE BUSINESS SECTION DESTROYED 
 
 before people found their voices. Then followed the screaming of women 
 beside themselves with terror, and the cries of men. With an impulse 
 people made for the parks, as far as possible from the falling walls. These 
 speedily became packed with people in their nightclothes, who screamed and 
 moaned at the little shocks which followed every few minutes. The dawn 
 was just breaking. The gas and electric mains were gone, and the street 
 lamps were all out. But before the dawn was white there came a light 
 from the east — the burning warehouse district. The braver men, and those 
 without families to watch over, struck out, half dressed as they were. In 
 the early morning light they could see the business district below them, all 
 ruins and burning in five or six places. Through the streets from every 
 direction came the fire engines, called from all the outlying districts by 
 the general alarm rung in by the assistants of the dead chief. 
 
 PANIC IN PORTSMOUTH SQUARE. 
 
 On Portsmouth Square the panic was beyond description. This, the 
 old Plaza about which the early city was built, is bordered now by China- 
 town, by the Italian district, and by the "Barbary Coast," a lower ten- 
 derloin. A spur of the quake ran up the hill upon which Chinatown is 
 situated and shook down part of the crazy little buildings on the southern 
 edge. It tore down, too, some of the Italian tenements. The rush to 
 Portsmouth Square went on almost unchecked by the police, who had 
 more business elesewhere. 
 
 The Chinese came out of their underground burrows like rats and 
 tumbled into the square, beating such gongs and playing such noisy instru- 
 ments as they had snatched up. They were met on the other side by the 
 refugees of the Italian quarter. The panic became a madness. At least 
 two Chinamen were taken to the morgue dead of knife wounds, given 
 for no other reason, it seems, than the madness of panic. 
 
 There are 10,000 Chinese in the quarter, and there are thousands of 
 Italians, Spaniards and Alcxicans on the other side. It seemed as though 
 every one of these, with the riffraff of "Barbary Coast," made for that one 
 block of open land. The two uncontrolled streams met in the center of 
 the square and piled upon the edges. There they fought all the morning, 
 until the regulars restored order with their bayonets. 
 
WHOLE BUSINESS SECTION DESTROYED 49 
 
 As the dawn broke and the lower city began to be overhung with the 
 smoke of burning buildings, there came a back eddy. Cabmen, drivers of 
 express wagons and trucks, hired at enormous prices, began carting away 
 from the lower city the valuables of the hotels which saw their doom in 
 the fires which were breaking out. Even the banks began to take out their 
 bullion and securities and, under guard of half-dressed clerks, to send 
 them to the hills, whence came to-day the salvation of San Francisco. 
 
 VANDALS GET TO WORK. 
 
 One old nighthawk cab, driven by a cabman white with terror, carried 
 more than a million dollar^, in currency and securities. Men, pulling 
 corpses or injured people from fallen buildings, stopped to curse these 
 processions as they passed. Time and again a line of wagons and cabs 
 would run against an impassable barrier of debris, where some building 
 had fallen into the street, and would pile up until the guards cleared a 
 way through the streets. 
 
 Then the vandals formed and went to work. Routed out from the 
 dens along the wharves, the rats of San Francisco waterfront, the drifters 
 who have reached the back eddy of European civilization, crawled out 
 and began to plunder. Early in the day a policeman caught one of these 
 men creeping through the window of a small bank on Montgomery Street 
 and shot him dead. But the police were keeping fire lines, beating back 
 over-zealous rescuers from the fallen houses and the burning blocks, and 
 for a time these men plundered at will. 
 
 News of the plundering was carried early to Mayor Schmitz. It 
 was this as much as anything which determined him, when General Funston 
 came over on the double-quick, with the whole garrison of the Presidio, 
 to put the city under martial law. Orders were issued to the troops to 
 shoot anyone caught in the act of looting, and the same orders were 
 issued to the First Regiment, National Guard of California, when it was 
 mustered and called out later in the day. 
 
 And all this time, and clear up until noon, the earth was shaking with 
 little tremors, many of which brought down walls and chimneys. At 
 each of these the rescuers, even the firemen, would stop for a moment 
 
 paralyzed. 
 4— S. F. 
 
£o wholp: business section destroyi:!) 
 
 The 8 o'clock shock, the heaviest after the bii;- one, dr()vc even those 
 who had determined to stay by the stricken city to look for a means of 
 escape by water. There are only two ways out of San Francisco ; one is 
 by rail to the south and down the Santa Clara Valley, the other is by 
 water to Oakland, the Overland terminal. Most of the Californians trying 
 to get out of the quaking, dangerous city made by instinct for the ferry, 
 since they knew that the shocks always travel heavily to the south, down 
 the Santa Clara Valley. 
 
 As for the Easterners, thev had come bv fcrr\' and they started to 
 get out by ferry. But when the half-dressed people, carrying the ridiculous 
 bundles snatched up in time of panic, reached Montgomery Street, they 
 found they wav stopped by ten blocks of fire. They piled up on the edge 
 of this district, fighting with the police, who held them back and turned 
 them again toward the hills. They must stay in the city. If it went, they 
 went with it. 
 
 TROOPS STOP FLIGHT. 
 
 The troops ended their last hope of getting out of towm. So great 
 had been the disorder that as afternoon came on and the earth seemed 
 to be quieting down, they enforced strict laws against movement. This 
 stopped a strange feature of the disaster — a run on the banks by people 
 who wanted to get out their money and go. All the morning lines of 
 disheveled men had been standing before the banks on Montgomery and 
 Sansome Streets, ignoring the smoke and flying brands and beating on 
 the doors. The troops drove these away, and the banks went on with 
 their work of getting out the valuables. 
 
 There is an open park o])posite City Hall. Mere, in default of a 
 building, the Board of Supervisors met and formed, together with fifty 
 substantial citizens whom they had gathered together, a committee of 
 safety. They also set themselves to the problem of quarters for the dying 
 and the dead. 
 
 Strangely enough. Mechanics' Pavilion, across from the City PTall. 
 had escaped, although it is onlv a wooden building. But it has the 
 largest floor in San Francisco, and it w'as pressed into service at once. 
 The police and the troops, w^orking admirably together, passed the w^ord 
 
WHOLE BUSINESS SECTION DESTROYED 51 
 
 that the dead and injured should be brought there, since the hospitals and 
 morgue had become choked, and toward that point, in the early forenoon, 
 the drays, express wagons and hacks, impressed as temporary ambulances, 
 took their course. 
 
 There were perhaps 400 injured people, many of them terribly mangled, 
 laid out on the floor before noon. Nearly every physician in the city 
 volunteered, and they got together enough trained nurses to do the work. 
 There were fewer corpses; too busy were the forces of order in stopping 
 the conflagration and caring for the living to care for the dead. One 
 of the first wagons to arrive, however, brought a whole family — father, 
 mother and three children — all dead except the baby, who had a terrible 
 cut across the forehead and a broken arm. These had been dragged out 
 from the ruins of their house on the water front. 
 
 WORKINGMEN KILLED BY FALL OF BUILDING. 
 
 A large consignment of bodies, mostly of workingmen, came from a 
 small hotel on Eddy Street, through whose roof there fell the entire upper 
 structure of a tall building next door. It made kindling wood of the tw^o 
 upper floors of the lodging house, which itself stood. Men from the 
 neighboring houses, running along the streets, heard the cries and groans 
 from this house and ran in. They reached the second floor, and through 
 a hole in the ceiling there tumbled a man, horribly mangled about the 
 head, who lay where he had fallen and died at their feet. 
 
 Tlien there is a story, one of the almost incredible horrors to vvhich 
 we have listened all day, brought to the central police station by a man 
 named Hussey. He told how he found in a burning building a man 
 pinioned by the wreck and already scorched by the flames; how this man 
 begged of a policeman who stood by for release from his misery, and how 
 the policeman fired and missed. Then Hussey took a knife and severed 
 an artery in the wrist of the sufferer, who bled to death. Hussey talked 
 rationally, but the police locked him up until they can investigate. 
 
 Later and unconfirmed news from the wreck of the Valencia Hotel 
 says that the ground fairly sucked it in. The basement was full of water, 
 so that when the rescue corps got through the debris they found the bodies 
 floating about, apparently as many drowned as crushed. They tell of 
 
52 WHOLE BUSINESS SECTION DESTROYED 
 
 people thrown from windows and killed on the pavements below by the 
 first great shake, of people crushed in the streets by the debris which fell 
 from the upper stories of buildings. The people were so sickened by 
 horror that they were willing to believe anything. 
 
 As the day wore and the wind changed, the fire along the water front 
 burned itself out and ran on further down south of Market street. This 
 gave a comparatively clear passage to the ferry building, and the troops 
 permitted genuine refugees to pass to the Southern Pacific ferries, whicli 
 were loaded down with people, many of them still half dressed. At night- 
 fall the troops cut off this privilege, probably for fear of rioting and 
 disorder. 
 
 PANIC-STRICKEN PEOPLE FLEEING FOR SAFETY. 
 
 Thousands of homeless and panic-stricken people were leaving the 
 city and seeking shelter in Oakland and other suburban towns. The 
 suffering and hardship were great. Countless numbers of residents of the 
 poorer part of the city, including Chinese, Japanese and Italian quarters, 
 were rendered homeless. Never has the fate of a city been more disastrous. 
 
 For three miles along the water front buildings were swept clean, 
 and the blackened beams and great skeletons of factories and offices stood 
 silhouetted against a background of flame that was slowly spreading over 
 the entire city. The whole commercial and office quarter on the north 
 side of Market Street to Tenth Street was consumed in the flames, while 
 hardly a building was standing in the district south of Market Street. 
 Despite the heroic work of the firemen and the troops of dynamiters, who 
 razed building after building and blew up property valued at millions, the 
 flames spread across Market Street to the north side and swept up Mont- 
 gomery Street, almost to Washington Street. 
 
 Along Montgomery Street are some of the richest banks and com- 
 mercial houses in San Francisco. The famous Mills Building and the 
 new Merchants' Exchange, in which is situated the Marine and Stock 
 Exchanges, were still standing, but the Mutual Life Insurance Building 
 and scores of bank and office buildings were on fire, while blocks of other 
 houses were in the path of the flames, and nothing seemed to be at hand 
 to stay their progress. 
 
WHOLE BUSINESS SECTION DESTROYED 53 
 
 The earthquake caused the partial wreck of the California Hotel, 
 
 at Bush and Kearney Streets, and the falling chimney and cornice of the 
 
 hotel crashed through the lire house adjoining, severely injuring Fire Chief 
 
 Sullivan so that he was unable to direct the work of fire fighting. 
 
 Despite this disheartening accident, the entire fire department, assisted 
 by part of the Oakland department and many volunteers from outside 
 districts, did heroic service, many brave men losing their lives while 
 performing the work of succor. The earthquake, however, had broken 
 most of the water mains, and the men were without water to battle with 
 the fire. Whatever water was obtained to fight the flames in the harbor 
 front and in the factory districts was pumped from the bay. This com- 
 pelled dynamiting as the only possible method of saving any of the city. 
 
 BIG HOTELS AND FACTORIES WIPED OUT. 
 
 The flames were kept confined to the south of Market Street in the 
 business section until about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, when the wind 
 carried sheets of flame into the richest part of the city. 
 
 Nothing except the gutted framework of the Palace Hotel, 1000 
 rooms, stands. 
 
 The $2,000,000 Fairmount Hotel is still standing. It suffered little 
 damage. The Odd Fellows' Temple, in Market street, the St. Nicholas 
 and the Call and the Examiner buildings and the Parrott building are 
 gone, while the City Hall caved in when the earthquake shook the city. 
 
 Nearly every big factory building has been wiped out, and a complete 
 enumeration of them would look like a copy of the city directory. Many 
 of the finest buildings in the city were leveled to dust by terrific charges 
 of dynamite in an ineffectual effort to stay the fire. In this work many 
 heroic soldiers, policemen and firemen were maimed or killed outright. 
 
 At night the city resembled one vast shambles, with the red glare of 
 the fire throwing weird shadows across the worn and panic-stricken faces 
 of the homeless wandering the streets or sleeping on piles of mattresses 
 and clothing in the parks and on the sidewalks in those districts not yet 
 reached by the fire. Thousands fled the city, forgetting for a moment 
 the terrible suffering, physical and financial, that trails in the wake of the 
 
54 WHOLE BUSINESS SECTION DESTROYED 
 
 disaster, and the scene presented by the flames was one of unspeakable 
 g-randeur. 
 
 Looking over the city from a high hill in the western section, the 
 flames could be seen rolling- skyward for miles and miles, while in the 
 midst of the spitting red tongues of fire could be seen the black skeletons 
 and falling towers of doomed buildings. At regular intervals the booming 
 of dynamite told of the work of the brave men attempting to save the 
 city from annihilation. 
 
 A falling wall from one of the dynamited buildings on Mission Street 
 tnished out the life of Fireman Max Fenner, while many other fire- 
 fighters met a like fate. Through all the streets ambulances and express 
 wagons were hurrying, carrying dead and injured to morgues and hospitals. 
 
 DEAD LEFT TO CREMATION. 
 
 At the morgue in the Hall of Justice fifty bodies were lying. The 
 flames rapidly approached this building, and the work of removing the 
 bodies to Jackson Square, opposite, began. While the soldiers and police 
 were carrying the dead to what appeared safe places, a shower of bricks 
 from a building dynamited to check the flames injured many of the 
 workmen and sent soldiers in procession hurrying to hospitals. The work 
 of removing the bodies stopped, and the remainder of the dead were left 
 to possible cremation in the morgue. ^ 
 
 The city was under stringent martial law, and squads of cavalry and 
 troops of infantry were patrolling the streets and guarding the sections 
 that were not yet touched by the flames. Despite their efforts to keep 
 the crowds from the section being dynamited, many persons slipped through 
 the guards, and not a few suffered for their temerity. 
 
 From the Barbary Coast the horde of vicious and criminal that infest 
 that quarter poured forth and started early in the evening to loot stores 
 and rob the dead. Fearing such a fiendish climax to this day of horrors. 
 Mayor Schmitz and Police Chief Dinan issued orders for the soldiers to 
 kill all who engaged in such work. Before the eyes of an Associated 
 Press representative three thieves were shot in the back and fatally wounded 
 in the burning commercial district. 
 
 The earthquake worked astonishing havoc in San Francisco's famous 
 
WHOLE BUSINESS SECTION DESTROYED 55 
 
 Chinatown. Chinese theatres and joss houses are in ruins, and rookery 
 after rookciy collapsed, covering alive hundreds of Chinese. Panic reigned 
 among the thousands of Chinese, and they filled the streets, dragging 
 in whatever they could save. 
 
 The Japanese quarter was burned. The people fled in terror, packing 
 on their backs what household effects they could tie together. Thousands 
 of men, women and children from the Latin quarter quit the throng when 
 darkness began to fall, and marched in endless procession towards the 
 hills or to the water front, frantic to get away from the city lest other 
 earthquakes follow and the flames trap them before they could make their 
 escape. 
 
 At 9 o'clock an Associated Press man who went to a high hill over- 
 looking the city noted that the sky on the east and south sides was illumi- 
 nated for a distance of four or five miles. The illumination on the southern 
 side was of a duller glow, showing that the flames were not consuming 
 property of such great proportions as was the case on the east side. 
 
 SOME OF THE CHOICEST BUILDINGS BURNED. 
 
 In the business district towards the water front the flames were either 
 checked or blocked at about Washington Street, and at the corner of 
 Kearney Street the Hall of Justice could be noted standing, but it was 
 impossible to determine what damage had been done to the interior. From 
 the Hall of Justice to the south the fire cut its way through some of the 
 choicest buildings in the city, the Pacific Mutual and the Italian-American 
 banks being reduced to ashes. Down Kearney Street on both sides at lo 
 o'clock the conflagration was still raging with fury, but the direction of 
 the wind prevented its advance up the hills to the west towards the residence 
 quarter. Yet the greater portion of the structures to the west of Kearney 
 up to Dupont were burned as far south as California. 
 
 All around the new Merchants' Exchange Building the fire burned 
 fiercely, licking the sides of the steel giant, but it resisted the influence of 
 the heat. Then came the destruction of the Western Union Building, at 
 the corner of Pine and Montgomery Streets. In this building was the 
 ofiice of the Associated Press. Earlier in the day the occupants had been 
 ordered out by the authorities on account of danger, and the Associated 
 
66 WHOLE BUSINESS SECTION DESTROYED 
 
 Press established a temporary station in the Bulletin editorial rooms. Then 
 the latter place was closed, and this was written on a doorstep near 
 Chinatown, the illumination of the burning buildings furnishing light for 
 the writer. 
 
 THE CITY FAIRLY ORDERLY. 
 
 The city, in the face of its appalling disaster, was fairly quiet and 
 orderly. Liquor could not be had anywhere, and the formidable presence 
 of Federal troops, militia and naval reserves had its effect on an element 
 that might be disposed to be disorderly. 
 
 At Mechanics' Pavilion scenes of heroism and later of panic were 
 enacted. The great frame building was turned into a hospital, with a corps 
 of fifty physicians. Nurses volunteered, and the Red Cross ship from the 
 Government yards at Mare Island contributed doctors and supplies. Late 
 in the afternoon, while the ambulances and automobiles were unloading 
 wounded at the building, the march of the conflagration up Market Street 
 gave warning that the injured would have to be removed at once. Every 
 available vehicle was pressed into service to get the stricken into hospitals 
 and private houses of the western addition. A few minutes after the last 
 of the wounded had been carried through the door, fire shot from the 
 roof and the structure burst into a whirlwind of flame. 
 
 Down on the harbor front the earth seems to have sunk from six to 
 eight inches, and great cracks appear in the streets. These cracks were 
 twisted into all shapes, and buildings before they were destroyed by fire 
 were seen to be out of plumb. The flames shot in sheets across the streets, 
 and street cars and Southern Pacific rolling stock were burned to the truck 
 wheels. The following is a vivid account by an eye-witness : 
 
 The day of awful disaster was followed by a night of terror — a black 
 night of terror — for the city was in darkness, save where the crushed and 
 ruined heart of the city flared red with fire. 
 
 In the glare of this red light, as it shot down the streets beyond the 
 ruined district, walked the little files of soldiers, policemen and citizens, 
 each little file bearing the ghastly burden of a disfigured corpse to the huge 
 Mechanics' Pavilion, now turned to a mammoth morgue. Six hundred 
 
WHOLE BUSINESS SECTION DESTROYED 57 
 
 crushed human forms and countless hundre'd wounded, moaning creatures, 
 in whom Hfe still lingered, were borne to this big hall. 
 
 Armies in exodus filled all the roads last night. They fled the city in 
 all manner of vehicles. Hysterical cries of terror and distress sounded 
 every little while. 
 
 The burning water front made a huge torch, turning the bay into 
 a red lake and flaming upon the ferryboats, crowded to the danger limit, 
 bearing refugees from the demolished, burning city to the safety camps 
 of Oakland. 
 
 DYNAMITE FREELY USED. 
 
 The soldiers and the police had a fierce fight to keep the avenues to 
 the big ferry pier passable. Time and again they used dynamite to blow 
 away buildings that might feed the fire. The streets approaching the ferry 
 were at times valleys of fire. It did not lick its way to the ferry piers, 
 because a broad boulevard between kept the flames at a distance. 
 
 It was during lulls in the high roaring of the fire that the terror- 
 stricken crowds rushed madly through the streets and reached the ferry 
 slips safely. The panic grew more intense hourly, for hourly the thousands 
 huddled on the roofs in the residential districts saw red tongues shoot up 
 in new places, signaling another defeat of the fire-fighters and a greater 
 danger of the complete obliteration of the city. 
 
 When the fire did not glare the city was wrapped in a thick, stifling 
 cloak of smoke. It was constantly thickening. One could hardly breathe, 
 even, in the outskirts of the city. The stinging smoke had routed hundreds 
 of the fire^fighters. It sent soldiers, policemen, firemen and other volunteers 
 reeling away toward any place near the water front where they could 
 get a gasp of fresh air and lave their blinded, stinging eyes. 
 
 Added to the plague of smoke was the stench of leaking gas mains — 
 sickening, overpowering, pervading every street in the city. In the burning 
 district the gas mains were shooting up geysers of flames, roaring among 
 the red ruins. 
 
 Panic could not be checked under such conditions. It was no wonder 
 that frenzy and fright had seized upon the people and sent them rushing, 
 struggling and fighting along all the avenues of escape. Mission Road, 
 
5S WHOLE BUSINESS SECTION DESTROYED 
 
 San Mateo and Port Lobos Roads were crowded with an endless proces- 
 sion. And, though these roads lead down by the shore, and though the 
 fear was keen and uppermost that the great earthquake might be followed 
 l:!y a tidal wave that would roar across the city, yet the people must choose 
 to risk this probable danger to escape the deadly dangers that already exist. 
 They were flying, too, from the famine of water and food that plunged 
 the stricken city into new agonies, for the assistance at first was not com- 
 mensurate with the great demand. 
 
 FEVER OF FLIGHT UNCHECKED. 
 
 The fever of flight and panic was beyond all control. There were 
 great nervous throngs around such railroad stations as were not encom- 
 passed by flames. Most of the lines were crippled in spots beyond the 
 city, the huge rails in places tied in knots by the irresistible power of the 
 quaking earth. Many were taken in tugs and ferry boats past Oakland 
 and up the Sacramento River to Vallejo, for between Oakland and Vallejo 
 three miles of tracks, cross ties and all, were swallowed by the gaping of 
 the ground. 
 
 I have seen this whole, great horror. I stood, with two others, on the 
 corner of Market Street, waiting for a car. Sunlight was coming out of 
 the early morning mist. It spread its brightness on the roofs of the sky- 
 scrapers, on the domes and spires of churches, and blazed along up the wide 
 street with its countless banks and stores, its restaurants and cafes. 
 
 In the very early morning the city was almost noiseless. Occasionally 
 a newspaper wagon clattered up the street or a milk wagon rumbled along. 
 One of my companions had told a funny story. We were laughing at it. 
 We stopped — the laugh unfinished on our lips. 
 
 Of a sudden we had found ourselves staggering and reeling. It was 
 as if the earth was slipping gently from under our feet. Then came a 
 sickening swaying of the earth that threw us flat upon our faces. We 
 struggled in the street. We could not get on our feet. 
 
 I looked in a dazed fashion around me. I saw for an instant the big 
 buildings in what looked like a crazy dance. 
 
 Then it seemed as though my head were split with the roar that 
 crashed into my ears. Big buildings were crumbling as one might crush 
 
WHOLE BUSINESS SECTION DESTROYED 59 
 
 a biscuit in one's hand. Great gray clouds of dust shot up with flying- 
 timbers and storms of masoniy rained into the street. Wild, high jangles 
 of smashing glass cut a sharp note into the frightful roaring. Ahead of 
 me a great stone cornice crushed a man as if he were a maggot — a laborer 
 in overalls on his way to the Union Iron Works, with a dinner pail on 
 his arm. 
 
 Everywhere men were on all fours in the street, like crawling bugs. 
 Still the sickening, dreadful swaying of the earth continued. It seemed 
 a quarter of an hour before it stopped. As a matter of fact, it lasted 
 about three minutes. 
 
 Footing grew firm again, but hardly were we on our feet before we 
 were sent reeling again by repeated shocks, but they were milder. Clinging 
 to something, one could stand. 
 
 HORRIBLE CHORUS OF AGONY. 
 
 The dust clouds were gone. It was quite dark, like twilight. But I 
 saw trolley tracks uprooted, twisted fantastically. I saw wide wounds in 
 the street. Water flooded out of one. A deadly odor of gas from a 
 broken main swept out of the other. Telegraph poles were rocked like 
 matches. A wild tangle of wires was in the street. Some of the wires 
 wriggled and shot blue sparks. 
 
 From the south of us, faint, but all too clear, came a horrible chorus 
 of human cries of agony. Down there in a ramshackle section of the city 
 the wretched houses had fallen in upon the sleeping families. Down there 
 throughout the day a fire burned the great part of whose fuel it is too 
 gruesome a ting to contemplate. 
 
 That was what came next — the fire. It shot up everywhere. The 
 fierce wave of destruction had carried a flaming torch with it — agony, 
 death and a flaming torch. It was just as if some fire demon was rushing 
 from place to place with such a torch. Flames streamed out of half-shat- 
 tered buildings all along broad Market Street. 
 
 I must confess to bewildeiTnent — to a sort of queer calm in which I 
 hardly noticed anything. And then things grew clear. My two com- 
 panions and myself stumbled over debris and crawled over it to the 
 Examiner office, at Market and Third Streets. 
 
60 WHOLE BUSINESS SECTION DESTROYED 
 
 A tang-le of broken wires was about the building. We could not 
 enter it. We made our way into Market Street. We came upon the ruins 
 of a lodging house. We worked with others. We dragged and pulled 
 debris off men who had been crushed to death. We found three living 
 ones. We carried them into the street. 
 
 Fire was sweeping e\'erywhere. The clanging of the fire apparatus 
 dashing into the heart of the disaster sounded ceaselessly. 
 
 Amid death and destruction a splendid spirit of heroism was bom 
 among the fortunateswho had escaped. They appeared from all directions 
 — on foot, in automobiles, in cabs — doctors, rich men, poor men. strong 
 men and frail men eager to do what they could to rescue the wounded and 
 save the dead from being burned beyond recognition in the ruins. 
 
 From the southern section of the city — from the ramshackle houses 
 where the carnage was frightful — half-clad children and women and men 
 came running, crying shrilly in their terror. The foreheads of some of 
 them showed red wounds. Some fell in dead swoons. Children made 
 motherless in*the night clung to strange women for protection. 
 
 The disaster was too vast for quick realization. It took time for full 
 comprehension — for the complete picture of the horror to take form in 
 one's brain. 
 
 There was the noblest part of the city destroyed — its fine buildings 
 smashed or tottering, or, if they still stood firmly after the giant wrench 
 at their foundations, there was the new element of fire darting, circling and 
 sneaking upon them. 
 
 And worst of all, under the smoking mounds hundreds and hundreds 
 of dead, and some, it was well realized, were still living, but buried beyond 
 finding and absolutely doomed. 
 
 DYNAMITING BEGINS. 
 
 The police, the firemen, the citizen volunteers, were out in droves. 
 But they were almost helpless. They stood in chagrin before the hydrant. 
 The broken water mains mocked the men. They could draw no water 
 from the hydrants. 
 
 The situation was one of bitter irony. Destruction had to be fought 
 with destruction. There was nothing to do but get dynamite to work. 
 
WHOLE BUSINESS SECTION DESTROYED 61 
 
 To set off great blasts in the path of the flames and thus open gaps over 
 which the fire might not leap. But the fire did sail over such gaps time 
 and time again. 
 
 Mayor Schmitz sent a call for aid to Oakland. Its firemen came. He 
 sent a call for aid to the United States soldiers at the Presidio. Washing- 
 ton had already heard of the disaster and General Funston and his two 
 .regiments of soldiers marched into the city. They picketed the streets. 
 They formed guards about the banks where treasures were stored. They 
 formed guards about the collapsed Valencia Hotel and other buildings, 
 where the dead were lying. In their rifles they carried death for the 
 ghouls that might try to prowl among the dead victims of the catastrophe. 
 
 All through the day it was much like night on account of the smoke. 
 
 In the midst of the siege of fire were the Postal Telegraph and 
 Western Union Buildings. The telegraph operators were heroes — difiident 
 heroes. They simply stuck to their posts smiling. They were very prompt 
 to say that they would not leave the buildings until the last wire had gone 
 down. This happened quickly to the Western Union. 
 
 ONLY ONE LONG DISTANCE WIRE. 
 
 I made my way to the Postal Telegraph Building. I went upstairs 
 littered with broken glass and fragments of wood. I got into an office 
 littered with debris. But three men were at the telegraph keys. Two of 
 them looked up and then stood. Those two wires were gone. 
 
 But a third operator signalled me. His wire was still working. It 
 was the only long-distance wire over which the news could be flashed to 
 New York and Philadelphia and the other great centres of the world. 
 
 As I stood beside him the third shock came. It was three hours after 
 the big, destructive shock. The Postal Building swayed. Glasses cracked. 
 A constant trembling went on. We could but expect that every next 
 minute would find us crushed in the fallen building. It was swaying, 
 creaking and cracking. But the operator regarded his work as a solemn 
 duty. He stuck to his post. 
 
 Suddenly a corps of firemen and police entered the room. They drove 
 us into the street. The spread of the fire, they declared, demanded the 
 dynamiting of the handsome Postal Building. 
 
62 WHOLE BUSINESS SECTION DESTROYED 
 
 A little later the detonation sounded. The Postal Building was a 
 mound. The last long wire was down. 
 
 The stratagem proved useless. The fire terror spread. It was relent- 
 less. Now the next day, it leers luridly, broader and lighter than ever, 
 lashed to a dancing fury by a strong south wind. The awful red wound in 
 the city grows larger and larger. 
 
 The lire had lapped its way through the streets of poverty and the 
 streets of commerce to the water's edge. It set the ships speeding out into 
 the harbor to escape destruction. It stripped the city of its line hotels, 
 its theatres and many of its other most important buildings 
 
 Where the smoke is not too stifling thick the hunt goes on for the 
 wounded and the dead. The little files of those bearing the victims never 
 cease to arrive at Mechanics' Pavilion and depart on new quests night and 
 day, and all in front of the Pavilion agonized creatures begged for news of 
 loved ones, but none could give them, and inside the big Pavilion, on its 
 broad floor and in its galleries, were sights of horrible death and the sounds 
 of human misery too awful for a man to look upon. 
 
 KILLED BY EARTHQUAKES. 
 
 Since 1137. when the first reliable records apparently were made of 
 such disasters, 1,096,000 persons have lost their lives bv eartliquakes. ^Jliis 
 total does not include the destruction wrought by kindred catastrophies 
 like the burial of Pompeii and Herculaneum. 
 
 In periods earlier than the twelfth century the losses were doubtless 
 correspondingly great, at least, but history is vague or silent on these 
 events. It is supposed by scientists that many years of the earth's surface 
 now quiet were in ancient and primeval periods the scenes of terrific shocks. 
 
 No earlier earthquake remains recorded than that of 425 B. C, when 
 the island of Euboea was formed. What loss of life there was then not 
 even a legend relates. An earthquake accompanied the eruption of Vesu- 
 vius in 79 A. D. In 742 A. D. Syria. Palestine and other regions were 
 devastated by a series of shocks which destroyed more than five thousand 
 towns and hundreds of thousands of persons. 
 
 Sicily's earthquake in IT37 took fifteen thousand lives, and from that 
 time history is replete with records of similar catastrophes. Earthquakes 
 
WHOLE BUSINESS SECTION DESTROYED 63 
 
 have occurred with greater frequency in volcanic districts, and particularly 
 along the boundaries between great elevations and depressions. But such 
 shocks are not confined to volcanic areas, and, indeed, they have often 
 occurred in regions remote from them. One large zone particularly liable 
 to earthquakes encircles the earth. It includes the Mediterranean lands, the 
 Azores, the West Indies, Central America, the Sandwich Islands, Japan, 
 China, India, Persia and Asia Minor. 
 
 China's and Japan's losses have been enormous and earthquakes there 
 have been of such frequency as to excite little comment. The Japanese 
 scientists have been diligent students of these phenomena, and the number 
 of their opportunities is evident from the fact that between 1885 and 1S92, 
 when the closest observations were made, there were 8,331 earthquake 
 shocks. In 1703 200,000 Japanese lives were lost in the earthquake at 
 Yeddo. Her latest great disaster of that kind was in 1891, when 10,000 
 persons perished in the Island of Hondo. 
 
 EARTHQUAKES IN THE FAR EAST. 
 
 China's sufferings from earthquakes have been almost equally appal- 
 ling. In 1 73 1 there was a loss of 100,000 lives in Pekin and vicinity. In 
 1830 Canton was shattered and 6,000 persons died. Lesser disasters have 
 followed with great frequency till the death roll has become enormous. 
 
 In six minutes the city of Lisbon was laid in ruins in 1755, when 
 30,000 lives were lost. This great shock was felt over a wide area, even 
 on the Baltic and in Great Britain. Silicia lost 60,000 persons in 1768; 
 Naples, 40,000 in 1456, 70,000 in 1626 and 6,000 in 1805. Sicily had a 
 terrible disaster in 1693, when 100,000 persons died. Kashen, Persia, was 
 stricken in 1755 and 40,000 lives were lost. Panama lost 40,000 inhabitants 
 in 1797; Aleppo, 20,000 in 1822; Ecuador and Peru, 25,000 in 1868. 
 These are only the more costly disasters of the hundreds of earthquakes 
 that have terrified and slain mankind. The Calabrian earthquake, begin- 
 ning in 1783, continued for four years. 
 
 In comparison with these stunning cataclysm": the losses in the United 
 States have thus far been paltry. The first earthquake of which there is 
 any record in this country was that in Inyo Valley, California. The most 
 notable shock before that of yesterday was the one which on August 31, 
 
64 WHOLE BUSINESS SECTION DESTROYED 
 
 1886, was felt from Florida to Canada and as far west as Iowa and 
 
 Missouri. 
 
 New Hampshire and Vermont felt a slight shock on November 2.y, 
 1893. The Pacific Coast has experienced many tremors. Various other 
 parts of the country have been agitated infrequently by slight agitations 
 that have entailed no losses to life or property. 
 
 The well-known author. Bret Harte, who resided a number of years 
 in California, had a presentiment of the impending fate of the Queen City, 
 as shown by the following lines: 
 
 FATE. 
 
 "The sky is clouded, the rocks are bare ; 
 The spray of the tempest is white in the air! 
 The winds are out with the waves at play, 
 And I shall not tempt the sea to-day." 
 
 "The trail is narrow, the wood is dim, 
 The panther clings to the arching limb ; 
 And the lion's whelps are abroad at play. 
 And I shall not join in the chase to-day." 
 
 But the ship sailed safely over the sea. 
 And the hunters came from the chase in glee; 
 And the town that was builded upon a rock 
 Was swallowed up in the earthquake shock. 
 
CHAPTER HI. 
 
 WOMAN REFUGEE AND OTHER EYE-WITNESSES RELATE 
 THEIR THRILLING EXPERIENCES. 
 
 THE Los Angeles Examiner printed a thrilling story from Helen Dare, 
 of its staff, who escaped from the stricken city to Oakland and tlxcnce 
 to Stockton, where she telegraphed the following account : 
 
 No one who has not seen such a disaster as this that has befallen San 
 Francisco can have any realization of the horror of it, of the pitiful help- 
 lessness and inadequacy of human beings thus suddenly cast before the 
 destroying forces of nature. 
 
 It was like a cataclysm. People cried out to each other like the coming 
 of the end of the world. The oscillation was north and south in a succession 
 of increasing and apparently renewed shocks, with a twisting movement 
 that threw sleeping people out of their beds. 
 
 In two minutes the great city was ruined. Many were killed, perhaps 
 hundreds, perhaps thousands, for in the scattering, followed by confusion 
 and fire, no one can estimate the number of deaths. No part of the city 
 escaped from wreck, fire and death. Gas, water and electric power were 
 shut off. 
 
 Dynamite and gun cotton and even field guns are being used, blowing 
 up whole blocks at a time. Thousands of people are sleeping out under the 
 trees at Golden Gate Park. 
 
 Perhaps my own personal experience will tell the story. Like thou- 
 sands of others, I was awakened out of peaceful sleep into a paralysis of 
 fear by the violent and continued rocking of bed, of floor, of walls, of 
 furniture, by the sounds of crashing chimneys, falling ornaments and pic- 
 tures, breaking glass and the startled screams of women and children. As 
 if with a sudden impact, i felt my bed struck from the north and then heave 
 violently. I jumped out, putting my hands out to steady myself, but the 
 opposite walls seemed to move away from me. 
 
 The floor rocked like a boat on a choppy sea, the violence of the motion 
 6--S. F. 
 
 65 
 
66 THRILLING EXPERIENCES OF EYE-WITNESSES 
 
 increased and seemed ever and again to take a fresh start. It seems as if 
 it would never die — and yet it lasted but two minutes. My young son came 
 running from his room, and, clasped in each other's arms, we stood in the 
 doorway of my room waiting, waiting. 
 
 With a relaxing quiver — like the passing of a sigh, the heaving earth 
 and billowing floor sank into repose. We dressed, and through the disar- 
 ranged furniture, over the broken glass and fragments of ornaments, we 
 made our way out. 
 
 The streets were full of persons in every stage of undress and excite- 
 ment, one young mother in her night dress, clasping her eight-months-old 
 baby in her arms and trying to warm it by wrapping her thin lawn garment 
 around it. 
 
 A few blocks from Mayor Schmitz's home, and a block from Mrs. 
 Eleanor Martin's, the house where I have been stopping, is in the western 
 addition, where, owing to the hills of rock formation the damage was least. 
 
 CROWDS OF PERSONS CLIMBING THE HILLS. 
 
 The swarming persons climbed the hills, their first fear being that a 
 tidal wave would follow, and all eyes were on the bay, shining in the 
 morning light, but not even the sea wall of the land that the Fair Estate is 
 reclaiming from the ocean, was hidden by water. " 
 
 I set out at once to see what damage had been done, finding it more 
 appalling with every block I walked. My way led along Pacific and Van 
 Ness Avenues, through the district of splendid homes of wealth and fashion, 
 and not one of the long line of imposing houses but had suffered severely. 
 
 The home of John D. Spreckels, at Pacific Avenue and La Guana 
 Street, is one of the finest and proudest in the city and on it the parapet 
 had cracked and crumbled and fallen like so much spun sugar out of a 
 wedding cake. Blocks of cement had fallen from the entrance ceiling and 
 at one of the upper windows a wan, white face peered from the rich lace 
 curtains. 
 
 At Rudolph Spreckels' handsome house, at Gough and Pacific Avenue, 
 the lawn was riven from end to end in great gashes, the ornamental Italian 
 rail leading to the imposing entrance was a battered heap. Rudolph 
 Spreckels, his wife, his little son, his mother-in-law and sister-in-law and 
 maid servants had set up their household on the sidewalks. 
 
THRILLING EXPERIENCES OF EYE-WITNESSES 67 
 
 The women were wrapped in rugs and coverlets and huddled in easy 
 chairs hastily rolled out. They were having their morning tea on the 
 sidewalk and the silver service was spread on the stone coping. At house 
 after house of the wealthy and fashionable this scene was repeated. 
 
 Turning into Van Ness Avenue, there on the left was St. Bridget's 
 stone church at Broadway and Van Ness, with its tall towers fallen and the 
 stone walls hanging loosely from the top. There on my right, a couple of 
 blocks away, was St. Luke's Church, a total wreck, its tower of stone just 
 a heap of waste. The churches have suffered greatly. 
 
 St. Patrick's and St. Dominick's are wrecked and the old Mission 
 Dolores of the Franciscan Fathers has the ancient tiles of its roof crushed 
 in, though the adobe walls still stand, but the steeple of the new church 
 beside it in toppling over crushed in its roof. 
 
 FLEE IN BARE FEET. 
 
 All along the two avenues of fashion, not a brick chimney was left 
 standing. In every block there are tons and tons of wreckage. Claus 
 Spreckels' home on Van Ness Avenue had its cornices and parapet crumbled 
 like a pie crust. Walter Hobart's house, that was built for Amy Crocker 
 when she became Mrs. Porter Ashe, has all one side wrecked. 
 
 The St. Dustan, at Sutter and Van Ness, one of the smartest apart- 
 ment houses, built of stone, has its top story tumbled off and its solid walls 
 cracked. At McNutt's Hospital, nearly opposite the St. Dunstan, on Sutter 
 Street, the patients who could be moved had been brought to the door and 
 sidewalk, and anxious inquirers were rushing up to get news of dear ones 
 within who are bedridden or recently operated upon. 
 
 The new national bank on Polk Street, near Sutter Street, is a wreck 
 with its plate glass windows in splinters on the pavements. All Sutter 
 Street as I look ahead seems an avenue of ruin. The Granada, a big fash- 
 ionable hotel, has its top and front shattered. Whole houses, I can see, are 
 tumbled down. 
 
 I must pick my way among the middle of the streets between the heaps 
 of ruins. I find the streets swarming with people, white, wide-eyed, still- 
 awed, and others again exceedingly voluble in their terror, telling to every 
 one their story of what has happened to himself. 
 
68 THRILLING EXPERIENCES OF EYE-WITNESSES 
 
 Automobiles are tearing and honking madly in every direction, filled 
 with frightened men and women and children, some dressed as though for 
 a promenade, others partly dressed or wrapped in bed clothes. Never were 
 stranger automobile parties than these. 
 
 I see one little woman carrying her baby, her tear-wet face clinging to 
 its baby cheeks, and she wears only her night dress and a kimona, and her 
 tender bare feet patter across the sidewalk from a mansion door to an 
 automobile. 
 
 Here again is an old, old woman, with wrinkled face, paper-white, 
 somebody's grandmother, she is — and she is being trundled along in an 
 mvalid chair, her family with hastily made bundles of clothes and valuables, 
 all about her. Great clouds of smoke rise dull and dark on every side and 
 red, angry flames shoot long tongues through them. 
 
 MIGHTY ROAR OF FLAME. 
 
 I hear the roar and crackling of fire unrestrained, and with every blow 
 I feel the heat on my cheeks and the cinders and ashes sifting down upon 
 me. When I come to Powell Street I see the St. Francis Hotel still stand- 
 ing and the cinders and brands pouring upon its roof. Remember, this is 
 only 7 o'clock. In Union Square the grass is covered every inch of it with 
 frightened, huddled people, who have sought the open. 
 
 Kearney Street and Montgomery Street are highways of confusion. 
 The poor, south of Market Street, thus suddenly thrown out, are in exodus 
 toward Telegraph Hill, dragging and trundling such household goods as 
 they have managed to save. 
 
 Here are boys and a thin, flat-chested woman trundling a sewing 
 machine along. A drawer of it falls out and they halt to gather up the 
 precious scattered spools. Poor little seamstress, this is her all now. 
 
 Here is a wagon fitted with bedding and cooking utensils, a crying 
 woman and a baby on the seat, a bird cage dangling at the tail and two 
 men taking the part of horses. Then a crazy night hawk hack, a white- 
 faced woman dragged from her sick bed in it, fainting in the arms of 
 another woman. 
 
 Then a big road machine, screeching along, a red. fat-faced man 
 standing up in it mopping his brow, his eyes searching for the buTldTng 
 
THRILLING EXPERIENCES OF EYE-WITNESSES (li) 
 
 that holds his business, and Httle street boys darting in and out, snatching 
 what they can get, throwing that away and snatching more hke children 
 wantonly picking wild flowers, 
 
 I see one little creature capering with three hats on his head that he 
 had taken from a show window. Before the banks and safe deposit vaults 
 men and boys employed there are busy pulling out drawers full of ledgers 
 and valuable papers, carrying them away in their hands, loading them into 
 wagons and even into wash buckets. 
 
 SCENES IN HER FLIGHT. 
 
 On the step of one bank, with the fire only a block away, I see a man 
 wringing his hands and crying aloud : "Will he never come. Will he 
 never come with the combination? My God, why doesn't he come?" 
 
 I can't get to the Postal Telegraph office for the dead line of the 
 police and the crowd. I find the Western Union wrecked with bewildering 
 clerks repeating, "All wires down, all wires down !" to the pale-faced and 
 dirty-faced men and women who want to send messages out reassuring their 
 friends. 
 
 Every few seconds there is a booming sound that adds to the horror, 
 the confusion and fearsomeness of the scene. It comes from the dynamite 
 detonations where they are trying to check the spread of the fire by blowing 
 up luildings. A theatrical man comes running along telling how the Grand 
 Opera House has fallen in and is on fire with all Conreid's grand opera 
 settings and the singers' beautiful things going up in smoke. He laughs 
 idiotically, poor chap, and says : "Sudden close of the opera season, isn't 
 it?" The Majestic Theatre is a ruin, too, with both walls fallen in. 
 
 The newspaper offices still stand, but this is only 7 o'clock, and with 
 their power cut off and no way to get off the extras that would sell like 
 hot cakes. I see before the door of every one my fellows gathered in 
 silence, for once, and dazedly looking on. It is too awesome a scene even 
 for the newspaper men. 
 
 I try to make my way to the ferry, first down one street and then 
 down another, leading to the water front. Each one as I try, from Post 
 to Washington, is closed by fire or wreckage, and there is no way throusfh. 
 On Washington Street, opposite the old post office, a building has com- 
 pletely collapsed, and under its edges are horses struggling and dying. 
 
70 THRILLING EXPERIENCES OF EYE-WITNESSES 
 
 At last I find an open way on the next street, and with the warmth of 
 the blaze of water front saloons on my back I hurry across the upheaved 
 street and twisted car tracks. This is made ground and the earthquake 
 played with it as a child plays with a cardboard, crushing, creasing and 
 bending it. On the bay side of the water front the old docks have tumbled 
 and look like so much kindling wood. The tower of the ferry building 
 is destroyed and broken. The passengers stream aboard the ferryboat — th'*^ 
 only boats running are the "Southern Pacific" — and turn to look back upon 
 their city. 
 
 From this point there is something colossal in the disaster that has 
 befallen. A great cloud is rising magnificent and overwhelming in its 
 proportions — growing ever black and blackest toward the ground, spread- 
 ing wider and wider. The red flames shoot skyward through it and but 
 emphasize its density and violence. 
 
 PERILOUS TRIP TO STOCKTON. 
 
 The Fairmount's marble walls gleam orange through the flames. The 
 Call building rises like a sentinel and far beyond you can make out through 
 the murkiness black splotches upon the green, the people hurrying to the San 
 Bruno hills. On the Pine Street hill I can see a row of old ramshackle 
 cottages that have slipped from their foundations into the street, apparently 
 intact. 
 
 On Telegraph Hill, on the highest place, the sky line is marked with a 
 garb of upended fringe of the people who have sought refuge up there at 
 the top of the streets. There are no trains moving other than the Oakland 
 local when we get to Oakland, for there are no wires to send train de- 
 spatches on. At last a train moves out to Stockton, taking its chance, and 
 a few venture on it. 
 
 It is 10 o'clock and we have nothing to eat and drink, but we give no 
 thought to that. I plan to make my way to San Jose and telegraph from 
 there, but by 1 1 o'clock we know that San Jose is wiped out. A few wan, 
 rtxi-eyed refugees from San Jose are coming to San Francisco, and we 
 meet them at Niles. 
 
 "San Jose is flat on the ground," "San Jose is gone" — these are the 
 messages they bring. All brick buildings are down there. 
 
THRILLING EXPERIENCES OF EYE-WITNESSES 71 
 
 The security of the rails was suspected and the train traveled cau- 
 tiously. From East Oakland nothing was known of incoming trains or the 
 conditions of the road. 
 
 Collisions were imminent and every curve was breathlessly rounded. 
 Each bridge and trestle was a new danger, and when the train crept into 
 the Altamount tunnel it seemed as if no one breathed in any of the dark 
 cars and a sigh swept through when the daylight gleamed at the other end. 
 
 Coming from Oakland to Stockton the effects of the earthquake were 
 apparent as far as Lathrope, lessening as we drew away from the Mole. 
 Our train only crept along at times. 
 
 The personal narratives of other sufferers are no less thrilling than the 
 foregoing. Albert H. Gould, of Chicago, was one of three persons to 
 arrive in Los Angeles on the first train from San Francisco. 
 
 "I was asleep on the seventh floor of the Palace Hotel," he said, "at 
 the time of the first quake. I was thrown out of bed and half way across 
 the room. Immediately realizing the import of the occurrence and fearing 
 that the building was about to collapse, I made my way down six flights of 
 stairs and into the main corridor. I was the first guest to appear. Clerks 
 and hotel employees were running about like mad men. Within two minutes 
 after I had reached the corridor other guests began to flock into the court. 
 Most all wore night clothing only. Men, women and children stood as 
 though fixed. Children and women cried. The men were hardly less 
 affected. 
 
 CITY DOOMED. 
 
 "I returned to my room and got my clothing; then walked to the offices 
 of the Western Union, in my pajamas and bare feet, to telegraph to my 
 wife in Los Angeles. I found the telegraphers on duty, but all the wires 
 were down. I sat down on the sidewalk, picked the broken glass out of 
 the soles of my feet and put on my clothes. All this, I suppose, took twenty 
 minutes. Within that time, below the Palace Hotel, buildings for more 
 than three blocks were a mass of flames, which quickly spread to other 
 buildings. The scene was terrible. 
 
 "The Spreckels Building, at Third and Market Streets, looked out of 
 plumb. I remained in San Francisco until 8 o'clock and then took a fe -y 
 
72 THRILLING EXPERIENCES OF EYE-WITNESSES 
 
 for Oakland, but returned to the burning city an fiour a^id a half later. At 
 that time the city seemed doomed. I remained a few minutes, then made 
 my way back to the ferry station. 
 
 "People by the thousands were crowded around the ferry station. They 
 clawed at the iron gates like so many maniacs. They sought to break the 
 bars, and failing in that turned on each other. After a maddening delay 
 we got aboard the boat and crossed the bay." 
 
 J. P. Anthony, a business man of Pacific Grove, arrived in Los Angeles, 
 having made the trip from San Francisco by automobile. He left there 
 at 6 o'clock in the evening. Mr. Anthony was the first eye witness to bring 
 direct information from San Francisco. He said that he was sleeping in 
 his room at the Ramona Hotel, on Ellis Street, near Mason. He was sud- 
 denly awakened at 5.23 in the morning. The first shock that brought him out 
 of bed, he says, was appalling in its force. The whole earth seemed to heave 
 and fall. The building where he was housed, which is six stories high, was 
 lifted from its foundation and the roof caved in. A score or more of 
 guests, men and women, immediately made their way to the street, which 
 was soon filled with people. A panic ensued. Debris was showered into 
 the street from the building on every side. 
 
 Mr. Anthony said he saw a score or more of people killed. Women 
 became hysterical and prayed in the streets, while m^n sat on the curbing, 
 appearing to be dazed. It was twenty minutes before those in the vicinity 
 seemed able to realize the extent of the catastrophe. The crowds became 
 larger and in the public squares of the city and in empty lots thousands of 
 people gathered. 
 
 POLICE ^VARN PEOPLE FROM HOUSES. 
 
 It was 9 o'clock before the police were in control of the situation. 
 When they finally resumed charge, the officers directed their energy toward 
 warning the people in the streets away from danger, many buildings being 
 on the point of toppling over. 
 
 Mr. Anthony said he was walking on Market Street, near the Empo- 
 rium, about 9 A. M., when another severe shock was felt. At once the 
 street filled again with excited persons and thousands were soon gathered 
 in the vicinity, almost paralyzed with fear. 
 
THRILLING EXPERIENCES OF EYE-WITNESSES 73 
 
 Before the spectators could realize what had happened the walls of the 
 building swayed a distance of three feet. The thousands of bystanders 
 stood spellbound expecting every moment that they would be crushed, but 
 another tremor seemed to restore the big building to its natural position. 
 Mr. Anthony said that he momentarily expected that with thousands of 
 others who were in the neighborhood he would be crushed to death. 
 
 He made his way down Market Street as far as the Call building, 
 from which flam.es were issuing at every window, with the blaze shooting 
 out of the roof. A similar condition prevailed in the Examiner building 
 across the street. He then started for the depot at Third and Townsend 
 Streets, determined to leave the city. He found several thousand other 
 persons headed in the same direction. All south of Market Street about 
 that time was a crackling mass of flames. 
 
 CUT OFF BY THE FLAMES. 
 
 He made his way to Eighth and Market, thence down Eighth to Town- 
 send and to Third Street and the entire section which he traversed was 
 afire, making it impossible for him to reach his destination. He attempted 
 to make his way back, but found that retreat had been cut off by the flames. 
 He then went to Twelfth Street and reached Market Street again and 
 walked down to the City Hall. San Francisco's magnificent municipal 
 building had in the meantime caved in like an eggshell. The steel dome 
 was still standing, but the rest of the $7,000,000 structure was a charred 
 ruin. 
 
 It was not yet noon, but the city's hospitals were already filled with 
 dead and injured and all available storerooms were being pressed Into 
 service. Dead bodies were being carried from the streets in garbage 
 wagons. In every direction hysterical women were seen. Men walked 
 through the streets, many of them weeping, and all with white, drawn 
 faces. 
 
 Transfer men were being offered fabulous sums to remove household 
 goods even for a block distant. Horses had been turned loose to prevent 
 their being incinerated in the burning buildings and were running at large. 
 Women had loaded their personal belongings on carts and were pulling 
 them through the city, the property being piled in the public squares. 
 
74 THRILLING EXPERIENCES OF EYE-WITNESSES 
 
 J. H. Ritter, of Houston, Texas, said : 
 
 "I was in the Golden West Hotel when the first shock came. When 
 I awoke, the hotel was rocking like a cradle. While I was dressing, the 
 rear wall of the hotel fell into the dining-room. I was dressed by the time 
 the second shock came and was going to rush out of the building, but the 
 appeals of the women on the same floor stopped me. With some of the 
 other men guests on the fourth floor, we got the women out. Most of the 
 women were hysterical. 
 
 "Many naked and half-dressed persons were in the streets, running 
 about crying, screeching, wild with fear, while buildings toppled over and 
 choked up the streets." 
 
 R. A. Cole, a horseman, was at the Palace Hotel, when the quake came. 
 He said: "I never saw anything like it. I was in the St. Louis cyclone 
 and the Baltimore fire. They were nothing. I saw all San Francisco 
 staggering and rocking and then in flames." 
 
 Mrs. Agnes Sink said: *T was staying at 35 Fifth Street, San Fran- 
 cisco. The rear of the house collapsed and the landlady and about thirty 
 roomers were killed. I escaped by the roof, as the stairway had collapsed 
 in the rear. Out in the street it was impossible to find a clear pathway. I 
 saw another lodging house near ours collapse; I think it was at 39 Fifth 
 Street, and all the inmates were killed. In a few minutes the entire block 
 was in flames." 
 
 EARTHQUAKE THEORIES. 
 
 That San Francisco was the centre of the earthquake area was a mere 
 coincidence in the workings of nature, is the opinion of Amos P. Brown, 
 professor of mineralogy and geology at the University of Pennsylvania. 
 The theory advanced that a subterranean explosion took place under Mount 
 Tacoma, in the State of Washington, is also given little credence by Pro- 
 fessor Brown. 
 
 "At present no one knows anything definite," said he, "and the best 
 authorities can do is to form opinions based on their knowledge of the 
 earth's surface and upon the likelihood of eruptions to break forth from 
 the known mere shallow crusts of the earth's surface. 
 
 "As has been said, the whole coast line of the Pacific ocean is more 
 
THRILLING EXPERIENCES OF EYE-WITNESSES 75 
 
 or less subject to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. In some places the 
 earth's surface is constantly rising and in others it is sinking at the same 
 time. This movement is very gradual to be sure, and it takes years and 
 years for the movement of an inch ordinarily. Sometimes this movement 
 is rapid and at every such occurrence there is an earthquake. 
 
 "A movement of a quarter of an inch in the solid sub-strata of rock 
 will cause an earthquake. A movement of an inch will cause a tremendous 
 earthquake which will shake down buildings of wood and stone even as 
 happened at San Francisco. How large a movement there was along the 
 Pacific Coast no one can now tell. 
 
 "As the surface rises in one place it lowers in another. The molten 
 lava which composes the centre of the earth moves into the cavity caused 
 by this rise and runs from the place of depression. The earth is a solid. 
 Whenever the greatest pressure is brought to bear, then a sinking occurs, 
 and conversely a rising is made where there is the least resistance. The 
 Cascade Mountain range has been rising for years, and it is very probable 
 that some sudden movement caused a crack which occurred directly under 
 the San Francisco district. 
 
 FURTHER DISCOVERIES NECESSARY. 
 
 "The theory that so much was taken out of the earth by Mount Vesu- 
 vius at the late eruptions that a depression occurred at the other side of the 
 world is possible. However, it is not probable. Science knows of no such 
 facts as that, and to advance the theory as a fact would be impossible until 
 some such actual discovery is made. 
 
 "The earth has a diameter of about eight thousand miles. Vesuvius 
 hardly cast out enough lava and ashes to make a very great difference. 
 The theory is easily answered by the instance of the eruption of Mount 
 Pelee several years ago. The lava cast out there was much greater than at 
 Vesuvius, and there was no subsequent earthquake. 
 
 "As no reports have come from Mount Tacoma, we can say nothing 
 of an eruption there. I hardly think such a thing has occurred, yet it is 
 surely possible. It seems that should there have been an eruption there the 
 effect would have been more serious in that region than as far south as San 
 Francisco. The best theory is that of the movement of the eartli's surface. 
 
76 THRILLING EXPERIENCES OF EYE-WITNESSES 
 
 "The whole western coast of America is subject to these movementi^ 
 North America gets numbers of them in shght earthquakes. Central 
 America has more. They are of more frequent occurrence in South 
 America. Chili is visited by them more than any other country in the 
 world. Surely tliis eruption has been more serious than any in recent 
 years," 
 
 William Easby, Jr., professor of civil engineering at the University 
 of Pennsylvania, said that the fact that Leland Stanford, Jr., University 
 was demolished shows in slight measure the force of the earthquake, 
 
 ''This University was constructed with the special purpose of with- 
 standing such shock," he said. "The buildings were all built low and of 
 massive foundations. To overthrow them took tremendous force." 
 
 ORIGIN OF THE SAN FRANCISCO CALAMITY. 
 
 Dr. G. F. Becker, chief of the division of physical researches of the 
 United States Geological Survey, who lived many years in California and 
 made a special study of seismological disturbances for the government, is 
 quoted as saying that the earthquake in California had no relation to the 
 recent eruptions of Vesuvius. He ascribed the "shake" to an unusually 
 acute development in the process of "faulting," which has been going on 
 along the Pacific Coast for thousands of years. This process consists in 
 a readjustment of the rocks forming the crust of the earth. 
 
 California is a chronic sufferer from earthquakes in mild form, he said, 
 but the severity of the recent "shake" was due, in his opinion, to the fact 
 that there had been a suspension of the shakes in recent years, and conse- 
 quently the disturbance was due to an accumulation, or, in other words, 
 a greater amount of earth was shifted, or "faulted," in this "shake" than 
 has been the case before. 
 
 "Along the coast of California, at a relatively short distance from the 
 shore," said Dr. Becker, "the shoal water suddenly becomes very deep, and 
 from a depth of a few fathoms changes abruptly to a depth of perhaps 
 thousands of fathoms. This great submarine cliff extends all the way to 
 Chili, the same geological formation being noted generally. It may be 
 described as a great line of uplift in the earth's surface extending all the 
 way from Singapore around to Valparaiso, 
 
THRILLING EXPERIENCES OF EYE-WITNESSES 77 
 
 ''It is a line characterized by a deep adjoining abyss. That line is the 
 great volcanic line and the great earthquake line of the world. It passes 
 through the volcanic regions of Japan, through the Aleutian Islands, along 
 the coast of Alaska and to Mount Shasta, which, though not an active vol- 
 cano, is representative of the type, then extending to South America with 
 characteristic volcanic developments. 
 
 ''Now there have been changes in the elevation along the line of this 
 fissure, due to changes in te elevation and canged conditions inside the 
 earth, and it is owing to these changes or 'faults' that the ground is shaken 
 in California while the earth's rocks are readjusting them?elves. 
 
 "In my opinion, there can be no connection whatever between the San 
 Francisco earthquake and the Vesuvius eruptions. The first and conclusive 
 reason is that Vesuvius is not on the same fissure of the earth as Califor- 
 nia. Then, too, the shakes caused by Vesuvius could affect only a local 
 area. 
 
 "I would like to add that I do not think there is any danger of a 
 recurrence of a severe earthquake of this kind in California for a very long 
 period of time. Of course, there may be mild shakes for some time, but 
 the readjustment of the earth's crust, in this disturbance, was probably so 
 complete that there will be no change in the geological formation for many 
 years." 
 
 OPINIONS OF SCIENTIFIC EXPERTS. 
 
 These views of Dr. Becker were practically endorsed by Prof. Charles 
 D, Walcott, director of the geological survey; C. W. Hayes, director of 
 geology in the Geological Survey, and Prof. James F. Kemp, of Columbia 
 University. 
 
 "The earth, take it as a whole," said Mr. Hayes, "is a very uneasy 
 body, and is in a state of constantly changing equilibrium. When the 
 foundations, deep down, change, there has to be an adjustment of the sur- 
 face, like the break-up of ice on a river, and readjustment of the blocks to 
 each other. Evidences of such changes are found all along the Pacific 
 Coast. All through California it is quite evident that the earth's surface is 
 continually adjusting itself to internal conditions." 
 
 "The Pacific Coast line is one O'f the latest additions to the continent," 
 
78 THRILLING EXPERIENCES OF EYE-WITNESSES 
 
 said Professor Kemp, "and because of this is far more subject to seismic 
 disturbances than any other portion of the country. Earthquakes are quite 
 common, as is shown by the records quoted in the Geological Society's 
 bulletins. According to these there were fifty-live such disturbances in 
 California and elsewhere along the Pacific Coast in 1896, eighty in 1897 
 and twenty-four in 1898, but none were severe, except that of March 30, 
 1898. 
 
 "The outer crust of the earth adjusts itself from time to time," he 
 said, "and this is most probably one of those instances. Scientists do not 
 yet fully understand the exact nature of this adjustment, but there are two 
 suggestions as to the probable cause which are generally accepted — first, 
 that on account of the radiation of heat from the earth its interior is shrink- 
 ing and earthquake is the natural way the surface adjusts itself to the new 
 conditions; second, that the earth is gradually slowing up in its rotation, 
 that it is flattening at the poles and swelling at the equator, and that this 
 causes the interior disturbance." 
 
 SCIENTIFIC VIEWS OF EARTHQUAKES. 
 
 Professor Marvin, the observer in charge o'f the San Francisco weather 
 station, when asked if the earthquake at San Francisco cotild be connected 
 with disturbances in Vesuvius, said he did not think there was any common 
 cause. 
 
 "The disturbances around Vesuvius were purely local," said he. "We 
 had no record here of any vibrations in the earth's surface, and the general 
 belief of scientists is that the phenomena there were wholly local. This 
 earthquake at San Francisco is more general in character. It was undoubt- 
 edly recorded in India and in England. You can see how rapidlv such 
 earthquake waves travel when you note that the reports say the upheaval 
 occurred in San Francisco at 5.13 or 5.15 and our first register of the 
 vibrations began at 8.19. The first small waves of tremors travel much 
 more rapidly than the larger waves, and the first record shows that these: 
 small waves came across the continent in from four to six minutes. If there 
 was .a tidal wave in consequence of the disturbance, it passed across the 
 Pacific in a few hours, and was felt on the coast of Japan, probably. It 
 must be remembered that we do not know the location of the cause of the 
 
THRILLING EXPERIENCES OF EYE-WITNESSES 79 
 
 disturbance at San Francisco and cannot tell the direction of the greatest 
 wave force. 
 
 "There have been more earthquakes in 1905 than for several years 
 past," continued Professor Marvin. "We have had numerous records here 
 of late. We cannot undertake to explain the causes of the earthquake at 
 San Francisco. There may have occurred what the geologists call a fault, 
 or the subsidence of a portion of the earth's surface." 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 PITIFUL SCENES WHERE ONCE STOOD A GREAT CITY. 
 
 THE wind, after having fanned the original conflagration in the district 
 south of Market Street, turned when it had done its work there and 
 swept the now^ irresistible fury of flame across Market Street, up the 
 heights to the north, licked up the fashionable homes there as it had swal- 
 lowed the hovels of Chinatown, and then turned again, spurring the hungry- 
 destruction toward the west and all that was left of the Queen City. Water 
 w^as lacking and dynamite was giving out. Fire-fighters fainted, were 
 carried away exhausted or injured. 
 
 It was resolved to make a last stand on the broad thoroughfare, Van 
 Ness Avenue. A line of residences a mile and a half long was marked for 
 sacrifice, in the hope that the flames might not be able to leap the space left 
 by the ruins and the loo feet of the street. But almost before execution 
 of the plan was begim the fire was across the avenue and the final act of 
 San Francisco's annihilation was entered upon. 
 
 But the plight of the living was little more happy than the fate of the 
 dead, Thursday night 300,000 homeless people lay in the fields of the 
 suburbs, on the beach, on the grass of Golden Gate Park, or wdiere they 
 could find a sheltered corner in the less crow^ded streets. Others fled by 
 train, by road, by boat to nearby towns, 50,000 going to Oakland, across 
 the bay. A slight earthquake shock in the morning stimulated a fresh panic. 
 
 Golden Gate Park was a great camp, over which tents and make-shift 
 shelters were being raised. Families with a bed, cooking stove, a few 
 chairs or whatever little furniture they were able to save, grouped miserably 
 about all that remained of "home." 
 
 Mercifully the w^eather was mild. The University of California, at 
 Berkeley, was providing on its campus for an army of refugees flocking 
 thither. 
 
 The authorities were distributing food. Police and troops guarded 
 groceries and bakeries, forbidding the sale of life's necessities otherwise 
 than in small doles. Water was scarce, and grave fears were entertained 
 
 80 
 
PITIFUL SCENES OF A GREAT CITY 81 
 
 of the possibility of general and serious suffering from thirst. The bakeries 
 and women of uninjured California towns were appealed to to bake and send 
 loaves of bread to the stricken city. 
 
 The United States Sub-treasury was destroyed. The coin and cur- 
 rency in its vaults, however, were believed to be intact, and troops were on 
 guard. The Mint escaped both the earthquake and the fire. 
 
 MAGNIFICENT HOMES GONE. 
 
 The magnificent residences on Nob Hill and Russian Hill were gone — 
 among them the Stanford house with its art treasures; the Flood house, 
 which cost $1,000,000; the Crocker residence, with its extensive stables. 
 The Hopkins Art Institute was gone. The imm.ense new Fairmount Hotel 
 was burned. St. Francis's Hotel, a gigantic structure, also succumbed. 
 What few office skyscrapers outlived Wednesday's terror were now ruins. 
 
 A Committee of Safety was formed to assist the Mayor. Order was 
 preserved, though a few looters were shot, and horrible scenes were enacted 
 among the ruins by dissolute revelers drunken on spoils taken from wrecked 
 liquor houses. 
 
 In the towns surrounding San Francisco great loss of life and property 
 was caused by the earthquake and fire which followed it. Santa Rosa 
 was a total wreck; from 200 to 500 lives were lost and 10,000 people were 
 homeless, while not a brick or stone building remained standing. What 
 v«^as left by the earthquake was destroyed by fire. 
 
 In San Jose ten persons were killed, and the Hall of Records and the 
 Hall of Justice were destroyed. The Lick Observatory escaped injury. 
 
 In Alameda the loss of property is estimated at $200,000. No lives 
 were lost, though a few persons were injured. 
 
 East Oakland, Los Banos, Martinez, Healdsburg, Geyersville, Clover- 
 dale, Hopeland and Ukiah reported severe damage, with loss of life. 
 
 President Roosevelt, after a conference with officers of the American 
 
 Red Cross, issued a proclamation calling upon the people of the entire 
 
 nation to contribute to the relief funds. His appeal urged that all funds 
 
 raised be placed in charge of the Red Cross, so that it would be expended 
 
 to do the maximum good. 
 
 Congress took immediate steps to make the Government's relief plan 
 ti— S. F. 
 
82 PITIFUL SCENES OF A GREAT CITY 
 
 effective by appropriating $i,o<X),cxx) for the use of the War and other 
 departments. The resolution freeing the money 'from the Treasury was 
 passed first in the Senate, carrying $500,000. This was doubled in the 
 House, and the larger amount was accepted by the upper house and imme- 
 diately made available by the President's signature. 
 
 I'he Government's departments were busy all of Tliursday forwarding 
 food, tents, hospital supplies and other articles most needed in the work of 
 relief. Secretary of War Taft issued orders for the sending of supplies 
 from many points, and made every effort to have them arrive at the earliest 
 possible time in the stricken city, 
 
 MANY MILLIONS OF DOLLARS READY 
 
 The work of relief went on throughout the country and millions of 
 dollars were raised for the sufferers. New York contributed three-quarters 
 of a million dollars, and Chicago's two commercial bodies pledged $75,000, 
 with the popular subscriptions to follow. 
 
 Councils of many other cities made appropriations and telegraphed 
 the amounts to San Francisco, and plans for big benefit entertainments 
 were made. Sympathy was expressed in cablegrams from all parts of the 
 world, and the people of Great Britain were ready to give substantial aid. 
 
 Two relief trains from Philadelphia were speeding westward, laden 
 with hundreds of army tents for the sufferers. They were sent from 
 Schuylkill Arsenal on a rush order from the Quartermaster-General of the 
 Army, More relief specials were to follow every day until the need was 
 ended, the railroads carrying them free of charge. 
 
 The next day after the calamity, Thursday, April 19, dawned on a 
 scene of death and destruction. During the night the flames had con- 
 sumed many of the city's finest structures and skipped in a dozen directions 
 to the residence portions. They had made their way over into the North 
 Beach section, and, springing anew to the south, they reached out along 
 the shipping section down the bay shore, over hills and across toward Third 
 and Townsend Streets. Warehouses and manufacturers' concerns fell in 
 their path. This completed the destruction of the entire district known as 
 far south as Market Street. 
 
 After darkness thousands of the homeless were making their way with 
 their blankets and scant provisions to Golden Gate Park and the beach to 
 
PITIFUL SCENES OF A GREAT CITY 88 
 
 find shelter. Those in the houses on the hills just north of the Hayes Valley 
 wrecked section piled their belongings in the streets, and express wagons 
 and automobiles were hauling the things away to the sparsely settled 
 regions. 
 
 Hundreds of troops patrolled the streets and drove the crowds back, 
 while hundreds more were set to work assisting the fire and police depart- 
 ments. The strictest orders were issued, and in true military spirit the 
 soldiers obeyed. The curious were driven back at the breasts of the horses 
 of the cavalrymen, and all the crowds were forced from the level district to 
 the hilly section beyond to the north. 
 
 WATER SUPPLY CUT OFF 
 
 The water supply was entirely cut off, and maybe it was just as well, 
 for the lines of fire department would have been absolutely useless at any 
 stage. Early in the morning it was seen that the only possible chatice left 
 to check the flames lay in the use of dynamite. During the day a blast 
 could be heard in any section at intervals of only a few minutes, and build- 
 ings not destroyed by fire were blown to atoms. But through the gaps 
 made the flames jumped, and, although the failure of the heroic efforts of 
 the police, firemen and soldiers was at times sickening, the work was con- 
 tinued with a desperation that will live as one of the features of the ter- 
 rible disaster. 
 
 The magnitude of the calamity became apparent when the sun rose 
 and dissipated the pall of darkness that hung over the city. Looking east- 
 ward from the heights in the central portion of the city, everything attested 
 to the awful havoc wrought by earthquake and flame. Where once rose 
 noble buildings, stood nothing but frail walls, tottering chimneys, heaps 
 of twisted iron and huge piles of brick and mortar. Adding to the horror 
 of the situation was the fact that the work of destruction had not reached 
 its conclusion and that the flames were raging beyond control. 
 
 It was with grief and horror that the community viewed the ruin. The 
 people were seemingly half dazed by the magnitude of the disaster. Pos- 
 sibility of famine presented itself with the coming of the day. At best 
 the city never carried more than three days' supply of provisions and food, 
 and with the wholesale districts and warehouses wiped out there was 
 
34 PITIFUL SCENES OF A GREAT CITY 
 
 already a shortage of food. Prices were in most instances m(~>re than 
 irehlcd. An Associated Press man was ohHged to pay -^5 cents for a small 
 glass of mineral water in the Hayes Valley district. Not a drop of water 
 was to be had there except bottled mineral w^ater. 
 
 REGULATING SALE OF FOOD. 
 
 Policemen were stationed at some of the retail shops, regulating the 
 sale of foodstuffs and permitting only a small portion of goods to be de- 
 livered to each purchaser, the idea being to prevent a few persons from 
 gathering in large quantities of supplies. 
 
 The military was unusually strict in observing the enforcement of the 
 order to shoot all looters. One man on Market Street, who was digging 
 in the niins of a jewelry shop, was discovered by a naval reserve man and 
 fired upon three times. He sought safety in flight, but the reserve man 
 brought him down, running a bayonet through him. 
 
 The bodies of three thieves were found lying in the streets on the 
 south side. Many reports of looters being killed by the troops were cur- 
 rent. Concerted action of any kind, in fact, was out of the question, and 
 almost every official was acting on his own responsibility, it being a physi- 
 cal impossibility to communicate with superior authorities. 
 
 On the day of the earthquake some sort of systematic communication 
 could be had by means of automobiles, but the next, day every street was 
 piled high with ruins, and to add to this trouble there was constant danger 
 from falling walls. On miles of streets the front walls of ruined buildings 
 still stood, swaying with the concussions of distant dynamite explosions 
 and the rising winds. Frequently a crash of stone and brick, followed by 
 a cloud of dust, gave w-arning to pedestrians of the danger of travel. 
 
 All manner of reports of death and disaster came to the temporary 
 headquarters of the authorities, but these reports w-ere received guardedly, 
 allowance being made for the likelihood of exaggeration, due to the con- 
 fusion that prevailed. 
 
 The flight of residents from the city continued all day in the nature of 
 a panic, the slight earthquake early in the morning accentuating their ter- 
 rors. The ferryboats to adjacent counties were crowded to the utmost, and 
 to the westward portion of the peninsula a constant throng of homeless 
 
PITIFUL SCENES OF A GREAT CITY 85 
 
 persons carrying their portable household belongings, added to the colonies 
 in the secure sand hills and the parks. Golden Gate Park and the unim- 
 proved blocks of the district south and north of the park presented the 
 appearance of tented cities, many varieties of shelter being improvised from 
 bedding and blankets. 
 
 The wind changed to the west on Thursday and the flames changed 
 their devouring direction southward, and began eating their wide swath 
 from the water front, on the north of Market Street, up to what is 
 known as Nob Hill, an eminence that had been selected years ago by the 
 multi-millionaires of the "bonanza days" upon which to erect their man- 
 sions. This hill was surmounted by the Hotel Fairmount, just finished at 
 a cost of over $1,000,000. The horror was universal when its destruction 
 seemed inevitable, and when it finally took fire and routed the Public Safety 
 Committee, who were directing the work of relief from that point. Steadily 
 but surely the fire ate its way up the slope, consuming the homes of the 
 late Mrs. Jane Stanford and the Hopkins Art Institute, built by Mark 
 Hopkins, of Central Pacific fame. 
 
 NQB HILL'S COSTLY RESIDENCES. 
 
 The Stanford residence, which stood at the southwest corner of Cali- 
 fornia and Powell Streets, at the brink of the hill, became the property 
 of Leland Stanford, Jr., University upon the death of Mrs. Stanford. It 
 contained many art treasures of great value. On the southeast corner of 
 the same block stood the home of the late Mark Hopkins, who amasjed 
 many millions with Stanford, C. P. Huntington and Charles Crocker in 
 the construction of the Central Pacific Railway. The Hopkins home was 
 presented to the University of California by his heirs, and it was known 
 as the Hopkins Art Institute. 
 
 One block west was the Flood home, a huge brownstone mansion, 
 said to have cost more than $1,000,000. The Huntington home occupies 
 the block on California Street just west of the Flood house. The Crocker 
 residence, with its huge lawns and magnificent stables, was on the west 
 of the Huntington home. 
 
 From the upward slope the fire also took a direction northwesterly 
 into the district that had been left untouched. This portion of the town 
 
86 PITIFUL SCENES OF A GREAT CITY 
 
 embraced the Latin quarter, populated by persons of various nationalities, 
 
 and the houses were all of flimsy construction. 
 
 In the Hayes Valley district, south of McAllister and north of Market, 
 the fire was confined up to noon on the west by Octavia Street and on 
 the north by McAllister Street. In these confines the destruction was 
 complete. Therein were located St. Ignatius's school and church, of 
 which only the sidewalks remained. Of the Mechanics' Pavilion, the 
 scene of hundreds of great political, social and sporting events, not a 
 timber remained. Opposite it was the St. Nicholas Hotel, and it is simply 
 a pile of ruined bricks. 
 
 From this point down to the Oakland ferry an Associated Press man 
 made his way through the menacing wall frontages, and climbing over 
 hillocks of masonry and junk of all sorts in the middle of the city's greatest 
 thoroughfare. The journey was heartrending, the scene appalling. On 
 either side was ruin, nothing but ruin. To the south, in hundreds of blocks, 
 hardly a building remained whole. In front of the post-office, on Seventh 
 and Mission Streets, the ground had sunk for several feet. 
 
 Across an alley from the postoffice stood the Grant Building, one of 
 the headquarters of the army. This was gutted. Opposite the Grant 
 Building, on Market Street, the ruins of the Hibernian Savings Bank 
 loomed up, its former beautiful frontage transformed into hideous aspect. 
 This was the great bank if the middle and poorer classes, and its loss 
 caused greater sorrow south of Market street than perhaps the loss of 
 any one institution. From this point down to the ferry the same story 
 could be told of each successive block. 
 
 WRECKS OF GREAT BUILDINGS. 
 
 At 1 1 o'clock Wednesday night the north side of the street had been 
 untouched, and hope had been expressed that the great Flood, Crocker, 
 Phelan and other buildings would be spared, but they are included in the 
 list of destroyed property. The Palace Hotel still stood, a huge monument 
 to the awful disaster, its blackened walls and empty interior bearing little 
 resemblance to the huge hostelry of a day before. 
 
 The handsome and gigantic St. Francis Hotel, on Powell Street, 
 fronting on Union Square, is a ruined shell. .This was one of the high steel 
 
PITIFUL SCENES OF A GREAT CHY 87 
 
 structures that had defied the terrible trembler, but it became another sad 
 tribute to the completeness of the devastation that visited San Francisco. 
 
 Among the other high sky-scrapers north of Market that fell prey to 
 the flames were the fourteen-story Merchants' Exchange and the Mills 
 Building, occupying almost an entire block, 
 
 Chinatown by noon Thursday v/as a furnace, and the denizens of 
 that quarter earlier in the day had their simple possessions bundled for 
 departure. On the farther western side the flames cut a wide path to 
 Van Ness Avenue. 
 
 BODIES IN THE STREETS. 
 
 Thursday morning there were twenty-seven corpses lying in Ports- 
 mouth Square, gathered from various sections. It was said that elsewhere 
 bodies were lying in the streets, there being no means available to remove 
 them. In his travels down Market Street the Associated Press representa- 
 tive saw three bodies lying in the debris, some rude covering having been 
 thrown over them. 
 
 The Committee of Safety, consisting of fifty prominent citizens, met 
 with Mayor Schmitz and organized a Finance Committee, composed of 
 James N. Phelan, F. W. Hellman, Claus Spreckels, J. Doweny Harvey, 
 Thomas Magee, J. L. Flood, William Babcock, W. F. Herrin, M. H. 
 De Young and Robert J. Tobin. Before the meeting had organized Claus 
 Spreckels gave $25,000, Rudolph Spreckels $10,000, Harry Tevis $10,000, 
 Gordon Blanding $10,000, Eleanor Martin $5000, J. L. Flood $5000, with 
 a promise of more. 
 
 Committees were appointed to take charge of the relief of the destitute, 
 and the work assumed some system. 
 
 Golden Gate Park was the main refuge, and supplies were sent there. 
 Boats were provided to take people across the bay, and thousands were 
 availing themselves of the privilege. The University of California, at 
 Berkeley, volunteered to take care of 2000. 
 
 Mayor Schmitz appointed his Committee of Fifty Citizens special 
 officers, with full power to represent him and with power to requisition 
 men, supplies, vehicles and boats for public use. 
 
 Except for an occasional accident, no additional loss of life was 
 
88 PITIFUL SCENES OF A GREAT CITY 
 
 reported. People had time to leave the burning- districts, though most of 
 
 them lost all their belongings. 
 
 A number of persons perished in the flames. At Seventh and Howard 
 Streets a great lodging house took fire after the first shock, before the 
 guests had escaped. There were few exits, and nearly all the lodgers 
 perished. One of the women in the building leaped, with her child in her 
 arms, from the second floor to the pavement below and escaped unhurt. 
 She said she was the only one who escaped from the house. Such horrors 
 as this were repeated at many points. 
 
 One man was killed while trying to get a body from the ruins. Other 
 rescuers heard the pitiful wail of a little child, but were unable to get 
 near the point from which the cry issued. Soon the onrushing fire ended 
 the cry and the men turned to other tasks. 
 
 At Mechanics' Pavilion scenes of heroism and later of panic were 
 enacted. The great frame building was turned into a hospital with a 
 corps of fifty physicians. Nurses volunteered, and the Red Cross ship 
 from the Government yards at Mare Island contributed doctors and sup- 
 plies. Late in the evening, while the ambulances and automobiles w'ere 
 unloading wounded at the building, the march of the conflagration up 
 Ivlarlvet Street gave warning that the injured would have to be removed 
 zt once. Every available vehicle was pressed into service to get the stricken 
 into hospitals and private houses of the western addition. A few minutes 
 ifter the last of the wounded had been carried through the door fire shot 
 from the roof and the structure burst into a whirlwind of flame. 
 
 COULD NOT BE WORSE. 
 
 The situation was summed up in a telegram sent Thursday morning 
 by General Funston to the War Department at Washington, It read as 
 follows : 
 
 "It could not be worse." 
 
 General Funston added that Lieutenant Charles C. Pulis, of Wis- 
 consin, attached to the coast artillery, had been mortally wounded. Lieu- 
 tenant Pulis was commanding a company engaged in blowing up a building 
 ^t .Sixth and Jesse Streets. A fuse proved slow, and when Pulis tried to 
 relight it the charge was exploded. 
 
PITIFUL SCENES OF A GREAT CITY 89 
 
 General Funston earlier in the day had wired the War Department 
 301 follows: 
 
 "Your four dispatches received. Have already filed several for you. 
 Impossible now to inform you as to full extent of disaster. City practi- 
 cally destroyed. Troops have been aiding police patrolling and main- 
 taining order. Martial law has not been declared. Working in conjunc- 
 tion wtih civil authorities. Have not interfered with sending of any 
 dispatches. You cannot send too many tents or rations. About 200,000 
 people homeless. Food very scarce. Provision houses all destroyed." 
 
 The following appeal for aid was sent out by Mayor Schmitz to 
 Governor Pardee, and indicates the destitute condition of their people and 
 their dire need of food and shelter: 
 
 "Send all supplies and tents possible to Golden Gate Park. Have 
 bakeries in small towns bake all the bread they can. We want bedding, 
 food and tents." 
 
 DECIDE TO BLOW UP RICH HOMES. 
 
 As the fire continued to spread in spite of the heroic work of the 
 men who were dynamiting buildings, the Committee on Safety called a 
 meeting at noon and decided to blow up all the residences on the east 
 side of Van Ness Avenue, between Golden Gate Avenue and Pacific 
 Avenue, a distance of one mile. Van Ness Avenue is one of the most 
 fashionable streets of the city, and it is very wide. 
 
 Here the firemen, although exhausted from over twenty-four hours' 
 work and lack of food, determined to make a desperate stand. They 
 declared that should the fire cross Van Ness Avenue and the wind continue 
 its earlier direction toward the west, the destruction of San Francisco 
 would be virtually complete. West of Van Ness Avenue and north of 
 McAllister constitute the finest part of the metropolis. Here are located 
 all of the finer homes of the well-to-do and wealthier classes. 
 
 The military was notified of the decision to dynamite the handsome 
 Van Ness Avenue homes, and barrels of gunpowder, the only remaining 
 explosive in the city, were taken from the Presidio, Fort McDowell, Alca- 
 traz and other nearby posts. Hundreds of police, regiments of soldiers 
 and scores of volunteers were sent into the doomed district to warn the 
 
90 PITIFUL SCENES OF A GREAT CITY 
 
 people to flee. These heroically responded to the demand of law and went 
 bravely on their way, trudging painfully over the pavements with the little 
 they could get together. Every available wagon was taken by the military 
 to carry the powder. 
 
 But even the heroic measures decided upon did not check the flames, 
 and the fire leaped across Van Ness Avenue and rushed upon the handsome 
 homes on the west side. General Funston sent this dispatch to Washington 
 at 3.30 P. M. Thursday: 
 
 "Fire crossed Van Ness Avenue to the west at 3.30 P. M. Almost 
 certain now that entire city will be destroyed. Have ordered troops from 
 Monterey, and everything is going as well as could be expected." 
 
 SUB-TREASURY DESTROYED. 
 
 Later, as the flames continued to spread, General Funston wired to 
 the War Department : 
 
 "Official report at police headquarters this date states that the Sub- 
 treasury is entirely destroyed by fire, with the exception of the vaults, 
 which contain all cash on hand. Suitable guards have been ordered to 
 protect this money." 
 
 The fire marshal announced at 4 o'clock that more than two-thirds 
 of the area of the city had been destroyed, and that there was no possibility 
 of saving the rest. The following was the district north of Market Street 
 devastated at that hour: 
 
 Sansome to Market Street, to Sacramento, to Buchanan, thence to 
 California, to Hyde, to Eddy, to Larkin, to Gough and to Market. On 
 the south side of Market Street the fire extended along Market Street to 
 Fourteenth and below the Southm Pacific tracks to the boundary. 
 
 The Southern Pacific Hospital, at Fourteenth and Mission Streets, 
 was dynamited, among other buildings, the patients having been removed 
 to places of safety. The Linda Vista and the Pleasanton, two large 
 family hotels on Jones Street, in the better part of the city, were also 
 among those blown up to stay the progress of the conflagration. 
 
 Thousands upon thousands of people had fled from the fire by the 
 evening of the second day. They flocked to the ferries, to the parks, to 
 the military reservation and to the suburbs. Residents of the hillsides in 
 
PItlFuL SCENES OF A GREAT CrfV 91 
 
 the central portion of the city seemingly were safe from the roaring 
 furnace that was consuming the business section. They watched the 
 towering mounds of flames, and speculated as to the extent of the territory 
 that was doomed. Suddenly there was whispered alarm up and down 
 the long line of watchers, and they hurried away to drag clothing, cooking 
 utensils and scant provisions through the streets. From Grant Avenue 
 the procession moved westward. Men and women dragged trunks, packed 
 huge bundles of blankets, boxes of provisions — everything. Wagons could 
 not be hired except by paying the most extortionate rates. 
 
 PEOPLE TRAGICALLY CALM. 
 
 But there was no panic. The people were calm, stunned. They did 
 not seem to realize the extent of the calamity. They heard that the city 
 was being destroyed; they told each other in the most natural tone that 
 their residences were destroyed by the flames, but there v\ias no hysteria, 
 no outcry, no criticism. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE DOOMED METROPOLIS A MASS OF 
 SMOLDERING RUINS. 
 
 ONE of our well-known journals commented on the g^reat disaster as 
 follows : 
 
 "The tragedy that has smitten the people of San Francisco with dismay 
 cannot be portrayed yet. It is too vast for the collection of details and the 
 presentation of the awful picture complete. But for the suffering people, 
 whose story is yet to be told, there is an immeasurable sympathy manifest 
 as the best human instincts are aroused to action. 
 
 "Where but a few hours before was a city imperial in its beauty, 
 proud of its history, hopeful of its future, alert, fearless and palpitant with 
 ambition, is a field of smoking w^aste, whose glowing edge creeps outward. 
 Buildings that rose grandly, wrought in steel and costly stone, lie humbled 
 into dust and ashes. Fair mansions, riven and leveled, have vanished. The 
 former home of industry smoulders. Great factories and marts, their 
 clamor stilled, have gone down in ruin. In the vaults of the bank the 
 gold and silver are fused and buried. Where the temple reared to the 
 worship of God sent its spire aloft or the school so lately stood are twin 
 piles of desolation. 
 
 "Sad as is the spectacle of m:.terial destruction, the mind turns rather 
 to the people themselves. They are hungry and cold. Above them the 
 roof is the murky sky, lit by the pyres of a city's hopes and labors. The 
 supplies upon which they depended have been cut oflf. They suffer for food, 
 water, clothing, light, shelter. No thought now 'for the comforts and 
 luxuries of their lost homes. What shall they do? Whither shall they 
 flee? Nearby towns that gladly would help are themselves aghast in the 
 presence of death and disaster; the residents fled to the hills to pray under 
 the stars, while in the distance they see the crumbled houses they dare not 
 visit and the familiar streets their feet dare not tread. 
 
 **The heart of humanity is touched at the knowledge that the helpless 
 92 
 
THE DOOMED METROPOLIS 93 
 
 cry for aid, and response is quick and warm. These fugfitives and 
 homeless are our friends. We have broken bread with them. We have 
 rested within their gates, finding there a gracious hospitahty. They are 
 of our blood and kin. The obligation to respond to the need is stronger 
 than any written law, stronger than the decree spoken by a king. It is the 
 obligation that springs from a feeling more love than pity. It does not 
 furnish the impulse with which one hands dole to a beggar, but the 
 impulse which causes him eagerly to share with a brother and think no 
 gratitude due. 
 
 "Californians would be first to answer a call from the unfortunate. 
 Now that they have been sore distressed, the all-pervading duty is to 
 answer the call that comes from them. It is not the outcry of those who 
 make demand. It is the silent call from people in the shadow of a great 
 sorrow, contemplating the wreck of their desires, searching for their dead, 
 looking with foreboding to the morrow. 
 
 NOBLE RESPONSE FROM OTHER CITIES. 
 
 "Let us do all that is possible to rob that morrow of some of its dark- 
 ness by tribute rich and bountiful and freely bestowed. The great cities 
 of the land nobly have started 'the work. New York, Philadelphia, 
 Boston and other commercial centers are sending money and provisions, 
 and will send. There is no limit to what they will do. No bound has 
 been set to their contribution. Congress has made a large appropriation. 
 
 "In faith and hope the world will disagree, 
 But all mankind's concern is charity. 
 
 "The occasion demands charity; from the basket and store O'f plenty, 
 willing tithes, heaped and running over. Messages of sympathy from all 
 the land are followed by the visible tokens of sincerity. Rivalry in giving 
 is a fraternal contest, and none need fear going to an extreme. The 
 individual of moderate means has an opportunity to aid, while the offering 
 of philanthropists, ever looking for worthy objects, should reach unprec- 
 edented figures. 
 
 "Mortal can hardly discern in the San Francisco calamity aught that 
 faith could construe into a blessing, yet out of it the people of San 
 
94 THE DOOMED METROPOLIS 
 
 Francisco and its environs will learn that friendship leaps a continent to 
 help, when help is needed, and that no community in the land is so remote 
 that it may hear alone its burden of grief, or, unpropped, bend beneath 
 the harshest blow of adversity. 
 
 "The ability of American cities to recover from grievous calamities 
 is well illustrated in the case of Baltimore. Notwithstanding the grreat 
 fire which devastated the city in February, 1904, the police census just 
 completed shows that the municipality has made a very creditable gain in 
 })opulation. The last census taken by the police was in September, 1901, 
 when the population was given at 517,035. The census just taken fixes 
 it at 543,034. The city has made remarkable progress in rehabilitation 
 in every w^ay since the disaster. The restoration of Baltimore is a typical 
 instance of the tremendous pluck and energy and the hopefulness with 
 which American cities rise from colossal misfortune. 
 
 BIRTH OF A NEW METROPOLIS. 
 
 "The same causes which account for the existence of a great city in 
 a certain location continue to assert themselves whatever befalls, and 
 another, greater and fairer municipality appears upon the ruins of the old. 
 Galveston, precariously situated, met its fate in September. 1900, when 
 6000 lives were lost and 7000 buildings, of the estimated value of $18,000,- 
 000, were destroyed, an appalling catastrophe -for a city of that size, or of 
 any size. A new city was immediately begun. The great seawall, intended 
 to prevent a recurrence of the disaster, and the bustling and prosperous 
 community which constitutes the new Galveston, are splendid monuments 
 to American spirit in confronting a discouraging situation. 
 
 "Doctor Johnson said that the conflagration of a city, with all 
 its tumult of concomitant distress, is one of the most dreadful spectacles 
 which the world can offer to human eyes. Such a scene was witnessed 
 in Chicago in 1871, when 100,000 people were made homeless and property 
 of the value of $200,000,000 was destroyed. A year later Boston passed 
 through a similar direful experience. Both cities swiftly recovered from 
 the awful destruction, and to-day the 'burnt district' is only distinguish- 
 able from those which escaped the fire by its superior modern architecture. 
 
 "Nearly $300,000,000 of property was wiped out in these two cities 
 
THE DOOMED METROPOLIS 95 
 
 within thirteen months. How wonderfully the municipalities imme- 
 diately affected survived the shock is a matter of history. At the moment 
 the situation in San Francisco is exceedingly depressing, but not hopeless. 
 The same energy and courage and 'faith that rebuilt other stricken American 
 cities will, it is confidently believed, restore San Francisco in due season." 
 
 From further accounts of the terrible disaster, we learn that the 
 Presidio Reservation, the vast Richmond district of thousands of acres. 
 Golden Gate Park and the surrounding hills resembled one vast camping 
 ground. Tents and improvised covering were erected everywhere, fire- 
 places built in the streets, beds and mattresses thrown down all over the 
 section. The people thus situated were philosophical. 
 
 There was, of course, ever present the danger that the food supply 
 would run out. Every grocery in San Francisco was taken by the authori- 
 ties and each family was being sold only one article at a time. In many 
 places the police and military prohibited overcharging. General Funston 
 announced Thursday morning that rations would soon reach the city, and 
 then the people would be supplied from the Presidio. Bakeries had already 
 been built within the reservation, and the bread supply therefore had not 
 failed completely. 
 
 THE MAYOR'S PROCLAMATION. 
 
 Mayor Schmitz issued the following proclamation Thursday after- 
 noon : 
 
 "The Federal troops, the members of the regular police force and 
 special police officers have been authorized to kill any and all persons 
 engaged in looting or in the commission of any other crime. 
 
 'T have directed all the gas and electric lighting companies not to 
 turn on gas or electricity until I order them to do so. You may, therefore, 
 expect the city to remain in darkness for an indefinite time. 
 
 "I request all citizens to remain at home from darkness until daylight 
 every night until order is restored. 
 
 "I warn all citizens of the danger of fire from damaged or destroyed 
 chimneys, broken or leaking gas pipes or fixtures or any like causes." 
 
 From the water front the burned city could be seen in all its smoky 
 nakedness. From the Pacific Mail dock to Vallejo Street, on the west 
 
96 THE DOOMED METROPOLIS 
 
 side, a distance of two miles, wreckage and ruin was the rule. The filled-in 
 land facing the ferry building was a succession of little valleys, some four, 
 others six feet deep. The ferry tower itself was out O'f plumb, and the big 
 building was much twisted by the earthquake. Looking up Market Street 
 from the ferry building, the city was a smouldering mass of ruins. 
 
 The day w^as bright and warm. The sun beat down on the tired 
 workers and rescuers. There was scarcely any water to relieve the thirst 
 of the suffering. The authorities were doing all in their power to remove 
 the bodies of the dead, in order that a pestilence might be prevented. It 
 had been necessary repeatedly to move the injured from places w^here they 
 had sought refuge, for the fire spread with alarming rapidity. Water was 
 the incessant cry of the firemen and the people ; one wanted it to fight, the 
 others to drink, but there was only a scant drinking supply. 
 
 Reports from the interior were most alarming. Santa Rosa, one of 
 the prettiest cities of the State, in the prosperous county of Sonoma, was 
 a total wreck. There were 10,000 homeless men, women and children 
 huddled together. The loss of life was not to be estimated. 
 
 As the last great seismic tremor spent its force in the earth, the whole 
 business portion tumbled into ruins. The main street was piled many feet 
 deep with the fallen buildings. Not one business building was left intact. 
 
 This destruction included all of the county buildings. The four-story 
 court house, with its high dome, was merely a pile of broken masonry. 
 
 FLED TO FIELDS AND HILLS. 
 
 What was not destroyed by the earthquake had been swept by fire. 
 Until the flames started there was hope of saving the residence district. 
 It was soon apparent that any such idea must be abandoned. This was 
 appreciated by the citizens, and they prepared to desert their homes. Not 
 even their household goods were taken. They made for the fields and hills, 
 to watch the destruction of one of the most beautiful cities of the West, 
 
 A resident of Santa Rosa wrote : 
 
 "There is not a brick or a stone building left standing in Santa Rosa, 
 and the devastated territory has been burned over. Dead bodies were 
 being taken from the debris of wrecked houses on all sides. It is estimated 
 that the death roll will foot up from 200 to 500," 
 
THE DOOMED METROPOLIS 97 
 
 Messengers brought tHe saddest tidings of the destruction of Healds- 
 burg, Geyserville, Cloverdale, Hopland and Ukiah. This report took in 
 the country as far north as Mendocino and Lake Counties and as far west 
 as the Pacific Ocean. These are frontier counties, and have not as large 
 towns as farther south. In every case the loss of life and property was 
 as shocking as in San Francisco. 
 
 In East Oakland there was much damage. The Franklin School, in 
 course of construction, was cracked and will have to be rebuilt. The 
 damage was $50,000. The Rose Brick Company's works were wrecked. 
 The 95-foot brick smokestack tumbled to the earth with a roar. 
 
 Railroads were inactive and all wires were out of commission. Rail- 
 road tracks across the marsh were twisted. The tall chimney at the old 
 oil works fell across the South Side tracks at West Alameda. 
 
 HUNGER AND THIRST ADDS TO SUFFERING. 
 
 San Francisco was the city desolate. It seemed that the acme of its 
 misery was reached when, at dusk of Thursday evening, flames burst from 
 all sides of the beautiful Hotel Fairmount, the structure that, above every 
 other, was apparently most strongly entrenched against the attack of the 
 all-consuming fire. y\.nd surrounding that lofty pinnacle of flame, as far 
 as the eyes could see to the south, to the east and far out to the west, lay 
 in cruel fantastic heaps, charred and smoking, all that remained of the 
 prosperous city. The metropolis of the Pacific Coast was in ashes. 
 
 It was another day of an uneven struggle of man against uncon- 
 querable elements. Acre after acre was ground into dust and ashes, despite 
 the heroic perseverance of the firemen to limit the conflagration. At night 
 there was a hope that the worst had been nearly reached and that, wtien 
 morning dawned, the end would have come; but the liope was faint. 
 
 San Francisco was not disconcerted. Its best and highest class began 
 
 at once to plan for restoration and to care for the stricken ones, and the 
 
 relief was immediate and effective. Total subscriptions of $180,000 were 
 
 announced at night. Arrangements were made for the immediate relief 
 
 of the needy. The baking of 50,000 loaves of bread daily began. Free 
 
 transportation was provided by the Southern Pacific Railway to destitute 
 
 persons desiring to go to interior points. 
 7— S. F. 
 
gg THE DOOMED METROPOLIS 
 
 All efforts to check the spread of the flames at Van Ness Avenue by 
 blowing up a mile of buildings on the east side of Van Ness Avenue 
 proved fruitless. The fire spread across the broad thoroughfare, and the 
 '.entire western addition; which contained the homes of San Francisco's 
 wealthier class, was now doomed. The destruction of the western addition 
 of the city completed the work of the ravaging flames and marked the 
 devastation of the entire city. 
 
 MAD FLIGHT TO SAFETY. 
 
 While the heroic fire-fighters were making the last stand at Van Ne»?i 
 Avenue, panic reigned among the survivors in other parts of the city. Thr 
 intense heat and the absence of water had been so terrible that scores 
 became frantic and others dropped from exhaustion in the streets. The 
 streets were still choked with refugees hurrying hither and thither, scramb- 
 ling wildly for an avenue of escape. 
 
 When the great rush of flames doomed the hotel and apartment house 
 district along Ellis, O'Farrell and Suter Streets, early Thursday morning, 
 men, women and children were rushing or staggering under heavy loads 
 of luggage, some to the ferries at the water front in the hope of getting 
 to Oakland and the east side of the bay, others to the hills, Golden Gate 
 Park, the ocean beach, the Presidio and San Mateo Bay. 
 
 The trip to the hills and to the water front was one of terrible hard- 
 ship. Famishing women and children and exhausted men w^re compelled 
 to walk seven miles around the north shore in order to avoid the flames 
 and reach the ferries. Many dropped to the street under the weight of 
 their loads, and willing fathers and husbands, their strength almost gone, 
 strove to pick up and urge them forward again. 
 
 In the panic many mad things were being done. Even soldiers were 
 obliged in many instances to prevent men and women, made insane from 
 the misfortune that engulfed them, from rushing into doomed buildings 
 in the hope of saving valuables from the ruins. In nearly every instance 
 such action resulted in death to those who tried it. At Larkin and Sutcr 
 Streets two men and a woman broke from the police and rushed into a 
 burning apartment house, never to reappear. 
 
 Probably 200,000 refugees were struggling to get out of the burning 
 
THE DOOMED METROPOLIS 99 
 
 city, and hourly the task was becoming more difficult, as the fire and heat 
 cut off avenue after avenue of escape. The streets were filled with strug- 
 gling people, some crying and weeping and calling for missing loved ones. 
 Crowding all sidewalks in the threatened area were hundreds upon hun- 
 dreds of householders attempting to drag some of their effects to places of 
 safety. In some instances men with ropes were dragging trunks tandem 
 style, others having sewing machines strapped to the trunks. Again, 
 women were rushing for the hills, carrying on their arms only the family 
 cat or bird cage. 
 
 There was no aid for anyone from outside sources. In the awful 
 scramble for safety fhe half-crazed survivors disregarded everything but 
 the thought of themselves and their property. In every excavation and 
 hole throughout the north beach householders were burying household 
 effects, throwing them into ditches and covering the holes. Attempts were 
 made to mark the graves of the property so that it could be recovered 
 after the flames were appeased. Sufferers were invading the few buildings 
 that remained in the hope of finding something to eat. They only desisted 
 when warned or shot by the soldiers. 
 
 At the ferry building a crowd of a thousand people were gathered 
 begging for food and transportation across the bay. Hundreds had not 
 even ten cents car fare to Oakland. Most of the refugees at this point 
 were Chinamen and Italians, who fled from their burned tenements with 
 little or no personal property. 
 
 SUFFERING HUNGER'S PANGS. 
 
 The suffering of many from hunger was pitiful. A mob of a hundred 
 or more robbed a bread wagon and took the contents. The police made 
 an attempt to interfere, but were powerless. Bread was arriving from 
 Berkeley and Oakland and was being distributed in the north end of town 
 by the relief parties organized by Mayor Schmitz. 
 
 Thousands of people slept in the hills at night or stood gazing with 
 grim faces on the lurid scenes below. Women and children and little babies 
 in arms were huddled together with the injured. In Golden Gate Park 
 the people were camping, with gnawing hunger the companion of all. The 
 wails of the injured and the calls of frantic survivors for friends and 
 
 LOFe. 
 
100 THE DOOMED METROPOLIS 
 
 relatives who were missing w^ere pitiful. These crowds were constantly 
 increasing, and the relief committees were doing all in their power to 
 get bedding and food for the homeless. 
 
 Expressmen were charging from ten to fifty dollars to haul a load of 
 baggage or give any aid to refugees. Liquor stores in the north end were 
 broken into by thieves, and hundreds of men were carrying away bottled 
 liquors when soldiers arrived. The men had to be clubbed by the military 
 before they would drop the bottles. Soldiers smashed the bottles on the 
 stones and drove the mob at the point of the bayonet. 
 
 When the mansions on Nob Hill, the Fairmount Hotel and Mark 
 Hopkins Institute were approached by the flames, many attempts were 
 made to remove some of the priceless works of art from the buildings. A 
 crowd of soldiers was sent to the Flood and Huntington mansions and 
 the Hopkins Institute to rescue the paintings. From the Huntington home 
 and the Flood mansion canvases were cut from the framework with knives. 
 The collections in the three buildings were valued in the hundreds of 
 thousands. Few were saved from the ravages of the fire. 
 
 Five hundred cadets of the University of California entered the city 
 to aid in the enforcement of martial law. The young collegians had orders 
 to shoot without warning those caught looting. In many parts of the town 
 where the crowds of survivors were the wildest, it was almost impossible 
 to get around save at the point of a pistol. The soldiers w€re disarming 
 every person seen with a weapon. 
 
 A MULTITUDE CRAZED BY THIRST. 
 
 The only institution on Market Street able to do business was, accord- 
 ing to a reliable business man, th>s Market Street Bank, at Seventh and 
 Market Streets. Although the upper part of this building and every 
 building near it was wiped out, the space occupied by the bank was 
 undamaged. A sign posted in the window stated that the bank would 
 be open for business as soon as it was considered safe. 
 
 The greatest suffering among the thousands of homeless people was 
 from thirst. Although the earthquake shocks had broken water mains in 
 probably hundreds of places, strange to say, no water, or very little, at least, 
 appeared on the surface of the ground. 
 
THE DOOMED METROPOLIS 101 
 
 At Powell and Market Streets a small stream of water spurted up 
 through the cobblestones and formed a muddy pool. At this pool hundreds 
 of people knelt and drank, women as well as men. In many places men 
 took as many bottles of liquor as they could carry out of the groceries, 
 but few of them succeeded in getting away with thein. Wherever the 
 soldiers saw a. man with a bottle of liquor they forced him to give it up at 
 the point of the bayonet, and immediately smashed the bottle on the ground. 
 The work of the regular soldiers in suppressing disorder is worthy 
 of the greatest praise. Everywhere they showed the hig'hest degree of 
 courage. They did not hesitate to shoot whenever they found anyone 
 looting, and probably twenty victims fell before them during Thursday. 
 
 HEROIC ^VORKING FIREMEN. 
 
 While firemen were blowing up a cable power house at Suter and 
 Polk Streets and the McNutt Hospital and the St. Dunston apartments, 
 nearby, in a vain effort to check the flames, the steeple of St. Mary's 
 Cathedral, a Catholic edifice, which had withstood the earthquake shock, 
 caught fire. A fireman with a hose tied to his belt scaled the high steeple 
 and played a stream on the flames and the blaze was extinguished. Thou- 
 sands of people cheered the heroic deed and the handsome building was 
 saved. 
 
 When the fire on the easterly slope of Nob Hill was eating its way 
 toward Telegraph Hill, the firemen finally managed to get a stream of salt 
 water from the bay, pumped through a hose one mile long. This delayed 
 the progress of the conflagration. 
 
 The reply of a grizzled fire engineer, standing at the corner of 
 O'Farrel Street and Van Ness Avenue, beside a blackened engine, may not 
 have been as terse as Hugo's guard at Waterloo, but the pathos of it could 
 have been no greater. In answer to the question of what he proposed to 
 do, he said : 
 
 "We are waiting for it to come. When it gets here we will make one 
 more stand. If it crosses Van Ness Avenue the city is gone." 
 
 This avenue is ninety feet wide, and the possibilities of checking the 
 march of the flames there looked hopeful. Orders were given to concentrate 
 every fire engine in the city at this avenue, to marshal soldiers, police and 
 
THE DOOMED METROPOLIS 
 a'li workers, and make one last stand to save the remainder of the city. 
 Huge cannons were drawn to the avenue to aid the dynamiters in blow'ing 
 up the mansions of the millionaires on the east side of Van Xess Avenue. 
 Every available pound of dynamite was hauled to this point, and the 
 sight was one of stupendous and appalling havoc, as the cannons were 
 trained on the palaces and the shot tore into the walls and toppled the 
 buildings in crushing ruins. At other points dynamite was used, and 
 house after house, the dwellings of millionaires, were lifted into the air 
 by the power of the bellowing blast and dropped to the earth a mass of 
 dust and debris. The work was dangerous, and many of the men. who 
 kept working for forty-eight hours without sleep and scarcely any food, 
 may have been killed while making this last desperate stand. 
 
 FLIGHT FROM ST. FRANCIS HOTEL. 
 
 By the burning of the St. Francis Hotel, which was consumed, 
 $4,000,000 went up in smoke. This magnificent caravansery, wdiich at 
 the time of its destruction was being enlarged at enormous expense, was 
 filled with guests. The opera singers at this 'hotel, as well as those at the 
 Palace Hotel, lost their all, with the exception of several violins valued at 
 $12,000, which were saved from the flames at the eleventh hour by Nathan 
 Franko, the musical director of the company. Costumes, scenery, personal 
 belongings and musical instruments, everything, succumbed to the flames. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 HEROISM OF BRAVE MEN FIGHTING FOR LIFE. 
 
 THE following graphic account of the awful horror, written by an eye- 
 witness, will have a mournful interest to all readers. It describes the 
 scene the next day after the disaster, and we reproduce it just as it was 
 written, at Oakland: 
 
 San Francisco is apparently gone. To the west, across the bay, there 
 is nothing but a great cloud of smoke, shot with streams of fire, and 
 shaken now and then with the dynamite explosions by which they are 
 trying vainly to check it. The fire is now everywhere. 
 
 Every refugee who makes his way to us through the smoke cloud 
 brings news of a new region burning and gone. As nearly as we cart 
 learn, it has run all the way down the Mission Valley, taking the little 
 houses of the working people, leaped up the California street hill, taking 
 Chinatown in its path, and swept away the mansions which have crowned 
 the city, and is breaking out sporadically in the western addition, where 
 live the prosperous people. 
 
 So it has spared nothing, for the business district is already gone, 
 and the fire is reaching further and further every hour into the tenement 
 district to the South. It has taken all the thickly crowded parts of the 
 tenement district and is reaching toward the thinly scattered parts on the 
 Potrero. How much wnll be left when the fires finally burn down and go 
 out we cannot dare to guess. If there is anything left, it will be the hills 
 of the western addition. It is hard to see how anything else, absolutely 
 anything, can escape. 
 
 Without sleep, many of us without food, we watched all night, all day, 
 looking off toward that veil of f.'e and smoke which hides from us the 
 city which has become a hell. Back of the sheet of fire and retreating 
 backward every hour must be most of the people of the city, forced toward 
 the Pacific by the gradual advance of the flames. 
 
 Thank heaven for the open space of the F'residio and for Golden 
 
 103 
 
104 HEROISM OF BRAVE MEN 
 
 Gate Park! The great park runs on its western extent past a thinly 
 populated district. The flames cannot leap across that; it will shelter the 
 inhabitants on their last stand. The Presidio, wide-spreading- and with 
 only a few houses, is also safe, provided that the ^forests which form part 
 of its area do not catch fire. There is at least an escape ; but half the people 
 \vhom the fires have cut off from the water front and an escape from the 
 peninsula are homeless. 
 
 This afternoon a launch ventured out from Oakland water front and 
 made the run as far as the Gate. The bay is overhung with smoke, but 
 a change of the wind blew^ a rift as they passed the western addition, w^hich 
 stands on the hills skirting the bay. Through this rift the passengers 
 could see sporadic fires in a dozen places and the little black forms of men 
 fighting the flames without wiater. 
 
 for a rain! The time of heavy rains is over; but often at this 
 season of the year there comes a gentle and soaking spring rain. We cannot 
 see the heavens for the smoke; but the feel of the air is dry, and even 
 that mercy seems to be denied. 
 
 At intervals news comes to us from the refugees of what is doing 
 behind the smoke cloud. It appears that the area of the flames spread all 
 night. People wdio had decided that their houses were outside of the 
 danger area, and had decided to pass the night, e\^en after the terrible 
 experience of the shake-up, under their roo'fs, hourly gave it up and strug- 
 gled to the parks. There they lay in blankets, their choicest valuables by 
 their sides, and the soldiers kept watch and order. 
 
 BUCKET BRIGADE FOR THIRSTY. 
 
 There is no water in the mains, and the chief suffering w'as from 
 thirst. The soldiers, disregarding the order not to let people move about, 
 permitted bucket brigades to go forth and bring back water to relieve the 
 women and the crying children. To reach the water it was necessary 
 sometimes to go a mile to one of the four reservoirs which top the hills. 
 
 1 talked to one man who slept in Alta Plaza. The fire was going on 
 in the district south of them, and at intervals all night exhausted fire- 
 fighters made their way to the plaza and dropped, with the breath out of 
 them, among the huddled people and the bundles of household goods. The 
 
HEROISM OF BRAVE MEN 106 
 
 soldiers, who are administering affairs with all the justice of judges and all 
 the devotion of heroes, kept three or four buckets of water, even from the 
 women, for these men, who kept coming all the night long. There was a 
 little food, also kept by the soldiers for these emergencies, and the sergeant 
 had in his charge one precious bottle of whisky, from which he doled out 
 drinks to those who were utterly exhausted. 
 
 Over in a corner of the plaza a band of men and women were praying, 
 and one fanatic, driven crazy by horror, was crying out 'at the top of his 
 voice : "The Lord sent it, the Lord !" 
 
 His hysterical crying got in the nerves of the soldiers and bade fair 
 to start a panic among the women and children, so the sergeant went over 
 and stopped it by force. All night they huddled together in this hell, with 
 the fire making it bright as day on all sides; and in the morning the 
 soldiers, using their sense again, commandeered a supply of bread from 
 a bakery, sent out another water squad, and fed the refugees with a 
 semblance of breakfast. 
 
 There was one woman in the crowd who had been separated from her 
 husband in a rush of the smoke and did not know w'hether he was living. 
 The women attended to her all night and in the morning the soldiers passed 
 her through the lines in her search. A few Chinese made their way into the 
 crowd. They were trembling, pitifully scared and willing to stop wherever 
 the soldiers placed them. This is only a glimpse of the horrible night in 
 the parks and open places. 
 
 RICH CARE FOR SHELTERLESS. 
 
 We learn here that many of the well-to-do people in the upper residence 
 district have gathered in the strangers from the highways and byways and 
 given them shelter and comfort for the night in their living rooms. Shelter 
 seems to have come more easily than food. Not an ounce of supplies, of 
 course, has come in for two days, and most of the permanent stores are in 
 the hands of the soldiers, who dole them out to all comers alike. But the 
 hungry cannot always find the military stores, and the news has not gotten 
 about, since there are no newspapers and no regular means of communica- 
 tion. 
 
 An Italian tells me that he was taken in by a family living in a three- 
 
106 HEROISM OF BRAVE MEN 
 
 Story house in the fashionable Pacific Avenue. There were twenty refugees 
 who passed the night in the drawing room of that house, whose mistress 
 took down hangings to make them comfortable. In the morning all the 
 food that was left over in that home of wealth was enough flour and baking 
 powder to shake together a breakfast for the refugees. They were hardly 
 ready to leave that house when the fire came their way, and the people 
 of the house, together with the refugees, who included two Chinese, made 
 their way to the open ground of the Presidio. With them streamed a 
 procession of folks carrying valuables in bundles. 
 
 There came out, too, tales of both heroism and crime. The firemen had 
 been at it for thirty-six hours under such conditions as firemen never before 
 faced, and they do little more than give directions, w*hile the volunteers, 
 thousands of young Western men who have remained to see it through, do 
 the work. The troops have all that they can do to handle the crowds in 
 the streets and prevent panics. The work of dynamiting, tearing down and 
 rescuing is in the hands of the volunteers. 
 
 A YOUNG MAN'S HEROISM. 
 
 This morning an eddy of flame from the edge of the burning wholesale 
 district ran up the slope of Russian Hill, the highest eminence in the city. 
 All along che edge of that hill and up the slopes are little frame houses which 
 hold Italians and Mexicans. A corps of volunteeer aides ran along the edge 
 of the fire, warning people out of the houses. P)Ut the flames ran too fast 
 and three women were caught in the upper story of an old frame house. A 
 young man tore a rail frcnn a fence, managed to climb it, and reached the 
 window. He bundled one woman out and slid her down the rail; then the 
 roof caught fire. He seized another woman and managed to drop her or. 
 the rail, down which she slid without hurting herself a great deal. But the 
 roof fell while he was struggling with another woman and they fell together 
 into the flames. There must have been hundreds of such heroisms and 
 dozens of such catastrophes. 
 
 We are so drunken and dulled by horror that we take such stories calmly 
 now. We are saturated. 
 
 There is a darker side, too. At least four men have been shot for loot- 
 ing. There are no wharf rats in the world worse than those whicli infest 
 
HEROISM OF BRAVE MEN 107 
 
 the San Francisco water front. Terror and the presence of troops kept most 
 of these people penned up in the Portsmouth Square with the Chinese on 
 the first day. Then a pohceman shot one of them, and this had a good ef- 
 fect. But to-day they broke loose, and, joining with the rescuers, began to 
 go through the buildings. 
 
 In the early afternoon one of these cattle came staggering out of a 
 wine house on Green Street, his arms filled with champagne bottles, and 
 already half drunk with brandy which he had found in the wreck, A 
 soldier of the Thirteenth caught and held him. The orders of the troops 
 are discretionary. The soldiers in charge stood him against the burning 
 building and shot him before he knew what they were going to do. Three 
 others were shot in the back on the run as they tried to get away with 
 their plunder. There must have been a great deal more of this. 
 
 FATE OF SPLENDID BUILDINGS. 
 
 What can one say in detail of the disaster, except that the whole town 
 not already burned must go? The business district, including all of the 
 big structures which escaped the fire of the first day, is gone. To-day, the 
 flames have taken the Merchants' Exchange building, brand new, and ten 
 stories high, and Mechanics' Pavilion, which, after housing prize fights, 
 conventions and great balls, found its last use as an emergency hospital. 
 When it was seen that it could not last every vehicle in sight was impressed 
 by the, troops, and the wounded, some of them frightfully mangled, were 
 taken to the Presidio, where they will be out of danger and find comfort 
 in tents. The physicians are working on, without sleep and almost without 
 food. There is food, however, for the injured — the soldiers have seen to 
 that. Even the soldiers are flagging and are keeping guard in relays, while 
 the relieved men sleep on the ground where they have dropped. 
 
 Early in the day the fire struck Union Square, the prettiest park in 
 the city, where stands the St. Francis Hotel. On the way it burned up the 
 house of the Bohemian, Pacific Union and Family clubs and the big retail 
 shops along Post Street. The separate fire in the residence district took 
 St. Luke's, the biggest Episcopal church. There is no word of the fate 
 of the First Presbyterian, which stands only a block away, but this must 
 have gone with St. Luke's. 
 
108 HEROISM OF BRAVE MEN 
 
 When day broke the fire was running into the Mission district. This 
 is a low country wihch runs from the terminus of Market Street to the 
 suburbs. In a general way it is the habitation of the aristocracy of the 
 working class, although it is sprinkled with old-time residences, notably 
 the house of James D. Phelan, a former Mayor of San Francisco. This 
 went, too. Everything that is attacked goes. The dynamite only checks 
 it. Nothing but rain can save the city now. 
 
 SEEN FROM THE OCEAN. 
 
 The Cliff House, which stood on a precipice over the ocean facing the 
 rocks where the seals barked all the year round, was not much damaged. 
 This news was confirmed to-day by the captain of a little schooner which 
 shot the Gate without a tow and managed miraculously to make dockage in 
 Oakland. Far out at sea he saw the city as a puff of smoke which became 
 a blinding haze as he crawled nearer to land. He reports vessels standing 
 off the heads, afraid to venture in because of the smoke and the lack of 
 tows. All day vessels in the harbor, fearing that the fire might reach them 
 in some way, pulled out through the Gate. There are rumors that some of 
 them collided and sank. 
 
 Along the wharves the fire tugs, of whose work little has been heard, 
 have saved most of the docks. But now the Pacific Mail dock has been 
 reached and is out of control, and finally China Basin, which was filled in 
 for a freight yard at the expense of $1,000,000, has sunk into the bav anfl 
 the water is over the tracks. This is one of the greatest single losses in the 
 whole disaster. 
 
 There is no use in going any further with the detailed news of the 
 damage. Except the better residence district, which has not gone yet, 
 but is going fast, and the outlying suburbs, you may include everything 
 else in the list — lall gone, skyscrapers, business blocks, hotels, churches, 
 public institutions, even hospitals. The Southern Pacific Hospital in the 
 Mission went yesterday morning. It is reported that a set of improvised 
 ambulances got the patients away safe, although no one knows here where 
 they were taken. The regular City Hospital, so far out of town that it must 
 be spared, is crowded, even to mattresses on the floors. Many bodies were 
 left in the ruin of the Valencia Hotel, 17th and Valencia Streets, and 
 
HEROISM OF BRAVE MEN 109 
 
 they will now be consumed in the flames. In fact, this must happen all 
 over the city. 
 
 Anyone who knows San Francisco must realize that in the first tumble 
 of the tenement house district south of Market Street many little crazy 
 structures must have gone by the board. Each of these probably buried its 
 two or three victims, and now the hot rush of flames has gone over the 
 district, so that bodies will be consumed utterly. For this reason it is 
 unlikely that anyone will ever know just how many people were killed. 
 An estimate of the dead grows more and more difficult as the fire goes on. 
 
 Not even the parks, the camping ground of the desolate city to-night, 
 have been spared. Golden Gate Park is topped by a round hill, at the top 
 of which there stood a great, open arcade, used as a playground for 
 children. That is in ruins, and the roof of the tropical conservatory, the 
 pride of the park system, is down. In Union Square, where stood the St. 
 Francis Hotel and where many people slept last night before the flames 
 reached it, the Dewey Monument, a high shaft of granite and bronze, has 
 shifted from its base and is leaning like the Tower of Pisa. The troops 
 kept people away from it all last night. 
 
 The seat of city government and of military authority has shifted 
 with every shift of the flames. Mayor Schmitz and General Funston are 
 sticking close together and keeping in touch with the firemen, the police, 
 the volunteer aides and the Committee of Safety through couriers. 
 
 GUN COTTON USED. 
 
 There are louder reverberations along the fire line to-night, and we 
 know from this that the supply of gun cotton and cordite from the 
 Presidio have been commandeered and that the troops and the few re- 
 maining firemen are making their last stand at about Van Ness Avenue, 
 which crosses the residence district, to save what remains of the Western 
 Addition. The regular supplies of dynamite and giant powder are already 
 gone, and a requisition was passed into the military authorities early in 
 the day. 
 
 Much damage has been done by ignorant, careless and premature 
 use of explosives. This morning, when the fire reached the Municipal 
 Building on Portsmouth Square, the nurses, helped by soldiers, got out 
 
110 HEROISM OF BRAVE MEN 
 
 fifty bodies in the temporary morgue and a number of patients in the 
 receiving hospital. Just after they reached the street a building was blown 
 up, and the flying bricks and splinters hurt several of the soldiers who 
 had to be taken to the out-of-door Presidio Hospital with the patients. 
 
 And the troops have shut down with iron hands on the city. For 
 where one man was homeless last night five are homeless to-night. With 
 the fire running all along the water front, few have managed to make 
 their way over to Oakland ; the people are prisoners in the peninsula. 
 
 There were barely enough soldiers to hold the people in last night, 
 and now their work is multiplied by five. They are taking no chances. 
 They are enforcing the rule against moving about, except to escape the 
 flames, and no one absolutely can enter the city who has once left. All 
 this we get second-hand from the refugees who have made their way over 
 by boat and ferry. 
 
 SAD PROCESSION COME IN. 
 
 The horror of it has spread to Oakland; but we are hardly sensible 
 of it in our contemplation of the greater horror behind that cloud of smoke. 
 National Guardsmen, realizing the danger caused by the refugees piling 
 up in Oakland, have put us also under practical martial law. Rooms in 
 hotels would sell at ten times their regular price were there any to sell. 
 There are few instances of extortion in this respect; the people in their 
 present temper would not stand it. But every few minutes there float 
 through the suburbs into town those processions of miserable, smoke- 
 blackened, haggard, w^eeping people. 
 
 Now and then you recognize some man, dressed like a tramp, dirty, 
 dragging a miserable woman, as a prosperous business man or a sleek 
 clerk whom you have known in San Francisco. They come to us hungry, 
 mainly penniless, fairly begging something to eat from the public kitchens 
 which the soldiers have set up in the streets. Public halls, the basements 
 of churches and the squares have been set apart for their use. Such houses 
 as hav^ accommodations to spare are being used for the s'ck, the wounded 
 and the scorched who are arriving every hour. 
 
 In addition to those injured by falling walls and by fire, many frail 
 women and delicate children have broken down with exhaustion and with 
 
HEROISM OF BRAVE MEN 111 
 
 actual disease caused by the exposure. News came of one woman who has 
 been dragged from park to park since the first shock and who was finally 
 got out by boat last night, dying to-night with her new-born child, of a 
 little girl dead with pneumonia, of a man suffering from internal injuries 
 Who succumbed on the boat on the way over. 
 
 Such was the pitiful story of agony and death that this eye-witness 
 narrated. San Francisco sat in the waste of her ruins awaiting the time 
 when the flames that had already taken out her vitals should have worn 
 themselves out through the very lack of that fuel. Hope was gone. The 
 whole city seemed doomed. With black ruin covering more than seven 
 square miles in its very heart, the city now waited in a stupor the inevitable 
 reign of starvation and possible anarchy that must crowd close upon the 
 disaster. The flames were eating out the centnal residence portion about 
 the Western Addition and fashionable Pacific Heights. 
 
 After sucking dry even the sewers, the fire engines were either aban- 
 doned or moved to the outlying districts in the vain hope that the water 
 mains broken by the earthquake might be repaired in time to permit of a 
 final stand being made ag^ainst the whirlwind march of the flames. 
 
 "No more dynamite ! No more dynamite !" a fireman ran shrieking 
 up Ellis Street past the doomed Flood Building at 2 o'clock Friday 
 morning, and as he ran tears sprang from his smoke-smirched eyes. "No 
 more dynamite !" moaned the crowd that stood in the glare of approaching 
 flames. "No more dynamite and we are lost!" 
 
 DUMB, HOPELESS DESPAIR. 
 
 So at 2 o'clock, with the explosive exhausted and not a dozen streams 
 of water being thrown in the entire fire zone, the stunned fire-fighters and 
 the stupid people sat still to watch the remnant of the city burn. There 
 was no help. Water gone, po\yder gone, hope even now a fiction, the 
 fair city by the Golden Gate was doomed to be blotted from the sight of 
 man. 
 
 The stricken people, who wandered through the streets in pathetic 
 hopelessness and sat upon their scattered belongings, reached the stage of 
 dumb, uncaring despair. A city dissolving before their eyes had no signifi- 
 cance longer. 
 
112 HEROISM OF BRAVE MEN 
 
 Marius sitting among the ruins of Carthage saw not such a sight as 
 presented itself in the dim haze of the smoke pall across the bay. Ruins, 
 stark naked, yawning at fearful angles and pinnacled into a thousand 
 fearsome shapes marked the site of what was three-fourths of the total 
 area of the city. 
 
 There was no business quarter — it was gone. There was no longer 
 a hotel district, a theatre, a place where night beckoned to pleasure. Every- 
 thing gone. Only a part of the residence domain of the city remained, 
 and the jaws of disaster were closing down on that with relentless deter- 
 mination. All of the city south of Market Street, even down to Islais 
 Creek and out as far as Valencia Street, was a smouldering ruin. 
 
 Into the Western Addition and the Pacific Avenue heights three broad 
 fingers of red were feeling their way with a speed that foretold the destruc- 
 tion of a major part of the palaces of the city. There was no longer a 
 downtown district. A blot of black spread from East Street to Oaklavia 
 and 1)ounded on the south and north by Broadway and Washington 
 Streets and Islais Creek, respectively. 
 
 GRIM, BLACKENED RUINS. 
 
 Not a bank stood. There were no longer -any exchanges, insurance 
 offices, real estate offices, all that once represented the financial heart of 
 the city and its industrial strength. Go up Market Street from the Ferry 
 Building to Valencia Street and nothing but the black fingers of jagged 
 ruins point to the sniake blanket that presses low overhead. Visit wbat 
 was once California, Sansome and Montgomery Streets and you must 
 ask a fireman to direct you out of the labyrinth of grim, blackened walls. 
 
 Chinatown is no more. Union Square is a barren district. The Call 
 Building is head above the ruin like some leprous thing, with all its windows 
 like staring eyes that look upon nothing but a wilderness. The great 
 Flood Building is a hollow shell. The St. Francis Hotel, one time place 
 of luxury, is naught but a box of stone and steel. 
 
 Yet the flames leaped on exultantly. They danced, they roared, in 
 bacchanalian glee. They leaped chasms like a waterfall taking a precipice. 
 Now they were here, now there, always passing on, on to the west and 
 through to the end of the city. 
 
HEROISM OF BRAVE MEN lU 
 
 Nob Hill the people of San Francisco call that first rise to the long 
 abrupt hill which tops the city. Here, along two blocks of California 
 Street, in the first flush of the wild middle period of San Francisco history, 
 the Croesuses of the time built homes as pretentious as any in the country. 
 Ill luck seemed to folow them. In few of the houses did the owners live 
 for more than a short time, and three of the greatest have passed into 
 the hands of public institutions. 
 
 From the edge of Chinatown, marked by old St. Mary's Church, the 
 California Street hill rises so abruptly that walking is difficult, and the 
 only common carrier which can climb it is a San Francisco cable car. 
 At Taylor Street it turns into a false summit and the street runs about 
 level for two or three blocks. On the shoulder of this hill stood the 
 Stanford mansion, a square three-story house of gray stone, built by 
 Senator Stanford in the seventies. At the time when he was United 
 States Senator from California he and Mrs. Stanford entertained lavishly. 
 Then followed the death of their son, the retirement of Mrs. Stanford 
 from society, and the founding of the Leland Stanford, Junior, University. 
 After 1890 the house was hardly ever occupied, the Stanfords living at 
 their country estate in Menlo Park or abroad. In her late life Mrs. 
 Stanford gave one or two receptions there for the alumni and faculty of 
 Stanford. 
 
 , MAGNIFICENT GIFT TO THE UNIVERSITY. 
 
 When, before her death, Mrs. Stanford turned over her whole property 
 to the university, she gave this mansion, too, stipulating that she should 
 have possession of it during her lifetime. After that it was to be used 
 as an allied college of Stanford. The trustees had been debating ever 
 since her death upon a proper use for it. The probability is that it would 
 have been used as the foundation of a medical school, which Stanford 
 now lacks. 
 
 The next house up the street, and the greatest of its time in San 
 Francisco, was the Mark Hopkins house. This, too, belonged to a uni- 
 versity, for in the last ten years the University of California has held it 
 as an art school. It was a great castle of dark gray stone, which stood 
 
 above the city like a citadel. 
 8— s. F. 
 
114 HEROISM OF BRAVE MEN 
 
 It occupied a block of land of its own, and the fall of the hill on that 
 block is very abrupt. Below it, on the lowest point of the land, were the 
 old stables, so set that a stone thrown level from the lowest basement door 
 ■would fall on the roof of the stables. Set on the side hill, it varied in 
 height, but on its highest side was five stories. It w-as topped by a tower, 
 from which there was a magnificent view on all sides of San Francisco 
 Bay. 
 
 The Hopkinses never entertained so lavishly as the Stanfords. After 
 the death of Mark Hopkins his widow remarried, went East, and finally, 
 carrying out the wishes O'f both her husbands, she gave the building to 
 the University of California as an art school. In the basement and stables 
 the university has maintained the best art school in the West. The house 
 proper was used mainly for galleries and loan exhibitions. There, every 
 year, the Art Association gave a Mardi Gras ball, which was one of the 
 great social features of the San Francisco winter. 
 
 MONEY TO REMAIN IN CALIFORNIA. 
 
 Just across the street from the Hopkins and Stanford m'ansions stood 
 the new Fairmount Hotel. When the Fair wnll contest was over, Mrs. 
 W. K. Vanderbilt, Jr., and Mrs. Herman Oelrichs, the principal heirs, 
 announced that they would not take the money out of the West, In Cali- 
 fornia James Fair had made his millions, and in California they shouM 
 remain. Already they owned great parts of the wholesale district, now 
 wiped clean by fire ; and a great part of the ready money they invested in 
 the building of this hotel. 
 
 It was of white stone, not high, but broad, and it stood on the corner 
 of the hill, so that in the panorama of the hills as one approached on the 
 bay this spot of white was the first thing which caught the eye. It was 
 designed to accommodate about 500 guests in a manner equaling the best 
 that New York could do. When it was started San Francisco people shook 
 their heads and said that it w\as a folly; yet so great was the prosperity 
 of the city and so great the demand for first-class accommodations that 
 San Francisco men were preparing to lease it and open it, and were even 
 thinking about an addition. 
 
 Diagonally across the street from the Hopkins mansion stood the 
 
HEROISM OF BRAVE MEN 116 
 
 house of Collis P. Huntington, wide, substantial and elegant. This shared 
 the fate of the others, Huntington built it, lived in it a little time, left it, 
 and came back only for an occasional visit. In the end neither he nor his 
 wife cared for it. Huntington was not popular in California in his later 
 years, but when he died he cast coals of fire on his critics, for he letft the 
 house to the people of San Francisco for charity. 
 
 His widow and executrix had the idea of making it a hospital for 
 women, but nothing had been decided and the house had stood with 
 drawn blinds since his death. Further down the street were the residences 
 of Henry and Will Crocker. In the latter was the best art collection on 
 the Pacific Coast since the dispersion of the collection of Henry T. Scott. 
 It includes — or included — many fine Corots and several canvases of Millet, 
 including the famous "Man With a Hoe," 
 
 Refugees at Oakland from San Francisco told thrilling stories of their 
 awful experiences during the earthquake of Wednesday morning and the 
 fire which followed. Among those who found themselves stranded were 
 John Singleton, a Los Angeles millionaire, his wife and her sister. The 
 Singletons were staying at the Palace Hotel when the earthquake shock 
 occurred, 
 
 DOLLAR FOR AN EGG. 
 
 Mr. Singleton said of his experience : "The shock wrecked the rooms 
 in which we were sleeping. We managed to get our clothes on and got 
 out immediately. We had been at the hotel only two days, and left 
 probably $3000 worth of personal effects in the rooms. After leaving 
 the Palace we secured an express wagon for twenty-five dollars to take 
 us to the Casino, near Golden Gate Park, where we stayed Wednesday 
 night. On Thursday morning we managed to get a conveyance at enor- 
 mous cost, and spent the entire day in getting to the Palace. We paid 
 a dollar apiece for eggs and a dollar for a loaf of bread. On these and a 
 little ham we had to be satisfied. We reached Oakland on a ferryboat, 
 and are now trying to get back to Los Angeles." 
 
 Mr. Singleton, like thousands of others in Oakland, found himself 
 wtihout funds, and, as there were no banks open and none would be open 
 until Monday, he had difficulty in securing cash until he met someone who 
 
116 HEROISM OF BRAVE MEN 
 
 knew him. Persons who found themselves without money in Oakland 
 were numerous, but those who were unable to buy food were being supplied 
 by the local relief committees and by the various churches, which were 
 thrown open to accommodate the homeless from across the bay. 
 
 A Western Union telegraph operator who made a tour of San Fran- 
 cisco sent the following report to the East : 
 
 "The thousands who spent Thursday night out of doors were fairly 
 comfortable, most of them being sheltered by tents. Considerable distress, 
 however, was caused by a heavy fog which came up,during the night, and 
 also by dew. Chinamen are in evidence about the ferry house by the 
 thousands, all of them waiting anxiously to get out of the city, and all 
 of them carrying big bundles. The principal food of those wlio remain 
 in the city is composed of canned goods and crackers. The refugees who 
 succeed in getting out of San Francisco are met as soon as they enter the 
 neighboring towns by representatives of bakers, who have made large 
 supplies of bread and who immediately deal them out to the hungry people." 
 
 TUGS TO RESCUE OF CROWDS. 
 
 Michael Williams, city editor of the San Francisco Examiner, made 
 the following statement Friday : 
 
 "Shortly before lo o'clock I boarded the Government steamboat 
 'Governor Sternberg,' having on board members of the San Francisco 
 Relief Committee, under orders from Colonel Reynolds, commander of 
 the Twenty-second Infantry, to commandeer all available tugs along the 
 water front to go to the rescue of at least 10,000 men, women and children 
 congregated in the neighborhood of Meiggs wharf, who were menaced 
 by the march of flames toward Telegraph and Russian Hills and the valley 
 between. 
 
 "Around Meiggs wharf there are several huge oil tanks, some of 
 them containing at least 15,000 gallons of oil. If the flames reach these 
 tanks fearful explosions will result. The people were flocking to the 
 wharves and crowding into all available craft." 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 FAMINE AND PESTILENCE FOLLOW EARTHQUAKE 
 
 AND FIRE. 
 
 OVER the smoking- remnant of what was San Francisco hope dawned 
 on the mornig of the third day. The ordeal of earthquake and fire 
 had beerf passed. The perils of famine and pestilence remained to be 
 faced, but the sons of the pioneers of forty-nine were facing them with 
 undaunted hearts. 
 
 For lack of fuel on which to feed, the miles of flame were gradually 
 burning themselves out. They had eaten out the city's heart and had 
 spared perhaps one-fourth of its outlying area. All else was a waste of 
 ashes and tumbled masonry. 
 
 Huddled in camps of refuge, bivouaced under the billowy smoke from 
 their burnig homes, San Francisco's wealthy and poor alike arose from 
 a night of horror such as few cities have witnessed since Nero burned 
 Rome. Those who slept had slept the heavy sleep of exhaustion. It was 
 a night haunted by a thousand terrors and punctuated by the crack of the 
 rifle. The soldiers guarding the treasure vaults of the United States Mint 
 and of the ruined bank buildings were alert. During the night they shot 
 and killed no less than fourteen men who were seen prowling about, intent 
 upon robbery, 
 
 Joseph M. Myers, a local policeman, disputed the authority of a 
 national guardsman who had told him to move on. There was a brief 
 altercation. Then the soldier ran Myers through with his bayonet and 
 Icilled him. 
 
 From the three-story lodging house at Fifth and Minne Streets, which 
 collapsed Wednesday morning, more than seventy-five bodies were taken. 
 There were fifty other dead bodies in sight in the ruins. This building 
 was one of the first to take fire in Fifth Street. At least one hundred 
 persons were killed in the Cosmopolitan, in Fourth Street. The only 
 building standing between Mission, Howard, East and Stewart Streets, is 
 the San Pablo Hotel, which is occupied and running. 
 
 117 
 
lis FAMINE AND PESTILENCE 
 
 The sliot tower, at First and Howard Streets, wa5 g-one. This land- 
 mark was built forty years ago. The Risdon Iron Works was partly 
 destroyed. The Great Western Smelting and Refining Works eseaped 
 damage, also the Mutual Electric Light Works, the American Rubber 
 Company, the Vista Gas Engine Company and Folker Brothers' coffee and 
 chop house. 
 
 On entering his home in the early morning a policeman named Flood 
 encountered a strange man, who attacked him like a maniac. Flood shot 
 the intruder dead. A special policeman named Enyder also killed a man. 
 but the details were not known. In the chaos and despair of the night such 
 passing tragedies attracted scant notice. 
 
 Not less than fifty men paid with their lives the penalty either of 
 their cupidity or their indiscretion. One was shot by a guard for washing 
 his hands in drinking water, a commodity that was being husbanded as 
 sacredly as though it were molten gold. Another, who was a bank clerk, 
 was shot by a soldier while searching after nightfall amid the ruins of the 
 bank in which he had l)een employed, 
 
 NIGHT OF FRIGHTFUL HORRORS. 
 
 When dawn again revealed the relics of the ruined city, it ended a 
 night of horrors such as few cities have ever endured in time of peace. 
 Homeless and destitute, three-fourths of the populace had slept upon the 
 ground of the city's parks and squares. Misery had leveled all ranks. 
 \\'omen and children reared in luxury had gladly lain down on a pallet of 
 straw, thankful if a bit of canvas could be had to stretch above them and 
 screen them from the drifting smoke. 
 
 Men whom their friends counted wealthy foraged in the morning 
 for a cup of coffee and a roll to stay the hunger of their dear ones. In 
 doing so they rubbed elbows with sodden beggars and with the outcast 
 women of Chinatown. 
 
 Golden Gate Park was the Mecca of the destitute. This immense 
 playground of the municipality had been converted into a vast mushroom 
 ^t looked like one of those fleeting towns located on the border of a 
 i>overnment reservation about to be opened to public settlement. There the 
 w>mmon destitution and suffering had wiped out all social, financial and 
 
FAMINE AND PESTILENCE 119 
 
 racial distinctions. The man who was a prosperous merchant was occupy- 
 ing with his family a little plot of ground that adjoined the open-air home 
 of a laborer. 
 
 The white man of California had forgotten his antipathy to the 
 Asiatic race and was maintaining friendly relations with his new Chinese 
 and Japanese neighbors. The society girl who on Tuesday night was a 
 butterfly of fashion at the grand opera performance was assisting some 
 factory girl in the preparation of her crude breakfast. 
 
 ALL RANKS LEVELED. 
 
 Money had little value. Society for the time being had drifted back 
 into primitive conditions. Food and shelter were its first and greatest 
 needs. The family which had foresight to lay in the largest stock of 
 foodstuffs on the i'lrst day of the disaster was rated highest in the scale 
 of wealth. A few of the families who could obtain willing expressmen 
 were possessors of cooking stoves, but more than ninety-five per cent, of 
 the refugees were doing their cooking on little campfires made of brick or 
 stone. Kitchen utensils that the week before would have been regarded 
 with contempt were articles of high value. 
 
 Many of the homeless were in possession of comfortable clothing and 
 bed covering, but the great bulk of them were in need. The grass was 
 their bed, and their daily clothing their only protection against the pene- 
 trating' fog of the ocean or the chilling dew of the morning. Fresh meat 
 disappeared Wednesday morning and canned foods and breadstuffs were 
 the only victuals in evidence. 
 
 Not alone were the parks the places of refuge. Every large vacant 
 lot in the safe zones had been pre-empted, and even the cemeteries were 
 crowded. A well-known young woman of social position, when asked 
 where she had passed the night, replied, "On a grave." Hundreds of other 
 homeless women and children slept upon bundles of hay on the wharves 
 or on the sand lots near North Beach, some of them under little impro- 
 vised tents made of sheeting, which poorly protected them from the chilling 
 winds that swept in from the bay. 
 
 At the foot of Van Ness Avenue, on the hot sands of the hillside 
 overlooking the bay east of Fort Mason, sat a woman with four little 
 
120 faminp: and pestilence 
 
 children, the youngest a girl of three ; the eldest a boy of ten. They were 
 destitute of water, food and money. The woman had fled with her 
 children from a home in flames in the Mission Street district and had 
 tramped to the bay in the hope of sighting the ship, which she said was 
 about due, of which her husband was the captain. Iieli)less and dazed, she 
 liuddled her cliildren to her breast and refused to move. 
 
 "He would know me anywhere," she said. She would not leave her 
 \igil, although a young man gallantly offered the shelter of his tent, 
 back on a vacant lot. 
 
 TEAMS FIFTY DOLLARS AN HOUR. 
 
 It was impossible to obtain a vehicle, except at exorbitant prices. One 
 merchant engaged a teamster and horses and wagon, agreeing to pay fifty 
 dollars an hour. Charges of twenty dollars for carrying trunks a few 
 blocks were common. The police and military seized teams wherever they 
 required them ; their wishes were enforced at revolver point if the owner 
 proved indisposed to comply with the demands. 
 
 Mayor Schmitz looked weary, but he was energetically at work at 
 his desk, though he had had little or no sleep. A policeman reported that 
 two grocery stores in the neighborhood were closed, although the clerks 
 were present. 
 
 "Smash the stores open," ordered the Mayor, "and guard them !" 
 
 Care of the three hundred thousand homeless, hungry refugees gath- 
 ered in the city's public squares and parks was now the main problem the 
 local authorities have to solve. They must be fed, and bread, meat and 
 drink in sufficient quantities were lacking, though the leading cities and 
 towns throughout the country were exerting themselves to lend assistance 
 and provisions were now being rushed toward them from many points. 
 
 Three relief stations for the homeless were established by the general 
 committee. These stations were the temporary homes of the homeless. 
 They were at Golden Gate Park, Presidio and San Bruno Road. By 
 order of the Mayor and the general committee all remaining stores were 
 entered by the police and their goods were confiscated for distribution 
 under police supervision. Caravans of provisions were on their way to 
 the three relief stations. 
 
FAMINE AND PESTILENCE IL'l 
 
 In the meantime the hills and beaches of San Francisco looked like an 
 immense tented city. For miles through the park and along the beaches 
 from Ingleside to the sea wall at North Beach the homeless were camped 
 in tents, makeshifts rigged up from a few sticks of wood and a blanket 
 or sheet. Some few of the more fortunate obtained vehicles, on which 
 they loaded regulation tents, and they were therefore more comfortably 
 housed than the great majority. 
 
 HOMELESS AND HUNGRY. 
 
 Golden Gate Park and the Panhandle looked like one vast camping 
 ground. Fully one hundred thousand persons, wealthy and poor alike, 
 sought refuge in Golden Gate Park alone, and nearly two hundred thousand 
 more bivouaced at the other places of refuge. Relief work was started 
 early. Thousands of refugees were in line in the morning before the 
 California Street bakery. The police and military were present in force, 
 and each person was allowed only one loaf. The Young Men's Hebrew 
 Association's Hall, near Golden Gate Park, was stocked with provisions 
 for the use of the needy victims in the adjacent fields. 
 
 Thousands of members of families were separated and with no means 
 of learning one another's whereabouts. The police opened up a bureau 
 of registration to bring relatives together. Heroic deeds, many of which 
 will never be known to the world, were done hourly. The overworked 
 nremen, beaten back repeatedly, made helpless by lack of water, never 
 surrendered. Hundreds of them worked on untiringly, without sleep and 
 without food, fighting in a forlorn hope. 
 
 Portsmouth Square became for a time a public morgue. Between 
 twenty and thirty bodies were laid side by side upon the trodden grass 
 in the absence of more suitable accommodations. When the flames threat- 
 ened to reach the square the dead, most of whom were unknown, were 
 removed to Columbia Square, where they were buried when danger threat- 
 ened that quarter. 
 
 Out at the Presidio soldiers pressed into service all men who came 
 near and forced them to labor at burying the dead. So numerous were 
 the bodies piled up that they were becoming a menace, and earlv in the 
 day the order was issued to bury them at any cost. The soldiers were 
 
122 FAMINE AND PESTILENCE 
 
 needed for other work, so, at the points of rifles, the citizens were com- 
 pelled to take up the work of burying the dead. Some objected at first, 
 but the troops tolerated no trifling, and every man who came within reach 
 was forced to work at least one hour. Wealthy men, unused to physical 
 exertion, labored by the side of workingmen, digging trenches in which 
 to bury the dead. Many remained unburied, and the soldiers were still 
 pressing men into service. 
 
 Friday and Saturday were made legal holidays, so as to give the 
 bankers of San Francisco time to be in a position to meet the demands of 
 the depositors. The danger of a financial crisis, it was believed, would 
 be averted. The State and banks of the United States in general tele- 
 graphed guaranteeing support to local financial institutions, and arrange- 
 ments were made whereby it could be stated every depositor would be 
 paid in full. 
 
 LOSSES OF INSURANCE COMPANIES. 
 
 Insurance companies took up the question of losses. It was stated 
 that the companies had decided, if possible, to pay dollar for dollar on all 
 the losses, whether occasioned by fire or earthquake. This will mean, if 
 the loss totals $200,000,000, as it is believed it will, that $110,000,000 
 will be paid into the pockets of San Francisco realty owners, and with this 
 as a start new structures will soon be in course of erection on the sites 
 of old. 
 
 The Firemen's Fund and the Home and Marine, both local corpora- 
 tions, will, it was said, be the principal sufferers. The losses are divided 
 among eighty insurance companies, and it is stated authoritatively all 
 claims will be satisfactorily adjusted, and that no company will be so 
 weakened that it will be forced to suspend. The Pacific Coast managers 
 of the fire insurance companies which suffered by the fire met in Oakland 
 to discuss the situation. 
 
 The Call said that a prominent president of one of the San Francisco 
 banks had wired directions to his manager to place $3,000,000 in the 
 hands of the Citizens' Relief and Restoration Committee, to be used at 
 its discretion in the work of attending the immediate wants of the stricken 
 people. Subsequent subscriptions added $191,500 to the fund. 
 
FAMINE AND PESTILENCE 123 
 
 Another series of fatalities occurred, caused by the stampeding of a 
 herd of cattle at Sixth and Folsom Streets. Three hundred of the panic- 
 stricken animals ran when they saw and felt the flames and charged wildly 
 down the street, trampling under foot all who were in the way. One man 
 was gored through and through by a maddened bull. Several others were 
 killed. 
 
 Explosions of sewer gas wrecked many streets and caused needless 
 alarm among people, who mistook the upheavals for further earthquakes. 
 A Vesuvius in miniature was caused by such an upheaval at Bryant and 
 Eighth Streets. Cobblestones were hurled twenty feet upward and a cloud 
 of sand filled the air. The work of clearing up the debris began at the 
 water front in the business section. One hundred men were employed, 
 under the direction of the Street Department. 
 
 FLIGHT OF THE HOMELESS. 
 
 Thre was no cessation in the exodus from the stricken city. All who 
 could get away were leaving by whatever means they found possible. The 
 ferry house presented a fearful scene. It was filled with women and 
 children, who have but few articles that they have saved from the ruin. 
 They were waiting to leave the city by the first boat they could get. The 
 road leading to the ferry north and around the shore of the bay as far 
 as Fort Mason was littered with all sorts of vehicles that were broken 
 down 'Under their loads. They consisted of baby carriages, wheelbarrows 
 and toy carts that were too weak to stand the weight of the freight with 
 which they were loaded in going over the rough roads. Some of the 
 abandoned vehicles still contained the effects of the fugitive citizens. 
 
 The chief operator of the Western Union wired from the ferry house 
 this message : 
 
 "General Funston is giving out thousands of tents and is doing every- 
 thing possible to relieve suffering. I had an escort take me through the 
 parks last night. The people seeking safety there were fairly comfortable, 
 but the heavy fog and dew at night are causing great distress. Tens of 
 thousands of refugees are flocking into Oakland, Alameda and the other 
 towns across the bay. They had been without food or water since the 
 outbreak of the fire. All the bakeries in the small towns are being worked 
 
124 FAMINE AND PESTILENCE 
 
 to their fullest capacity. The people still in the city are living on what 
 canned stuff they can obtain, with a limited number of crackers. 
 
 "The Chinese, whose settlement was destroyed by the flames last 
 night, are in evidence by the thousand this morning. They carry big 
 bundles and are waiting for the first boat to get to a place of safety." 
 
 Residents of Oakland, Alameda and other cities across the bay ex- 
 tended hospitality to refugees, who were coming in from the city by the 
 thousand. In addition, churches and large halls were thrown open for 
 their accommodation, a privilege of which many of the homeless and 
 wornout sufferers gladly took advantage. 
 
 FUNSTON FEARS FAMINE. 
 
 General Funston telegraphed to Washington this message, with the 
 request that it be given wide publicity : 
 
 "Army headquarters has been established at Fort Mason, California, 
 All clerks of department and division headquarters, as well as those of 
 the various departments of the army that have not yet reported for duty 
 to their respective chiefs, are requested to report at division headquarters. 
 Fort Mason, as soon as possible." 
 
 To feed and house the unfortunate residents of San Francisco who 
 have suddenly been bereft of homes and means of livelihood is calling 
 forth the best efforts of all persons in the City of Oakland. It was cal- 
 culated that at least two hundred thousand persons had come to that side 
 of the bay and were distributed among the homes of Oakland, Alameda 
 and Berkeley. While hundreds found lodging with friends, there were 
 the countless poor, who were dependent upon charity. The work of 
 evolving a system for supplying the immediate wants was a matter in 
 the process of organization. To get some sort of a scheme whereby those 
 in need could get the necessities of life was the work of Governor Pardee, 
 his staff, Mayor Mott and the local city government and civic organizations 
 
 It was the general belief, however, that, despite all efforts, there woufd 
 be great distress and that actual starvation stared many in the face unless 
 immediate and whole-souled aid was forthcoming. The supply of food 
 might last out the week, and then, unless it were received in large quan- 
 tities, the city would be in a state of want. 
 
FAMINE AND PESTILENCE 126 
 
 Immense amounts of supplies were consumed in the fire in San Fran- 
 cisco, which was the distributing point for the cities about the bay and 
 interior towns. This supply was swept out of existence, and what the 
 resources of the State are was a matter that was the chief concern of those 
 engaged in the relief work. The seizure of supplies coming in on the 
 trains by the Relief Committee was authorized by Mayor Schmitz. 
 
 Edwin Stearns, chairman of the Executive Committee, seized a car- 
 load of flour containing 814 sacks. Of this amount twenty-five sacks 
 were immediately sent to Idora Park, where there were a large number of 
 homeless. Another twenty-five sacks were sent down to Adams Point, 
 where the people were encamped under the trees. A carload of ice was 
 also seized for the hospitals. A carload of potatoes was also taken. 
 
 It is not the purpose of the committee to confiscate these goods, and 
 the names of the consignees were taken in each case, and as soon as there 
 were any funds available they would be paid for. The emergency, how- 
 ever, was such that prompt and firm action in the matter was deemed 
 necessary. Besides these seizures, Livermore sent in a wagon load of 
 butter to the committee. 
 
 SUPPLIES FAST COMING. 
 
 Other cities were sending in supplies, and it was hoped the amounts 
 would be sufficient. The supply station in Thirteenth and Franklin Streets 
 was emptied as fast as goods were received. The demands could not begin 
 to be supplied, and what would result when the stores of the city were 
 empty was a matter past conjecture. Mayor Mott addressed a circular to 
 the bakers of the cities of Oakland, Alameda and Berkeley, requesting them 
 to continue work regardless of holidays. 
 
 The bakers agreed to work their plants to their utmost capacity and 
 to send all their surplus output to the Relief Committee. By working day 
 and night it was believed thousands of loaves could be furnished daily. 
 At the headquarters of the Relief Committee the actual detail of the work 
 was being handled by committees, who had charge of the various branches 
 of the work. There was a registration bureau, where all were asked to 
 register their n?mes for the use of those wishing to find families or friends. 
 Hundreds of inquiries were received for information. In hurried flights 
 
126 FAMINE AND PESTILENCE 
 
 many families were separated and were at a loss to know in what direction 
 to look for each other. The churches of the city were taking charge of the 
 work of administering to the wants of the needy and hungry. 
 
 THE GREAT DESTROYERS. 
 
 Earthquake, fire, famine and sudden death — these are the destroyers 
 that men fear when they come singly; hut upon the unhappy people of 
 California they came all together, a hideous quartette, to slay human beings, 
 to blot from existence the wealth that represented prolonged and strenuous 
 effort, to bring hunger and speechless misery to three hundred thousand 
 homeless and terror-stricken people. 
 
 After three days the full measure of the catastrophe could hardly be 
 taken. The summary could not be made amid the panic, the confusion, 
 the removal of ancient landmarks, the complete subversion of the ordinary 
 machinery of society. When chaos came again, and all the channels of 
 familiar life were closed, and hunian anguish grew to be intolerable, 
 compilation of statistics was impossible, even if it were not repugnant to 
 the feelings. That so much was told — ^that narratives so graphic and so 
 comprehensive should have been sent out to a compassionate world was 
 wonderful. The service thus performed makes mankind ^a debtor to that 
 press, often reviled and always undervalued, which did so much with 
 conditions so harsh and discouraging. 
 
 Other frightful catastrophes the world has known. The earthquake 
 whieh dropped Lisbon into the sea, in 1755, and in a moment swallowed 
 up twenty-five thousand people, was perhaps more awful than the con- 
 vulsion which brought woe to San Francisco, When Krakatoa Mountain, 
 in the Straits of Sunday, in 1883, split asunder and poured across the land 
 a mighty wave, in which thirty-six thousand human beings perished, the 
 results also were more terrible. 
 
 The whirlwind of fire which consumed St. Pierre, in the Island of 
 Martinique, and the devastation wrought by Vesuvius need not be used 
 for comparison with the tragedy in California, but they may be referred 
 to that we may recall the fact that his land of ours is not alone in its 
 afflictions. 
 
 But since the Western Hemisphere was discovered there has been in 
 
FAMINE AND PESTILENCE 127 
 
 this quarter of the globe no violence of natural forces at all comparable 
 in destructive fury with that which was manifested upon the Pacific 
 Coast on April i8th. 
 
 The earthquake in San Francisco, which crumbled strong- buildings 
 as if they were made of paper, would have been terrible enough ; but 
 afterward came the horror of fire and of imprisoned men and women 
 burned alive, and then was added the suffering of multitudes from hunger 
 and exposure. 
 
 Public attention was fixed on the great city of San Francisco, but 
 smaller cities in California have had their days and nights of destruction, 
 horror and misery. Some have been almost destroyed ; others were partly 
 broken, and without their borders, over a wide area, the trembling of the 
 earth has toppled houses, annihilated property and transformed riches into 
 poverty. 
 
 LOSS OF LIFE VERY GREAT. 
 
 The loss of life is very great. The money loss can never be computed, 
 for the appraised value of the wrecked property will convey no notion 
 of the consequences of the almost complete paralysis, for a time, of the 
 commercial operations by means of which men and women earn their 
 bread. We sincerely hope that the results of this overpowering calamity 
 may not result in the future embarrassment of those who were allied in 
 business ' matters with the interests centered in San Francisco. The 
 sensitive nerves of commerce in our day reach far out over the world. 
 
 When the weakness and the folly and the sin of men bring woe upon 
 other men, there are plenty of texts for the preacher and no scarcity of 
 earnest preachers. But here is a vast and awful catastrophe that has 
 befallen from an act of Nature apparently no more extraordinary than the 
 shrinkage of hot metal in the process of cooling. The consequences are 
 terrifying in this case because they involve the habitations of half a million 
 people; but, no doubt, the process goes on somewhere within the earth 
 almost continuously, and it no more involves the theory of malignant 
 Nature than that of an angry God. 
 
 If we shall contemplate it, possibly we may be helped to a profitable 
 estimate of our own relative insignificance. We think, with some notion 
 
128 FAMINE AND PESTILENCE 
 
 of our importance, of the thousand million men who live upon the earth ; 
 l)ut they are a mere handful of animate atoms in comparison with the 
 surface, let alone the solid contents, of the globe itself. 
 
 ^^'e are fond of boasting in this later day of man's marvelous success 
 in subduing the forces of Nature ; and, while we are in the midst of 
 exultation over our victories. Nature tumbles the rocks about somewhere 
 within the bowels of the earth, and we have to Jearn the old lesson that our 
 triumphs 'have not penetrated farther than to the very outermost rim of 
 the realms of Nature. 
 
 A few weak, almost helpless, creatures, we millions of men stand upon 
 the deck of a great ship, which goes rolling through space that is itself 
 incomprehensible, and usually we are so busy with our paltry ambitions, 
 our foul transgressions, our righteous labors, our prides and hopes and 
 entanglements, that we forget where we are and what is our destiny. A 
 direct interposition from a Superior Power, even if it be hurtful to the 
 body, might be required to persuade us to stop and consider and take 
 anew our bearings, so that we may comprehend in some larger degree our 
 precise relations to things. The wisest men have been the most ready to 
 recognize the beneficence of the discipline of affliction. If there were no 
 sorrow, we should be likely to find the school of life unprofitable. 
 
 DEVELOPMENT OF HUMAN SYMPATHY. 
 
 For one thing, the school wherein sorrow is a part of the discipline 
 is that in which is developed the human sympathy that is one of the finest 
 and most ennobling manifestations of the Love which is, in its essence, 
 divine. In human life there is much that is ignoble, and the race has 
 almost contemptible weakness and insignificance in comparison with the 
 physical forces of the universe. 
 
 But man is superior to all these forces in his possession of the power 
 of affection ; and in almost the lowest and basest of the race this power, 
 if latent and half lost, may be found and evoked by the spectacle of the 
 suffering of a fellow-creature. 
 
 The human family looks on with pity while the homeless and hungry 
 and impoverished Californians endure pang. Wherever the news went, 
 by the swift processes of electricity, there men and women, some of them, 
 
Photo.eraph showing the terrible effects of the earthquake and 
 tire in one of the principal streets of the stricken city. 
 
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF OAKLAND, which is just across the bay 
 from San Francisco. This pholugraph shows the force of the earthquake. 
 

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SCENE OF THE TERRIBLE CALAMITY IN MARTINIQUE WHICH 
 CAUSED THE DESTRUCTION OF ST. PIERRE 
 
 THE CRATER OF MOUNT SOUFRIERE, ST. VINCENT, THE ERUPTION 
 OF WHICH DEVASTATED MUCH OF THAT ISLAND 
 
FAMINE AND PESTILENCE 129 
 
 perhaps, hardly knowing where CaHfornia is, were sorry and willing and 
 eager to help. There are fights within the family sometimes, when nation 
 wars with nation, and all love seems to have vanished; but the world is, 
 in truth, akin. "God hath made of ore blood all the nations of the earth," 
 and the blood "tells" when suffering comes. 
 
 The only thing that most men can do in this hour of trial is to send 
 the money that means speedy succor from want, and from all civilized 
 lands money has come in generous quantities. But however large the 
 stream might be, there would never be enough to fill all the need ; and so 
 we can appeal for more and more, each man giving a little, if he can give 
 but a little, in the hope that the California, from which our first great 
 flood of gold came sixty years ago, may have some of her treasure back 
 again in the time of her great extremity. 
 
 9— S. t? 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 PRESIDENT CALLS FOR AID AND CONGRESS MAKES A 
 GENEROUS APPROPRIATION. 
 
 PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT on Thursday called upon the people of 
 the entire nation to join in giving aid to the stricken city of San 
 Francisco. Congress adopted unanimously and with promptness a resolu- 
 tion appropriating $1,000,000 for relief work, and the governmental de- 
 partments, led by the War Department, were busy day and night perfecting 
 and making effective the plans for relief. 
 
 PRESIDENT'S PROCLAMATION. 
 
 The President's proclamation was issued after a conference with Miss 
 Mabel Boardman, of the American Red Cross. It follows : 
 
 "In the face of so terrible and appalling a national calamity as that 
 which has befallen San Francisco, the outpouring of the nation's aid 
 should, as far as possible, be entrusted to the American Red Cross, the 
 national organization best fitted to undertake such relief work. A spe- 
 cially appointed Red Cross agent. Dr. Edward Divine, starts to-day from 
 New York for California to co-operate there with the Red Cross branch 
 in the work of relief. 
 
 "In order that this work may be well systematized, and in order that 
 the contributions which I am sure will flow in with lavish generosity, may 
 be wisely administered, I appeal to the people of the United States, to 
 all cities, chambers of commerce, boards of trade, relief committees and 
 individuals to express their sympathy and render their aid by contributions 
 to the American National Red Cross. They can be sent to Jacob H. 
 Schiff, New York Red Cross treasurer, or other local Red Cross treasurers, 
 to be forwarded by telegraph from Washington to the Red Cross agents 
 and officers in California." 
 
 Action for relief was the first work of Congress. The Senate quickly 
 set aside the routine business of the opening and passed a resolution offered 
 by Mr. Perkins, appropriating $500,000 to carry on the work of relief 
 
 130 
 
PRESIDENTS APPEAL BRINGS A GENEROUS APPROPRIATION 131 
 through the W^ar Department. The resolution was sent to the House, 
 where a substitute, offered by Mr. Tavvney, of Minnesota, was adopted, 
 doubhng- the appropriation. This action was concurred in by the Senate 
 itnd at 6 o'clock in the evening the President attached his signature. 
 
 RESOLUTION OF AID. 
 
 The resolution follows : 
 
 "Resolved, By the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
 States of America, in Congress assembled, that the Secretary of War is 
 iii^reby authorized and directed to procure in open market or otherwise 
 (,'absistence and quartermasters' supplies, in addition to such supplies be- 
 jonging to the military establishment and available, and issue the same to 
 ;uch destitute persons as have been rendered homeless or are in needy 
 fircumstances as a result of the earthquake which occurred April i8th and 
 the attending conflagration ; and, in executing this joint resolution, the 
 Secretary of War is directed to co-operate with the authorities of the State 
 of California and the Mayors of the cities of San Francisco, Berkeley, Oak- 
 land, Alameda and such other cities on the Pacific Coast as may have sus- 
 f/iined damages ; be it further 
 
 "Resolved, That the Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of the Navy 
 .■and the Secretary of Commerce and Labor are hereby directed to co-oper- 
 ate with the Secretary of War in extending relief and assistance to the 
 stricken people herein referred to, to the extent of the use of the naval 
 vessels, revenue cutters and other vessels and Government supplies under 
 their control on the Pacific Coast; be it further 
 
 "Resolved, That to enable the Secretary of War to execute the pro- 
 ■»-isions of this joint resolution there is hereby appropriated out of any 
 'n.oney in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated the sum of $1,000,000, 
 ^o be expended under the direction and in the discretion of the Secretary 
 of War." 
 
 Mr. Tawney explained that the larger sum was absolutely needed; that 
 ':ticretaries of other departments were included so that naval vessels, reve- 
 nue cutters and the Fish Commission's boat "Albatross" could be used. 
 The substitute was reported also on the ground that the amount should be 
 doubled, and the Secretary of War should be relieved from any statutory 
 
132 PRESIDENTS APPEAL BRINGS A GENEROUS APPROPRIATION 
 provision requiring bids to be received for the needed supplies. The reso- 
 lution was adopted ten minutes after its introduction. 
 
 The resources of all the governmental departments were turned to the 
 work of relief. The Secretary of the Treasury authorized the telegraphic 
 transfer of $10,000,000 from the Sub-treasury at New York to San Fran- 
 cisco. The cash was deposited in New^ York and immediately paid out on 
 the order of San Francisco banks entitled to the same. 
 
 Secretary Metcalf, of the Department of Commerce and Labor, in 
 dispatches to the lighthouse inspector at San Francisco and to the officers 
 of the Fish Commission, directed the lighthouse tender "Madrona" and the 
 United States steamship "Albatross" to go at once to the stricken city 
 and do everything practicable to aid the sufferers. The authorities at the 
 War Department actively carried on the work which had kept Secretary 
 Taft, General Bell and many others up most of Wednesday night, with 
 the object of getting provisions and tents to the sufferers. Secretary Taft's 
 great anxiety was to get food into San Francisco at the earliest moment, 
 and his orders sent in the night were supplemented during the day by 
 others. 
 
 PLANS FOR GREAT REFUGE CAMP. 
 
 Commissary General Sharp said that he was advised that the supplies 
 could be shipped by rail to a point within thirty miles of San Francisco, 
 and he was of the opinion that it v;as better to send them there where, as 
 a last resort, a camp for refugees could be established, as all the persons 
 In need of supplies could not remain in the stricken city. 
 
 Instructions were sent to Portland and Seattle to buy rations in the 
 open market and hurry them to the stricken city. The orders in all direc- 
 tions were for the purchase of full rations. Candles were included in the 
 supplies on account of the lack of lighting facilities in San Francisco and 
 the surrounding country. Bacon, rice, coffee, sugar, beans and peas 
 formed the greater part of the supplies to be sent. The Presidio and other 
 army posts near San Francisco had only a limited amount of supplies on 
 hand. Consequently the Government could not rely on these supplies to 
 afford more than emergency relief to the thousands in need of food. 
 
 Omaha, St. Louis and other Western markets were drawn on to sup- 
 
PRESIDENTS APPEAL BRINGS A GENEROUS APPROPRIATION 133 
 ply the immediate demands of the sufferers, as it was not thought advisable 
 to exhaust the Hmited suppHes at Western army posts. General Elliott, 
 commandant of the Marine Corps, was informed that the large storehouse 
 of the Marine Corps, on Mission Street next to the theatre, was destroyed, 
 together with its contents, consisting of clothing and other stores to the 
 value of about $100,000, 
 
 MESSAGES TO FUNSTON, 
 
 General Funston was kept in touch with what was being done to send 
 relief by the War Department. Early Thursday morning Secretary Taft 
 sent this dispatch : 
 
 "Your dispatch calling for tents and rations for 20,000 people received. 
 Have directed sending of 200,000 rations from Vancouver Barracks, the 
 nearest available point. Will give orders concerning tents immediately and 
 advise you within an hour. Do you need more troops? Of course, do 
 everything possible to assist in keeping order, in saving life and property 
 and in relieving suffering and hunger by use of troops, materials and 
 suppHes under your orders. House passed enabling resolution to-day and 
 Senate will to-morrow. All railway and telegraph facilities surrounding 
 San Francisco reported badly damaged and demoralized. Officers will 
 accompany rations where necessary, in order to insure as prompt forward- 
 ing and delivery as possible with orders to keep in touch with you when 
 practicacble." 
 
 This was followed shortly after by this message from Taft: 
 
 "All available hospital, wall and conical wall tents will be sent at 
 once by express from Vancouver, Douglas, Logan, Russell, San Antonio, 
 Monterey, Snelling and Sheridan. Remainder will be sent from Philadel- 
 phia depot. Little definite information thus far received as to limits of 
 burned district or conditions. Wire details as comprehensively as possible." 
 
 This telegram was sent by General Bell, chief of staff, to General 
 Funston, by direction of Secretary Taft after l conference between Secre- 
 tary Taft and Secretary Bonaparte : 
 
 "Secretary of War directs me to inform you that the Quartermaster 
 General has been directed to forward to San Francisco all available canvas 
 in the possession of the army. The Commissary General has been directed 
 
134 PRESIDENT'S APPEAL BRINGS A GENEROUS APPROPRIATION 
 
 to ship 200,000 rations from nearest shipping points. Admiral McCalla, 
 at Mare Island, will be .instructed to confer with you, and to furnish all 
 food supplies that can be spared from the stores at Mare Island ; also to 
 furnish any available canvas suitable for making improvised shelter." 
 
 The A\'ashington Lodge of Elks passed resolutions of sympathy for 
 the earthquake sufferers, and sent a telegram to the San Francisco lodge 
 tendering financial and other assistance. A subscription of $10,000 for 
 the relief was made by Robert Lebaudy, the French philanthropist, through 
 the French Ambassador. This sum was made immediately available 
 through the French Consul in San Francisco. The ^Var Department 
 officers were making estimates of the losses sustained by the Government. 
 I'he Quartermaster's stores in San Francisco were in rented buildings, 
 and the loss in goods stored there by the Quartermaster's Department was 
 roughly estimated at about $3,500,000. 
 
 SYMPATHY FROM THE KAISER. 
 
 The German Ambassador, Baron von Speck-Sternburg, called on the 
 President and extended the condolences of the German Emperor. After 
 leaving the White House the Ambassador said : 
 
 "The German Emperor has requested me to express to the American 
 people his profound and most sincere sympathy over the terrible disaster 
 which has struck the western part of the United States. The Emperor 
 feels sure that this catastrophe will create widespread sympathy and 
 mourning among the German people." 
 
 The following telegram was received at the War Department from 
 William Mason Smith, president of the New Orleans Cotton Exchange: 
 
 "Many citizens of New Orleans, represented by the Cotton Exchange, 
 desire to extend the most rapid and useful aid to San Francisco. We see 
 that your department is in touch with General Funston, the Department 
 commander, and we would be glad if you can tell us if we can best help 
 by money or provisions by special train to San Francisco." 
 
 Contributions by New York for San Francisco aggregated three- 
 quarters of a million dollars, scarcely more than a day after the terrible 
 catastrophe. Of this sum. it was announced at the Standard Oil Building, 
 John D. Rockefeller subscribed $100,000. The same amount was raised 
 
PRESIDENT'S APPEAL BRINGS A GENEROUS APPROPRIATION 135 
 on the Stock Exchange, $50,000 being- pledged within fifteen minutes after 
 the appointment of a collection committee. Mayor McClellan appointed 
 a committee of 100 citizens to solicit contributions for the San Francisco 
 sufferers. 
 
 Women leaders of society agreed to lend their influence at patronesses 
 for benefit performances. Subscription lists were also opened on the 
 consolidated Exchange, on the Cotton, the Coffee, the Produce and the 
 Metal Exchanges, and the sums offered reached into the thousands. Mr. 
 Rockefeller made his contribution through his San Francisco agents, to 
 whom he sent a telegraph message to distribute the money among the 
 destitute. No other instructions were given. 
 
 C. H. MACKAY'S $100,000 GIFT. 
 
 Clarence H. Mackay sent this message to President Wheeler, of the 
 University of California, at Berkeley, Cal. : "I understand that owing to 
 the terrible catastrophe which has just overtaken San Francisco and that 
 part of California, several of the university's buildings have been de- 
 stroyed. Pray accept my deepest sympathy. I am wiring you to say that 
 I shall be willing to subscribe $100,000 toward the erection of a new 
 building. This is a time for all of us to pull together, and to show the 
 world what California can do under adversity." 
 
 Mayor Schmitz issued the following proclamation: 
 
 "I congratulate the citizens of San Francisco upon the fortitude they 
 have displayed and I urge upon them the necessity of aiding the authorities 
 in the work of relieving the destitute and suffering. For the relief of those 
 persons who are encamped in the various sections of the city everything 
 possible is being done. In Golden Gate Park, where there are approxi- 
 mately 200,000 homeless persons, relief stations have been established. 
 The Spring Valley Water Company has informed me that the Mission 
 district will be supplied with water this afternoon, between ten and twelve 
 millions daily being available. Lake Merced will be taken by the Federal 
 troops and that supply protected." 
 
 Already San Francisco had turned her face resolutely toward the 
 future. The plucky spirit of her citizens was voiced when Mayor Schmitz 
 sent the following telegram to President Roosevelt: 
 
136 PRESIDENT'S APPEAL BRINGS A GENEROUS APPROPRIATION 
 To the President of the United States, Washington: 
 
 "Generous contribution of $i,ooo,cxx) from the Federal Government 
 for relief of destitute persons received and deeply appreciated. The people 
 overwhelmed by your generosity. All of this money will be used for relief 
 purposes. Property owners determined to rebuild as soon as fire ceases. 
 City will immediately proceed to provide capital for the purpose of recon- 
 structing public buildings, schools, jails, hospitals, sewers and salt and 
 fresh water systems. The people hope that the Federal Government will 
 at once provide ample appropriations to rebuild all Federal buildings on a 
 scale befitting the new San Francisco. We are determined to restore to 
 the nation its chief port on the Pacific. 
 
 (Signed) "EUGENE E. SCHMITZ, Mayor." 
 
 He also sent the following to Louis Cook, of New York: 
 "Grateful for your general telegram. California heartily thanks you. 
 We need tents, bedding and food supplies. We require comforters and 
 blankets in large number. Thousands of our people are sleeping in the 
 open air without sufficient covering. We particularly need adequate sup- 
 plies of disinfectants to establish sanitary camps; also drugs and hospital 
 materials. A committee of fifty has been appointed. 
 
 "In your telegram you speak of ready cash. Would suggest that 
 considerable of small denomination be sent. This is important as all our 
 banking quarters are destroyed. We would greatly appreciate if New 
 York bankers would arrange to co-operate with California bankers with a 
 view of securing temporary relief, so that fiscal operations may be re- 
 sumed at the earliest date possible. San Francisco will rebuild. We want 
 to resume the transaction of our usual business in the shortest time 
 possible." 
 
 EPISCOPAL BISHOPS SEND OUT AN APPEAL. 
 
 The followng letter, issued by Bishops O. W. Whitaker and Alexander 
 Mackay-Smith, was sent to the clergy of every Episcopal church in Penn- 
 * svlvania, to be read by them to their congregations: 
 
 To the Clergy, Parishes and Congregations of the Diocese of Pemtsylvania'. 
 "The appalling calamity which has befallen the people of California 
 
PRESIDENTS APPEAL BRINGS A GENEROUS APPROPRIATION 137 
 demands instant aid from every humane heart in the country. The Presi- 
 dent of the United States has issued a proclamation requesting immediate 
 contributions, and, under the advice of the authorities of all the cities and 
 towns and villages, money is being gathered to relieve the distress. In 
 jiccordance with this wave of popular sympathy which is sweeping through 
 the land, we make our appeal to the warm hearts, and willing hands of 
 Christian people to at once spring to the relief of these sufferers. 
 
 "We urge upon you the necessity of making an immediate collection 
 in your parish. To whatever other purpose you may have determined to 
 devote your Sunday collection, we beg that you will put this aside for a 
 moment and send whatever you may be willing to give to aid this pressing 
 necessity. It is the voice of our own brethren that is calling upon us in 
 their hour of trouble, and the reply should be instantaneous. 
 
 "We trust that you will give immediate attention to this appeal, so 
 that by the beginning of this ensuing week contributions may begin to 
 pour in from every parish and mission in the diocese. 
 
 "In the name of the Merciful Saviour we make this appeal, trusting 
 that even the very children may be inspired to give their pennies to help 
 our brethren in an hour of trial almost unparalleled in the history of the 
 world. 
 
 "Your friends and bishops, 
 
 "O. W. WHITAKER, 
 "ALEX. MACKAY-SMITH." 
 
 Responding to the call of San Francisco and her sister cities, the 
 people of the United States, through State and municipal governments, 
 various fraternal and charitable organizations, and as individuals, poured 
 out their riches for the relief of the earthquake sufferers. 
 
 The War Department advised Secretary Taft that another million 
 dollars was needed for the immediate work of the Department in San 
 Francisco. New York, the money centre of the nation, was first in the 
 work of charity, many princely sums having been given to the Relief 
 Committee. 
 
 Charles A. Peabody, acting for William Waldorf Aster, sent $100,000 
 
138 PRESIDENTS APPE.\L BRINGS A GENEROUS APFROl KlAllON 
 to the Mayor oi San Francisco. The Board of Directors of the United 
 States Steel Corporation. appropriated $100,000. The Standard Oil Com- 
 pany g^ve $100,000. in addition to Mr. Rockefeller's private contribution 
 of a like amount. The Harriman railroads jointly contributed $200,000. 
 
 From Otta\va came the announcement that the Canadian Goveniment 
 had appropriated $100,000 for the relief ^York. 
 
 The Oriental Consistory' of the Mystic Shriners. which met at Chi- 
 cago, decided that the $100,000 appropriated for the entertainment of the 
 Shriners at the national encampment in Los Angeles be turned over to the 
 relief of the San Francisco sufferers. Among the contributions in New York 
 were $25,000 from William K. \'anderbilt and $25,000 from Kuhn. Loeb 
 & Co. A man who refused to give his name handed $25,000 to Mayor 
 ]McClellan. In Boston a meeting of representative citizens voted to raise 
 $500,000. and the State Legislature appropriated $100,000. In Chicago 
 a big fund was raised, and several trainloads of provisions were started 
 for San Francisco. 
 
 RELIEF WORK WIDESPREAD. 
 
 Reports from all over the country indicated the same ready response 
 to the call of charity. Xot only were i ity and State governments appro- 
 priating relief funds, but from the cities nearer the scene of the disaster 
 trainloads of canned goods, provisions, meats, tents and clothing were 
 started for the stricken community. The National Federation of Oiurches 
 sent a call from its headquarters in Xew York asking that a collection be 
 taken up in the places of worship of all the religious organizations. The 
 National Order of Elks, the Knights of Columbus, the Royal Arcanum, 
 the Modem Woodmen of America and many other fraternal organizations 
 sent out appeals to their members to help the relief work. From even*- 
 available point by railroad or boat the War Department hurried rations and 
 tents to San Francisco. Ever}- hour the volume of relief funds grew, as 
 there was hardly a city in the United States that was not actively engaged 
 in the work. 
 
 Cablegrams were recei\ed from Germany to the effect that the North 
 Gemian Lloyd and the Hamburg American Steamship Lines had each 
 contributed $25,000 to the earthquake sufferers. 
 
PRESIDENTS APPEAL BRINGS A GEXEROl'S APPROPRIATION 130 
 News from London was that a meeting of Anierjoans. at whicli 
 Ambassador Reid presided, pledged $100,000. Boston telegraphed $25,000 
 to a Chicago packing house to have a trainload of provisions shipped at 
 once to San Francisco. The Boston committee also wired to Spokane, 
 Seattle, Kansas City and other Western towns to know what could be 
 done in the way of the immediate shipment of supplies. Bishop Kenny. 
 of the Catholic Diocese of St. Augustine. Fla.. Bishop Harlley, of Colum- 
 bus, Ohio, and other Catholic bishops ordered special collections in all the 
 churches in their jurisdiction for the relief funds. 
 
 President Roosevelt and his Cabinet devoted the greater pan of their 
 semi-weeklv session on Friday to a discussion of the calamity which had 
 befallen San Francisco. It was decided that Secretary Metcalf, who is 
 a resident of Oakland, Cal., should proceed at once to the stricken city as 
 a representative of the National Government. Secretary Metcalf left for 
 San Francisco in the afternoon. 
 
 NEWS FROM THE STRICKEN CITY. 
 
 Speaker Cannon and Chairman Tawney, of the Appropriation Com- 
 mittee, indicated there would be no delay in granting the appropriation. 
 The following message reached the War Department in the afternoon: 
 
 "The latest reliable information from San Francisco is that the resi- 
 dence district from Post to Union Streets and from Octavia Street to the 
 ocean shore is intact, and. it is believed, will be saved. Relief trains are 
 arriving and will greatly mitigate the sufferings." 
 
 President Roosevelt sent $1,000 to the Red Cross Committee. Sena- 
 tor Knox, of Pennsylvania, gave $500. 
 
 Every available vessel in the vicinity of San Francisco, whether it 
 belongs to the navv. army, revenue cutter service, fish commission or 
 lighthouse service, was directed to carry supplies of ever)' description to 
 the stricken city and render other assistance, while ot^kers of the army on 
 the Pacific Coast and elsewhere were given imperative instructions to ship 
 tents, rations, medical and other relief supplies. Offers of assistance from 
 abroad were ver}- gratifying to the President, but he felt the United States 
 was able to care for the San Francisco sufferers, and contributions from 
 foreign countries would be declined. 
 
140 PRESIDENTS APPEAL BRINGS A GENEROUS APPROPRIATION 
 
 Governor Pennypacker, of Pennsylvania, issued the following pro- 
 clamation calling upon the people of Pennsylvania to contribute to the 
 relief of the San Francisco earthquake sufferers : 
 
 /;/ the name and by authority of the Commonwealth of Pemisylvania, 
 Executive Departtiient : 
 
 Proclamation. 
 
 An overwhelming and heartrending calamity has fallen upon the city 
 of San Francisco and neighboring towns. Homes and property are gone, 
 and the bereft people are helpless amid desolation and want. 
 
 Now, therefore, I, Samuel Whitaker Pennypacker, Governor of 
 Pennsylvania, call upon the citizens of this Commonwealth to express their 
 sympathy by sending out of the abundance of their means commensurate 
 contributions to their kindred in distress, and I appeal to all corporations, 
 associations and individuals alike to act with promptitude. 
 
 Given under my hand and the great seal of the State, at the city of 
 Harrisburg, this twentieth day of April, in the year of our Lord one thou- 
 sand nine hundred and six, and of the Commonwealth the one hundred and 
 thirtieth. 
 
 By the Governor: 
 
 Samuel W. Pennypacker. 
 Robert W. McAfee^ 
 Secretary of the Commonwealth. 
 
 The splendid generosity of President Shibe and his fellow officials of 
 the Athletic Base Ball Club, of Philadelphia, swelled by $639.39 the North 
 Americans fund for the relief of sufferers from the California earthquake. 
 After paying New York's share of the receipts for the game on the local 
 American League grounds the home club turned over to the fund every 
 dollar that had been paid for admission by those on the bleachers and in 
 the grandstand. 
 
 To this large sum must be added $23.80, donated by Joe Schroeder, 
 the club's groundkeeper. Mr. Schroeder also had the concession for selling 
 sandwiches, pretzels, peanuts and soft drinks. The $23.80 he turned over 
 represented his entire profits on one day's business. Nobody had appealed 
 
PRESIDENT'S APPEAL BRINGS A GENEROUS APPROPRIATION 141 
 to Joe to perform this act of liberality in behalf of his suffering fellow- 
 man. Joe didn't need to be asked. He simply walked up to The North 
 American's representative, turned over a bagful of nickels, dimes and quar- 
 ters, and said : 
 
 "Add this to the fund. I'm sorry it isn't more. If my profits had 
 been ten times as much, you'd got it all." 
 
 Mr. Rockefeller's $100,000 donation does not represent, in proportion 
 to his means, as much as "Joe's" $23.80. The same generous spirit that 
 marked Mr. Schroeder's act seemed to inspire everybody connected with 
 the club. All officials of the club, paid their way into their own grounds 
 for the first time. The policemen on duty, who were paid by the club, would 
 not accept their wages for the afternoon's work, and requested that it be 
 turned over to the fund. 
 
 When the money was paid over the manager said : "We never drew 
 a check in this office that gave us more pleasure." 
 
 MILITARY FORCE INCREASED. 
 
 In the War Department it was regarded as significant that General 
 Funston had called to his aid all of the troops at Monterey and Vancouver 
 barracks in addition to those which were already at the Presidio. It was 
 estimated that with all of these he would have under his command about 
 3,500 men, and this number was deemed sufficient by the War Department 
 to insure good order in the city. 
 
 Assistant Secretary of the Navy Newberry, who w^as acting Secretary 
 up to the time of the return of Secretary Bonaparte from Baltimore, sent 
 orders to the Pacific squadron saying that the department expected all naval 
 vessels to afford every aid in their power, and directing them to communi- 
 cate with the Mayor of Los Angeles. At the same time Rear Admiral Con- 
 verse, chief of the Bureau of Navigation, ordered the Collier Saturn at San 
 Diego to proceed at once to San Francisco and report to Rear Admiral 
 Goodrich. 
 
 Mr. Newberry also addressed a note to the War Department, in which 
 he said that orders had been issued to the navy to assist the army in every 
 possible manner and asked if there was anything further which the navy 
 could do. 
 
142 PRESIDENT'S APPEAL BRINGS A GENEROUS APPROPRIATION 
 
 Secretary Taft, while testifying before the Cana' Committee, received 
 at 3 o'clock a message from the War Department that another $1,000,000 
 was needed to buy supplies for San Francisco sufferers. The Secretary, 
 after reading the message, said : 
 
 "We have already contracted for $1,500,000 worth of stores and 
 expenses incident to the work. This message, of course, should go to 
 the House at once." He stated that he would send it there for action. 
 "If I am guilty of any impeachable offense (referring to the law prohib- 
 iting expenditures in excess of appropriations) in connection w'ith this 
 disaster, I shall crave your endorsement of my course," he said, in expla- 
 nation of his desire to do everything possible for the sufferers without 
 delay. "Congress will acquit you," said Senator Taliaferro, and other 
 members of the committee assented,, feelingly. 
 
 TO REPLACE FEDERAL BUILDINGS. 
 
 When the Senate met on Friday, Mr. Scott presented and asked 
 immediate attention for a resolution calling upon the Secretary of the 
 Treasury to prepare for the Senate an estimate of the cost of replacing 
 the ruined Federal buildings in San Francisco, and it was adopted. There 
 was no objection to and very little discussion of the resolution. Mr. 
 Heyburn suggested the necessity of making immediate provision for the 
 United States Court in San Francisco. 
 
 The Andrew Carnegie Hero Fund Commission wired $25,000 to the 
 Mayor of San Francisco for the relief of the earthquake sufferers. The 
 telegram was sent from Philadelphia by President Charles L. Taylor, of 
 the commission, the message being first dispatched to the office of the 
 Carnegie fund, in Pittsburg, with instructions to have it transmitted 
 to its destination. It read as follows: 
 
 "Carnegie Hero Fimd Commission places $25,000 at your disposal, 
 subject to your order, for immediate relief of sufferers. With deepest 
 sympathy, 
 
 "Charles L. Taylor, President." 
 
 The action was decided upon in an informal way by Mr. Carnegie 
 and four members of the commission, all residents of Pittsburg. 
 
 "The earthquake was the chief topic of conversation," said President 
 
PRESIDENT'S APPEAL BRINGS A GENEROUS APPROPRIATION 143 
 Taylor afterward, "and the thought of sending immediate relief was 
 naturally uppermost in our minds. No one particular person made the 
 suggestion; it was simultaneous and unanimous." 
 
 REMARKABLE ESCAPE. 
 
 Eleven post-office clerks, all alive, were rescued on Friday from the 
 ruins of the collapsed post-office building at Oakland, where they had been 
 entombed under tons of stone and timber since the structure fell on 
 Wednesday. 
 
 All were at first thought to be dead, but when a rescuing party reached 
 them, after hours of effort, they were found to be alive, though exhausted 
 and unconscious. The structure had collapsed in such a way as to imprison 
 them on all sides without crushing them, heavy timbers having shielded 
 them from the falling masonry. For three days they had been without 
 either food or drink. 
 
 They were found by a party of workmen who were trying to recover 
 the mail matter. The post-office was one of the few buildings wrecked 
 by the earthquake shock that was not afterward swept by flames. All the 
 mail matter was recovered, comparatively uninjured. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE QUEEN CITY OF THE PACIFIC COAST PARALYZED 
 'WITH TERROR AND DISTRESS. 
 
 AFTER three long days and nights of indescribable horror, death and 
 disaster, relief came to the stricken people of San Francisco. After 
 a night of blackness and chill, while wild Pacific gales fanned the fiercely 
 burning flames, shattered the crumbling desolate walls of ruined buildings 
 and whistled through the unprotected camps where shivering refugees 
 huddled together, the sun rose gloriously upon a day of hope and promise. 
 
 With it came the news that the devastating flames were checked at 
 last; that their work of destruction was over. Relief trains had entered 
 during the night, and when day was fairly broken San Francisco had been 
 fed. The vast camps for the first time in three days became the scene 
 of other than famine and sorrow, and hope sprung anew in the hearts of 
 the hundreds of thousands who passed through the stupendous disaster. 
 
 Disease was the single enemy left unconquered. Fire and famine had 
 passed. A thousand cheers from husky parched throats rose when late at 
 night the first relief train pufifed in over the Coast Division of the Southern 
 Pacific. Men shouted and women laughed hysterically as they saw the 
 troops crowd about the cars, rip open the doors and reveal the plenty 
 within. It was the turning point from a living death to life. The work 
 of relief had been going on unceasingly at! day and continued throughout 
 the night. Nine distributing points were arranged, and the stores were 
 hurried from the trains in every kind of vehicle. Automobiles and wagons 
 were either offered or commandeered, and the pufflng motor cars, guarded 
 by soldiers, flashed up and down the rows of ashes and trill steel threads, 
 bringing the food and water, the tents and clothing, which had been sent 
 in from all parts of the United States. 
 
 With the break of day, steamers from Oakland, Alameda, Vallejo 
 and other points through which the railroads had means of communication 
 with San Francisco, began landing cargoes of supplies at various pointsi 
 
 144 
 
THE QUEEN CITY OF THE PACIFIC COAST 146 
 
 along the water front from the Potrero to the Presidio. The relief trains 
 had been arriving at frequent intervals, and were unloaded almost before 
 they had stopped. All were assisting in the work, and system was 
 gradually growing out of the chaos which followed the first attempt at 
 distribution. 
 
 FEEDING THE GAUNT AND HUNGRY HOST. 
 
 Gaunt men waited their turn in the long lines which formed around 
 the stores while the troopers worked with feverish energy that all might 
 be fed. More than twenty carloads of food was received in the city 
 and word had been received that the vast stores which were speeding 
 over the Western plains on express train schedule would arrive next day. 
 
 The sight in the relief camps was a remarkable one, one that will 
 never be effaced from the memory of those who saw it. With the rising 
 of the sun the worn men and women rose from their beds of grass and 
 sod and turned an expressionless face toward the ruins of the great city. 
 The flames still burned in a few scattered places, but the resistless sweep 
 of the night before was gone. Tall threads of steel rising high into the 
 heavens marked the ruins of huge skyscrapers; crumbling masses of stone 
 remained of the magnificent buildings which stood but a few hours before. 
 Ashes and waste and desolation were everywhere. 
 
 But the brave refugees, with the knowledge that food and water was 
 at hand and that famine no longer threatened, turned a brave face to 
 another day — the first day of hope since the sudden terrifying tremors of 
 the earth Wednesday morning. In half an hour thousands of little fires 
 were burning and the odor of coffee pervaded the camps. To the famished 
 chilled bodies, after their night of terror, it portrayed the beginning of the 
 new era. 
 
 All San Francisco breakfasted in the open streets, a few rocks covered 
 with a sheet of tin serving as a stove. Millionaire and pauper, Caucasian 
 and Mongolian, white and black, all ate together. All through the fine 
 residence section of Pacific Heights people sat on the sidewalks and took 
 their black coffee, dry bread, crackers, and in some cases eggs and bacon. 
 For many it was the first food that had passed their lips since the fire 
 started. And .San Francisco fed, became once again a city of determina- 
 
 10— S. F. 
 
146 THE QUEEN CITY OF THE PACIFIC COAST 
 
 tion. Men who had remained in a stupor for hours smiled, children cooed 
 
 once again, tired women rose with new hope. 
 
 The flight, checked by the flames which threatened the Union Ferry- 
 House, again commenced. A continuous stream of humanity trailed down 
 Market Street through the ruins of what had been their homes and on to 
 the ferryboats, while the bay shore from the north was a moving mass. 
 All day long the refugees who elected to leave the despoiled city fell in 
 with the procession. The terror had gone and the flight was slow and 
 systematic. Troops guarded the docks and the boats ran ceaselessly to 
 and fro with their human freight. All who wished to leave were urged 
 to do so, as every one gone meant one less mouth to feed. None were 
 allow^ed to take food with them, but all who were destitute were being 
 provided passage to Oakland, and from there were carried free to any 
 point they might wish to reach. 
 
 ]\Iany were taking advantage of these conditions, and 50,000 left 
 within a few days. Twenty-five thousand escaped before the fire en- 
 dangered the ferry landing, and fully as many departed the next day 
 These were going to various points, carrying their all with them. The 
 refugees, were they not pitiful, would have been grotesque. Men with 
 high silk hats and wrapped in blankets, women in underskirts and shawls, 
 their arms and hands bearing thousands of dollars' worth of jewelry, 
 babes wnth dolls or yelping dogs, and all with hastily tied bundles; all 
 were joining in the exodus. A few of the luckier ones had suit cases. 
 
 THOUSANDS STAY IN. 
 
 But while thousands left, some to seek new homes, some to visit 
 relatives and some to travel or search for work, many thousands remained 
 in the camps. These were rapidly being fitted up in somewhat better shape 
 and under the energetic work of the troops were becoming more orderly. 
 Tents in many cases supplanted the rude shelters of blankets and sheets. 
 Thousands of canvas coverings were being distributed and cots replaced 
 the beds of twigs. 
 
 The exodus made no apparent decrease in the size of the great tented 
 cities, but the day brought forth a different spirit. "We will stay until we 
 can find another home," were the words heard everywhere. 
 
THE QUEEN CITY OF THE PACIFIC COAST 147 
 
 The work of local relief was being prosecuted among- these, many of 
 whom, with a single stroke of the pen, could produce thousands of dollars, 
 but were left with the few dollars they may have had in their pockets. 
 These practically were no better off than the street laborer, who made his 
 pocketbook his bank ; but efforts were being made to arrange a system of 
 banking by which immediate necessities could be supplied. 
 
 A meeting of members of the San Francisco Clearing House was 
 called to discuss the financial situation, to consider the future of the banks 
 and to prepare some plan to be submitted to the State Clearing Associa- 
 tion, which would meet in a few days. The State Bank Commissioners 
 reported all of the banks of the State in splendid condition, but it was 
 believed that the situation demanded that some unusual action be taken to 
 prevent any distressing disturbance. 
 
 The advisability of having the Government pay out money from the 
 San Francisco mint on telegraphic orders was considered. It was decided 
 that it might be advisable to suspend banking in the State until a safe 
 readjustment of monetary matters had been reached. 
 
 James D. Phelan, chairman of the Finance Committee, reported that 
 local subscriptions had reached the grand total of $228,250. The money 
 given locally would be applied towards providing shelter other than the 
 tents for the homeless thousands in the parks. Lumber was already coming 
 into the city, and temporary huts were to be built at Golden Gate Park, 
 while many of the buildings, such as the Fairmount Hotel and the 
 Merchants' Exchange, which were gutted, would be fitted up to care for 
 the refugees. 
 
 NO FIRES ALLOWED IN HOUSES. 
 
 Dinner was provided in the same manner as breakfast, no fires being 
 allowed in houses, and many of those who were on the verge of illness 
 recovered from their experiences. On the other hand, the nervous reaction 
 following the heartrending experiences and horrible scenes of the past 
 few days began to tell. Men and women who apparently became normal 
 and filled with hope in the morning, as the day wore off and the terror 
 went with the incoming of the relief, grew hysterical. The constant sus- 
 pense over missing friends and relatives, coupled with the suddenly restored 
 physical vig^or, was causing illness and in some cases insanity. 
 
148 THE QUEEN CITY OF THE PACIFIC COAST 
 
 Several men suddenly went mad during the day and ran amuck. One 
 attempted to kill his wife \vith a cleaver and had to be arrested to prevent 
 him injuring himself or his family. This was a situation of which the 
 authorities were fearful, and many cases of madness were looked for. 
 
 The authorities had been endeavoring, with but little success, to 
 (ibtain a list of the survivors, so that friends and families might be reunited. 
 Ill one of the parks a great sign board was built and this was covered with 
 names to direct searchers. In front of this and about the tents where 
 the registration lists were being compiled were anxious crowds. Many 
 families were able to keep together throughout the disaster, but others 
 were scattered. Father sought daughter and mother, son. Husband and 
 wife knew nothing of each other's whereabouts and were frantic with 
 grief and fear. 
 
 Cases of this kind became more noticeable. Heretofore, every man 
 was for himself. Appalled at the destruction which had swept away his 
 all and his nerves deadened by hunger and the fearful sights about him, 
 he had either worked furiously in the battle with the flames or sat gazing 
 dully on the ruins about him. Water was his one desire. Food was his 
 craving. But with the relief, with his bodily wants satisfied, friendship 
 and love were again predominating, and the thought of property loss was 
 overshadowed in the greater loss of friends and loved ones. 
 
 SURVIVORS TOO DAZED TO RELATE EXPERIENCES. 
 
 The crowds were not yet even awakened from the animal-like stupor 
 into which they had fallen, and the next two days promised to bring scenes 
 of grief such as were not even witnessed during the time of fright. The 
 survivors were unable to tell of their experiences. Individual cases were 
 overshadowed in their minds by the greater general catastrophe. "We 
 couldn't get any water," they said, but the terrible sufferings which were 
 experienced were too fearful to be put into words. 
 
 James D. Phelan, former Mayor of San Francisco and chairman of 
 the Finance Relief Committee, said : 
 
 "When I was awakened in my house by the shock I made my way 
 down town toward the fire, which was raging in two directions. One 
 branch of the fire destroyed my office building on Market Street and the 
 
THE QUEEN CITY OF THE PACIFIC COAST 149 
 
 other my home in the Mission. Of my personal effects I saved but a few. 
 j\Jy family left my home and went to Golden Gate Park, where I followed 
 and pitched two tents which I had at my home. Later I accompanied my 
 f-imily to Burlingame, twenty miles south, in an automobile. The city 
 will be rebuilt on lines of strength and architectural beauty heretofore 
 unknown." 
 
 Rudolph Spreckels, the sugar magnate, said : 
 
 "I can give no connected account of my exp>eriences now. I have 
 not had time to think about myself. I volunteered as a special officer and 
 assisted the firemen in trying to check the fire, and my experience at Van 
 Ness Avenue and Union Street was certainly a thrilling one. Of course, 
 San Francisco will be rebuilt, and better than ever." 
 
 HERMAN OELRICHS EXHAUSTED. 
 
 Herman Oelrichs, the New York and San Francisco millionaire and 
 society man, who married a daughter of Senator Fair, was thin and 
 haggard. "I was in the St. Francis Hotel," he said, disjointedly. "I lost 
 all my personal effects except the suit of clothes that I have on and two 
 tlannel shirts. I have done what I could everywhere to relieve the suffer- 
 ing, and just at present am too exhausted to think connectedly." All of 
 the prominent men of the city told similar stories. All were thoroughly 
 worn out with their heroic efforts in behalf of the city. 
 
 General Funston appeared to the people in a light which will make 
 llis name ring for generations. From the instant he assumed control 
 Wednesday morning, confronted by the wild panic which pervaded the 
 city, until the danger of famine and fire was supplanted by the dangers 
 of disease, the soldier stuck to his post. His aides asserted that he had 
 not slept since he appeared on the scene. His face w^as thin and worn, 
 but his eyes were still steady and his commands were issued in the same 
 cool, decisive tone which characterizes the man. 
 
 And leaving the fire to other hands, he turned his attention to the 
 distribution of supplies and the prevention of the disease which was now 
 the greatest terror. With him was Mayor Schmitz. Like General Fun- 
 ston, the Mayor, driven by the flames from one office to another, remained 
 at his desk, alert and prepared. 
 
150 THE QUEEN CITY OF THE PACIFIC COAST 
 
 Some little confusion occurred on account of the headquarters of the 
 two men being in different portions of the city, and seve»al orders were 
 conflicting. For a tinle it was proposed to wire the President asking him 
 to declare General Funston in complete command, but the moment the 
 misunderstanding occurred the General and the Mayor co-operated in 
 the establishment of the military district with the military headquarters 
 at Park lodge. 
 
 Engineer, sanitary and Signal Corps officers were detailed and took 
 up the work of providing sanitary conditions and preventing the spread 
 of disease. Major Mclver was now laying out a sanitary camp in Golden 
 Gate Park and the soldiers were providing temporary sewerage facilities. 
 
 ALL HOSPITALS WERE FILLED. 
 
 All of the hospitals were filled, and at the General Hospital, in the 
 Presidio, 700 patients w-ere cared for. Out of this number only seven 
 deaths occurred during the day, while at the Children's Hospital, in Cali- 
 fornia Street, where a large number of injured and ill were treated, only 
 one death occurred. 
 
 It was difficult to estimate the number of dead, as bodies were scat- 
 tered all over the city. They were being buried by gangs of men impressed 
 by the soldiers. In three days thirty-two Chinese nnd whites were buried 
 in Portsmouth Square alone. Few^ of the bodies were identified, most of 
 them being burned beyond recognition. 
 
 Mayor Schmitz issued the following proclamation, which citizens were 
 instructed to observe: 
 
 "Do not be afraid of famine. There will be abundance of food 
 supplied. Do not use any water except for drinking and cooking purposes. 
 Do not light any fires in houses, stoves or fireplace. Do not use any house 
 closets under any circumstances, but dig earth closets in vards or vacant 
 lots, using, if possible, chloride of lime or some other disinfectant. This 
 is of the greatest importance, and the water supply is only sufficient for 
 drinking and cooking. Do not allow any garbage to remain on the prem- 
 ises; bury it and cover immediately. Pestilence can only be avoided by 
 complying w'ith these regulations. 
 
 "You are particularly requested not to enter any business house or 
 
THE QUEEN CITY OF THE PACIFIC COAST 151 
 
 dwelling except your own, as you may be mistaken for one of the looters 
 and shot on sight, as the orders are not to arrest, but shoot down anyone 
 caught stealing." 
 
 The water supply was to be increased just as fast as pipes could be 
 repaired. In some places railway tracks had been torn up to facilitate the 
 repairing of water mains. Lake Merced was supplying about 1,000,000 
 gallons to Lakeview Post Office and 7,000,000 gallons to San Francisco. 
 There was water enough stored to supply 35,000,000 gallons a day, the 
 amount formerly used. 
 
 Carpenters and masons began at once to repair every bakery left 
 standing in the city in order that they might provide bread for the home- 
 less. The authorities issued an urgent appeal for a supply of chloride 
 of lime, necessary to insure sanitary conditions. It was v/anted imme- 
 diately and in large quantities. Other drugs needed were sulphur, carbolic 
 acid, bichloride of mercury, vaccine points, general antiseptics, formalde- 
 hyde, cathartics, castor oil, opium pills, morphine tablets and quinine. It 
 was almost as urgent that people outside the city furnish these drugs at 
 once as it was that they send food. 
 
 The authorities had large forces of men at work on the sewer system 
 inside the city all day, and the gangs were being worked at night. Soldiers 
 were seeing that all of the orders in the Mayor's proclamation were being 
 enforced, and, although little force was now needed to obtain compliance 
 with their demands, a strict guard was being kept everywhere. 
 
 PEOPLE UNITE IN PRAISE OF REGULARS. 
 
 The people were unable to praise sufficiently the regulars who guarded 
 them, utterly oblivious to the terrors of the frightened inhabitants. From 
 the instant the fighting men from the Presidio swung into the city Wed- 
 nesday morning there was no trifling with their commands. Orders were 
 issued that all looters should be shot without question. That these would 
 be carried out to the letter was not expected by the criminal element of 
 the city, and they hailed the fire with fiendish glee as an opportunity to 
 rob and steal. 
 
 Before the first morning had passed, however, thieves had been caught 
 looting the forsaken buildings which the flames were approaching, and the 
 
152 THE QUEEN CITY OF THE PACIFIC COAST 
 
 soldiers, who were on the front of the fire Hne day and night, without 
 further ado shot them down and left their bodies to be consumed by 
 the blaze. 
 
 A son of T. P. Riordan, a real estate dealer, was shot and instantly 
 killed a few feet from his residence. Young Riordan was on his way 
 home and had a bottle of whiskey in his coat pocket. The soldier on duty 
 odered him to stop and throw the whiskey away, and when Riordan refused 
 the soldier immediately shot him dead. A workman employed at the 
 Gerson tannery was on his way home when halted by a sentry. The 
 workman explained that his wife was dying and tried to pass. The sentry 
 shot at him, but missed, and the workman ran back to the tannery. 
 
 INSULTER SHOT DOWN. 
 
 Women were protected at the point of the gun, and a man at one of 
 the camps was shot down for insulting a girl. There were persistent 
 reports of the hanging of two men in Jefferson Square and the killing of 
 two Japanese by soldiers in the Western Addition. On the other hand. 
 a number of men were arrested on General Funston's order under civil 
 process. Many of these were charged with felony, and, as there was no 
 commitment for them, they could not be received at San Quentin Prison, 
 and were distributed among various police district stations. 
 
 No matter whether it was in handling stores or guarding property, 
 the regular reigned supreme, and the people were just beginning to realize 
 how much they owed the men from the Presidio. Without them riot would 
 have broken loose and the liquor-maddened lueu would have ruled the 
 city. As it was, alcohol was confiscated and th'i vicious element of the 
 city kept strictly within bounds. In striking contrast to the coolness and 
 efficiency of the men of the army was the force of militiamen and special 
 policemen. The University of California cadets and the men who were 
 unaccustomed to handling weapons and coping with emergencies caused 
 great dissatisfaction, and Chief of Police Dinan recommended to General 
 Funston that they be withdrawn from the city. 
 
 Many of these were as panic-stricken as the people they were to 
 protect, and a number of men on the water front were shot for refusing 
 to help in fighting the fire. One man, a foreigner, not understanding 
 
THE QUEEN CITY OF THE PACIFIC COAST 153 
 
 English, Started to walk away when a militiaman ordered him to chop 
 some wood. Without more ado, the guard raised his rifle and fired, 
 injuring the other fatally. Such cases as these were numerous. All but 
 the regulars were wrought up to a high pitch of excitement and shot 
 where milder orders would have sufficed. 
 
 Martial law was much less rigorously enforced, however, as the ap- 
 pearance of supplies quieted the people, and although conditions would 
 be generally considered fearful, there was a vast improvement over the 
 last night. For the first time in four days the 200,000, bereft of all, 
 weary, torn by ceaseless vigil and the ravages of hunger, slept peacefufly, 
 and at midnight in the camps all was silent. Only the sentry, alert still, 
 paced up and down the silent rows of tents wherein lay a people who 
 suffered agonies in a measure that makes men shudder. 
 
 And Sunday dawned on a fallen city, but a city with life and hope 
 and energy. Praise for the sparing of their lives was offered, though 
 the elements had almost conquered them, and services were held in all 
 the camps. 
 
 SERVICES IN OPEN AIR. 
 
 The ministers at a hastily called meeting decided upon this step, and 
 a motley congregation worshiped beneath the skies on the coast of the 
 vast Pacific while the ruined churches in the city still smouldered. It was 
 estimated by ecclesiastical authorities that the loss to churches would not 
 be less than $10,000,000. Bodies to suffer most severely are the Roman 
 Catholic, the Presbyterian, the Congregational, the Baptist, the Episcopal, 
 the Lutheran, the Methodist and the Disciples of Christ. 
 
 The leading business men of the city, instead of being disheartened 
 by the calamity, were prone to look into the future, and pessimism was an 
 absent quality. Homer S. King, president of the San Francisco Clearing 
 House, said : 
 
 "San Francisco has l future and will rebuild. There is not even a 
 panic, and I have seen more than one panic. It is only a setback, from 
 which the city is strong and vigorous enough to recover. I do not believe 
 any of the bankers consider this disaster anything more than a serious 
 wound, that will heal quickly and cleanly. 
 
164 THE QUEEN CITY OF THE PACIFIC COAST 
 
 "The banks are more than willing to help the people who have shared 
 in the common distress.' Chicago and Baltimore recovered from even 
 greater setbacks. The people of San Francisco have always been pro- 
 gressive, and are recognized as hard workers. There is no reason why 
 they should not do the same. The bankers will help build the city. We 
 are absolutely satisfied and assured as to our own standing. Most of the 
 money that is put into circulation will go where it will be most efTective 
 in the re-establishment of business." 
 
 The cleaning up of the city commenced. Forty bodies were taken 
 from the ruins of a building at T19 Fifth Street by the Red Cross service. 
 The structure, which was a four-story wooden building, containing three 
 flats of ten rooms each, collapsed during the earthquake Wednesday morn- 
 ing. At the time several persons were taken out alive from the upper 
 stories, and it was thought that all the inmates had escaped. The ruins 
 took fire and were consumed. The bodies of those imprisoned within the 
 ruins were burned, only bones being left. 
 
 FERRY FIRE CHECKED. 
 
 The fire on the water front north of the ferry was under control at 
 8.30 A. M. It burned as far south as the Lombard Street dock, where it 
 was checked and was now smouldering. The ferry depot and some of 
 the docks in that vicinity were safe. 
 
 At night the llamcs came from Nob Hill ridge, making their way 
 to the big sea wall sheds, docks and warehouses, but reports of damage 
 were conflicting. One statement was that most of the valuable property 
 on the extreme shore line escaped. A BitUctin reporter, who had .skirted 
 the front in a tug, .said that everything except four docks had been swept 
 clean from Fisherman's Wharf, at the f(~)Ot of Powell Street, to a point 
 .nrc^und Westerly, almost to the ferry building. This meant that nearly 
 a nu'le of grain sheds, docks and wharves had been added to the general 
 destruction. The reporter also declared that he saw fire blazing in South 
 San Francisco, and that spots in the suburb were smouldering. According 
 to his account the fire was still burning at the foot of Powell Street, but 
 there was no possibility of it going into the Presidio District. 
 
 In the section north of Market Street the ruined district was prac- 
 
THE QUEEN CITY OF THE PACIFIC COAST 156 
 
 tically bounded on the west by tlie Van Ness Avenue, although in many 
 blocks the flames destroyed squares to the west of that thoroughfare. 
 The Van Ness Avenue burned line runs northerly to Greenwich Street, 
 which is a few blocks from the bay. Then the boundary went up over 
 Telegraph Mill and dov;'n to tliat portion of tlie shore that faces Oakland. 
 Practically everything in the district bounded by Market Street, Van 
 Ness Avenue, Greenwich Street and the bay was in ashes. On the east 
 of Hyde Street Hill the fire burned down to Bay Street and Montgomery 
 Avenue and stopped at that intersection. All south of Market Street, with 
 perhaps some exceptions in tlie vicinity of the Pul)lic Mail dock, was gone. 
 This section is bounded on the north by ATarkct Street, and runs to 
 Guererro, goes out that street two blocks, turns west to Dolores, runs 
 west six blocks to about Twenty-second, taking in four blocks on the other 
 side of Dolores. The fire then took an irregular course southward, 
 spreading out as far as Twenty-fifth Street, and going down that way to 
 the southerly bay shore. 
 
 CANNOT ESTIMATE DAMAGE. 
 
 Rolla V. Watt, manager of the Royal and Queen Insurance Com- 
 panies and one of the most prominent insurance men on the coast, was 
 asked if he would hazard an estimate of the financial loss. He said: 
 "My idea is something like $200,000,000. T have heard other insurance 
 men place the figure at five hundred millions. \V6 don't know. It is 
 simply too big for any human head to figure out at this time." 
 
 An important meeting of the San l-'rancisco hire Underwriters was 
 held at what will now be its permanent head(|uarters. Reed's Hall, at 
 Twelfth and Harrison Streets, in Oakland. The sense of the meeting- 
 was that the impression should not be given out that the insurance com- 
 panies had money to throw away and that any losses would be paid 
 until they had been properly adjusted and only such losses as the companies 
 are responsible for would be paid. 
 
 This matter was brought to the attention of the board by Mr. Watt. 
 He said: "I met ex-Mayor Phelan on the street yesterday and he asked 
 me to get some sort of a notice given out to the public that their losses 
 would be paid I do not believe that this is the proper thing, and I told 
 
166 THE QUEEN CITY OF THE PACIFIC COAST 
 
 him so. The companies I represent will pay what they are liable for and 
 no more, and it is better for those whose spirits are drooping to allow 
 them to droop rather than to buoy them up with false hopes." 
 
 From the remark made there was no doubt that the companies would 
 draw a fine distinction between the loss by earthquake and that by fire, 
 and would only pay for that which was actually burned. The question 
 of property devastated by dynamite was not touched upon, and will 
 probably be the cause of endless litigation. The records in the Hall of 
 Records were unharmed, which will prevent any tangle in titles. 
 
 FUNSTON TELLS OF CONDITIONS. 
 
 General Funston sent the following dispatch regarding conditions 
 at San Francisco to the War Department : 
 
 "Fire is making no progress to the west from Van Ness Avenue. 
 West wind of considerable force now beginning. Indications now that 
 all that part of the city east of Van Ness Avenue and north to the bay 
 will be destroyed. Some considerable apprehension is felt as to the post 
 of Fort Mason, but it is believed that we can save it. Weather continues 
 fine and warm; practically no suffering from cold. It will be impossible 
 to at once establish proper sanitary conditions. Much sickness must neces- 
 sarily be expected. If the city to the west now standing remains intact 
 there are many good buildings that can be used as hospitals. The water 
 supply is encouraging. The Spring Valley water people believe they can 
 deliver from ten to twelve million gallons daily. This, with other sources 
 not mentioned, will prevent a water famine." 
 
 The San Francisco daily newspapers, all of which were burned out, 
 were gradually g^etting in shape to serve subscribers. On Thursday 
 morning the best 'showing the morning journals could make was a small 
 combination sheet bearing the heading "Call-Chronicle-Examiner." It 
 was set up and printed in the oflfice of the Oakland Tribune, gave a brief 
 account of the great disaster and took an optimistic view of the future 
 of the stricken city. The papers, though still printed in Oakland, appeared 
 under their own headings and with a few illustrations showing scenes in 
 the streets of San Francisco. It was expected that within a short time they 
 would be able to replace their plants and present their former appearance. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 HOMELESS REFUGEES RELATE TALES OF 
 AGONIZING HORROR. 
 
 IN writing from Oakland, under date of April 21st, our fair correspondent 
 gives the following graphic story of the dreadful suffering among 
 women and children: 
 
 "May God be merciful to the women and children in this land of 
 desolation and despair! Men have done, are doing, such deeds of sublime 
 self-sacrifice, of magnificent heroism, that deserve to make the title of 
 American manhood immortal in the pages of history. The rest lies with 
 the Almighty. 
 
 "I spent all of last night and to-day in that horror city across the bay. 
 I went from this city of plenty, blooming with abounding health, thronged 
 with happy mothers and joyous children, and spent hours among the 
 blackened ruins and out on the windswept slopes of the sand hills by the 
 sea, and I heard the voice of Rachel weeping for her children in the 
 wilderness and mourning because she found them not. 
 
 "I climbed to the top of Strawberry Hill, in Golden Gate Park, and 
 saw a woman, half naked, almost starving, her hair disheveled and an 
 unnatural lustre in her eyes, her gaze fixed upon the waters in the distance, 
 and her voice repeating over and over again : 'Here I am, my pretties ; 
 come here, come here.' I took her by the hand and led her down to the 
 grass at the foot of the hill. A man — her husband — received her from 
 me and wept as he said : 'She is calling our three little children. She 
 thinks the sound of the ocean waves is the voices of our lost darlings.' 
 
 "Ever since they became separated from their children in that first 
 terrific onrush of the multitude when the fire swept along Mission Street, 
 these two had been tramping over the hills and parks without food or rest, 
 searching for their little ones. To all whom they have met they have 
 addressed the same pitiful question : 'Have you seen anything of our lost 
 babies?' They will not know what has become of them until order has 
 
 157 
 
ir)S TALES OF AGOxNIZING HORROR 
 
 Ijeen brought out of chaos ; until the registration headquarters of the mili- 
 tary authorities has secured the names of all who are among the straggling 
 wanderers around the camps of the homeless. Perhaps then it will be 
 found that these children are lying in a trench among the corpses of the 
 weaklings who have succumbed to the frightful rigors of the last three 
 <lays. Last night a soldier seized me by the arm and cried : 'If you are 
 a woman with a woman's heart, go in there and do whatever you can.' 
 " 'In there' meant behind a barricade of brush, covered with a blanket, 
 that had been hastily thrown together to form a rude shelter. I went in 
 and saw one of my ow-n sex lying on the bare grass naked, her clothing, 
 torn to shreds, scattered over the green beside her. She was moaning 
 pitifully, and it needed no words to tell a w^oman what the matter was. 
 I bade my man escort find a doctor, or at least send more women at once. 
 He ran off and soon two sympathetic ladies hastened into the shelter. In 
 an hour my escort returned with a young medical student. Under the 
 best ministrations we could find, a new life was ushered into this hell, 
 which, a few hours ago, was the fairest among cities. 
 
 TWO THOUSAND BABIES BORN IN STRICKEN CITY. 
 
 " 'There have been at least two thousand such cases,' said the medical 
 student. 'Many of the mothers have died — few of the babies have lived. 
 I, personally, know of nine babies that have been born in the park to-day. 
 There must have been many others here, among the sand hills, and at the 
 Presidio.' Think of it, you happy women who have become mothers in 
 comfortable homes, attended with every care that loving hands can bestow. 
 I'hink of the dreadful plight of these poor members of your sex. The 
 very thought of it is enough to make the hearts of women burst with pity. 
 
 "To-day I walked among the people crowded on the Panhandle. 
 Opposite the Lyon Street entrance, on the north side, I saw a young 
 woman sitting tailor-fashion in the roadway, which, in happier days, was 
 the carriage boulevard. She held a dishpan and was looking at her 
 reflection in the polished bottom, while another girl was arranging her 
 hair. I recognized a young wife, whose m.arriage to a prominent young 
 lawyer eight months ago was a gala event among that little handful of 
 people who clung to the old-time fashionable district of Valencia Street, 
 
TALES OF AGONIZING HORROR 159 
 
 like the Pheland and Dent families, and refused to move from that aristo- 
 cratic section when the new-made millionaires began to build their palaces 
 on Nob Hill and Pacific Heights. I spoke to the young woman about 
 the disadvantages of making her toilet under such untoward circumstances. 
 
 " *Ah, Julia, dear, you must stay to luncheon,' she said, extending 
 her fingers, just as though she stood in her own drawing room. 
 
 I looked at the maid in astonishment, for I had never met the young 
 society woman before. The maid shook her head and whispered when 
 she got a chance: 
 
 " 'My mistress is not in her right mind.' 
 
 " 'Where is her husband ?' I asked. 
 
 MIND DERANGED BY SUFFERING. 
 
 " 'He has gone to try to get some food,' said the girl. 'She imagines 
 that she is in her own home, before her dressing table, and is having me 
 do up her hair against some of her friends dropping in.' 
 
 " 'She must have suffered,' I said, 'to cause such a mental derange- 
 ment.' 
 
 "The girl's eyes filled with tears. She told me that her mistress had 
 seen her brother killed by falling timbers while they were hurrying to a 
 place of safety. A little further on I saw two women concealed as best 
 they might be behind a tuft of sand brush, one lying face down on the 
 ground, while the other vigorously massaged her bare back, I asked 
 if I might help, and learned that the ministering angel was the unmarried 
 daughter of one of the city's richest merchants, and that the girl whom 
 slie succored had been employed as a servant in her father's household. 
 The girl's back had been injured by a fall, and her mistress's fair hands 
 were trying to make her well again. 
 
 "Thus has this overwhelming common woe leveled all barriers of 
 caste and placed the suffering multitude on a basis of democracy. On a 
 rock behind a manzanita bush near the edge of Stow Lake I saw a 
 Chinaman making a pile of broken twigs in the early morning. The man 
 felt inside his blouse and swore a gibbering, unintelligible Asiatic oath 
 as his hand came forth empty. Observing my escort, the Chinaman 
 approached and said: 
 
IfiO TALES OF AGONIZING HORROR 
 
 " 'Bosse, alle same, catchee match?' 
 
 "My escort ga\e liiiii the desired article, and the Chinaman made a 
 lire of In's pile of twigs. 'Why are you making a fire, John?' I asked. 
 
 " 'Bleakfast,' he replied, laconically. 
 
 SOCIETY FOLKS COMPELLED TO CAMP. 
 
 "I asked him where his food might be, and he gave us a quick glance 
 of suspicion as he said briefly, 'No sabbe.' We stood by watching him, 
 evidently to his great distress, and finally he made bold to say, 'You no 
 , stand lound, bosse ; you go 'way.' 
 
 "We left him, but after making the tour around the lake came back 
 to the same place. There sat four people on the ground eating fried pork, 
 potatoes and Chinese cakes. Tn a young woman of the group I recognized 
 one whom I had seen dancing at one of Mr. Greenway's Friday Night 
 Cotillon balls in the Palace Hotel's maple room during the winter. They 
 oflfered to share their meal with us. but we told them that we had just 
 come from breakfast in Oakland. T told them about the strange conduct 
 of their Chinaman. \\ho was traveling back and forth from his fire to 
 the 'table' with the food as it became ready to serve. The father of the 
 family laughed. 
 
 " 'Yes,' he said, 'that is Charlie's way. He has been with us many 
 years, and when our home was destroyed he came out here with us in 
 preference to seeking refuge among his countrymen in Chinatown. Yes- 
 terday w^e w'cre without food, and Charlie disappeared. I thought he had 
 deserted us, but toward dark he came back with a bamboo pole over his 
 shoulder and a Chinese market gardener's basket suspended from either 
 end. In one of the baskets he had a pile of blankets and a lot of canvas. 
 In the other w-as an assortment of pork, flour, Chinese cakes and vegetables, 
 besides a half-dozen chickens and a couple of bagfuls of rice. 
 
 "Charlie had been foraging in Chinatown for us before the fire 
 reached that quarter. He made a tent and improvised beds for us, and 
 he has the food concealed somewhere in the vicinity, but where he will 
 not tell us, for fear that we will give some of it to others and reduce our 
 own supply. Charlie boils rice for himself. He will not touch the other 
 food. A\^ithout him we should have been starving." 
 
TALES OF AGONIZING HORROR 161 
 
 "The straits to which the people have been driven to find shelter for 
 the sick may be realized when it is known that a bear's cage has been 
 turned into a hospital. This cage was the home of Monarch, the magnifi- 
 cent grizzly bear which W. R. Hearst sent Allen Kelly into the mountains 
 of Ventura to capture twenty years ago, and which Mr. Hearst gave to 
 the city of his birth. The cage is a large circular inclosure of tall iron 
 bars imbedded in masonry in the open air. 
 
 "Adjoining it is an annex, which has been the private boudoir of 
 Monarch's mate. The grizzly was driven into the annex, the gate between 
 them closed, and the large cage, covered with canvas, used to house the 
 sick. There is room in it for several dozen persons, and it is filled with 
 women and children victims of typhoid. 
 
 "Near the Japanese tea garden I heard a child crying, and presently 
 found a tiny child tied to a tree. A soldier sentry passing told me that 
 the child's mother had been taken away by the doctors, who said she had 
 smallpox. The father had gone away to procure food, and the mother 
 had caused the doctor to tie her child to the tree so that its father might 
 find it when he returned, and to the little one's dress was pinned a note 
 informing the father what had become of the mother. 
 
 CHILDREN'S PLACE OF REFUGE. 
 
 "Around the ruins of the refectory at the children's playground 
 ropes have been stretched to form a large inclosure. This is the lost 
 children's place of refuge. There are more than 2000 helpless, terrified 
 atoms of humanity under guard there. Dozens of women and nurses are 
 inside the inclosure working uncomplainingly to minister to the needs of 
 the probably orphaned children. 
 
 "Military sentries patrol outside and put back any of the little ones 
 
 who scramble under the ropes. There is not a minute in the day that 
 
 anguished mothers who have lost their children are not wandering around 
 
 inside the ropes looking eagerly among the 2000 little ones and calling 
 
 their beloved ones by name. Frequently, but alas! much too infrequently, 
 
 there is a cry, 'Here I am, mamma !' and a shriek of joy comes from some 
 
 happy mother's heart. 
 
 "I saw to-day a noble example of the faithful nature of a dumb brute 
 11— S. F. 
 
162 TALES OF AGONIZING HORROR 
 
 for a beloved human being. A dog of lowly mixed breed ran under the 
 ropes among the children; He tumbled the little things right and left until 
 he came to a boy in skirts, who clasped the dog around the neck, and 
 they lavished caresses upon each other. 
 
 "The animal was seized by a soldier, tossed over the ropes and kicked 
 away. In a few minutes he was under the ropes again, and found his 
 little master, but was quickly thrown out as before. 
 
 "A third time the faithful dog braved abuse. This time the soldier 
 gave him a cruel cuffing and held him up for anoUier soldier to run him 
 through with his bayonet. An officer prevented the killing of the animal 
 and had the boy taken outside the inclosure, where he romped with his 
 pet until he fell asleep, with his head pillowed on the dog's body. Later 
 in the day I learned that the child's father had found him and had taken 
 both the dog and the boy away." 
 
 Most thrilling of all stories yet related of adventures in stricken San 
 Francisco during the days of horror and nights of terror is that of a 
 party of four, two w^omen and two men, who arrived in Los Angeles, 
 after having spent a night and the greater portion of two days on the 
 hills about Golden Gate Park. 
 
 All were guests at the Palace the night of the 17th. They returned 
 with feet swollen and bruised from miles of walking over ragged, broken 
 streets and with flesh seared and blistered from cinder and flame. The 
 women hastened to a local hotel, where they remained all the afternoon 
 and evening, prostrated from the shock and exposure and denying them- 
 selves even to all friends. 
 
 FRIGHTFUL CREAKING AND ROARING. 
 
 Dr. Ernest W. Fleming, one of the party, told of his adventures as 
 follows : 
 
 "I was stopping in a room on the third floor of the hotel when the 
 first shock occurred. An earthquake in San Francisco w^as no new sensa- 
 tion to me. I was there in 1868, when a boy ten years old, when the first 
 great earthquake came. But that was a gentle rocking of a cradle to the 
 one of Wednesday. 
 
 "I awoke to the groaning of timbers, the grinding, creaking sound; 
 
TALES OF AGONIZING HORROR 168 
 
 then came the roaring". Plastering and wall decorations fell. The sen- 
 sation was as though the buildings were stretching and writhing like a 
 snake. The darkness was intense. Shrieks of women, higher, shriller 
 than that of the creaking timbers, cut the air, I tumbled from the bed 
 and crawled, scrambling toward the door. The twisting and writhing 
 appeared to increase. The air was oppressive. I seemed to be saying to 
 myself, 'Will it never, never stop?' When I wrenched the lock, the door 
 of the room swung back against my shoulder. Just then the building 
 seemed to breathe, stagger and right itself, 
 
 "But I fled from that building as from a falling wall. I could not 
 believe that it could endure such a shock and still stand. The next I 
 remember I was standing in the street, laughing at the unholy appearance 
 of half a hundred men clad in pajamas — and less. 
 
 HUMOR EVEN AMID DESOLATION. 
 
 'The women were in their night robes ; they made a better appearance 
 than the m.en. The street was a rainbow of colors in the early morning 
 light. There was raiment of every hue — and in many cases raiment never 
 intended to be seen outside the boudoir. I looked at a man at my side ; he 
 was laughing at me. Then for the first time I became aware that I was in 
 pajamas myself. I turned and fled back to my room. There I dressed, 
 packed my grip and hastened back to the street. 
 
 "All the big buildings on Market Street toward the ferry were stand- 
 ing, but I marked four separate fires. The fronts of the small buildings 
 had fallen out into the streets and at some places the debris had broken 
 through the sidewalk into cellars. I noticed two women near me. They 
 were apparently without escort. One said to the other: 'What wouldn't 
 I give to be back in Los Angeles again !' That awakened a kindred feeling 
 and I proffered my assistance. I put my overcoat on the stone steps of a 
 building and told them to sit there. In less than two minutes those steps 
 appeared to pitch everything forward, to be flying at me. 
 
 "But I was just stunned. I stood there in the street with debris falling 
 about me. It seemed the natural thing for the tops of buildings to careen 
 over and for fronts to fall out. I do not even recall that the women 
 screamed. 
 
164 TALES OF AGONIZING HORROR 
 
 ''The street gave a convulsive shudder and the buildings somehow 
 righted themselves again. I thought they had crashed together above my 
 head. The two women arose and started to walk. I followed in a kind 
 of aimless sort of way. The street was filled with moving things again. 
 The rainbow raiment had disappeared, and all were clad in street clothes. 
 Every one was walking, but there was no confusion.. We did not even 
 seem in a hurry, Down Market Street the flames were growing brighter, 
 
 "We walked with our luggage to the St. Francis. Fires were burning 
 down toward the ferry, but the Fire Department had turned it. We had 
 faith in the Fire Department. Soon I became aware that squads of soldiers 
 were patrolling the streets. It appeared perfectly natural. I do not think 
 I wondered why they were there. 
 
 "Men and women were all about us. We looked at each other and 
 talked; even tried lamely to joke. But every few minutes a convulsive 
 quiver swept through the city. The others seemed to be shivering. I 
 noticed that the eyes of the men and women were rolling restlessly. Their 
 tones were pitched high. It seemed to grate on my nerves. Then I fell to 
 wondering whether I was talking shrilly, too. 
 
 "HERE, SHOOT THIS MAN!" 
 
 "I went to a grocery without a front and bought a few supplies — 
 things that would make a cold lunch. The grocer did not even overcharge 
 me. He was particular to give me the right change. The soldiers came 
 and told us to move on. It seemed the natural thing to do. By this time 
 the fire was creeping dangerously close. We would have walked to the 
 ferry. We tried it on a score of streets, but that wall of fire was always 
 there. It seemed to creep across in front of us, 
 
 "And in front of the fire always walked the soldiers. A number of 
 times I hired express wagons. We would ride for a few blocks and get out 
 on the sidewalk. In not a single instance were we charged more than a 
 reasonable price for the ride. Once we loitered until the soldiers came up. 
 A rough fellow, who had been standing by my side, tried to dart through 
 the line. He looked like a beach comber. A young lieutenant caught him 
 by the coat. 'Here,' he called to his men. 'Shoot this man!' I hurried 
 on, without looking back. I don't remember that I heard a shot fired. 
 
TALES OF AGONIZING HORROR 165 
 
 But at the time it seemed so trivial a matter that I did not pay much 
 attention. 
 
 "The air was filled with the roar of explosions. Firemen, soldiers 
 and citizens were dynamiting great blocks. Sailors were training guns to 
 rake rows of residences. All the while we were moving onward with the 
 crowd. Cinders were falling about us. At times our clothing caught fire — 
 just little embers that smoked once and went out. The stinging cinders 
 burned our faces and we used our handkerchiefs for veils. 
 
 CLOTHING AFIRE; FACES BURNED. 
 
 "Everybody around us was using some kind of cloth to shield their 
 eyes. It looked curious to see expressmen and teamsters wearing those 
 veils. Quite naturally we seemed to come to Golden Gate Park. It seemed 
 as though we had started for there. By this time the darkness was setting. 
 But it was a weird twilight. The glare from the burning city threw a 
 kind of red flame and shadow about us. It seemed uncanny; the figures 
 about us moved like ghosts. 
 
 "The wind and fog blew chill from the ocean, and we walked about 
 to keep warm. Thousands were walking about, too; but there was no 
 disturbance. Families trudged along there. There was no hurry. All 
 appeared to have time to spare. The streets, walks and lawns were 
 wiggling with little parties, one or two families in each. All night we 
 moved about "the hills. Thousands were moving with us. As the night 
 wore on the crowd grew. Near daylight the soldiers came to the park. 
 They were still moving in front of the fire. 
 
 "I had bought a little store of provisions before nightfall. I walked 
 over to the fire made by one squad of soldiers and picked up a tin bucket. 
 I went to a faucet and turned it on. A little water was there. I boiled 
 some eggs and we ate our breakfast. Then we concluded to make our way 
 to the water front, as soldiers were driving us from that part of the hills. 
 The flames were still after us. We walked toward the water front for 
 hours. Part of the time it was through the burned district. The streets 
 were rough, the sidewalks jagged and broken. The women suffered 
 severely. Jagged stones and wires cut their thin shoes from their feet. 
 Bandages did no good. 
 
166 TALES OF AGONIZING HORROR 
 
 "The walk back through the ruins was the worst of all. Dead horses 
 lay along our path. Some were burned to a crisp. On Howard Street, 
 near Market, lay the charred bodies of two men. Those were the only 
 dead we saw in the streets. Walking and resting, we reached the ferry 
 near sunset. Soldiers seemed to be everywhere. They were offering milk 
 to women and children. We took a boat to Oakland and hastened by train 
 to Los Angeles. If it were not from the sting of the cinders that still 
 stick to my face I might think it was all a nightmare." 
 
 THIEVES HANGED BY CIVILIANS. 
 
 Oliver Posey, Jr., said: "Were it not for the fact that the soldiers 
 in charge of the city do not hesitate in shooting down the ghouls the law- 
 less element would predominate. Not alone do the soldiers execute the 
 law. On Wednesday afternoon, in front of the Palace Hotel, a crowd of 
 workers in the ruins discovered a miscreant in the act of robbing a corpse 
 of its jewels. Without delay he was seized, a rope was obtained and 
 he was strung up to a beam which was left standing in the ruined entrance 
 of the Palace Hotel. 
 
 "No sooner had he been hoisted up and a hitch taken in the rope than 
 one of his fellow-criminals was captured. Stopping only to obtain a few 
 yards of hemp, a knot was quickly tied and the wretch was soon adorning 
 the hotel entrance by the side of the other dastard. These were only two 
 instances of law executed by civilians that I personally witnessed, but I 
 heard of many more seen by others. The soldiers do all they can, and while 
 the unspeakable crime of robbing the dead is undoubtedly being prac- 
 ticed, it would be many times as prevalent were it not for constant vigi- 
 lance on all sides as well as the summary justice." 
 
 Jack Spencer had much to say of the treatment of those caught in the 
 act of rifling the dead of their jewels. 
 
 "At the corner of Market and Third Streets on Wednesday," said Mr. 
 Spencer, "I saw a man attempting to cut the fingers from the hand of a 
 dead woman in order to secure the rings which adorned the stiffened 
 fingers. Three soldiers witnessed the deed at the same time and ordered 
 the man to throw up his hands. Instead of obeying the command he drew 
 a revolver from his pocket and began to fire at his pursuer without warning. 
 
TALES OF AGONIZING HORROR 167 
 
 The three soldiers, reinforced by half a dozen uniformed patrolmen, raised 
 their rifles to their shoulders and fired. With the first shots the man fell, 
 and when the soldiers went to the body to dump it into an alley eleven 
 bullets were found to have entered it." 
 
 Miss Bessie Tannehill, of the Tivoli Theatre, San Francisco, in re- 
 ferring to her experience, said : 
 
 *T was asleep in the Hotel Langman, Ellis and Mason Streets, when 
 the shock came. There were at least lOO persons in the building. At 
 the first shock I leaped from my bed and ran to the window. Another 
 upheaval came and I was thrown from my feet. I groped my way out of 
 the room and down the dark stairway. Men, women and children, almost 
 without clothing, crowded the halls, crying and praying as they rushed out. 
 We finally obtained a carriage by paying $ioo. Fire was raging at this 
 time and people were panic-stricken. 
 
 "After getting outside of the danger region I walked back, hoping 
 to aid some of the unfortunates. The merchants on upper Market and 
 nearby streets threw open their stores and invited the crowds to help 
 themselves. Mobs rushed into every place, carrying out all the goods 
 possible. I saw many looters and pickpockets at work. On Mason Street 
 a gang of thieves was at work. They were pursued by troops, but escaped 
 in an automobile," 
 
 " GREAT HEAT FELT FOR A MILE. 
 
 "The steamship 'Itauri' left San Francisco Thursday afternoon, when 
 the flames seemed to be at their height," said First Mate Charles Appen. 
 "As seen from the bay it was a sublime but terrible spectacle. We were 
 anchored more than a mile out in the roadstead, but the wind as it swept 
 over the burning city and down upon us was like the breath of a demon. 
 At times it was impossible for us to remain on deck so great was the heat. 
 The terrific concussions of dynamite brought hundreds of fish to the sur- 
 face. Our clearance papers were burned, but we could not retain our 
 anchorage and late Thursday afternoon we started toward the open sea. 
 "Wharves were filled with people. They beckoned to us that they needed 
 assistance. It was the thought of self-preservation that kept the 'Itauri's' 
 course unchanged. At midnight we were thirty miles at sea, but the flames 
 
IG8 TALES OF AGONIZING HORROR 
 
 were still visible and until almost dawn we stood on deck and watched the 
 reflection of the flames as they played to and fro on the cloud mountains 
 which hung- over the ruined city." 
 
 Twenty-tw'O members of the Metropolitan Opera Company, of Newr 
 York, victims of the San Francisco disaster, passed through Ogden, Utah, 
 April 2 1 St. 
 
 Mme. Sembrich said that her loss was about $40,000. She w^as fortu- 
 nate in recovering her pearls, which were with her in the apartment at St. 
 Francis Hotel. She said : 
 
 "I am only too g-lad to be out with my life. I was stopping on the 
 sixth floor of the hotel, and was asleep when the first shock was felt. 1 
 jumped out of bed, and ran into the street with nothing but my night robe. 
 After remaining for an hour on the square opposite the hotel I returned 
 to the aprtment and dressed. It was at this time that T brought my jewels. 
 It was remarkable how the people stayed together. I was taken to the 
 home of Dr. Harry Tavis. He said that he intended remaining with the 
 ladies, even though he lost his all. He was true to the promise, for he 
 witnessed his beautiful home burning and did not leave the ladies for a 
 moment. It proved to me the spirit of the American people, which is 
 indeed remarkable." 
 
 PREPARED TO GIVE MATINEE. 
 
 "I stayed at the Opera House until I was convinced it was doomed," 
 said Mr. Goritz. "I was of the opinion that, as the building was fire- 
 proof, it would be safe. Fires were at that time all around the building. 
 I lost all my personal effects, escaping with nothing but the clothes which 
 I have on my back. In the morning and before the fire had reached the 
 Opera House I fully intended to give the proposed matinee performance, 
 *The Marriage of Figaro.' All of the musicians and myself w^orked up to 
 the very time we were ordered away in an unavailing effort to save the 
 property." 
 
 Conductor Hertz said, in a jocular way: 
 
 "I am wearing Caruso's shirt, and am glad to be able to do. I 
 brought a souvenir of the fire," and with these words he showed a key to 
 room 516 of the Palace Hotel. 
 
TALES OF AGONIZING HORROR 169 
 
 "I was occupying a room at the Palace Hotel," Signor Caruso said, 
 "and was awakened about 5.10 by the first shock. The elegant big hotel 
 danced a jig for several minutes and then returned to its natural position. 
 This is one of the signs which I cannot understand, and I suppose never 
 will. After the structure had regained its natural position, I hurriedly 
 ran to the street. It is a miracle that some of us were not killed, as the 
 debris in a very short space of time had the thoroughfares blocked. The 
 big steel scrapers were toppling, and I could see eight or nine afire from 
 where I was standing." 
 
 Mr. Dippel said that his loss would probably reach $25,000. Miss 
 Abbott said that she had apartments on the top floor of the Palace Hotel. 
 When the shock came she rushed to the streets, to find them crowded with 
 people rushing backward and forward frantically. An attempt was made 
 to get expressmen to remove trunks, but was unsuccessful. Miss Abbott 
 praised the people of San Francisco, saying that there was no panic. 
 
 EXPERIENCE OF A SURVIVOR. 
 
 Adolphus Busch, of St. Louis, told of his experiences in the earth- 
 quake and fire. He said : 
 
 "I left San Francisco on April 20th with my family, Harry Nickaul 
 and Carl Conrad. The earthquake which shook San Francisco made all 
 frantic and was undoubtedly the severest ever experienced in the United 
 States. The -beautiful Hotel St. Francis swayed from south to north like 
 •a tall poplar in a storm. Furniture, even pianos, were overturned, and 
 people were thrown from their beds. 
 
 *T quickly summoned my family and friends and urged them to escape 
 to Jefferson Square, which we promptly did. An awful sight met our 
 eyes. Every building was either partly or wholly wrecked, roofs and 
 cornices were falling from skyscrapers on lower houses, crushing and 
 burying the inmates. 
 
 "Fires started in all parts of the city, the main water pipes burst and 
 flooded the streets. One earthquake followed the other. The people 
 became terrified, but all behaved wonderfully calm. More than 200,000 
 persons were without shelter, camping on the hills. There was no light, 
 water or food. Fortunately the regulars ana militia maintained order and 
 
170 TALES OF AGONIZING HORROR 
 
 discipline, otherwise more horrors would have occurred and riots might 
 have prevailed. 
 
 "The fire spread over three-fourths of the city, and could not be con- 
 trolled ; no water to fight it, no light, and the earth still trembling. 
 
 ''Building after building was demolished to check the progress of 
 warring, seething flames, but all of no avail. We were fortunate to obtain 
 two conveyances and fled to Nob Hill, from which we witnessed the 
 indescribable drama. Block after block was devastated. The fires blazed 
 like volcanoes and all business houses, hotels, theatres, in fact the entire 
 business portion lay in ruins, and two-thirds of the residences; but I trust 
 that a new and more beautiful San Francisco will be born and that the 
 generous American nation will give it the support and financial assistance 
 it so fully deserves. 
 
 "After a night of horrors we boarded the ferry for Oakland, where 
 my private car had been since Tuesday, and started for home, with noth- 
 ing saved but w^hat is on our backs, but extremely happy at having escaped 
 unharmed." 
 
 GIRL SAW DYING MAN SHOT. 
 
 "Soldiers shot living beings to save them the tortures of death in the 
 flames," said Miss Margaret Underbill, of Chicago. 
 
 "The horror of it all was so overwhelming, the sight of the dead 
 became commonplace. The misery of the living received scarcely passing 
 notice. Seconds seemed like hours, and the two days like twenty years. 
 I was in a three-story frame building. The house seemed to swing like 
 the pendulum of a clock. Plaster w-as falling about me and pictures fell 
 from the wall as I sprang from my bed. 
 
 "At that moment the brick chimney of the Sacred Heart College, ad- 
 joining, crashed through the ceiling, burying my bed beneath the debris. 
 A second chimney fell a few feet behind me as I rushed down the hall. 
 After the shock subsided I returned, dressed and with the help of my 
 friends, moved my trunk to the street, where I left it to be devoured by 
 the flames. We stopped to watch the soldiers, firemen and policemen, who, 
 with timbers from the wreckage, were at work on the front of a burning 
 frame building. The front of a three-story structure had fallen outward. 
 
TALES OF AGONIZING HORROR 171 
 
 "Pinned beneath the structure was a man who pleaded piteously witli 
 the men who worked to release him. His head and shoulders projected 
 from the wreckage. With his free arm he tried to help the workers by 
 pulling at the timbers. One by one the men were driven back by the 
 approaching flames until at last only one, a soldier, remained. His face 
 was blistered by the heat, 
 
 " 'Good-by,' the soldier shouted as a sheet of flame swept around the 
 corner of the building. The place was a roaring hell. The soldier picked 
 up his rifle, which was standing against a broken timber and turned to go. 
 From where we stood we could see the very timber that held the man 
 down smoke. His hair and mustache were singed. 
 
 BEGGED TO BE SHOT. 
 
 " 'For God's sake, shoot me,' he begged. His voice rose clear above 
 the roar of the flames. The soldier turned and went back to within twenty- 
 five feet of the man and said something. Then he started to walk away. 
 'Shoot me before you go/ the man yelled. The soldier turned quickly. 
 His rifle was at his shoulder. The rifle cracked and the blood spurted from 
 the head of the man. 
 
 "I covered my eyes and walked on. I saw mothers seated on the 
 curbstones trying to still the hunger of their babies with beer. As we 
 walked along the water front I saw them digging trenches and burying 
 piles of deadi Garbage wagons served as hearses. Wearied with the day, 
 I slept soundly through the night. My bed was the rocks of North Beach." 
 
 The first refugees from San Francisco to reach Chicago arrived April 
 2ist, on the Overland Limited over the Northwestern. There were eight 
 who came through from the scene of destruction, aside from the train crew. 
 Seventy-five advance reservations had been made for passage. Sixty-eight 
 failed to get across the bay to the place where the fast Northwestern train 
 was ready to start Wednesday morning. 
 
 Mr. H, N. Hovey, one of the refugees, in describing the first effects 
 of the earthquake shock, said : "My family and I had apartments on the 
 third floor of the Palace Hotel when the city was shaken by the earth- 
 quake. It was about 5.15 o'clock when I was suddenly thrown from my 
 bed by the terrible shock. 
 
172 TALES OF AGONIZING HORROR 
 
 ''With the first shock part of the building crumbled away. In an 
 instant I was up. In an. adjoining room my daughters were sleeping. 
 The panic in the hotel was awful. Everywhere persons were running 
 about, evidently crazed or dazed. We managed to reach the street, though 
 our clothes were almost torn from our bodies in the crush when we at- 
 tempted to leave the building. The scene in Market Street was terrible. 
 Great piles of debris were in the streets, and wherever we turned we could 
 hear the heartrending cries of the victims. Many of the children had 
 fallen, and by that time the fire had begun to eat its way up Market Street. 
 In front of the Palace Hotel great crowds had gathered. As each second 
 passed the scene became more terrible. The fire was working its way up 
 Market Street, and I saw that it would only be a short time before that 
 part of the city would be burning. I finally got a cab, and after making a 
 wide detour of the city, staying out of the fire zone, I reached the Union 
 Ferry Station. Just as we reached the landing a boat left. I chartered a 
 tug and in that way reached Oakland, where we took the Overland 
 Limited." 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 CHINATOWN SECRETS LAID BARE BY DISASTER. 
 
 NOT until the earthquake shook the rickety houses to the earth to be 
 destroyed by fire did the authorities of San Francisco reahze what 
 manner of place was the much advertised Chinatown, the Mecca of all 
 tourists in California, the spot in which 25,000 Chinese lived like so many 
 prairie dogs. 
 
 When the high winds which came after the fire blew the ashes away 
 the yawning mouths of tunnels, which the police had long suspected, were 
 revealed. Entrance to these passages was so carefully hidden that only the 
 leaders of the Tonga, who used the damp dungeons for places of meeting 
 or to plot the death of a victim — the same room often acting as the execu- 
 tion dungeon once the marked man was taken below the level of the street — 
 knew and declared. 
 
 One of San Francisco's alert detectives, said to be the best posted man 
 on Chinatown, stooH at the comer of Bartlett Alley and declared: 
 
 "For years T have been trying to reach the tunnels which I knew to 
 exist under this Chinese city. What goes on down there one can only 
 conjecture, but it is a thousand times worse than the sins and vices which 
 are practiced bv these Mongolians in the streets and gambling houses you 
 can see from this corner. Girls in the bloom of youth are smuggled over 
 the Canadian border, brought here in the night, and confined in dungeons, 
 perhaps never to look upon the light of the sun again, although they may 
 live for years." 
 
 Very few white men have visited the underground passages, certainly 
 none of San Francisco's police force, for every man in the department was 
 Avatched when he entered Chinatown and the surveillance did not cease 
 while he remained there. Secretary Tsing, a prominent member of the 
 Chinese aristocracy, stationed for political reasons in the Chinese Legation 
 at the capital of Peru, was a member in high standing in a society of con- 
 siderable political influence in China, with a powerful branch in San 
 
 173 
 
174 CHINATOWN SECRETS LAID BARE BY DISASTER 
 
 Francisco. He took two white men to the theatre in Chinatown and 
 boastfully declared that the real secret of Chinatown had never been re- 
 vealed. He conducted the men to the rear of the stage, slid a secret door 
 back and motioned for the men to follow him. 
 
 For one hour, stooping until their backs were strained, the men 
 silently followed a gTJide, to look upon a complete new Chinatown, the 
 tunnel leading past scores of doors to dungeons, against the bars of which 
 some unfortunates pressed their faces, to jump back from the flame of a 
 flickering miner's light which Tsing carried. 
 
 Under this Chinese city were hundreds of women and children. Their 
 voices mingled in glad refrain or echoed the gloomy murmurs of some who 
 were suffering. Huddled in groups about a small fire, made from balls of 
 coal dust which Chinese prepare, were merchants who had returned from 
 their shops on the street level to these holes in the wall to plot and invent. 
 The odor of opium was nauseating. The revulsion of feeling was over- 
 powering. When the street was reached, after climbing a flight of stairs 
 to the kitchen of a chop suey "joint," the breath of foul air, even in this 
 hole, was refreshing. 
 
 TRAGEDIES UNDERGROUND. 
 
 Hundreds of men went to their deaths each year in Chinatown without 
 an inkling of the tragedies being known to the police. It was easy to 
 bury the dead under the tunnels, one hundred feet deep, in Chinatown. 
 Members of tongs marked for death left friends behind, men who refused 
 to complain to the local authorities, but who, instead, sought revenge 
 themselves in the same fiendish manner that death had been meted out to 
 their fellow-members. 
 
 For years battles waged. Scores and scores were killed, even in the 
 streets, until the citizens of San Francisco threatened to organize a vigi- 
 lance committee and wipe Chinatown from the face of 'Frisco. This had 
 its effect. The war was carried below the streets, where dying men could 
 scream in agony and not be heard. The slave traffic has enriched many 
 Chinese, suave merchants who led simple lives above the street, but who 
 retired to the subterranean passages and their slave marts to put upon the 
 block the newest arrivals from the slave market in Canton. 
 
CHINATOWN SECRETS LAID BARE BY DISASTER 175 
 
 Gambling has always existed here. The gamblers composed the bad 
 element. They fought for one another's gold, committed murder to obtain 
 means with which to enter games of fantan and other Chinese devices of 
 chance, and slept away their daylight hours in a bunk somewhere down 
 below the street, steeped in the fumes of opium, a sordid mass of humanity 
 until nature awoke the brain to life. 
 
 There never will be such a Chinatown in San Francisco again. These 
 (people will be sent to a district far from the heart of the new city, where 
 they will be under such close surveillance that practices of the past will be 
 stopped when they begin. Provision will be made to suppress the tongsi 
 for all time, if this can be accomplished. 
 
 No one will ever know how many lives were lost in Chinatown. It is 
 a moral certainty that men overcome with opium, the slave women in their 
 dungeons, and many a hapless wretch unconscious from morphine were 
 killed when the tremor of the earth toppled the buildings down to be con- 
 sumed in a short time by the fire. 
 
 Citizens who have visited the remains of this plague spot were aston- 
 ished at the catacombs which lay exposed. It is improbable that any at- 
 tempt will be made to reach the bodies of Chinese victims. Earth will be 
 thrown into the gaping abyss, burying for all time the victims of the 
 disaster and blotting forever the sites of these dens of vice and horrible 
 chambers of sin. 
 
 THE OLD TOWN FOREVER GONE. 
 
 The old San Francisco is dead. The gayest, lightest-hearted, most 
 pleasure-loving city of this continent, and in many ways the most interest- 
 ing and romantic, is a horde of huddled refugees living among ruins. It 
 may rebuild; it probably will; but those who have known that peculiar 
 city by the Golden Gate and have caught its flavor of the Arabian Nights 
 feel that it can never be the same. It is as though a pretty, frivolous 
 woman had passed through a great tragedy. She survives, but she is 
 sobered and different. If it rises out of the ashes it must be a modern 
 city, much like other cities and without its old flavor. 
 
 The city lay on a series of hills and the lowlands between. These hills 
 are really the end of the Coast Range of mountains which lie between the 
 
176 CHINATOWN SECRETS LAID BARE BY DISASTER 
 
 interior valleys and the ocean to the south. To its rear was the ocean; 
 but the greater part of the town fronted on two sides on San Francisco 
 Bay, a body of water always tinged with gold from the great washings of 
 the mountain, usually overhung with a haze, and of magnificent color 
 changes. Across the bay to the north lies Mount Tamalpais, about 5,000 
 feet high, and so close that ferries from the waterfront took one in less 
 than half an hour to the little towns of Sausalito and Belvidere, at its foot. 
 
 PECULIAR YET DELIGHTFUL CLIMATE. 
 
 The climate of California is peculiar; it is hard to give an Impression 
 of it. In the first place, all the forces of nature work on laws of their own 
 in that part of California. There is no thunder or lightning; there is no 
 snow, except a flurry once in five or six years; there are perhaps half a 
 dozen nights in the winter when the thermometer drops low enough so 
 that there is a little film of ice on exposed water in the morning. Neither 
 is there any hot weather. Yet most Easterners remaining in San Francisco 
 for a few days remember that they were always chilly. 
 
 For the Gate is a big funnel, drawing in the winds and the mists 
 which cool off the great, hot interior valleys of the San Joaquin and Sacra- 
 mento. So the west wind blows steadily ten months of the year and almost 
 all the mornings are foggy. This keeps the temperature steady at about 65 
 degrees — a little cool for comfort of an unacclimated person, especially 
 indoors. Califomians, used to it, hardly ever think of making fires in their 
 houses except in the few exceptional days of the winter season, and then 
 they rely mainly upon fireplaces. This is like the custom of the Venetians 
 and the Florentines. 
 
 But give an Easterner six months of it, and he, too, learns to exist 
 without a chill in a steady temperature a little lower than that to which he 
 is accustomed at home. After that one goes about with perfect indifference 
 to the temperature. Summer and winter San Francisco women wear light 
 tailor-made clothes, and men wear the same fall weight suits all the year 
 around. 
 
 One usually entered the city by way of San Francisco Bay. Across 
 its yellow flood, covered with the fleets from the strange seas of the Pacific, 
 San Francisco presented itself in a hill panorama. Probably no other city 
 
CHINATOWN SECRETS LAID BARE BY DISASTER 177 
 
 of the world could be so viewed and inspected at first sight. It rose above 
 the passenger, as he reached dockage, in a succession of hill terraces. 
 
 At one side was Telegraph Hill, the end of the peninsula, a height so 
 abrupt that it had a 200-foot sheer cliff on its seaward frontage. Further 
 along lay Nob Hill, crowned with the Mark Hopkins mansion, which 
 had the effect of a citadel, and in later years by the great, white Fair- 
 mount. Further along was Russian Hill, the highest point. Below was 
 the business district, whose low site caused all the trouble. 
 
 Except for the modern buildings, the fruit of the last ten years, the 
 town presented at first sight a disreputable appearance. Most of the build- 
 ings were low and of wood. In the middle period of the 70's, when a great 
 part of San Francisco was building, there was some atrocious architecture 
 perpetrated. In that time, too, every one put bow windows on his house, 
 to catch all of the morning sunlight that was coming through the fog, and 
 those little houses, with bow windows and fancy work all down their fronts, 
 were characteristic of the middle class residence districts. 
 
 MIXTURE OF ALL RACES. 
 
 Then the Italians, who tumbled over Telegraph Hill, had built as they 
 listed and with little regard for streets, and their houses hung crazily on a 
 side hill which was little less than a precipice. For the most part, the 
 Chinese, although they occupied an abandoned business district, had re- 
 made the houses Chinese fashion, and the Mexicans and Spaniards had 
 added to their houses those little balconies without which life is not life 
 to a Spaniard. 
 
 The hills are steep beyond conception. Where Vallejo Street ran up 
 Russian Hill it progressed for four blocks by regular steps like a flight of 
 stairs. With these hills, with the strangeness of the architecture and with 
 the green gray tinge over everything, the city fell always into vistas and 
 pictures, a setting for the romance which hung over everything, which 
 has always hung over life in San Francisco since the padres came and 
 gathered the Indians about Mission Dolores. 
 
 And it was a city of romance and a gateway to adventure. It opened 
 
 out on the mysterious Pacific, the untamed ocean, and most of China, 
 
 Japan, the South Sea Islands, Lower California, the west coast of Central 
 12— s. F. 
 
178 CHINATOWN SECRETS LAID BARE BY DISASTER 
 
 America and Australia that came to this country passed in through the 
 Golden Gate. There was a sprinkling, too, of Alaska and Siberia. From 
 his windows on Russian Hill one saw always something strange and sug- 
 gestive creeping through the mists of the bay. It would be a South Sea 
 Island brig, bringing in copra, to take out cottons and idols; a Chinese 
 junk with fan-like sails, back from an expedition after sharks' livers; an 
 old whaler, which seemed to drip oil, back from a year of cruising in the 
 Arctic. Even the tramp windjammers were deep-chested craft, capable of 
 rounding the Horn or of circumnavigating the globe; and t1iey came in 
 streaked and picturesque from their long voyaging. 
 
 In the orange-colored dawn which always comes through the mists of 
 that bay, the fishing fleet would crawl in under triangular lateen sails, 
 for the fishermen of San Francisco Bay are all Neapolitans, who have 
 brought their costumes and their customs and sail with lateen rigs shaped 
 like the ear of a horse when the wind fills them and stained an organge 
 brown. 
 
 IN THE REALM OF CRIME. 
 
 Along the waterfront the people of these craft met. "The smelting 
 pot of the races," Stevenson called it ; and this was always the city of his 
 soul. There are black Gilbert Islanders, almost indistinguishable from 
 negroes; lighter Kanakas from Hawaii or Samoa; Lascars in turbans; 
 thickset Russian sailors; wild Chinese with unbraided hair; Italian fisher- 
 men in tam o' shanters, loud shirts and blue sashes ; Greeks, Alaska Indians, 
 little bay Spanish-Americans, together with men of all the European 
 races. These came in and out from among the queer craft, to lose them- 
 selves in the disreputable, tumbledown, but always mysterious shanties and 
 small saloons. In the back rooms of these saloons South Sea Island 
 traders and captains, fresh from the lands of romance, whaling masters, 
 people who were trying to get up treasure expeditions, filibusters, Alaskan 
 miners, used to meet and trade adventures. 
 
 The Barbary Coast was a loud bit of hell. No one knows who coined 
 the name. The place was simply three blocks of solid dance halls, there for 
 the delight of the sailors of the world. On a fine busy night every door 
 blared loud dance music from orchestra, steam pianos and gramaphones. 
 
CHINATOWN SECRETS LAID BARE BY DISASTER 179 
 
 and the cumulative effect of the sound which reached the street was at 
 least strange. Almost anything might be happening behind the swinging 
 doors. 
 
 For a fine and picturesque bundle of names characteristic of the place, 
 a police story of three or four years ago is typical. Hell broke out in the 
 Eye Wink Dance Hall. The trouble was started by a sailor known as 
 Kanaka Pete, who lived in the What Cheer House, over a woman known 
 as Iodoform Kate. Kanaka Pete chased the man he had marked to the 
 Little Silver Dollar, where he turned and punctured him. The by-product 
 of his gun made some holes in the front of the Eye Wink, which were 
 proudly kept as souvenirs and were probably there until it went out in the 
 fire. This was low life, the lowest of the low. 
 
 Until the last decade almost anything except the commonplace and 
 the expected might happen to a man on the water front. The cheerful 
 industry of shanghaiing was reduced to a science. A stranger taking a 
 drink in one of the saloons which hung out over the water might be 
 dropped through the floor into a boat, or he might drink with a stranger 
 and wake in the forecastle of a whaler bound for the Arctic. Such an 
 incident is the basis of Frank Norris' novel "Moran of the Lady Letty," 
 and although the novel draws it pretty strong it is not exaggerated. Ten 
 years ago the police and the foreign consuls, working together, stopped 
 this. 
 
 These are a few of the elements which made the city strange and 
 gave it the glamour of romance which has so strongly attracted such men 
 as Stevenson, Frank Norris and Kipling. This lay apart from the regular 
 life of the city, which was distinctive in itself. 
 
 THE CALIFORNIAN'S CHARACTERISTICS. 
 
 The Californian is the second generation of a picked and mixed stock. 
 The merry, the adventurous, often the desperate, always the brave, deserted 
 the South and New England in 1849 to rush around the Horn or to try 
 the perils of the plains. They found there already grown old in the hands 
 of the Spaniards younger sons of hidalgos and many of them of the 
 proudest blood of Spain. To a great extent the pioneers intermarried with 
 Spanish women; in fact, except for a proud little colony here and there, 
 
180 • CHINATOWN SECRETS LAID BARE BY DISASTER 
 
 the old Spanish blood is. sunk in that of the conquering race. Then there 
 was an influx of intellectual French people, largely overlooked in the his- 
 tories of the early days, and this Latin leaven has had its influence. 
 
 Brought up in a bountiful country, where no one really has to work 
 very hard to live, nurtured on adventure, scion of a free and merry stock, 
 the real, native Californian is a distinctive type; as far from the Easterner 
 in psychology as the extreme Southerner is from the Yankee. He is easy- 
 going, witty, hospitable, lovable, inclined to be unmoral rather than im- 
 moral in his personal habits, and above all easy to meet and to know. 
 
 Above all there is an art sense all through the populace which sets it 
 off from any other part of the country. This sense is almost Latin in its 
 strength, and the Californian owes it to the leaven of Latin blood. 
 
 GAY LIFE OF SAN FRANCISCO. 
 
 With such a people life was always gay. If they did not show it on 
 the streets, as do the people of Paris, it was because the winds made open 
 cafes disagreeable at all seasons of the year. The gayety went on indoors 
 or out on the hundreds of estates that fringed the city. It was noted for its 
 restaurants. Perhaps the very best for people who care not how they 
 spend their money could not be had there, but for a dollar, 75 cents, 50! 
 cents, a quarter or even 15 cents the restaurants afforded tHe best fare on 
 earth at the price. 
 
 The San Francisco French dinner and the San Francisco free lunch 
 were as the Public Library to Boston or the stockyards to Chicago. A 
 number of causes contributed to this consummation. The country all about 
 produced everything that a cook needs, and that in abundance — the bay 
 was an almost untapped fishing pond, the fruit farms came up to the very 
 edge of the town, and the surrounding country produced in abundance 
 fine meats, all cereals and all vegetables. 
 
 But the chefs who came from France in the early days and liked this 
 land of plenty were the head and front of it. They passed on their art 
 to other Frenchmen or to the clever Chinese. Most of the French chefs 
 at the biggest restaurants were born in Canton, China. Later the Italians, 
 learning of this country where good food is appreciated, came and brought 
 their own style. Householders always dined out one or two nights of 
 
CHINATOWN SECRETS LAID BARE BY DISASTER 181 
 
 the week, and boarding houses were scarce, for the unattached preferred 
 the restaurants. The eating was usually better than the surroundings. 
 
 Meals that were marvels were served in tumbledown little hotels. 
 Most famous of all the restaurants was the Poodle Dog, There have 
 been no less than four restaurants of this name, beginning with a frame 
 shanty where, in the early days, a prince of French cooks used to exchange 
 recipes for gold dust, ' Each succeeding restaurant of the name has moved 
 further downtown; and the recent Poodle Dog stands — or stood — on the 
 edge of the Tenderloin in a modern five-story building. 
 
 For on the ground floor was a public restaurant where there was 
 served the best dollar dinner on earth. It ranked with the best and the 
 others were in San Francisco. Here, especially on Sunday night, almost 
 everybody went to vary the monotony of home cooking. Everyone who 
 was anyone in the town could be seen there off and on. It was perfectly 
 respectable. A man might take his wife and daughter there. 
 
 On the second floor there were private dining rooms, and to dine 
 there, with one or more of the opposite sex, was risque, but not especially 
 terrible. But the third floor — and the fourth floor — and the fi'fth! The 
 elevator man of the Poodle Dog, who had held the job for many years, 
 and never spoke unless spoken to, wore diamonds and was a heavy in- 
 vestor in real estate. 
 
 There were others as famous in their way — Zinkard's, where, at one 
 time, everyone went after the theatre, and Tate's, which has lately bitten 
 into that trade, the Palace Grill, much like the grills of Eastern hotels, 
 except for the price ; Delmonico's, w^hich ran the Poodle Dog neck and 
 neck in its own line, and many others, humbler, but great at the price. 
 
 A CITY THAT NEVER SLEPT. 
 
 The city never went to bed. There was no closing law, so that the 
 saloons kept open nights and Sundays at their own sweet will. Most of 
 them elected to remain open until 3 o'clock in the morning, at least. 
 
 "High society" in San Francisco had settled down from the rather 
 wild spirit of the middle period; it had come to be there a good deal as 
 it is elsewhere. There was much wealth, and the hills of the Western 
 Addition were growing up with fine mansions. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 NARRATIVE OF A VICTIM SURROUNDED BY A 
 FRANTIC MULTITUDE. ' 
 
 EVERY train from the West brought refugees from San Francisco, 
 who gave graphic descriptions of the horrors of the earthquake and 
 fire. Worn by the exposure, hardships and terrors of a two days' effort to 
 escape from the stricken city, Mrs. D. M. Johnson, of Utica, N. Y., and 
 Miss Martha S. Tibbals, of Erie, Pa., passed through Denver on their 
 way home. 
 
 ''We were awakened in our room at the Randolph Hotel on Wednes- 
 day morning by a terrific shaking, which broke loose fragments of the 
 ceiling," said Miss Tibbals. "There followed a tremendous shock, which 
 shook the building sideways and tossed it about with something like a 
 spiral motion. When we reached the street people were running hither and 
 thither. Some persons passing advised us to get on as high ground as 
 possible, and wd started walking as fast as possible to the high parks back 
 of the city. 
 
 "Fire was breaking out in hundreds of places over the city and the 
 streets were becoming crowded with hurrying refugees. Where they 
 were unable to obtain horses, men and women had harnessed themselves 
 to carriages and were drawing their belongings to places of safety. As 
 we passed through the district where wealthy persons lived we saw 
 automobiles drawn up and loaded before houses. Their owners remained 
 until the flames came too near and then getting into the machines made for 
 the hills. 
 
 $2,000 HIRE FOR AN AUTOMOBILE. 
 
 "We saw one man pay $2000 for an automobile in which to take his 
 family to a place of safety. Before night we reached the summit of the 
 Alta Plaza. People half clad, unfed, hysterical, searching for loved ones, 
 crowded the ground. Beneath lay the burning city. 
 
 "We passed the night sleepless with a panic-stricken multitude. In 
 
 182 
 
NARRATIVE OF A VICTIM 183 
 
 the morning (Thursday) we started toward the harbor with the assistance 
 of soldiers from the Presidio, who had already been on duty twenty-four 
 hours. We got to the wharf and hoped to get a launch to Oakland. We 
 were unable to do so, but were kindly treated by an old skipper, who was 
 in deep grief because his mother had been crushed to death in their little 
 house. He gave us coffee — the only nourishment we had excepting a few 
 crackers in twenty-four hours. 
 
 "The skipper saw the Government boat coming in the bay, and said 
 if we could reach the Presidio wharf we could escape on the Government 
 boat. We hurried toward the Presidio, greatly impeded by fissures which 
 stretched long distances and around which we had to make our way. At 
 the Presidio we were taken on board with other refugees and a short time 
 later we were safe in Oakland. 
 
 CLIMBED OVER BODIES. 
 
 "I climbed over bodies, picked my way around flaming debris and 
 went over almost unsurmountable obstacles to get out of San Francisco," 
 said C. C. Kendall, a retired Omaha capitalist. "I arrived in San Fran- 
 cisco the night before the earthquake. I was awakened by being thrown 
 out of my bed in the Palace annex. I rushed to the window and looked 
 out. The houses were reeling and tumbling like playthings. I hurried 
 on clothing and ran into the street. There I saw many dead and the debris 
 was piled up along Market Street. 
 
 "I went to the office of the Palace Hotel. Men, women and children 
 were rushing about, crazed and frantic, in their night clothes. The first 
 shock lasted only 28 seconds, but it seemed to me two hours. A few min- 
 utes after I reached the Palace Hotel office the second shock came. It 
 was light compared with the first, but it brought to the ground many of 
 the buildings that the first shock had unsettled. 
 
 "Fires were breaking out in every direction. Market street had sunk 
 at least four feet. I started for the ferry. It was only a few blocks from 
 the Palace annex to the ferry, but it took me from 6 o'clock until 10.15 
 to cover the space. Men and women fought about the entrance of the 
 ferry like a band of infuriated animals. I made my escape — I do not 
 remember how, for I was as desperate as any of them. As the boat pulled 
 
184 NARRATIVE OF A VICTIM 
 
 over the bay the smoke and flame rose successively high, and the roar of 
 the falHng buildings and the cries of the people filled tlie air. 
 
 "The first I remember of the earthquake was finding myself in the mid- 
 dle of the floor where, with chairs and other bits of furniture, I had been 
 thrown," said G. F. Burgner, a business man of Osceola, Wis. AVith 
 his wife and two daughters he had registered at the St. Francis Hotel 
 in San Francisco the night before the disaster. "With my family I 
 rushed downstairs. We pushed our way through the crowded streets, 
 where every one was hurrying here and there. Some were pulling trunks 
 behind them. Bricks, stone and all sorts of debris filled the roadway, 
 and we had a difficult time in making our way to the water front. An 
 electric launch w^as moored there, and on it we escaped to Oakland. 
 
 "The groans and cries of those held under the timbers of the collap- 
 smg buildings were pitiful to hear, and the worst of it was that nothing 
 could be done to save them." 
 
 PEOPLE ROLLED DOWN STAIRS. 
 
 "The room seemed to twist out of shape," said Mr. Harriman, "and 
 the furniture was disarranged. The door stuck, and it required all my 
 strength to open it. Men were shouting, w'omen screaming hysterically 
 and everybody was endeavoring to get to the elevators and stairways. 
 It was soon discovered that the elevators were not running, and the people 
 fell and rolled down the stairs. 
 
 "My wife and I descended, and on the first floor found a mass of peo- 
 ple whom the hotel employes were imploring to remain there, as it was the 
 safest place, but all seemed determined to get outside. Dressing as we ran, 
 my wife and I found that we had grabbed up enough clothes to present 
 a respectable appearance, except that we had no shoes. We gradually 
 fought our way to the ferries, 
 
 "All along the way we saw bodies of human beings. Some had been 
 crushed by falling walls, others had jumped from high buildings, while 
 still others had been trampled to death by the excited populace. Horses, 
 having broken their hitch reins, were dashing frantically along the streets, 
 knocking people dow^n. We finally got aboard a ferryboat and landed 
 on the other side of the bay. We took the first train for the East." 
 
NARRATIVE OF A VICTIM 185 
 
 "I was in a Southern Pacific train twenty miles from San Francisco 
 when the shock came," said Frederick Droege, of the Licking Rolling 
 Mills, Covington, Ky. "Passengers were tumbling out of their berths 
 into the aisle. The conductor stopped the train and looked to see what 
 we had hit. Nobody could find out what it was. Some one suggested 
 an earthquake, and we ridiculed the idea. We went on a few miles, 
 and looking out of the window saw that the chimneys of the houses had 
 fallen over. Further on two great fissures appeared on each side of the 
 track, where the earth had opened. A little further we saw that the 
 Santa Fe track, next to ours, had sunk out of sight where there had been 
 a deep fill. Then we realized that it was an earthquake all right." 
 
 AUCTION FOR CHANCE TO FLEE. 
 
 Arthur Woodson, of Chicago, who was in the Palace Hotel at the 
 time of the earthquake, said: "After breakfast I hustled around to get 
 over the bay to Oakland. A few hacks were in commission, and a regular 
 auction was being held over the seat sold to each passenger. The prices 
 ranged from $20 to $100. I got a seat in one of the hacks for $35. There 
 were three other men in it that paid $50 for seats. We had to go to the 
 ferry in a roundabout way, and when we had covered several blocks 
 two men hailed the driver. They offered $100 apiece for the privilege 
 of riding to the ferry. The driver took one up on the box with him, handed 
 me my $35 and made me get out so that his $100 passenger could get into 
 his carriage. 
 
 "I hailed the next hack that came along and got up on the box beside 
 the driver. Another fellow from the sidewalk called out that he would give 
 S75 to be taken to the ferry, but I told the hack driver that I would throw 
 him off the box if he stopped, as he had no room either inside or out 
 for another passenger." 
 
 O. M. Nichols, a New York traveling salesman, fled from the Palace 
 Hotel, leaving a vest behind in which was $200. He paid $30 to ride 
 two blocks to the ferry in an automobile, and was one of a party which paid 
 $250 for a tug to take them to Oakland. 
 
 "I shall never forget the scenes at the ferryhouse," Mr. George Mus- 
 grove said. "It was bedlam, pandemonium and hell rolled into one. There 
 
186 NARRATIVE OF A VICTIM 
 
 must have been lo.ooo people trying to get on that boat. Men and women 
 fought like wild cats to push their way aboard. Clothes were torn from 
 the backs of men and women and children indiscriminately. Women 
 fainted, and there was no water at hand with which to revive them. Men 
 lost their reason at those awful momenets. One big, strong man beat his 
 head against one of the iron pillars on the dock, and cried out in a loud 
 voice : 'This fire must be put out ! The city must be saved !' It was awful. 
 
 THOUGHT END OF WORLD HAD COME. 
 
 "When the gates were opened the mad rush began. All were swept 
 aboard in an irresistible tide. We were jammed on the deck like sardines 
 in a box. No one cared. We were out of the smoke-filled atmosphere 
 and were on our way to a place of comparative safety. One peculiar thing 
 is that almost every one thought that the end of the world was at hand. 
 Native sons of San Francisco had experienced earthquakes before. This 
 was something new. It was not an earthquake. It was something worse. 
 They had no communication with the outside world. Naturally, they im- 
 agined that the disturbances which were taking place in Frisco were being 
 repeated all over the country. This belief was universal. The freaks of 
 the earthquake were marvelous. Some of the streets were twisted, others 
 showed the effects of the earth waves and were a mass of little depressions 
 and undulations." 
 
 Mrs. Jessie Rudisill, of Denver, was in the San Marco Hotel, v/hich 
 was wrecked. She stayed in the hotel Wednesday until ii A. M. She said: 
 
 "When we were told we must leave the hotel we walked and walked. 
 All day we walked and watched the fire. The streets were crowded 
 with people just wandering about and looking at the flames ever leaping 
 higher. We made our way to the St. Francis, only a little way off, on Van 
 Ness avenue. But to reach there it seemed as though we walked miles 
 and miles. They had no room for us at the St. Francis. But we just had 
 to stay there. There was no other place to go. 
 
 "Descibe the scene? It was like the burning of Rome as we see it in 
 fireworks. It was the wrath of God for the wickedness of the city — for 
 the hell dives, for underground Chinese dives. Why, they tell me there 
 is nothing in Paris, nothing anywheve to equal the depravity of San 
 
NARRATIVE OF A VICTIM J8'7 
 
 Francisco. It was God's judgment, this earthquake. I believe it. I 
 beheve it." 
 
 With the wondrous changes in the earth's strata which occurred in 
 San Francisco in a few moments on Wednesday, came corresponding 
 changes in the social, financial, business, racial and other strata in the beau- 
 tiful city near the Golden Gate, which, if not as thrilling, yet were almost 
 as interesting as the mighty upheaval by nature's great forces. Just as 
 quickly as were proud buildings leveled to the ground, just so quickly 
 were leveled the barriers which had separated folk in all walks. In a 
 twinkling the whole structure of city life was changed, just as was the phy- 
 sical structure, and the contrasts made by the changes were just as marked. 
 
 Following the shocks came a stupor which fell over all. As the horror 
 of the situation grew upon them the feeling was one of utter hopelessness 
 and indifference to their fate. Men and women walked the streets aimlessly, 
 not trying to avoid falling walls and firebrands, seemingly careless whether 
 or not death would come. 
 
 TERRIFYING SCENES IN CAMPS. 
 
 The scenes in the camps of refugees which dotted the city were ter- 
 rifying in their very simplicity — men and women appear to have returned 
 to the primitive — the disaster had left no distinctions. Those who a few 
 short days before enjoyed wealth and social distinction lived in their rude 
 hovels or wandered about the street, suffering from the first pangs of hun- 
 ger they had ever known, without a murmur or complaint. 
 
 Deaths and burials went on without grief ; births were heralded with- 
 out joy, save for the women who crowded about the shelters and fondled 
 the little ones who gazed for the first time in life on a scene of strife and 
 misery. Altogether the women bore the calamity better than the men. 
 Starvation had for them but little terror, and they roamed aimlessly around 
 unmolested in and out of the ruins and thronging camps without fear. 
 
 The humian passions were mingled strangely in this vast city where, 
 suffering prevailed. Late Friday night a young woman who was Tuesday 
 the mistress of every luxury she could wish was seated with a group of 
 tearful shop girls near the city side of Golden Gate Park. A costly robe 
 had been blackened and burned by the falling ashes. A staggering figure — 
 
188 NARRATIVE OF A VICTIM 
 
 that of a man — appeared, making its way wearily from the city. Near the 
 group he fell. The crushed crown of an opera hat was stuck grotesquely 
 on his head, a broad expanse of what had been an immaculate shirt front 
 was reddened and grimy from the blood which flowed from a deep gash 
 on his forehead. His face was black, his throat so parched that he could 
 not utter a sound. 
 
 The girl caught him as he fell and sat with his head in her lap while 
 from his lips issued strange unearthly sounds until death came. The man 
 was a young broker, well known in San Francisco, and the girl was his 
 fiancee. They had attended the opera on Tuesday night, and when they 
 met again he had been working in the midst of the fire district for almost 
 seventy-two hours. The girl held his lifeless body until a detail of 
 soldiers were forced to wrest him "from her, and he was buried. 
 
 "THANK GOD FOR THE REGULARS." 
 
 "Thank God for the regulars," said everybody. They were the 
 steadfast hope of the people and policed like heroes and ruled like fathers. 
 In the central part of the city they checked the outrageous famine prices 
 to starving people. When Thursday morning broke, lines formed before 
 the stores whose supplies had not been commandeered. In one of these 
 the first man was charged seventy-five cents for a loaf of bread. The 
 corporal in charge at that point brought his gun down with a slam. 
 
 "Bread is ten cents a loaf in this shop," he said. 
 
 It went. The soldier fixed the schedule of prices a little higher than 
 in ordinary times, and to make up for that he forced the storekeeper to 
 give free food to several hungry people in line who had no money to pay. 
 In several other places the soldiers used the same brand of horse sense. 
 There were no cases reported of actual starvation, although many came into 
 Oakland hungry, ready to grab food and choke it down like animals. 
 
 The soldiers took the cue from General Funston. He was the real 
 ruler of San Francisco, and was doing the best job he could. Thursday 
 all the military tents available were set up in the Presidio and the troops 
 were turned out of the barracks to bivouac on the ground. In these 
 shelter tents they were placing, first, the sick; second, the more delicate 
 of the women, and third, the nursing mothers. 
 
NARRATIVE OF A VICTIM 189 
 
 Thursday afternoon General Funston ordered the dead buried at once 
 in a temporary cemetery in the Presidio grounds. The recovered bodies 
 were carted about the city ahead of the flames. Many lay in the city 
 morgue until the fire reached that; then it was Portsmouth Square until 
 it grew too hot; afterward they were taken to the Presidio, There was 
 another stream of bodies which had lain in Mechanics' Pavilion at first, 
 and had then been laid out in Columbia Square, in the heart of a district 
 devastated first by the earthquake and then by fire. 
 
 The condition of the bodies was becoming a great danger. Yet the 
 troops had no men to spare to dig graves, and the young and able-bodied 
 men were mainly fighting on the fire line or utterly exhausted. It was 
 Funston who ordered that the old men and the weaklings should take the 
 work in hand. They did it willingly enough, but had they refused the 
 troops on guard would have forced them. It was ruled that every man 
 physically capable of handling a spade or a pick should dig for an hour. 
 When the first shallow graves were ready, the men, under the direction 
 of the troops, lowered the bodies, several in a grave, and a strange burial 
 began. The women gathered about crying. Many of them knelt while 
 a Catholic priest read the burial service and pronounced the absolution. 
 
 GIRL FOLLOWS FATHER'S BODY. 
 
 Many of the dead, of course, will never be identified. A story came 
 of one young gi'rl who had followed for two days the body of her father, 
 her only relative. It had been taken from a house on Mission Street to 
 an undertaker's shop just after the quake. The fire drove her out with 
 her charge, and it was placed in Mechanics' Pavilion. That went, and 
 the body rested for a day at the Presidio, waiting burial. With many 
 others, she wept on the border of the burned area, while the women cared 
 for her. 
 
 The sacrifices were innumerable. A man who had in some manner 
 obtained a bottle of water and was hurrying to share it with a comrade 
 before touching it himself, was checked by the sight of a dry-eyed woman 
 fondling a wailing infant. Thirst was stamped plainly on their faces. 
 The man started to pass on. A second cry again stopped him, and he 
 turned and thrust the precious bottle into the woman's hands. 
 
190 narratut: of a victim 
 
 "Give it to the kid," he said. "I'll get some more." And he started 
 back on his hopeless quest. The man was one of the most -notorious 
 characters in the Tenderloin, and it is understood later he "vvas bayonetted 
 by soldiers while in tlie act of looting a house. 
 
 It was in the city's many parks where the refugees gathered that the 
 strangest sights of the week were seen. By each little group, lying out 
 on the grass and under the trees, would be a small bundle of household 
 belongings. Up and down the broad avenues of the parks tlie troops 
 patrolled, keeping order. This was difficult at times, for the second 
 hysterical stage succeeded the paralysis of that first day, and people were 
 doing strange things. A man. nmning half naked, tearing at his clothes 
 and cr}'ing. "The end of all things has come!" was caught by the soldiers 
 and placed under arrest. Under a tent on the broad lawn of the children's 
 playground a baby \\"as bom. By good luck, there was a physician there. 
 and the women helped out. so that the mother appeared to be safe. They 
 carried her later to the children's building in the park and did their best 
 to make her comfortable. 
 
 DEATHS CAME FREQUENTLY. 
 
 The deaths came frequently. Physicians were everywhere in evidence, 
 but without medicine or instrtiments were fearfully handicapped. Men 
 staggered in from their herculean efforts at the fire lines, only to fall 
 gasping on the grass. There was nothing to be done. Injured lay 
 groaning. Tender hands were willing, but of water there was none. 
 "Water, water; for God's sake, get me some water." was the cry that 
 struck into thousands of souls of San Francisco. 
 
 From Fort Mason, where most of the Italians and Spaniards from 
 Telegraph Hill had passed the night, there started an early morning 
 exodus. Friday, for the ferr>-. A priest of the Church of St. Peter and 
 Paul — the Church of the Fishennen they call it in San Francisco — had 
 saved from the church the Host, vesmients and sacred vessels. Early in 
 the morning he set up an altar in the open and said mass. 
 
 One of the refugees on the shores of Lake Merced. Thursday morning 
 spied a flock of ducks and swans which the city maintained there for the 
 decoration of the lake. He plunged into the lake, swam out to them and 
 
NARRATIVE OF A VICTIM 191 
 
 captured a fat drake. Other men and boys saw the point and followed. 
 The municipal ducks were all cooking' in five minutes. A man with a loaf 
 of bread in his hand ran up to a policeman on Washington Street. "Here." 
 he said, "this man is trying to charge me a dollar for this loaf of bread. 
 Is that fair?" 
 
 "Give it to me." said the policeman. He broke off one end of it 
 and stuck it in his mouth. "I am hungry myself." he said, when he had 
 his mouth clear. "Take the rest of it. It's appropriated." The regulars. 
 who had been remarkably cool and had not had a wink of sleep, had strict 
 instructions to brook no interference, and but few quarrels arose. These 
 were stopped with bullets. 
 
 In contrast to the action of the men from the Government reservation, 
 calm, self-contained and decisive, was that of the volunteers and the 
 various cadets who had been sworn in to do police duty. The experience 
 of carrying loaded amis resulted disastrously in a number of instances. 
 
 A group of cadets were standing- near a half-burned home when a 
 man made his appearance and started to enter. The Ix'ty — he was scarcely 
 more than nineteen — called to the man to halt, and when the other turned 
 and started towards him. the lad. his arms twitching with nervousness, 
 raised his rifle and fired. The other fell mortallv wountled. It was sub- 
 sequently learned that the man killed was entering his own home. 
 
 SUFFERER MAKES LARGE DONATION. 
 
 Mrs. Hugh Cruni, a wealthy property owner, reported to the Relief 
 Committee that all her income-bearing- property had been destroyed, but 
 that she had a little money in the banks which she proposed to divide 
 equally with the Relief Committee. She. therefore, subscribed $10,000 
 to the relief fund. ^lany other persons of comfortable circumstances were 
 roming to the aid of the committee, and food supplies of all kinds were 
 being furnished the needy. 
 
 For two days and nights a squad of police were perfoniiing patrol 
 duty in Golden Gate Strait. Two lieutenants and eight men aboard the 
 tug "Sea Rover" Friday night prevented the departure of several vessels 
 from the harbor for the reason tb.at they carried food. Among them were 
 the barkentines "Eureka" and "Barracuda," bound for Portland, with 
 
192 NARRATIVE OF A VICTIM 
 
 considerable supplies on board. All vessels stopped and were compelled 
 to drop anchor in the stream or return to the dock, where the food was 
 unloaded and turned over to the authorities. 
 
 There was another side to the work of the troops. The looting grew, 
 and with the irritation of burning nerves the men became more impatient 
 of looters and lawbreakers. There were mistakes and there were excesses 
 of authority. One man was shot in the burned Mission district for washing 
 his hands in drinking water, which had been brought in at great trouble for 
 the thirsty people packed into Columbia Park. It was said, also, that a 
 bank clerk, watching the ruins of his bank under orders, was killed by a 
 soldier, who thought that he was looting. There became a persistent 
 rumor of an attempt to rob the Mint, in which a number of robbers were 
 shot. The shooting of men actually engaged in looting became more and 
 more common. Life was cheap for those who did not respect military rule 
 on the edges of the burning hell. 
 
 The consideration which was shown by men of all classes to the 
 women appeared remarkable. The cases of insult to the unprotected — of 
 whom there were thousands — were few. 
 
 KILLED FOR INSULTING GIRLS. 
 
 Strict orders were given to the military regarding the protection of 
 the weaker sex, and were carried out to the letter. 
 
 In Golden Gate Park, which resembled a vast bivouac, with its 
 myriad of twinkling campfires, two young girls were accosted by two 
 men, evidently the worse for liquor, which they had obtained in some way. 
 The girls were dressed in hurriedly-snatched ball gowns, donned during 
 the first terror of the earthquake. Scarcely had one of the men spok^^n 
 when, without a word of warning, a sentry from the Presidio, who was 
 standing near, fired and the man dropped, a bullet in his heart. The other 
 man started to run, but was brought down by a second shot and placed 
 under guard. 
 
 All Thursday wagons mounteci with barrels and guarded by soldiers 
 drove through Golden Gate Park doling out water. There was always a 
 crush about these wagons and only one drink was allowed to a person. 
 Separate supplies were sent to the sick in the tents. The troops allowed 
 
First train load of supplies sent out by The Evening Telegraph 
 for the relief of sufferers in the stricken city. 
 
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\IE\V ON MARKET 5 IREET. San Franosco. 
 
GENERAL FREDERICK FUNSTON 
 
 COMMAND OF THE FEDERAL TROOPS AT SAN FRANCISCO DURING THE 
 GREAT EARTHQUAKE AND TERRIBLE CONFLAGRATION. 
 
MAYOR EUGENE E. SCHMITZ of San Francisco, Cal. 
 
GOVERNOR PARDEE of California. 
 
NARRATIVE OF A VICTIM 193 
 
 no campfires, fearing that the trees of the park might catch and drive the 
 people out of this refuge to the open and wind-swept sands by the ocean. 
 The wind, which had saved the heights, came cold across the park, 
 driving a damp fog, and for those who had no blankets it was a terrible 
 night. Many were exhausted and could not sleep even in the cold; they 
 threw themselves down in the wet grass and fell asleep. 
 
 When morming came the people even prepared to make the camp 
 permanent. An ingenious man hung up before his little blanket shelter 
 a sign upon a stick, giving his name and his address before the fire wiped 
 him out. This became a fashion, and it was taken to mean that the space 
 
 was pre-empted. 
 
 13— s. F. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 CREMATING THE DEAD AND FEEDING THE LIVING. 
 
 WITH eyes on the future and with memories of past prosperity acting- 
 as inspirations rather than discouraging sorrows, San Francisco 
 seemed to have forgfotten its comfortable homes and the luxuries of the 
 metropolis and came back to first principles. The people entered into the 
 spirit of beginning again, and were accepting camp life philosophically 
 and as a part of the process of the return of better things. All were fed, 
 there was water for all and the relief measures were progressing with the 
 orderly routine instituted by the civic and military authorities. This was 
 the fourth day after the disaster. 
 
 One of the many measures taken to prevent the spread of disease 
 was the burning of 200 bodies found in the Protero district, south of 
 Shannon Street, in the vicinity of the Union Iron Works. These bodies 
 were cremated at the Six-Mile House by order of Coroner Walsh, and the 
 announcement was made at the Board of Health headquarters. So many 
 dead were found in this limited area that cremation was deemed absolutely 
 necessary to prevent an epidemic of sickness. The names of some of the 
 dead were learned, but in the majority of cases identification was impos- 
 sible, owing to the mutilation of the features. 
 
 The total number of bodies recovered up to Sunday night and either 
 buried or burned was 500. No complete record could be had, as many 
 bodies were buried without permits from the Coroner and the Board of 
 Health. The searchers of the Coroner's department and the Board of 
 Health found twenty bodies during the day. Whenever a body was found 
 it was buried immediately, without any formality, and these burials were 
 made at widely separated points. 
 
 The body of an infant was found in the center of Union Street, near 
 Dupont. There was nothing by which it could be identified. It was learned, 
 however, that a number of persons had camped at this place, and it is 
 presumed that the child died and was left when the party was forced to 
 move. Three bodies were found in the ruins of a house on Harrison 
 
 194 
 
CREMATING THE DEAD 195 
 
 Street, between First and Second. They had been burned beyond all 
 possibility of identification. They were buried on the North Beach. 
 
 Operators on duty at the jMarket Street ferry house were frightened 
 by the noise of some timbers falling in the afternoon, and, believing that 
 another earthquake shock had occurred, fled from the building. The news 
 that a new earthquake shock had visited the city was flashed across the 
 country, but the report was contradicted quickly. 
 
 The authorities announced that the food supply was ample for the 
 present, and that the city mains were carrying water which would soon 
 be enough to meet all needs. 
 
 The sanitary conditions were improving under the efficient work of 
 the health officers and volunteer engineers, who were also preparing to 
 clear the streets. Governor Pardee, of California, announced his belief 
 that the salvation of the city was being worked out successfully, and that 
 a finer metropolis would be reared over the ruins. 
 
 WATER SUPPLY RESTORED. 
 
 Experts of the Spring Valley Water Company, who had been engaged 
 in making a thorough examination of the mains and reservoirs of the 
 system, reported that the company had in its reservoirs enough water to 
 supply the city at the regular rate of 35,000,000 gallons per day for a 
 period of 600 days. The only immediate problem was that of getting this 
 supply of water into the city. Already pipes had been repaired in certain 
 sections, and a supply of 7,000,000 gallons per day was coming in through 
 Ocean \^iew from Lake Merced. About 1,000,000 gallons of this was 
 being consumed daily by Ocean View and the other towns along the pipe 
 lines, but 6,000,000 gallons daily was reaching and would continue to reach 
 the city proper. 
 
 The Board of Health reported a very encouraging health condition, 
 considering the circumstances. Sickness was constantly on the decrease. 
 Sanitary conditions in the residence districts were being improved. Major 
 Frank Keesling, in charge of Golden Gate Park, made this report to 
 General Funston : 
 
 'T beg to advise you that not a case of serious sickness exists in this 
 park. All rumors to the contrary are false and malicious. I will promptly 
 
196 CREMATING THE DEAD 
 
 advise you if there is any change, or if anything of a serious nature 
 
 occurs." 
 
 The Engineering Department of the United States Army, having in 
 charge the work of erecting temporar)^ buildings in Golden Gate Park for 
 the relief of the sufferers, announced that eight buildings were finished. 
 These buildings were cut into compartments large enough to furnish 
 sleeping room for a family, and each compartment had an entrance from 
 the outside. Lumber was being delivered at the park in large quantities, 
 and 135 carpenters were at w^ork on the temporary buildings. 
 
 A large corps of volunteers started at work on Saturday removing 
 all cans of garbage to the curbs. Wagons were being pressed into service 
 and the garbage removed to the burned districts, where it was destroyed. 
 Most of the sickness was among the people who were living out of doors, 
 and it was upon these cases that the Board of Health was concentrating 
 most of its attention. Hundreds of volunteer doctors, dentists, nurses and 
 helpers were at work allaying suffering. Since the fire occurred there 
 was no lack of volunteers for every kind of work. 
 
 GREAT SCARCITY OF BEDDING. 
 
 At the emergency hospitals, which were quickly established and at- 
 tended by many physicians almost within a half hour's notice, the only 
 complaint that really existed was the lack of bedding. Though the army 
 and navy were called on for blankets, quilts and the like, the supply 
 furnished by these departments was not enough, and the physicians feared 
 that these conditions would prove serious if more bedding was not procured. 
 This fear existed particularly at the Presidio and the eastern end of 
 Golden Gate Park, where the winds are brisk and the morning air chilly. 
 
 Only thirty patients were quartered in the territory that comprised 
 the park emergency hospital, though 400 persons were treated since Wed- 
 nesday morning. No deaths occurred at the park emergency hospital 
 after Wednesday morning's shock. Over 100 physicians and attendants 
 were serving in the park. New volunteers and inspectors who were being 
 appointed by the Board of Health were assigned to districts other than 
 the park, as the physicians were assured that the park emergency hospitlal 
 was under perfect surveillance. 
 
CREMATING THE DEAD 197 
 
 So far no difficulty was met with at the park in securing an ample 
 supply of all that was needed for the care of the injured and ailing. Doctor 
 Rottansi confisctated seven barrels of whisky from a nearby saloon and 
 placed a guard over them, so that the liquor could be available for this 
 purpose. 
 
 Oakland furnished an engineering corps to assist in restoring the 
 water supply and another to aid in cleaning the streets. The inspection of 
 the sewers made by the Board of Public Works showed that the outlets 
 to the systems in the residence section remaining unburned were tall in 
 good condition save two. In the district south of Market Street few, if 
 any, systems remained. In the business district no inspection was made. 
 
 The committee having in charge the relief of the hungry reported that 
 every homeless man, woman and child in San Francisco was being cared 
 for, and that there was no suffering on the score of either food or drink 
 within the city. 
 
 The committee was estfablishing new relief stations wherever needed. 
 In addition, at many points on the outskirts individual or independent 
 organizations were working in connection with the committee. The relief 
 of the needy was being accomplished magnificently. Cars and steamers 
 laden to their capacity with food and medical supplies were pouring into 
 the city from every point along the coast and throughout the State, and 
 as this supply was assured as a permanency, there was not the slightest 
 fear of any lack of food or drink. 
 
 DISTRIBUTING CARGO OF SUPPLIES. 
 
 The Pacific Mail steamship "China," wtih ia cargo including a large 
 quantity of foodstuffs, which arrived on Saturday from the Orient, was 
 docked at Oakland in order that the supplies could be distributed there. 
 The shipping of San Francisco was at a standstill, and such will be the 
 state of iaffairs while the city is in the least endangered. The United 
 States cruisers "Chicago" and "Marblehead" were stationed off Meiggs 
 wharf and prevented every vessel, whether foreign or domestic, from 
 sailing out of the harbor. The vessels were being held to be ready for 
 any emergency that may arise. 
 
 The Federal authorities removed all the customs restrictions from th^ 
 
198 CREMATING THE DEAD 
 
 cargo of the steamer "Chinia" as soon as possible, and the rice, tea and 
 other foodstuffs from the Orient were taken off the vessel and sent to 
 the aid of the stricken Chinese. 
 
 Weddings in great number resulted from the disaster. Women, 
 driven out of their homes and left destitute, appealed to the men to whom 
 they were engaged, and immediately marriages were effected. Since the 
 first day of the disaster an increase in the number of marriage licenses 
 issued wias noticed by County Clerk Cook. This increase was getting 
 greater. Saturday morning seven licenses were issued in an hour. 
 
 "I don't live anywhere," was the answer given in many cases w^hen 
 the applicant for a license w'as asked where his residence is. "I used to 
 live in San Francisco." 
 
 On Sunday Governor Pardee said: 
 
 "The situation is as good as can be expected, considering the greatness 
 of the calamity that has befallen us. The nation and the world are taking 
 great interest in our welf'are and showing material and financial aid. The 
 matter of a special session of the Legislature is still under consideration. 
 What we need especially is medical stores, clothing and shelter for the 
 refugees. Of course, food will be needed in considerable quantities for 
 some time to come. An epidemic does not exist at present. It is not 
 probable that there will be any necessity for ordering a quarantine. The 
 work of building San Francisco has commenced, and I expect to see the 
 great metropolis replaced on a much grander scale than ever." 
 
 WASHINGTON'S RESPONSE. 
 
 The wave of sympathy which spread over the country in response to 
 the new's from San Francisco seemed to have its crest in Washington. 
 While President Roosevelt and Congress gave official expression to it, 
 the city itself responded magnificently in contributions. One impressive 
 feature of the situation was the refusal of aid from outside the United 
 States. It is not exaggeration to say that millions of dollars would have 
 come from foreign nations to the treasury of the American National Red 
 Cross if the latter would have accepted the donations. It is a matter of 
 pride, however, with the Government and the American people generally, 
 that they can take care of their own needy. 
 
CREMATING THE DEAD 199 
 
 Messages expressing- the sincerest appreciation of the generous tenders 
 of aid were sent on behalf of the Red Cross to the Guatemalan Govern- 
 ment, to Canada, to Canadian Pacific Railroad and the Chinese Minister. 
 The Guatemalan Congress voted a contribution of $10,000 to be sent to 
 the sufferers through the Red Cross. The Canadian Government tendered 
 $10,000 and the Canadian Pacific Railroad a like sum. 
 
 Sir Chentung Liang Cheng, the Chinese Minister, offered to the Red 
 Cross $4800, which had been contributed by Chinese consuls, members of 
 the legation and other Chinese. This was declined, like all other foreign 
 gifts, but the minister was asked by the Red Cross to send the first 
 secretary of legation to San Francisco to aid in distributing relief to the 
 Chinese in that stricken city. 
 
 Word was sent out by the Red Cross through its various agents to 
 have organized in every part of the country clubs or societies of ladies 
 who would undertake the collection of clothing and other necessaries for 
 immediate shipment to San Francisco. These societies were to operate 
 in conjunction with the Red Cross, just as they did at the time of the 
 Johnstown disaster. 
 
 LOOKING OUT FOR BABIES. 
 
 With keen appreciation of the danger threatening the babies in San 
 Francisco, the Red Cross at St. Louis dispatched a carload of condensed 
 milk to the coast. Its agents also all through the West began the system- 
 atic purchase of fresh eggs, the supply of which in nearly all of the cities 
 in California was reported as exhausted. These purchases were being 
 made in the States just east of the coast and were being made through 
 army officers at army prices. 
 
 Treasurer Keep, of the Red Cross, in Washington, reported on Sat- 
 urday the receipt of $40,000, in addition to $50,000 received the day 
 before. With the contributions made to the New York branch, a fund 
 of half a million was already available. The funds are being telegraphed 
 to Judge Morrow, the California agent of the Red Cross. 
 
 On Sunday a special train left Washington, carrying medical officers 
 of the army and navy. Tt was the purpose to pick up army doctors en 
 route until at least one hundred would be carried to San Francisco. The 
 
200 CREMATING THE DEAD 
 
 activity at the War Department continued as intense as ever. There was 
 no cessation in the orders for supplies of all kinds, and many officers in 
 the department had no sleep for two nights. 
 
 The following- appreciative tribute to the magnificent response for 
 help is by one of our leading newspapers: 
 
 "The one ray of light in the gloom created by the calamity at San 
 Francisco is afforded by the truly magnificent display of brotherly love and 
 sympathy shown, not alone by the people of this country, but by those of 
 the whole civilized world. The hearts of men and women have been 
 deeply touched by the blow which has fallen on their fellows, and they are 
 showing by deeds of generous helpfulness, on a scale almost unprece- 
 dented in the annals of a free-handed and lavish people, those higher 
 qualities of heart and mind which ennoble mankind and differentiate it 
 from the brute creation. 
 
 NATION STIRRED TO CHARITY. 
 
 *Tn the face of an appalling and death-dealing disaster, rendering 
 an entire community dependent for the bare necessities of life and putting 
 it in imminent danger of greater horrors, the nation has been stirred as 
 it has not been for many generations, and there have been awakened those 
 deeper feelings of brotherhood which are referred to in the oft-quoted 
 passage about the kinship aroused by 'one touch of nature.' It is impos- 
 sible for the finite mind to imagine the full extent of the misery and 
 suffering created by such an upheaval of the elemental forces of nature 
 as that which has occurred on the Pacific Coast ; the attempt to picture the 
 details even vaguely makes too great a draft upon the imagination, too 
 terrible a drain on the sympathy. 
 
 "But the simple realization that thousands of fellow-beings are per- 
 haps at this moment suffering for food and water, for clothes and shelter; 
 that the visitation which has come to one community may at any moment 
 be the fate of others-j-it is this 'one touch of nature which makes the 
 whole world kin' and translates the feeling of sorrow and pity into action. 
 There is something incomparably splendid in the spectacle of an entire 
 nation straining every nerve to send succor to the helpless and the suf- 
 fering, and this spectacle has warmed the hearts that were stunned by the 
 
CREMATING THE DEAD 201 
 
 magnitude of the calamity. The nation is finding reHef in action, the 
 iiniversaHty and spontaneity of which is one measure of the sincerity of 
 its grief and its sympathy. 
 
 "Such a spectacle as is now being presented throughout the length 
 and breadth of this land, and in many another land as well, where cities 
 and towns, corporations and individuals, are vying with one another in 
 generous rivalry as to which shall be the first to feed the hungry and 
 succor the suffering and the shelterless, must be a grateful one to all who 
 have preserved their faith in the higher ideals and destinies of the race. 
 
 "What is going on to-day all over the world, but particularly through- 
 out America, must give the lie to the pessimist and the croaker, for it 
 reveals the falsity of the version which pictures modern society as wholly 
 cynical, selfish and indifferent. Preoccupied it may be; too often engrossed 
 in its own affairs to notice the prosaic every-day instances of wrong and 
 suffering it often is; but when aroused by some great emergency, the real 
 heart of humanity is revealed and the world is the better for the awaken- 
 ing. No good deed is ever lost, either to the recipient or the doer, and 
 the gracious effects of such an outpouring as the present will be a double 
 benediction. 
 
 NEW AND SPLENDID CITY PROMISED. 
 
 "Where San Francisco lies prone in its ashes, and looks up to its 
 desolated hills, will arise a new and splendid city. Yet when it has been 
 builded, and the bitterness of the present time forgotten, then will abide 
 a sense of loss. The old San Francisco is no more, and never can it be 
 recalled save as a memory. The local color, atmosphere, that which 
 might be termed temperament, vanished with the clustered houses, as rich 
 in tradition as the ancient missions in whose cloisters worshiped the* 
 Spanish padre 'before the Gringo came.' 
 
 "While many Americans knew San Francisco, more of them knew 
 Paris, London and Rome. To most of them this fair city of their own 
 land was as a place distant and foreign. But such as entered it, and 
 learned of its people and their ways, learned to love it. Unique it was, 
 almost grotesque perhaps, certainly defiant of precedent in its customs, its 
 pleasures, its manner of living. One who had stood on an eminence there, 
 
202 CREMATING THE DEAD 
 
 beholding a vision of ocean, bay and circling mountains, had seen the bil- 
 lowing ifog banks roll in through the Golden Gate, crowning the abrupt 
 slopes of Saucelito until in the sky there seemed a range of fantastic moun- 
 tains, in their phantom valleys shifting lakes that changed tints with the 
 sun, remembered ever after a panorama beautiful and appealing. This 
 picture no fury of rocking earth may destroy. 
 
 "But the scenic impressiveness only prepared the mind for apprecia- 
 tion of that part of San Francisco which has been swept into history, and 
 which hardly may be described. It was a very essence, a subtle difference, 
 not so much in mental attitude and moral perception and warmth of fellow- 
 ship — although all of these quickly might be discerned — as in the form of 
 the expressions these qualities had taken. One of San Francisco's charms 
 was in its defiance of precedent. There were hills to be conquered, and 
 San Francisco's expanding traffic hurled itself at the face of them. It 
 went up and up, with no thought of finding a way around. So it happened 
 that on some of the streets the steepness was too great for horses. In the 
 centre there are cable roads, and on either side of the rails grass grows 
 through the cobbles. 
 
 OLD BUILDINGS OF THE TOWN. 
 
 "The earlier structures on the level were put together in haste. For 
 the most part they remained essentially unchanged until they fell with a 
 crash. True, they had become stained by time, unkempt, dwarfed by new 
 neighbors, but nobody desired to efface them. Away from the business 
 section houses appeared on the various hills, perched precariously near the 
 brink; houses reached by long flights and grown over with roses. The 
 bathing fogs touched them with gray. Mosses grew on their roofs. In the 
 little, lofty yards calla lilies bloomed with the profusion of weeds. But 
 inside these homes what hospitality ! as inside the rickety restaurants down 
 toward the water front there was cheer. The 'two bit' dinner of the 
 Italian or Mexican chef in New York would have cost ten times as much. 
 Those whom they drew into comradeship, no matter from what rank in 
 Bohemia or of Philistines astray, were made acquainted with a pervasive 
 equality not witnessed elsewhere in civilization. 
 
 "The natural beauty of the site, the quaintness of the commercial and 
 
CREMATING THE DEAD 203 
 
 social development of which it became the centre, attracted the poet and 
 the artist. It incited them to paint the attractions and to sing the praises 
 of their chosen habitat. For the outside world, who cared? Surely not 
 they. They lived in a world of their own, and it was good enough. Now 
 and then some member of the group went to the larger world outside, and 
 perchance found fame, but the heart of the wanderer turned back to the 
 gray and shadowy city. 
 
 "Here Stevenson paused before going to the islands to die, and 
 made his home in a rookery. Happy and content was he, as he sat for 
 hours in Portsmouth Square, where now a monument to his memory has 
 been jarred askew. Here young Norris gathered the inspiration for his 
 books. Here, too, in an older day, Bret Harte did his best work and 
 Twain found his real beginning. 
 
 THE NEW MARCH OF IMPROVEMENT. 
 
 "On another plane — that of the clubs — there prevailed a similar habit. 
 Pleasure was courted ; to offer the stranger greeting was part of the code. 
 To instruct him that however desirable a place he had come from it must 
 be less desirable than San Francisco was a matter of course ; never done 
 aggressively, but with the final word that admitted no denial. This higher 
 Bohemia has suffered, too, but it can survive. The club may rebuild, with 
 the stores, the offices and the mansions, and be better equipped than ever. 
 The spirit of the club has not been crushed. It is in the humbler walks 
 that the blow has fallen. The antique structure that no fire ordinance 
 would permit in a modern city ; the elevated cottage that the architect never 
 dreamed ; the uprising street ending against a cliff, all these the march of 
 improvement will obliterate, scattering the people to whom they were dear, 
 and making all things new, precise, according to rule. 
 
 "Even the absence of Chinatown will be a loss. There never will be 
 in America such another. Garish with gold and purple; rich in secrets 
 the police had failed to fathom ; its people retaining the dress and traits of 
 the Orient ; honeycombed with subterranean passages ; full of strange sights 
 and sounds and smells, with the contrasts of riches and squalor, industry 
 and vice, it was alone of its kind. It occupied some of the best territory, 
 and long had been wanted for other purposes. Now the Chinese really 
 
204 CREMATING THE DEAD 
 
 must go, and the odor of sandalwood and opium, the stores of scented 
 drugs, inwrought vases and carved ivories sought by every traveler, must 
 be sought elsewhere, 
 
 "The people of San Francisco know the shock of calamity, but they do 
 not know defeat. They will have their city again. It cannot be the old 
 city, nor suggestive of the old. Disaster seems to have swept away the 
 barriers that afforded pleasing isolation. The new San Francisco will be 
 as other prosperous cities, its distinctiveness only that which springs from 
 its site as an outpost overlooking the Pacific." 
 
 The following account of San Francisco will be of special interest to 
 the reader: 
 
 San Francisco's history leads back to the days of '49, with their 
 romance and their glamour ; days when a trip to the Pacific was an arduous 
 task of months across plains where hostile natives harried ; or in the 
 mountains, with the peril of avalanche and flood. The other course was 
 around the Horn by ship, or across the Isthmus, where the menace of fever 
 lurked. The result was that the early settlers were men of reckless daring 
 or exceptional hardihood. The women who followed were of two classes. 
 One was made up of adventuresses ; the others were women of high charac- 
 ter, a courage as lofty as men ever knew, and happily for the development 
 of the West the latter women became the social basis, the motherhood so 
 distinct that it seemed for a generation that of a new people. 
 
 DEVELOPING THE MINING CAMP. 
 
 The Eastern settlers found the Spanish in full possession. Castillian 
 beauty reigned, with the house of the commandant at the Presidio a sort of 
 centre. The Spanish element soon was crowded out, and by process in 
 part legal, and in all respects inevitable, the aliens took full possession. 
 To-day the Spanish linger only in names that the settlers never dis- 
 turbed, although the trace of their blood is to be seen in the tawny cheek 
 of many a native Californian proud of his ancestry. 
 
 For a time the development of San Francisco was that of the average 
 mining camp. The people had no thought that on the peninsula dividing 
 the ocean from the placid bay they were to find a permanent abiding place. 
 They were far away from the Federal Government, and they had no regu- 
 
CREMATING THE DEAD 205 
 
 larly constituted courts. Disorder had to be dealt with, and when the 
 territory had formally become American this duty was undertaken. The 
 lawless were convinced with suddenness that there was law, and that its 
 arm was mighty. The thief, the thug, the crooked gambler, were given 
 fair warning and then short shrift. Portsmouth Square, the place now 
 opposite the Hall of Justice, and whither citizens scared by the earthquake 
 fled for refuge, was the scene of many a hanging. The people who acted 
 as judges and executioners were the best of the day, and some of them 
 live yet to recount the tale, while their children have developed into the 
 leading spirits of commerce, education and social growth. 
 
 From the time of its founding San Francisco has been the most im- 
 portant city of the Pacific Coast, Built on a peninsula, it covers forty- 
 seven miles about midway of the Californian Coast, Its safe and ample 
 harbor and the fact that it was the outpost of possible expansion made its 
 greatness a certainty. It has had its ups and downs, but never a doubt 
 as to its ultimate destiny. While much of the business part of the city is 
 virtually at sea level, the residence portions are several hundred feet in 
 elevation, this being true of Nob Hill and Pacific and Presidio Heights. 
 In addition to these, Russian Hill rises almost cliff-like in the side it presents 
 to the sea, while the same may be said of Telegraph Hill, an eminence that 
 stands just where the waters of the bay curve gracefully to join the narrow 
 strip that leads out through the Golden Gate, giving ships their sheltered 
 passage to the open sea. 
 
 ONE OF THE WORLD'S PICTURESQUE CITIES. 
 
 San Francisco is — or must the record be was? — one of the most 
 picturesque cities in the world. Its skyline, serrated by domes and pinna- 
 cles, was deeply impressive, whether viewed from across the bay or from 
 the ocean. Even the fogs that often enwrap it lent to it a mystic charm. 
 The town of San Francisco progressed moderately for a number of years, 
 and then the great fortunes that had been made began to be devoted to its 
 upbuilding. Fashionable folk erected mansions on Rincon Hill, a locality 
 long ago abandoned by them. There they lived in homes decorated by 
 foreign artists. 
 
 In later years San Francisco began to have its millionaire class. One 
 
206 CREMATING THE DEAD 
 
 group of four comprised Stanford, Hopkins. Crocker and Huntington. 
 They built the Central Pacific Road, and out ot it each made stupendous 
 riches. Three of the four signalized their new estate by putting up on 
 California Street a series of palatial homes. Huntington did not build, 
 but subsequently bought a house adjoining Crocker's, it being the duplicate 
 of a famous Italian villa. The Stanford and Hopkins houses ultimately 
 became the property of the State University. The others generally stood 
 empty, save for caretakers. All have been destroyed. All the builders are 
 dead. Huntington having survived the longest. 
 
 THE MACKAY GROUP. 
 
 Another group of four of equal celebrity was made up of Mackay, 
 Fair, Flood and O'Brien. Their money was made in mining and in stock 
 speculation. When first taken with the idea that the Comstock held wealth 
 for them they were engaged in running a saloon at the scene of the Nevada 
 excitement. All excepting Mackay have long been dead. Before his death 
 Mackay was known to the world as the leader in great enterprises. The 
 men of these groups left their distinctive mark upon San Francisco. They 
 put their money into advancing it. They inspired a faith in the city. Their 
 sons are now known in the world of finance, and their daughters are 
 familiar figures in the society that draws upon the capitals of the world. 
 
 The climate of San Francisco is unique. There is neither heat nor 
 cold known to it. There is no series of four seasons, but a division into 
 wet and dry, the winter being the wet. Semi-tropical plants flourish in the 
 open throughout the year. The parks are at their greenest and the trees 
 in fullest splendor at the Christmas holidays. Roses bloom ever}'- month of 
 the year. The clothing worn is of the same weight during the twelve 
 months. Many houses had no method of heating, and others had open 
 fireplaces, where there is as likely to be a blaze in summer as in winter. 
 
 Most of the streets are wide, although this is not the case in the lower 
 quarters. They were lined with a good class of houses, with a large share 
 that were fairly entitled to be called mansions. Even the most costly of 
 these, as a rule, were of wood. The Flood house, costing more than a 
 million, and that of Claus Spreckels, the two of his sons, John A. and 
 Adolph, and that of one of the Crockers, were exceptions. 
 
CREMATING THE DEAD 207 
 
 In the adornment of its streets and parks, and in its public buildings, 
 San Francisco was lavish. So, too, have its capitalists been in the finish 
 of business buildings. The banks, stores, hotels and offices of San Fran- 
 cisco, in every detail of artistic nicety, equaled those of New York. But 
 even the waning of the old fear of earthquakes never permitted the build- 
 ings to be sent so high as they go in any Eastern city, eighteen stories being 
 the limit, and twelve a standard for modern structures. 
 
 THE MUNICIPAL WORKS. 
 
 The city government has been able and measurably free from corrup- 
 tion. It is virtually without a debt, and has a habit of having in its treasury 
 several millions of dollars in actual coin. The public libraries would be a 
 credit to any city. The municipal buildings were on a generous scale, and 
 architecturally much commended. In the matter of fire protection, light 
 and transportation facilities there was no city in the land more advanced. 
 The Mayor preceding the present incumbent. Schmitz. was James D. 
 Phelan, whose father made a vast fortune in trade, and who is a public- 
 spirited gentleman. Although one of the heaviest individual losers by the 
 catastrophe, he, together with Claus Spreckels', whose individual loss also 
 runs into the millions, was quick to subscribe liberally for the benefit of the 
 suffering. Such an act may be cited as showing the spirit that built one 
 San Francisco, and viewing the ashes, undismayed, sets about building 
 another. 
 
 As the city grew there were acquired forms of wealth that cannot 
 be stated in dollars. It was the seat of museums, of art collections, of 
 noble private libraries. Its churches, rich in appointments, had begun to 
 become hallowed with age. Its schools, its clubs, its restaurants, its palaces 
 stocked with goods, have been destroyed, but with them more than mere 
 material. They all bore the mark of the local color, an atmosphere ob- 
 served in no other place, San Francisco was unique among American 
 cities, clinging to customs and respecting traditions. Years ago, when 
 communication was by steamer, and the steamer called every two weeks, 
 settlements had to be made twice monthly. That circumstance established 
 "steamer day" and "steamer day" was still a fact, to the sudden ending of 
 business. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 UNSHELTERED THOUSANDS IN THE PARKS 
 DRENCHED BY RAIN. 
 
 DRENCHING rain fell upon San Francisco Monday night. From 
 midnight until 3 o'clock it poured and drizzled at intervals, while 
 a high wind added a melancholy accompaniment, howling and sighing 
 about the buildings of the burned district. Five days before, when the fire 
 catastrophe was in its infancy, this downpour would have been regarded 
 as a mercy and a Godsend. Monday morning it could be regarded in no 
 other light than as an additional calamity. 
 
 It meant indescribable suffering to the tens of thousands of persons 
 camped upon the naked hills and in the parks and open places of the city. 
 Few of these were provided with waterproof covering. For the most part 
 their only protection from the wet was a thin covering of sheeting tacked 
 upon improvised tent poles. Through this the water poured, wetting the 
 bedding and soaking the ground upon which they lay. When it is under- 
 stood that thousands upon thousands of delicately-nurtured women and 
 infants in arms, and old and feeble persons, were in this plight, nothing 
 need be added to describe the misery of their condition. 
 
 The downpour aggravated the already unsanitary condition of the 
 camps and added great numbers of pneumonia cases to those already 
 crowding the regular and temporary hospitals of the city. What could 
 be done was done by the guards in charge of the camps to relieve the 
 distress. Wherever covering could be had for the women and children 
 it was taken advantage of. They were housed in chill and cheerless 
 churches, in garages and barns, and those who had saved their homes were 
 called upon to take care of the unfortunates exposed to the storm. 
 
 With few exceptions those who had homes responded readily to the 
 new call made upon them, and where they did not the butt ends of rifles 
 quickly forced a way through inhospitable doors. While the storm added 
 to the difficulties of the general committee, especially of those having in 
 charge the care of the sick, the sanitation of the city and the housing of the 
 
 208 
 
UNSHELTERED THOUSANDS IN PARKS 209 
 
 homeless, it was a spur to even greater efforts to bring order out of the 
 chaos prevaiHng. 
 
 Regular shelter tents were to be provided, as well as cots standing off" 
 the ground. It was realized that these provisions were imperative, as much 
 so as the providing of food. After several hours of clear weather there was 
 another precipitation at 6 A. M., and again at 9 o'clock the fall was re- 
 sumed and continued at intervals throughout the day. 
 
 MAN'S EFFORTS FOR FAMILY. 
 
 Of individual instances of suffering the number was legion, but one 
 will tell the story of them all. About 4 o'clock, when the rain had been 
 falling heavily for an hour, a middle-aged man, white-faced in his distress 
 and fatigue, appeared at the headquarters of the general committee. He 
 had walked two miles from his camping place in the park to make an appeal 
 for his suffering wife and little ones. 
 
 As he told of their distress tears coursed down his cheeks. His wife 
 and children were, he said, without covering other than a sheeting over- 
 head, and were lying on the naked ground, and their bodies protected only 
 by a quilt and blanket, which of his household bedding were all he had 
 managed to save. These had quickly been soaked, and, while unwilling to 
 complain on his own account, he could not bear to listen to the wails of 
 his loved ones, and had tramped all the way from his camping place to 
 the committee headquarters in the hope that there he might find some 
 means of getting his family under shelter. 
 
 Major H. C. Tilden, a prominent commission merchant of this city, a 
 
 member of Governor Pardee's staff and one of the foremost workers of 
 
 the General Relief Committee, was shot and almost instantly killed in his 
 
 automobile early in the morning at Twenty-second and Guerrero Streets, 
 
 while returning from Menlo Park. He was shot by members of the 
 
 citizens patrol. Hugo Alltschul, a coachman, who was in the automobile, 
 
 was cut in the face by a bullet, and another ball pierced the seat and struck 
 
 the back of R. G. Seaman, acting lieutenant of the Second Company of 
 
 the Signal Corps. The force of the bullet was spent and Seaman suffered 
 
 no injury. 
 
 Major Tilden had taken his three children and a nurse from the 
 14— S. F. 
 
210 UNSHELTERED THOUSANDS IN PARKS 
 
 Fourteen-Mile House, where they had been since the earthquake, to Menlo 
 Park, where he had a summer cottage. His automobile had been used as 
 an ambulance in conveying sick and wounded to the hospitals, and the Red 
 Cross flag was displayed on the car. Besides this, he had the Red Cross 
 insignia on his right arm. According to Seaman, six men stood in the 
 middle of the road at Twenty-second and Guerrero Streets, separating 
 when the car got within fifty feet of them. When the car was within ten 
 feet of the guard, Seaman says, the guard began shooting without warning 
 or challenge, and kept on firing after the car had passed them. 
 
 "The car had gone about fifty feet past the patrol," said Seaman, 
 "when it stopped suddenly. Tilden, who was operating the car, fell 
 towards me, saying, 'Well, they got me — they killed me.' He then 
 dropped back in the seat and rolled out of the car. 
 
 *T sprang up and fired five shots in quick succession at those who were 
 still shooting behind us. A doctor came running from a house near by, 
 and, after examining Tilden, said he was dead. Several policemen came 
 running up and arrested three of the men who did the shooting." 
 
 The killing of Tilden caused the greatest indigation. Boyneton, one 
 of the men under arrest, declares that he did not see the Red Cross flag on 
 Tilden's car, and when the latter did not stop when challenged, he fired. 
 Seaman then began shooting and Simmons and Vance replied. 
 
 LIGHTS IN THE HOUSES. 
 
 Sunday night was e of almost stygian darkness, the silence broken 
 by the measured trea^'. of patrols and sentries, and an occasional shot. 
 For the first time, lights were allowed in the houses, but only from dark 
 until lo o'clock. 
 
 A temporary detention hospital was established in the basement of the 
 Sacred Heart School conducted by the Dominican Sisters, at the corner 
 of Fillmore and Hayes Streets, and the first commitment since the earth- 
 quake was made yesterday. The sisters of the Sacred Heart kindly turned 
 over a part of the already crowded quarters to the insanity commissioners, 
 and a number of patients were housed there. An insane Chinese at the 
 Presidio Hospital was killed by a delirious Federal patient. The China- 
 man's skull was crushed with an iron bar. 
 
UNSHELTERED THOUSANDS IN PARKS 211 
 
 A permanent sanitary camp for the Chinese left in the city was estab- 
 Hshed immediately in the blocks bounded by Franklin and Octavia, Chest- 
 nut and Bay Streets. The camp was laid out and constructed under the 
 direction of the army engineers. The government supplied for this pur- 
 pose 4,000 shelter tents. A number of large manufacturing companies 
 arranged to receive and care for refugees at their respective plants along 
 the eastern shore of the bay. Two thousand seven hundred and fifty per- 
 sons were accommodated. 
 
 Fully 30,000 persons were being fed by the government at the Presidio 
 and North Beach. Provisions were being bountifully supplied to all who 
 made application, and as yet there was no suffering from hunger. Tents 
 were being distributed. More than 10,000 were given, and the authorities 
 intended to continue the distribution so long as the supply lasted. 
 
 Barracks were erected in Golden Gate Park to accommodate 15,000 
 persons. 
 
 ORDERS FOR CITY GOVERNMENT. 
 
 General Funston issued an order from which the following are ex- 
 tracts : 
 
 "Lights are authorized between sunset and 10 P. M. In case lights 
 are burning after this hour, sentinels will investigate quietly and inform 
 the occupants that orders require lights to be extinguished at 10 P. M. 
 
 "In houses no fires will be permitted in stove grates, furnaces or other 
 fireplaces having exit through chimney flues, unless the occupants of the 
 house hold a certificate issued by authorized inspectors showing the chim- 
 neys in proper condition. Oil stoves may be used. 
 
 "All persons, except suspicious characters, will be permitted to pass 
 sentinels without interruption, provided they are orderly and do not de- 
 stroy, molest or appropriate property not their own. 
 
 "The division commander desires to impress upon the troops the 
 importance of temperate action in dealing with the unfortunate people who 
 are suffering from the awful catastrophe that has befallen them. He de- 
 sires also the assistance of the people, for whom every effort possible is 
 being made. Assistance, food supplies, tentage and blankets are beginning 
 to come in very rapidly, and in a very few davs it is believed that sufficient 
 supplies of all kinds will be regularly distributed. 
 
212 UNSHELTERED THOUSANDS IX PARKS 
 
 "It is particularly requested that no person permit himself to receive 
 more of any kind of supplies than are absolutely necessary-. 
 
 "Our greatest danger in the future may be expected from imavoidable 
 unsanitar}- conditions, and ever)- person is cautioned that to violate in the 
 slightest degjee tlie instructions of the sanitan,' officers would be a crime 
 that could have no a\-ailable punishment." 
 
 Food was never more plentiful in San Francisco, and tlie only trouble 
 was its proper distribution. The committee on feeding the hungr}- reported 
 the most satisfactory- progress in the huge task and had fifty-two establish- 
 ments where the hungT\- could obtain food. From all points news of ap- 
 proaching relief trains was coming in and already sufficient p^o^-isions had 
 accumulated at the Oakland pier to supply the needs of the city for more 
 than a week. Plain food of ever}- description was plentiful and luxuries 
 were beginning to arrive. 
 
 There were an abundance of meats for steAving. tliough all the finer 
 cuts were used at the hospital. Immense cattle trains were rolling north- 
 ward from the prairies of the soutliwest and chickens and eggs were com- 
 ing from nearby towns. The most pressing need was for vegetables. 
 
 The condition of the 5.000 persons camped in Jefferson Square was 
 terrible. Xot more than five per cent, had an army tent, and makeshifts 
 were constructed of carpets, bed sheets and ever\- imaginable substance. 
 They were inadequate to keep out the lieaN-)- rain that fell. 
 
 WEAPONS TAKEN AWAY. 
 
 Qiief of Police Dinan issued an order to police captains Instructing 
 them, in view of the carelessness of persons granted the privilege of ca.TTy- 
 ing firearms, to make all persons discontinue carr^-ing weapons. The only 
 government department in the San Francisco Custom House in which work 
 was continued during the day of the fire was that of Survevor of the Port 
 Woodward. He and his chief deputy, Giauncey M. St. John, were at their 
 desks by 9 o'clock in the morning and remained there all day. The fire 
 crept up toward them from the water front and finally was on all four 
 sides of the building. 
 
 Amid the roar of the conflagration, the crash oi falling walls, the 
 excitement attending the work of the 150 jackies who sa%-ed the building. 
 
UNSHELTERED THOUSANDS IN PARKS 21S 
 
 their work went on uninterrupted. Inspectors fought their way to the 
 building, reported to St. John and received further orders regarding their 
 work along the water front. It was a severe test, but neither the surveyor, 
 nor his inspectors showed any inclination to abandon their posts. 
 
 Freaks of the earthquake and incidents of the disaster were described 
 by refugees who were arriving here from San Francisco at Salt Lake: 
 
 "There were ludicrous scenes even in the saddest hours," said L. E. 
 Ryter. a Salt Lake mining man. '*I never saw so many parrots, canary 
 birds, mocking birds and pet dogs together in my life. I saw a pet dog 
 on the seat of an automobile, the owner of which would not stop to take 
 in any wounded man on the sidewalk. 
 
 "One thing will always remain in my memor\'. On a pile of bricks, 
 stones and rubbish was thrown the body of a man shot through the heart, 
 and on his chest was pinned a placard: 'Take warning!' It was a most 
 effective way to terrorize those who would steal. 
 
 'Tt was grand to see the spirit of men who had lost fortunes them- 
 selves in cheering up the poor ones who had lost things of no great value. 
 *\\'hy. I lost $200,000.* said one. '^^'hat is your baby carriage to that? 
 Cheer up! It will all come out in the wash.' " 
 
 FREAKS OF THE EARTHQUAKE. 
 
 Another^ arrival described freaks of the earthquake. One of the 
 churches on Van Ness Avenue had a mosquelike dome. The building was 
 blown down, all the walls falling away, but the steel structure, invisible at 
 a distance, remained, supporting the dull gray dome, which seemed floating 
 in the air like 'a balloon. Among the queer sights witnessed by this nar- 
 rator was a lone woman patieiitly pushing an upright piano along the 
 paveiuent a few inches at a time and a woman lovingly emt)racing a Japa- 
 nese dog. 
 
 Miss Ina G. Bothwell. a student, tells of incidents at Stanford L'niver- 
 sity. A girl was dressing in one of the sorority houses, when the floor 
 gave way. Her companion looked up, saw that she was gone and shrieked : 
 "Where are you. Mary?" 
 
 "Oh. I am in the parlor." replied the girl, calmly, as she wriggled out 
 of the heap of plaster and mortar below. 
 
214 UNSHELTERED THOUSANDS IN PARKS 
 
 One man, at least, according- to Miss Bothwell, missed what would 
 have been the experience of a lifetime, because he did not wake up. Al- 
 though the fraternity house was almost razed to the ground, this man, 
 whose name she did not learn, slept on, and was still sleeping when they 
 rescued him from the ruins. 
 
 J. J. Daly, a wealthy mine owner, escaped with his wife and four 
 children. He left the Charlemagne Hotel in his automobile, but the police 
 made him give it up to carry the wounded. Speaking of his experiences, 
 he said : 
 
 "The policing of the city was perfect under the circumstances, and I 
 want to give unstinted praise to the chief and his brave men. We finally got 
 over to Oakland, and in a half-starved condition entered a restaurant there. 
 Six of us ate a hearty meal, and the check was only $i.6o," 
 
 A THRILLING TALE. 
 
 With the arrival of the 12.17 train from the West on Monday the 
 first of the San Francisco sufferers passed through Philadelphia. Among 
 them was Frank Du Bois, a real estate dealer, living at 11 Van Ness 
 Avenue, San Francisco. He left Oakland at 6 o'clock on Wednesday, the 
 day of the earthcjuake. Still bearing the bruises of the knocks he received 
 when thrown from his bed by the shocks, Mr. Van Ness told a thrilling 
 story of the appearance of the stricken city. He said: 
 
 "I was in a sound sleep about 5 o'clock last Wednesday morning, 
 when suddenly I was thrown to the floor as if taken around the waist and 
 hurled into space. Jumping to my feet in a dazed condition, I found the 
 floor on which I was standing rocking like a rowboat in the wake of an 
 excursion steamboat. The bed and bureau were dancing around the room 
 in a most astounding manner. I had never been through an earthquake 
 before, and I did not know what the trouble was. 
 
 "On endeavoring to open the door I found it jammed tight, and had 
 to take a chair and demolish the door before I could leave the room. In 
 the hallway I found my two children and my brother, panic-stricken, be- 
 cause they could not find their way from the house. Picking up the chil- 
 dren, I dashed throiiqh the front window, with my brother following. 
 
 "XMien we reached the street we found our neighbors on all sides, 
 
UNSHELTERED THOUSANDS IN PARKS 215 
 
 attired only in their night clothes. For the first few moments every one 
 was nearly crazy, the men even worse than the women. Some thought the 
 end of the world had come, and dropped to their knees and offered prayers 
 for their deliverance. Others cursed and stormed and acted like lunatics. 
 
 "I left San Francisco for Oakland at 9 o'clock on Wednesday morn- 
 ing, as I had made arrangements to come to New York on a business trip. 
 At that time there did noteseem to be any great fear of fire, but as I went 
 through the street I saw hundreds of persons on their way to the hospitals 
 to have their injuries attended. I did not see any dead, and did not realize 
 the extent of the disaster. 
 
 "The horror of the tragedy did not strike me until 4 o'clock in the 
 afternoon, when it appeared from Oakland that the whole city of San 
 Francisco was burning. I endeavored to get back to the city to take care 
 of my family, but the police would not allow me to return, so I started 
 East, as I had planned." 
 
 The Transcontinental limited had as passengers two survivors of the 
 San Francisco earthquake, Frank Humboldt, a broker, of New York, and 
 Herbert Alwee, a real estate agent, living on Nob Hill, San Francisco. 
 
 PANIC IN A STREET CAR. 
 
 At the time of the first shock Mr. Alwee was on a cable car passing 
 through Chinatown. He said : 
 
 *T was on my way to a train for the "East when the first shock came. 
 Coming down from Nob Hill, I took a car on Clay Street about 5 o'clock 
 on Wednesday morning, and when we were just opposite the old Plaza, 
 now known as Portsmouth Square, we felt the first trembling of the earth. 
 
 "There was a tremor, as though some one had shaken the car, and 
 when we were looking at each other — there were only eight of us in the car 
 — the second shock came. I was thrown from my seat into the lap of a 
 laborer, who had himself been thrown to the floor of the car. We were 
 all quiet except the conductor, who was kneeling on the rear platform, yell- 
 ing at the top of his lungs, 'Hell has broken loose!' He repeated that 
 several times, and then he began to pray, several passengers following his 
 lead. 
 
 "Several of the old ramshackle buildings of that portion of China- 
 
216 UNSHELTERED THOUSANDS IN PARKS 
 
 town lying close about us had already fallen, and most of the other frame 
 buildings were leaning over at an angle of 45 degrees, falling one by one 
 at every moment. From their doors there issued a motley throng of 
 Chinamen, clad only in their queerly figured pajamas, fighting among 
 themselves in fear that one might find a better means of escape than the 
 other. Here and there in the crowd, growing larger and more turbulent 
 every moment, was a small group of painted white women, what we call 
 in 'Frisco 'the white Chinese.' Strange to say, such a group was always 
 accompanied by a mighty Chinese guardian, w^ho hewed a way through the 
 throng for the women in his charge. I saw one of the women go mad from 
 fear, striking out at her own protectors, and then escape from their cus- 
 tody. 
 
 WOMEN PRAYED WITH CHINESE. 
 
 "In Portsmouth Square an attendant in one of the Joss houses in a 
 nearby street had erected a temporary altar to one of the many deities of 
 the Chinese, and this was for the moment the Mecca for all the faithful. 
 Here there were gathered fully a thousand Chinamen, and among them 
 were a score of the painted women, worshiping at the same pagan shrine 
 with their Chinese masters. And then the new terror that came after the 
 earthquake, the lurid glare of the flames against the sky, the frightful 
 messages of peril seen everywhere about the doomed city." 
 
 The new San Francisco that will rise from the ashes of the old was 
 in its first stages of rebuilding. After five days of confusion and almost 
 superhuman effort on the part of citizens of California's metropolis, the 
 great task of sheltering, feeding and otherwise caring for the homeless 
 thousands, complete order was established and attention turned to the 
 future. 
 
 Throughout the great business quarter, where the devastation by fire 
 was the most complete, dangerous walls were razed, buildings that had 
 not been disintegrated by fire were inspected with a view of reoccupancy, 
 and ground was cleared for the immediate construction of buildings in 
 which to resume business at the earliest possible time. 
 
 Confidence was restored. The assurance of insurance companies, the 
 measures taken by the financial institutions, the prompt and reassuring 
 
UNSHELTERED THOUSANDS IN PARKS 217 
 
 words that reached the business men of San Francisco from Eastern 
 financial centres, all these things dispelled the feeding of uncertainty. 
 Property owners had an opportunity to inspect some of their holdings 
 and, in a measure, ascertain what damage had been done. 
 
 STEEL BUILDINGS ALMOST INTACT. 
 
 The new modern steel buildings were found to be almost Intact. In 
 every instance it seemed that the earthquake had not damaged them. The 
 steel frames were in perfect plumb and as strong as ever. Cornices and 
 fancy trimmings fell, but that was all. Even when the fire swept through 
 them only the woodwork was damaged. The Fairmount Hotel, on Nob 
 Hill, will be completed; the Claus Spreckels Buildings on Market and 
 Third Streets will be occupied. The Union Trust Building, at Mont- 
 gomery and Market Streets, only lost the interior woodwork, and as soon 
 as men put in the lumber it was ready for occupancy. The St. Francis 
 Hotel was in the same category, and the work of renovating the interior 
 was commenced. An inspection of the Call Building, at Third and Market 
 Streets, disclosed the fact that several of the floors of the building were 
 in good condition, and could, after slight repairs, be used. 
 
 The Monadnock Building, on Market Street, next to the Palace Hotel, 
 was found to be in first-class condition. Even the woodwork in the interior 
 of the building was intact, and the owner announced that within ten days 
 he would be renting ofiices in this building. The Monadnock is a large 
 structure of steel and brick, almost completed when the fire came. 
 
 Three train loads of dynamos, telegraph instruments, Wheatstone 
 machinery, etc., and a dozen Wheatstone operators, in charge of Chief 
 Electrician McKissick, of Chicago, arrived at Oakland Monday night, con- 
 signed to the Western Union Telegraph Company. A plant was imme- 
 diately established at West Oakland, and the congestion of messages was 
 greatly relieved. The Western Union cables to Oakland were tested and 
 found to be in perfect condition, which would indicate that communication 
 between San Francisco and Oakland was restored. 
 
 The Postal Company was rapidly instaling its dynamo plants and 
 duplex instruments in Oakland. The officials said that from present indica- 
 tions the headquarters of the company would be at Oakland for a fort- 
 
218 UNSHELTERED THOUSANDS IN PARKS 
 
 night at least, possibly longer. The Commercial Cable Company reported 
 that its underground city lines in San Francisco suffered no damage from 
 the earthquake shock. 
 
 One fortunate condition still remained with San Francisco. There 
 was an abundance of gold and silver coin available in the vaults of the 
 United States branch mint incthe city. The mint had almost completed 
 its coinage for the fiscal year when the earthquake and fire interrupted this 
 operation. Furnaces and grate chimneys were to be ready to start up at 
 an hour's notice if suitable power could be obtained. 
 
 A significant indication of the early restoration of law and order and 
 safety was the fact that there was not a soldier or city police officer guard- 
 ing the many millions of dollars in the vaults of the mint. The soldiers 
 and other guards were dispensed with the first day of the fire. The heavy 
 rains did not weaken the walls left standing in the burned area, according 
 to the Building Commissioner. Menacing walls are dynamited as fast as 
 possible. 
 
 MILLIONS IN COIN AVAILABLE. 
 
 The national government appropriated $1,500,000 for the relief of 
 the California earthquake sufferers on Monday, the 23d, which sum, added 
 to the $1,000,000 appropriated several days before, brought the total con- 
 tribution authorized by Congress to $2,500,000. This money was ex- 
 pended under the direction of the Secretary of War. 
 
 The first step in the movement towards giving San Francisco all the 
 material she will need to rebuild with, and at the lowest possible price, 
 was taken at Washington, when Representative Gaines, of Tennessee, in- 
 troduced a bill admitting free of duty all goods, wares or merchandise 
 which may be imported into the United States as gratuitous contributions 
 for relief of the earthquake sufferers, and consigned to the Governor of 
 that State, the Mayor of San Francisco, the Secretary of War or the Sec- 
 retary of Commerce and Labor. 
 
 E. H. Harriman, president of the Union Pacific Railroad Company, 
 sent the following message from Oakland, Cal., to the offices of the rail- 
 road company in New York : 
 
 "Having gone over the situation in San Francisco, I am deeply im- 
 
UNSHELTERED THOUSANDS IN PARKS 219 
 
 pressed with the necessity of uninterrupted forwarding of foodstufifs witK 
 which to feed the 200,000 homeless people. The situation is well organ- 
 ized, and the United States Quartermaster's Department is receiving 
 and distributing through its channels and through the various local relief 
 associations all supplies as fast as they arrive ; but the fact should be made 
 public in all quarters that it will require continued effort on the part of 
 every one to keep supplies coming. The railroads are, of course, handling 
 all such supplies without charge, and the people must respond to calls for 
 relief." 
 
 TO KEEP ACCOUNT OF MONEYS. 
 
 In order that the public should have an accounting of how its money 
 was expended and its supplies distributed after the relief work has come 
 to an end, President Roosevelt on Sunday wrote to Miss Mabel T. Board- 
 man, of the Red Cross Committee, requesting that the organization send 
 an expert accountant to San Francisco to keep the accounts. Miss Board- 
 man replied that United States Judge Morrow, president of the California 
 Red Cross branch, would appoint an accountant at once in San Francisco. 
 
 President Roosevelt was much concerned over the press reports that 
 the Chinese residents in San Francisco might be overlooked in the distribu- 
 tion of relief. The President communicated with Secretary Taft, with 
 the result that Acting Secretary Oliver sent the following telegram to Gen- 
 eral Funston at San Francisco: 
 "Dr. Edward T. Devine, Red Cross, San Francisco. 
 
 "According to newspaper reports suffering and destitution liable to 
 become peculiarly great among Chinese. Nothing known of the matter 
 here beyond press reports. At suggestion of the President, I am author- 
 ized to say in name of Secretary Taft, president of society, that Red Cross 
 work should be done wholly without regard to persons, and just as much 
 for Chinese as any others. Please see that this is done. Secretary of 
 War will instruct General Funston to co-operate with you in this matter. 
 Have already given to first secretary of Chinese LegaticMi, who has left 
 for San Francisco, a letter to you asking that he be extended all possible 
 assistance in relieving distress of Chinese. 
 
 "McGee^ Secretary." 
 
220 UNSHELTERED THOUSANDS IN PARKS 
 
 "President directs you furnish same shelter and camping facilities to 
 Chinese as to others, and that you co-operate with Red Cross in relieving 
 suffering or destitution among them. Use your own discretion as to 
 whether special camps shall be established for them. Government sup- 
 plies must be furnished and government protection afforded. 
 
 "Oliver, Acting Secretary of War." 
 
 NEWSPAPER COMMENT ON DISASTER. 
 
 A prominent newspaper journal made the following comment on 
 the appalling disaster: 
 
 "Instantly, as is the sound American habit in great disasters, the work 
 of planning for rebuilding has begun in San Francisco. The insurance 
 companies will furnish the capital. One great realty owner of San Fran- 
 cisco property in the East has announced his intention of at once rebuild- 
 ing. The fire was still blazing when despatches for steel for construction 
 began to be filed. The new San Francisco, taught by a terrible lesson, will 
 adopt the steel construction which experience has shown resists the earth- 
 quake shock and withstands fire. 
 
 "The plan of the city and its distribution of quarters will doubtless 
 be revised. The Chinese quarter occupied with all its loathsome reminders ' 
 of the East, the most valuable of realty in the heart of the business quarter. 
 The tenement quarters, with its frame buildings, was a survival of earlier 
 days. More than one slum, like the 'Barbary coast,' had its evil begin- 
 ning in days when San Francisco was still a great mining camp. 
 
 "In a city as full as San Francisco is of local pride, of personal initia- 
 tive and of a capacity for efficient organization, the improvement which 
 Baltimore showed after the recent fire in street and building will be out- 
 done on the Pacific Coast. The city is almost debt free, in part because 
 its water supply is in the hands of a company. Its total bonded debt a 
 year ago was only $4,245,100. Its realty valuation is $402,127,261, and 
 its personalty is $122,258,406. If the buildings are gone the realty is still 
 there, and new edifices will replace those shaken by earthquake and con- 
 sumed by fire. With this sound financial condition, with the plan of the 
 city open to revision and with great possibilities before the city, the next 
 two years are about to see an amazing transformation. 
 
UNSHELTERED THOUSANDS IN PARKS 221 
 
 "No past record is to approach the great flood of reHef streaming to 
 San Francisco from every quarter. The disaster of the city is the disaster 
 of the land. Its loss is an universal loss and its relief an universal duty. 
 In three days the subscriptions made for Chicago in over a month have 
 been doubled. The close of the week sees the Johnstown relief doubled. 
 Before the current month is over the sum subscribed will have reached 
 $15,000,000, and may run to $20,000,000. 
 
 "This vast sum, by the side of which all previous aid for like disasters 
 seems small, is to come from this country alone. President Roosevelt will 
 receive unanimous national approval in refusing the contributions tendered 
 him by two steamships. The American people, prompt to succor all the 
 world, rejoices to show that this crushing and sweeping calamity can be 
 met from its own resources and relieved by the boundless liberality of the 
 citizens of the great Republic. No like spectacle of well-planned, wide- 
 spread and universal relief has ever been witnessed. Congress leads with 
 its appropriations. The great cities are doing their share. Philadelphia, 
 as is its habit, comes forward first in the line with the appropriation of 
 $100,000. The interior and the Pacific Coast are following a like course. 
 "Great disasters have been followed in the past by depressing accounts 
 of misdirected effort. The National Red Cross, in its operation in the field 
 under the direction of the Secretary of War, gives every prospect of efli- 
 cient relief, conducted by trained agents, under military supervision. Swept 
 by the two greatest disasters known to cities, San Francisco has instantly 
 reorganized its new life under new conditions. 
 
 REHOUSING THE MULTITUDE. 
 
 Individual acts of heroism, numerous and bright as they are, stand 
 as nothing by the side of the sobriety, the self-restraint and the order which 
 has marked the vast army of 200,000 suddenly unhoused by this calamity. 
 The grip of order has never been relaxed. After twenty-four hours of 
 short supplies the municipality and the troops together have provided 
 rations. Rehousing the multitude has already begun. 
 
 Those who remember the disorder which swept over Qiicago after 
 its fire, the difficulty, in spite of a like display of like qualities of restoring 
 order, the challenge raised as to the prompt and necessary acts of General 
 
•222 UNSHELTERED THOUSANDS IN PARKS 
 
 Sheridan's sentries and tlie time tliat elapsed before tlie reorganization 
 of society was over, can appreciate tlie advance which San Francisco shows. 
 If this has been for six years past a land of great and colossal disasters. 
 tliese catastrophes are met witli a courage and resolution as great. 
 Experience counts for sometliing. even in tliese emergencies, and San 
 Francisco. frc«i the hour of tlie first sliock. has sliown tlie stuff of whidi 
 -\merican communities are made, clieerful. indomitable and self-controlled 
 — always able in die wreck oi all things past to create a new order and 
 tlie orderly supply of the necessities of life for all." 
 
 Destructive eanhquakes are so infrequent that it is not generally 
 appreciated that seismic shocks are really of almost daily ocairrence. 
 Hardly a day passes without an earthquake occurring somewhere in tlie 
 world. Most of tliese. fortunately, are mere quivers of the earth crust, 
 and would pass unnoticed had not science invented the seismograph, a 
 most delicate instrument, whidi records these feeble shocks. 
 
 The -\mericaii continent furnishes almost one-half of tlie recognized 
 eartliquake centers of the world. Excepting for tlie Caribbean region, 
 these centers where seismic disturbances are frequent and expected lie 
 along tlie Pacific Coast. Eartliquake shocks have been felt at \-arious points 
 along tlie Atlantic sealx>ard of tlie United States, but. excepting tlie 
 de\-astating earthquake at Oiarleston, tliese have been of slight importance, 
 and ha\e not resulted in gjeat disaster. 
 
 AUTHENTIC DATA NEEDED. 
 
 Before the student of earthquakes can say a certain district is likely to 
 be free from seismic tremors a great deal more autlientic data must be 
 acquired. As it is. all that can be said of any section of the country is 
 that it has or has not been frequently shaken. The cause of the Charleston 
 earthquake, for instance, has not yet been deteniiined, but it is tnie that in 
 recent years the origin of many earthquakes has been discovered. Many 
 others, however, cannot be accounted for with certainty. 
 
 Seismology, like meteorology, is not yet far enough advancevl to 
 announce any invariable laws. It had been the opinion that serious earth- 
 quakes never occurred on low lands which had a gentle gradient into the 
 sea. The destruction of Charleston, while not nullifying this principle, at 
 
rXi^HELTERED THOUSANDS IN PARKS 223 
 
 least showed that it wns not to be considered as invariable. On the other 
 hand, there are mountainous districts in which earthquakes are of great 
 rarity and in which devastating shocks are unknown in historic times. 
 
 The earthquake centers in the three Americas are almost as definitely 
 charted as the islands in the seas. At the same time earthquake districts 
 lying- close together will show that seismicity in them arises from totally 
 different causes. One will plainly arise from a well-defined tectonic cause 
 and the other will be unmistakably volcanic in origin. All earthquakes 
 are in general assigned to one or the other of these two sources of origin. 
 but labeling them in this way docs not explain fully what happens in the 
 interior of the earth to cause the destructive action at the surface. 
 
 Tn Japan there is a seismological society which already has filled many 
 volumes with valuable transactions, observations, recorded data. etc. Japan 
 is most prolific in earthquakes — almost looo are recorded every year in 
 various parts of the empire — consequently it is a profitable field for seis- 
 mologic research, and the present knowledge on the subject has been very 
 considerably advanced by observations made in the Land of the Rising 
 Sun. 
 
 SCIENTIFIC STUDY RECENT. 
 
 While earthquakes have been noted for the last 3000 years, they have 
 been made the subject of scientific study for only a comparatively recent 
 time. Many circumstances are responsible for this delay in attempting 
 to collect and collate data in a systematic manner. One of the chief 
 causes was the absence of an instrument to record the movements and 
 duration of the seismic tremors. The invention of the seismograph has 
 made possible the important progress of late years. It records even*' 
 earthquake, no matter in what part of the world it is central, for every 
 earthquake is felt all over the surface of the earth : but when it is thousands 
 of_ miles distant the waves are not perceptible, excepting to the delicately 
 balanced instrument designed to respond to the most feeble pulsation. 
 
 Another valuable contribution to the science has been the tables of 
 the distribution of seismicity prepared by De ^fontessus de Ballore. In 
 these tables the obsen-ations have been brought down to recent times 
 in those districts in which seismic occurrences have been most freciuent 
 
224 UNSHELTERED THOUSANDS IN PARKS 
 
 and best obsen-ed. They include all earthquakes recorded in historic times, 
 and list a total of 131,292 quakes and 10,499 epicenters, or points of origin. 
 The records, naturally, are incomplete, but sufficient data are given to 
 show that earthquakes are of great frequency, and that practically they 
 occur in every part of the world. The tables also show markedly that 
 certain parts of the world are especially liable to be shaken, while in 
 others seismicity is rare or at least infrequent. 
 
 GREAT CIRCLE OF FIRE. 
 
 The so-called "great circle of fire" around the Pacific Ocean is found 
 to produce the largest number of recorded earthquakes. In Central Cali- 
 fornia alone there were observed between i860 and 1897 no fewer than 
 1096 earthquakes at 113 epicenters. Owari, Japan, is much more fre- 
 quently shaken. 3356 shocks being recorded at 48 epicenters, or an average 
 frequency of 24.74. The mean average of frequency at Tokio. however, 
 is 92.2 ^. the highest average in the world. It should be remembered that 
 these are seismologic observations, made of those shocks which were per- 
 ceptible to the human senses without the aid of instruments. 
 
 The study of the geographical distribution of earthquake centers 
 brings out some significant facts, but at the same time it fails to account 
 satisfactorily for some phenomena observed. As has been remarked, 
 earthquakes are divisible into two classes, volcanic and tectonic, according 
 to their causes. It is not always possible, however, to declare with confi- 
 dence to which of these classes a particular quake should be assigned. 
 
 One of the significant facts whenever the question of class arises is 
 the situation of the epicenter with respect to an active or recently extinct 
 volcano. Close proximity to a volcano raises a presumption that the quake 
 is of volcanic origin. Tectonic quakes also have certain characteristics 
 which, though not always exclusively exhibited by them, are much more 
 common with them than with volcanic quakes, and znce rersa. 
 
 There is in Japan a remarkable absence of any tendency of earthquakes 
 to associate themselves with volcanoes. Most Japanese earthquakes orig- 
 inate at sea. and their vibrations on land indicate that they have traveled 
 a considerable distance, and that the disturbance which originated them 
 must have involved a much higher aggregate of energy than is exerted 
 
UNSHELTERED THOUSANDS IN PARKS K26 
 
 •ven In the most forcible volcanic quakes. The great Mino-Owari quake 
 of 1 89 1 originated on land, and its obvious cause, clearly disclosed in the 
 great dislocation, proves its tectonic nature. The majority of the Japanese 
 earthquakes, however, originate on that great slope of the sea-bottom 
 which leads to the Tuscarora Deep. 
 
 Around the supposed "fiery great circle," which surrounds the Pacific 
 from Cape Horn to Bering Sea, thence down the eastern archipelago of 
 Asia to the Dutch East Indies, are a considerable number of districts of 
 high seismicity, separated by wide intervals of low seismicity. They are 
 situated upon the most pronounced slopes leading from land to sea-bottom. 
 Between Japan and Luzon, in each of which there is a fairly high seis- 
 micity, there is no evidence of any exceptional degree of earthquake 
 frequency. 
 
 OPINION OF AN EXPERT. 
 
 Major Clarence E. Dutton, U. S. A., who is one of the most esteemed 
 authorities on seismology, places no belief in the "Circle of Fire." He 
 says there is no such circle, although admitting the so-called circle is out- 
 lined by many volcanoes and by many districts of marked seismicity. 
 "There is," he states in his recent volume on "Earthquakes in the Light 
 of New Seismology," "an inconsiderable amount of seismic action along 
 the Kurile chain and the Kamchatka coast and along the western Aleutian 
 chain. It appears to increase in the eastern Aleutians. We should expect 
 to find along this island barrier of Bering Sea indications of volcanic 
 rather than tectonib disturbances, for active volcanoes are numerous there. 
 On the contrary, most of the well-defined quakes from that quarter are 
 clearly of the tectonic class, and have been made known to us in their 
 character of world-shakers by the records of horizontal pendulums in 
 Canada, Europe, and even at their antipodes in South Africa. 
 
 "In truth, the profound depths of the ocean just off the eastern part 
 of the Aleutian chain is one of the great breeding grounds of world- 
 shakers. A rather small basin in the ocean bottom has here a depth of 
 nearly 4000 fathoms, and the descent to it is by a long and strong gradient. 
 Between the Alaska-Aleutian field and the coast of California earthquakes 
 are infrequent, but from Cape Mendocino southward the seismicity in- 
 creases again." 
 15— s. F. " 
 
226 UNSHELTERED THOUSANDS IN PARKS 
 
 According to the catalogue of recorded quakes in California from 
 1769 to 1896, made by Prof. E. S. Holden, ten earthquakes of high 
 intensity were felt in that State during the nineteenth centur\\ From 
 1850 to 1886, 254 quakes in San Francisco are recorded. 
 
 CALIFORNIA INDICATIONS. 
 
 Of the California quakes. Major Dutton says they, as a class, suggest 
 a tectonic origin. "High intensities are not common," he declares. "The 
 lighter intensities are felt over considerable areas, which suggest great 
 depth of focus. The seismographic traces show considerable length of 
 period and well-marked separation between the short preliminary tremors 
 and longer waves, which is indicative of considerable distance traveled 
 by the vibrations between the centrum and the recording station. The 
 deep foci, the long periods, the absence of small tremors, the considerable 
 areas over which light vibrations are felt are indicative of tectonic rather 
 than volcanic origin. 
 
 "Proceeding southward along the Pacific Coa_st, no marked devel- 
 opment of seismic activity appears until we reach southern Mexico, in 
 the State of Colima. Occasional reports are made of quakes in the vicinity 
 of the great volcano Colima. and the City of Mexico has been visited by 
 a few shocks of moderate intensity, and by occasional light tremors. But 
 the developments of seismic action are not great.^ In the State of Oaxaca, 
 however, there is a sudden and great increase of seismicity. It occurs in 
 a long and rather narrow belt, extending parallel to the coast, reaching 
 into Guatemala and through the entire length of the Central American 
 States to the Isthmus of Panama." 
 
 The Central .American and South Mexican seismic regions indicate 
 a volcanic origin. These regions are famous for their volcanoes, which 
 are more numerous and closely adjacent than anywhere else in the world. 
 Throughout the 1500 miles of volcanic coast line earthquakes have always 
 been abundant and often highly destructive. In "j";! quakes of which 
 records have been made, it was found that their epicenters occurred in 
 close proximity to the volcanoes, and never more than four or five miles 
 from them. It is a remarkalile fact that none of the notable quakes 
 observed in this district suggests a tectonic origin. 
 
UNSHELTERED THOUSANDS IN PARKS 227 
 
 Following the coast line into South America, two seismic regions are 
 encountered at Panama, both of them at a great distance. One is in 
 Venezuela, far to the eastward ; the other in Ecuador, far to the southward. 
 "Our knowledge of earthquakes in the Andes," continues Major Button, 
 "is usually too insufficient in detail to enable us to form a very definite 
 opinion as to their nature and class. Some of them originate in places 
 which are not far distant from volcanoes, but whether near enough to 
 create the presumption that they are really associated with them is not 
 always known. On the otlier hand, many Andean quakes display the 
 tectonic character so clearly that their origin is equally free from doubt. 
 
 Both classes, however, are abundant. From a point about 250 miles 
 north of Callao to beyond Valdivia, in Chile, the South American coast 
 has been subject to earthquakes of the greatest energy'. Sometimes they 
 have originated upon the sea-bottom. In these cases great sea waves have 
 rolled in upon the coast, with disastrous effect. 
 
 "The most notable of the several districts in South America," says 
 Major Dutton, "whether they be regarded as interdependent or not, is 
 the southern one, occupying the sea-bottom between the Island of San Juan 
 Fernandez and the Chilean coast between latitude 26 and 39. This district 
 is remarkable for the number of quakes of the highest order of magnitude 
 which have originated there." 
 
 Australia is little disturbed by earthquakes, but its neighbor, New 
 Zealand, has been visited by 800 in forty-three years. The Dutch East 
 Indies are, as is well known, a region of both volcanoes and earthquakes. 
 
 ALONG THE ANDEAN SYSTEM. 
 
 To refer to the Western Hemisphere again, it has been recognized by 
 various geologists that the Windward and Leeward Islands of the West 
 Indies are part of the continuation of a spur of the Andes. The seismic 
 belt which begins in Venezuela continues along the reefs and basins into 
 these islands. The descent of the Andean system is rapid to the coast of 
 La Guayra, and thence to the depths of the Caribbean. Throughout the 
 Windward and Leeward Islands the frequency of quakes is high, but 
 the intensity is seldom great, .^.bout forty miles north of the Island of 
 St. Thomas is the deepest abyss in the Atlantic. San Domingo, Jamaica, 
 
228 UNSHELTERED THOUSANDS IN PARKS 
 
 the eastern part of Cuba and Porto Rico are frequently shaken, and their 
 seismicity rnay be put, according to the authority quoted, into relation 
 with the fact that the sea-bottom in the vicinity of those islands is one 
 of the most rugged and highly diversified in its profiles of any part of 
 the earth. 
 
 Both the Homoeopathic Medical Society and the Philadelphia County 
 Medical Society took steps toward raising funds for the relief of physicians 
 who suffered in the San Francisco disaster. At the meeting of the former 
 it was decided to send a letter to every practitioner of that school of medi- 
 cine in the city, asking for contributions. The city was divided into dis- 
 tricts and the members of the society canvassed them to collect the money. 
 
 The Philadelphia County Medical Society passed resolutions in which 
 the society itself contributed $200 from its treasury for the relief of physi- 
 cians who were losers in the catastrophe. 
 
 Other societies and organizations all over the country took similar 
 action and there was what might be called a concerted movement to care for 
 the immense army of sufferers whose desperate straits appealed to every 
 charitable heart. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 HARROWING INCIDENTS RELATED BY SURVIVORS. 
 
 SLOWLY through the week there was unfolded the dreadful story of 
 the earthquake, of the hard, merciless punishment of the innocent. 
 The whole world sympathized with the thousands of unhappy men and 
 women, the victims of the great power that liei> half chained beneath us. 
 
 It is a giant of dreadful force, slumbering fitfully beneath the thin 
 crust of earth upon which we live. Thousands of centuries ago the 
 cooling of our earth's surface imprisoned in its center the great power that 
 occasionally frightens us now. The slightest movement of this hidden 
 giant, the slightest shaking of the vast force or shifting of the fiery, fluid 
 heart of the earth, means instant death to the little creatures living at the 
 danger point. 
 
 No wonder the Chinese, from the traditions of centuries, have built 
 up a belief in a huge dragon, the earth's dragon, that sleeps underground. 
 To this day the Empress of China refuses permission to dig mines, and 
 even to build railroads, for fear of irritating the earth's dragon. This 
 superstition of an old nation is born of the rumbling, crashing and deaths 
 that frightened the Chinese in earthquakes centuries ago. 
 
 It seerps a very real and a very natural superstition to-day as we 
 contemplate the havoc worked by a few seconds' agitation of the monster 
 power sleeping beneath our feet. The human mind would strive in vain 
 to form any estimate of the power of the blow that fell upon the beautiful 
 city of San Francisco. It is totally beyond us to imagine what happens 
 in nature, when there is a shifting of the solid formation of a globe of 
 matter eight thousand miles in diameter. A mosquito on the bow of the 
 greatest battleship is an elephant in size compared with a man on the 
 earth's surface. When we think of the convulsions that pushed into the 
 air the huge and splendid mountains of rock, crushing the "rock folds" 
 together, raising continents from the sea's bottom, we can realize faintly 
 how mild in comparison are the demonstrations of the tired monster 
 to-day. 
 
230 HARROWING INCIDENTS 
 
 But mild as they are. comparatively, mey have plunged a beautiful 
 city and a brave people into sorrow and poverty. They till with alarm 
 all the inhabitants of this land and of the world. They emphasize painfully 
 our feebleness, our helplessness. And they emphasize marvelously our 
 absolute dependence upon that cosmic balance which we so often forget, 
 and to which we owe so much. 
 
 In the midst of the national sorrow, universal anxiety, we should not 
 forget the marvelous stability and precision that protect such tiny creatures 
 as ourselves on this gigantic, whirling sphere. Our imagination should 
 be stirred into fresh efforts, we should view with increased awe. with the 
 most profound reverence, the extraordinary and glorious whole of which 
 we are a dependent, humble, feeble part. As for those that dwell in the 
 regions of devastation, no word can express the sympathy that is felt 
 for them, nor the force of the blow that 'has fallen upon them. Utterly 
 defenseless, utterly without preparation or warning, their homes, their 
 hc)pes and plans, their beautiful city, was struck out of existence. 
 
 "From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and 
 down in it." Thus Satan answers, in the first chapter of the marvelous 
 book of Job. when questioned as to his doings. 
 
 COSTLY BUILDINGS LAID IN RUINS. 
 
 And it would seem that the great ruler of Iniquity, in his eoine to 
 and fro, laid a heavy foot upon our shore of the Pacific. Everywhere 
 churches, houses, schools, hospitals and prisons were alike laid in ruin. 
 Wherever there was property tires were blazing. Every dreadful curse 
 seemed to have fallen upon human beings that deserved no such fate. 
 
 All the demons that could torment the soul were at work. Thirst, 
 fire, hunger, darkness, disease, terror and inevitable poverty. These are 
 the curses that afflicted hundreds of thousands of our brothers and sisters 
 in the West. Truly, the gates of death have been opened unto them, and 
 they have "seen the doors of the Shadow' of Death." 
 
 The wounds that can be healed will be healed. Thousands of Ameri- 
 cans have gladly helped those upon whom the heavy sorrow fell. The 
 government of States and of the nation co-operated with the brave men 
 of California in meeting an affliction, the greatest in our history outside 
 
HARROWING INCIDENTS 231 
 
 or war. But, unhappily, a great part of the suffering and of the loss is 
 irreparable. The bodies that lay mangled, burned and crushed could not 
 be revived. They were cut off. 
 
 The labor, the effort and the ambition represented in one of the 
 world's thriving, beautiful cities all went for naught. They were waste 
 and loss. The brave, patient work of half a century was gone. The 
 eft'orts, the lifetime work of tens of thousands of fathers and of mothers 
 was swept away forever. Thousands upon thousands must begin the 
 world again with naked hands, handicapped by age, by a blow as severe 
 as it is undeserved. 
 
 The people of the nation united in such a demonstration of sympathy, 
 charity and helpfulness as proved our worthiness to compete with the 
 great power of nature that we must subdue ultimately. Our human 
 courage and charity should now prove that our characters are worthy 
 the control of this great planet, a driving wheel that overawes us as it 
 now supports us. but that one day will be subdued, obedient, a comfortable 
 and safe home for thousands upon thousands of millions of truly civilized, 
 educated and competent men. 
 
 TRAGEDY AND COMEDY COMBINED. 
 
 The tragedies and comedies of the San Francisco disaster were 
 related in vivid language by Almes. Olives Fremstad and Josephine Jacoby, 
 the first divas of the Metropolitan Opera Company to arrive in New York. 
 While Mme. Fremstad saw the darker side of the tragic epic of San 
 Francisco's ruin, Mme. Jacoby, while appreciating the tragedy, related the 
 humors of her immediate experiences and those of the grat opera troup. 
 
 "I am here at last, thank Heaven." said Mme. Jacoby. after under- 
 going an experience so terrible and at times so humorous. I was awakened 
 at 5.13 o'clock on Wednesday morning by being tossed out of my bed, 
 on the third floor of the Palace Hotel. The bed was rocking to and fro, 
 and the ceiling never seemed to stay in one place. The rocking of the 
 hotel was accompanied by a terrible crunching noise, and I could hear the 
 roar and crash of falling buildings. I ran out into the hallway in my 
 nightgown and then barefooted into the street. Everywhere there was 
 confusion, women screaming and men trying to reassure them. 
 
232 HARROWING INCIDENTS 
 
 "And poor Caruso! He was simply dumb from fright. He came 
 rushing to the street and sat as one dazed on a httie trunk. Other mem- 
 bers of the company came out on the street, and then we all went back 
 into the hotel again and were given coffee. Just as we were packing our 
 trunks the telephones rang, and we again rushed from the hotel. I only 
 had time to put on these slippers, which I wore in singing Carmen the 
 night before, this suit, fur wrap and winter's hat ! 
 
 "When we all got outside, Hertz began taking an inventory of our 
 people. At about 9 o'clock somebody said, '\Miere's Fred Rullman ?' No 
 one seemed to know, and after making vain inquiries, it was suggested 
 that he might possibly be in his room. Hertz rushed up to the third 
 floor and banged on Rullman's door. '\\'ho's there?' responded a voice. 
 
 "'It's I, Hertz! Great Heaven, man. don't you know that here has 
 been an earthquake, and that the town is burning up?' 
 
 "Would you believe it. we had the greatest difficulty in waking up 
 the only man who slept through that terrible earthquake? 
 
 "Plancon appeared when we were warned to leave the hotel, attired 
 in top hat, frock clothes and with his inevitable boutonniere. His sangfroid 
 was marvelous. When we had all gathered together we rushed off toward 
 Union Square, with the city ablaze around us. We saw huge rents in the 
 earth, and I felt all the time as if the earth would open up and swallow us. 
 
 "The last I saw of poor, speechless Caruso was when he was driven 
 ofT on top of a loaded truck toward Golden Gate Park. You see, tb.e 
 earthquake had a terrible effect on him. considering the fact that he had 
 just promised to sing at a benefit for his beloved Naples, on account of 
 the Vesuvius disaster. 
 
 A NIGHT OF FEARFUL HORRORS. 
 
 "And oh, that terrible night that followed! Weed, my maid and I 
 caught snatches of sleep on a porch on the side of the hill, where we could 
 see the red glare of the fire below us. That night Hertz, Goritz, Campanari, 
 Plancon and a number of the women of the company drove up to the 
 sand hills and slept here. The next morning the wagon in which Hertz 
 had been sleeping had been moved to a place in the grounds of the Zoo, 
 and he was awakened by the roaring of the lions and tigers. 
 
HARROWING INCIDENTS 233 
 
 "And Nathan Franko ! The little man must be running yet. When 
 last seen he was disappearing in the direction of the Rocky Mountains! 
 I understand he is now on his way to New York. Mme. Homer had to 
 leave the hotel so suddenly that she was forced to wear a suit of her hus- 
 band's clothes. 
 
 "Early Thursday morning our little party started for the Oakland 
 ferry. The sun had arisen like a red-hot cannon ball. I shall never forget 
 its color. It was a cardinal red, and across it floated yellow vapors. Down 
 in the central district of the city the buildings lay either overthrown or 
 with their steel frames alone remaining. The fire was sweeping over Nob 
 Hill and residential districts. We finally found our way to the ferry and 
 were pushed on mi overcrowded ferr}^boat and taken to Oakland, where 
 we took the Overland Limited. At Chicago we went to the Auditorium, 
 where we were made much of, as we were the first people who had 
 arrived from the scene of the disaster." 
 
 Mme. Fremstad said : 
 
 "The scenes were so terrible that they baffle description. It was like 
 Dante's Inferno. I was awakened by being pitched out of my bed, in 
 the St. Dunstan Hotel, which was far removed from the original area 
 of the first day's fire, but the earthquake shock was one that can never 
 be forgotten. You asked me whom I saw in the hotel? I do not know. 
 I remember rushing up to the third floor and taking out an invalid woman. 
 We all sat out on the street then, waiting, waiting, as if the end of the 
 world was at hand. At about noon I was fortunate enough to secure a 
 wagon, and, with my trunks, I was taken to the ferry. 
 
 ANTICS OF THE CHINAMEN. 
 
 'On the way we passed through the Chinese quarter. We saw men 
 with their blouses afire, their faces seared and blackened by flames, 
 rushing from buildings that were toppling over. Others, with blood- 
 stained faces, ran shrieking from their shattered dwellings. Women, with 
 tlieir children clasped to their breasts, their white skin showing through 
 the thin night dresses, ran before us and were swallowed up in the black 
 smoke. The terrors grew as we progressed. I shall never get over it. 
 I am ill from it now. 
 
234 HARKUWlNc. INCIDENTS 
 
 "Hundreds of men and %Yomen were without anytliing but night- 
 clothes. I saw a man in his underwear marcliing grimly ahead with a 
 phonograph under his arm, a woman w-ith a cage of birds, others with 
 parrots, dogs, children, bundles and otlier things they held dear. Sick 
 and injured, stretched on mattresses, were dragged foot by foot. 
 
 "Just after arriving at Oakland the second earthquake shock came. 
 I was standing near a little colored boy, and I clutched him and cried, 
 'Save me!' The lad looked at me and answered bravely, 'I would, missus, 
 but I caint. Earthquakes caint be interfered with.' I saw a railroad 
 train at the station and I asked the conductor where it was going. He 
 told me to Ogden, and I got aboard. I lost my costumes, which were 
 uninsured, but saved my jewels and personal effects." 
 
 Pie and ginger beer formed the diet of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Wark 
 and their daughter, Eleanor, up to the time they were able to board a 
 train for the East following the San Francisco earthquake. The Warks 
 reached Philadelphia at 5 o'clock Tuesday morning, and told of their 
 experiences, amusing as well as distressing, during their struggle to get 
 out of the burning city. 
 
 LAID IN A STOCK OF PROVISIONS. 
 
 "When we ran from the Palace Hotel at the first moments of the 
 terrible disaster and started to make our way to the higher ground, I 
 had an eye to the future." said Mr. Wark. "I had a small leather grip 
 with me and I stuffed it full of pies which I bought in a little restaurant. 
 They were the onlv food in sight. Later I purchased several bottles of 
 ginger beer, so while hundreds about us were suffering in the next twenty- 
 four hours for want of food and drink, we had plenty of both. I never 
 knew pie was so wholesome. 
 
 "We arrived in San Francisco a week before the disaster," said Mr. 
 Wark. "My object in going there was partly to establish a branch house. 
 I started it all right, but the building and its contents are now a heap 
 of ashes. We stayed at the Palace Hotel, our rooms being on the second 
 floor. \\'hen we entered the hotel on the day of our arrival, I was struck 
 bv its ma<mificence. Rising fifteen or sixteen stories Ux>m the pavement 
 and covering a large part of a city block, with every luxurious appoint- 
 
HARROWING INCIDENTS 235 
 
 inent known to the best modern hotels, it was a splendid structure. In 
 the center was a beautiful open court, with fountains, singing birds and 
 fragrant with the flowers for which California is noted. 
 
 "At a quarter past 5 on Wednesday morning we were awakened by 
 the first shock of the earthquake. The whole magnificent building was 
 shaking just as a monkey would shake a parrot cage. A shower of 
 plaster almost buried us in our beds. My wife and daughter stumbled 
 down the stairs panic-stricken. They were in their night clothing, and 
 I followed with but little more in the way of attire. After the shocks 
 had passed I made my way back to our rooms, and hastily donning more 
 clothing, took down, as near as I could estimate, complete apparel for the 
 women. How well I succeeded may be judged from my daughter's 
 remark that she reached home half-dressed. 
 
 FRANTIC EFFORTS TO ESCAPE. 
 
 "After buying the pies and the ginger beer, we picked our way 
 through the streets amid the smoke from scores of fires, climbing over 
 the debris which covered the ground. At 10 o'clock we reached a high 
 hill at the southeastern part of the city and stayed there until 10 o'clock 
 Wednesday night, when we were driven to the outskirts by the approach- 
 ing flames. \\'e spent the night on a sand bank wrapped in two blankets, 
 which I had managed to secure from a woman who seemed to have saved 
 blankets and nothing else from her home. Thursday morning we walked 
 by a circuitous route to the water front and proceeded northward to 
 the Market Street ferry, and were among the first to get out of San 
 Francisco." 
 
 This was the third devastating fire which Mr. Wark had passed 
 through. He lived in Portland. Me., at the time of its destmction in 
 1S66, and was in Boston in 1S72 when that city was almost wiped out 
 by a conflagration. 
 
 That three men were shot to death on a blazing roof in San Fran- 
 cisco to keep them from being burned alive is solemnly asserted by T^Iax 
 l^'ast, a garment worker, who arrived at Salt Lake City. 
 
 "When the fire caught the \\'indsor Hotel, at Fifth and Market." 
 said Mr. Fast, "there were three men on the roof, and it was impossible 
 
236 HARROWING INCIDENTS 
 
 to get them down. Rather than see the crazed men fall In with the roof 
 and be roasted alive the military officer directed his men to shoot them, 
 which they did in the presence of 5000 people. I saw great stones fall 
 on three men near the City Hall, crushing the life out of them. 
 
 "In Union Square I stood beside a woman who died actually from 
 fright and thirst. Her last request was for water, and we had none to 
 give her. At Jefferson Square I saw a fatal clash between the military 
 and the police. A policeman ordered a soldier to take up a dead body 
 to put it in the wagon and the soldier ordered the policeman to do it. 
 Words followed, and the soldier shot the policeman dead." 
 
 John Cashnear, an old soldier from Spear Fish, S. D., saw the 
 military shoot a negro near the City Hall. The negro had been robbing 
 the corpse of a woman, and to get a ring from her swollen finger cut the 
 finger off. 
 
 "The sentry on duty near Van Ness Avenue," added Mr. Cashnear, 
 "ordered a friend of mine who was entering his home to come out of 
 there, as it was about to be dynamited. My friend waved his hai:4 back 
 toward the soldier, saying. 'This is my house and I have a right to go 
 in.' The soldier instantly killed him. 
 
 "On the other hand, I want to say that the soldiers were generally 
 kind and helpful, and deplored these hasty actions of their companions 
 just as much as we did." 
 
 AGNEWS ASYLUM DISASTER. 
 
 Nothing could be more terrible than the calamity at Agnews Asylum, 
 near San Jose, as described by R. L. Drinkwater, of Denver. He fled 
 to San Jose from San Francisco, only to find that he had gone from bad 
 to worse. He said: 
 
 "We went to Agnews, where we had a friend, and found the asylum 
 in ruins and 200 demented creatures buried there. It was a sight to 
 transfix one with horror to see scores of mad men and women strapped to 
 trees all over the grounds, crying, shrieking and cursing. Ordinarily 
 troublesome in their way, the excitement of the falling building made them 
 mad indeed, and their uncanny looks and fiery eyes were terrible to 
 behold. Nothing could be done for them, as there was no place to put 
 
HARROWING INCIDENTS 23! 
 
 them, and every sane man, woman and child available was digging to 
 release the other unfortunates buried in the ruins. 
 
 "Oh, such cries as came seemingly from the bowels of the earth! 
 The devils have got me; let me out!' 'I am the king; you cannot kill me!' 
 'I want my supper. I want my dinner!' Just as the vagary seized them 
 they called out their disordered thoughts before they even guessed their 
 true condition." 
 
 r 
 
 GHASTLY TALE OF GHOULS. 
 
 But most ghastly of all is the statement by Willis Ames, a Salt Lake 
 man, who escaped to Los Angeles. He said : 
 
 "While I was walking about the streets I saw man after man shot 
 down by the troops. Most of these were ghouls. One man made the 
 trooper believe that one of the dead bodies lying on a pile of rocks was 
 his mother, and he was permitted to go up to the body. Apparently 
 overcome by grief, he threw himself across the corpse. In another 
 instant the soldiers discovered that he was chewing the diamond earrings 
 from the ears of the dead woman. 
 
 " 'Here is where you get what is coming to you,' said one of the 
 soldiers, and with that he put a bullet through the ghoul. The diamonds 
 were foimd in the man's mouth afterward." 
 
 Already the beggars were seeking to profit by the misfortunes of San 
 Francisco, and two men arrested while begging in the character of refugees 
 were proved impostors. 
 
 [The "soldiers" referred to were undoubtedly militiamen. All reports 
 concurred in the statement that they were reckless, while the United States 
 troops seemed at no time to have failed in discretion or good conduct.] 
 
 Following the rain which fell Sunday night and Monday morning, 
 which greatly intensified the misery and suffering of the homeless. Tuesday 
 night w^as one of comparative comfort and of greatly improved conditions. 
 
 The night was clear, warm and balmy, and there was less suffering 
 among the thousands of refugees camping under the blue canopy than at 
 any time since the day of the terrible disaster. 
 
 Tuesday afternoon wagon loads of quilts and blankets were dis- 
 tributed among those who had suffered intensely from the cold and ex- 
 
JJ8S HARROWING INCIDENTS 
 
 posure while sleeping in the open. Other wagons loaded with tents 
 wended tlieir way through the crowded parks and replaced many impro- 
 vised shelters, which had afforded little or no protection against the rain 
 and chill winds. As a result, there were but few complaints of suffering. 
 While the heavy rain for the time being added much to the misery of the 
 homeless, it did much toward improving sanitary' conditions throughout 
 the city. 
 
 At 10.40 Monday night an earthquake shock was felt throughout the 
 cit}', and momentarily created some alarm among the people, still unner^'ed 
 and overwrought from their recent experience. Xo damage was caused, 
 but in some instances persons living in houses ran out badly frightened 
 and called upon the sentries and guards to help carry out clothing and other 
 effects. The soldiers assured them that there was no danger. This new 
 shock stimulated the exodus of refugees, many leaving for Oakland and 
 other California towns. 
 
 DYNAMITING THE RUIN. 
 
 The general conditions in the city were improving rapidly. Hundreds 
 of men were placed at work clearing the streets, and the dynamiting of 
 the tottering walls which were left standing by the fire and endangered 
 life was continued. The Spring Valley \\^ater Company had about 1000 
 men at work repairing and replacing broken water mains, and many 
 portions of the residence section were abundantly supplied with water. 
 
 Xo trace of Count de la Rocca. the French Consul, had yet been 
 found. It was feared that he had lost his life in the fire. Many merchants 
 were making arrangements for clearing the ruins of their buildings as 
 rapidly as m.en could be secured, preparatory to commencing building 
 operations. The situation was constantly growing more cheerful. 
 
 Eighty men of the Beneficial Sigiial Corps arrived and were at work 
 restoring the Government telephone and telegraph communications. The 
 Home Telephone Company, which had been given a franchise, soon began 
 work on its telephone system. The distribution of supplies continued in 
 an orderly manner, and there was no shortage of food. 
 
 ''Say to the people of California, of the United States and of the 
 world that there is no epidemic in San Francisco atu^ \\o dang'ef of one, 
 
HARROWINC. INCIOEN'I'S 289 
 
 If we were not absolutely free from contagious diseases, we at least have 
 fewer cases than we have under the circumstances any rig"ht to expect. 
 Indeed, we have at this moment fewer cases of such disease than we had a 
 month ago. and there is nothing in the present condition of atYairs that 
 would lead us as medical men to fear an outbreak. The sanitation of the 
 city is absolutely under control." 
 
 This statement was made by Dr. J. W. \\'ard. chairman of the 
 Health Com.mittee. Tuesday morning. 
 
 Three hundred plumbers, under the direction of the Board of Health, 
 were at work in all sections of the city. Thev were contining their etTorts 
 solely to sewers and water pipes. The broken mains in the business dis- 
 tricts were being- repaired and the outlets closed. In the unburned residence 
 section the sewers were being tlushed and cleaned, and water pipes set 
 in order as fast as possible. 
 
 RAILROAD TO HELP CLEAR TOWN. 
 
 As a welcome relief to the otlicials and citi.^ens of San Francisco 
 who looked upon the ruins of the city and ui>on the monstrous piles of 
 bricks and stone and twisted iron that were once their homes and places of 
 business, was the announcement that the Southern Pacitic Railwav would 
 aid in the work of tearitig away the debris. The raihvad otticials were 
 ready to build a track through the heart of the devastated eity from 
 Harrison Street to. the bay, and to run their tlat cars in for the wreckage 
 that must be removed before new buildings could arise and normal condi- 
 tions be restored. In this great work it was announced that between 3000 
 and 4000 men would be employed. The railroads would carrv the debris 
 wherever the authorities wanted it taken, and by so doing would inake 
 possible the performance of the enormous task that had been terrifving to 
 those who looked forward to it with the knowledge that it must be done, 
 however tremendous. 
 
 E. H. Harriman. president of the Southern Pacific Company, was 
 in San Francisco to inaugurate the work and to see that it was faithfully 
 performed, if the suggestion of the railroad men met with favor at the 
 hands of the city ofliicials. At the meeting of bankers Mr. Harriman said 
 that he would do all in his power and work with e\ery resource at his 
 
240 HARROWING INCIDENTS 
 
 command for the rebuilding of San Francisco and the preservation of the 
 city's good name. His remarks to the bankers bolstered their hopes and 
 gave them new courage by contradicting, as it were, the rumors for several 
 days prevalent that the railroad offices and interests would all be perma- 
 nently removed to Oakland. 
 
 Temporary structures were erected in Golden Gate Park for the 
 housing of 40,000 persons. This work was commenced Tuesday morning 
 by the Shelter Committee, and the homeless, who had been sleeping out 
 of doors for nearly a week, were moved into comfortable quarters. About 
 the same time a supply of blankets and bedding was received, and these 
 were taken to the park. At the same time the committee was sending as 
 many of the refugees as possible to interior points. 
 
 The seizure of all vacant houses in the unburned district was still 
 under way. Many vacant flats were taken, and the homeless were housed 
 and the sick found good accommodations. A committee of architects 
 was sent out to examine churches and other buildings, including school- 
 houses, with a view of turning them into living rooms for the homeless. 
 
 FOOD COMING IN FAST. 
 
 Supplies of food were coming in rapidly from outside points, and 
 were being centralized in the freight sheds and warehouses still standing. 
 A corps of shipping clerks was placed in charge of these depots, and every 
 ounce of food was checked. With the assistance of Michael Casey, presi- 
 dent of the Teamsters' Union, the Food Committee succeeded in system- 
 atizing the distribution. They took possession of all the large trucks and 
 teams, which were utilized in hauling supplies to the forty odd subdepots 
 throughout the city. This placed the transportation facilities in excellent 
 shape, and made it possible to deliver supplies as quickly as they came. 
 
 The city was laid of¥ in districts covering areas of four blocks. The 
 subcommittees in these districts regulated the supply of food furnished 
 to the families living within their boundaries. In the confusion attending 
 the earlier distributions food was given out in lavish quantities in many 
 instances, and the committees were to see that the proper economy was 
 observed. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 North American Volcanoes. — Famous Mount Shasta.— 
 Northern Arizona. — Volcanic Glass. — Craters on the 
 Pacific Coast. 
 
 A ZONE of mountains extends along the whole western flank of 
 ''*• the American continent, from the northern to the southern 
 extremity. This, from Alaska to Terra del Fuego, is associated 
 with volcanoes, though the vents are only locally active, and in 
 the majority of cases the craters are either ruinous or have disap- 
 peared. In the extreme north, a volcanic belt extends from the 
 head of Cook's Inlet on the east through Alaska and over the 
 Aleutian Isles towards the district already described. The higher 
 mountains, however, so far as is at present known, are not volcanic 
 — Mount St. Elias, about 18,000 feet, certainly is not. 
 
 The same is probably true of its yet more lofty neighbor, 
 Mount Logan, and the other summits near the frontier of British 
 and United States territory ; the Alaska coast also, which forms a 
 fringe to this region, seems to be free from volcanoes, and the same 
 is true of South-eastern Alaska and its islands, with the exception 
 of Mount Edgecumbe, an insular volcano which is reported to be 
 a basaltic crater about 2855 feet high, and to have been active in 
 1796. Eruptions are said to have occurred from Mount Calder 
 aud other summits. on Prince of Wales Island at a slightly earlier 
 date ; but these, as Professor I. C. Russell informs us, are as yet 
 very imperfectly known. 
 
 The most conspicuous and best-marked belt begins at Cook's 
 Inlet on the east, and extends through the Alaskan promontory 
 to the Aleutian Islands. It is about a thousand miles long, but 
 generally less than forty miles broad. In fact, every volcano in 
 it which is known to have been active in historic times can be 
 included between two lines on the map of Alaska, twenty-five miles 
 apart, Ciaters in good preservation are numerous, and active 
 
 vents not few, one of which has been alreadynoticed. They occur 
 16-S. F. 241 
 
242 NORTH AMERICAN VOLCANOES 
 
 either close to the sea ou the southern border of the mainland or on 
 islands. 
 
 To this statement as to the geographical distribution one 
 exception is known ; some small cones, also of basalt, occur near 
 St. Michael on the coast of Behring Sea, about seventy miles north 
 of the mouth of the Yukon River ; but there may be others, for 
 at present not much of Alaska has been carefully investigated by 
 qualified observers. On Copper River, some two hundred miles to 
 the northeast of Cook's Inlet, and thus apparently insulated from 
 the Aleutian belt, rises Mount Wrangel, a lofty volcano, which was 
 in eruption in 1819 and is still steaming, and others of the neigh- 
 boring mountains may have the same origin. 
 
 On the western shore also of this inlet are two fine volcanic 
 peaks, Redoute and Iliamna, reported to be about 1 1,000 and 12,000 
 feet high. The latter is generally steaming, and a few years ago 
 discharged such a quantity of dust and lapilli that the forests were 
 killed over hundreds of square miles on the adjacent lowlands. 
 
 VOLCANOES OF ALASKA. 
 
 From this district to Central America no active vents exist, 
 though they were once plentiful. In the Canadian territory to the 
 south and east of United States Alaska very little is at present 
 known of its volcanic history. There are lava sheets about the 
 Fraser River of enormous extent, but Dr. G. M. Dawson did not 
 discover here any distinct traces of craters, so that very probably 
 this portion of the American continent may be compared with the 
 northern side of the Atlantic basin, where discharges anciently 
 occurred from Antrim at least as far as Iceland, but now continue 
 only in the latter region. 
 
 The Columbia lavas, vast sheets of basalt, have been already 
 mentioned ; but here, as in the Fraser River district, cinder cones 
 and craters are wanting, and the eruptions probably date from about 
 the middle of the Tertiary era. They lie to the east of the Cascade 
 Mountains, in which volcanoes have certainly existed, but whether 
 any retain their craters does not seem to be as yet ascertained. 
 There is a tradition that Mount Baker, a fine peak to the west of 
 
NORTH AMERICAN VOLCANOES. 243 
 
 the main chain and in the northern part of the district (near 
 Puget Sonnd), broke out in 1843, but on this point Professor 
 Russell is doubtful. 
 
 Mount Rainier, however, a superb peak, not only from its 
 elevation, 14,525 feet, but also because it rises practically from 
 sea-level, still emits some steam. The highest part is a cone built 
 up within the shattered ring of a much older crater, and the ma- 
 terials appear to be basaltic. Mount St. Helens (9,750 feet), also 
 detached from the main mass, is said to have been in eruption in 
 1841-42, and fumaroles still exist on the slopes. Moiint Adams 
 (9,570 feet), farther south and rather east of the main range, 
 apparently retains a crater. 
 
 On the crest of the Cascade Mountains, in Northwestern 
 Oregon, Mount Hood rises to a height of 11,225 ^^^^y ^^^ i^ noted 
 for the beauty of its outline. Portions only of the wall of its summit 
 crater now remain, but there are still fumaroles at considerable 
 elevations on the northeast and the south sides. Mount Jeffer- 
 son (10,200 feet) and the Three Sisters, a little farther south, in 
 the Cascade range, are the sites of ancient volcanoes ; but their 
 craters apparently have perished, and to the south of these come 
 others of less elevation, which for the most part retain craters 
 either at their summits or on their flanks, the most important of 
 them being Grater Lake or Mount Mazama, which has been 
 already described. 
 
 SUMMIT CRATER OF SHASTA. 
 
 Yet farther south comes the noted mass of Mount Shasta, 
 rising to a height of 14,350 feet. The summit crater is ruinous, 
 and the slopes are scarred with ravines ; but lava streams have 
 flowed down its flank since the Glacial epoch, and a distinct sub- 
 sidiary crater remains on a lower summit called Shastina. Far- 
 ther south comes a volcanic district named Lassen's Peak from 
 its principal summit, which rises to an elevation of 10,437 ^^^^• 
 This is crossed from northwest to southeast by a belt of volcanic 
 cones about fifty miles long by twenty-five miles wide ; one of 
 thfita, Cinder Cone by name, being remarkably well preserved. 
 
544 NORTH AMERICAN VOLCANOES. 
 
 The crater, as illustrated by Professor Russell, is a double 
 Dne, and there ^vere two distinct periods of eruption. In the ear- 
 lier a quantity of ash was ejected and the cinder cone itself was 
 formed. Then there was a pause long enough to allow ten feet 
 of diatomaceous earth to accumulate on the bed of an adjacent 
 lake, and after that came the quiet effusion of a large sheet of 
 lava. 
 
 East of the Sierra Nevada, on the area once occupied by a 
 great sheet of water now spoken of as Lake Lahontan, are two 
 ancient craters filled with alkaline water. The greater, which 
 has an area of about 268 acres, only rises some eighty feet above 
 the level of the surrounding country, so that it resembles, though 
 on a larger scale, such a crater as the Pulvermaar in the Eifel. 
 Geological evidence shows that these w^ere active during the 
 existence of Lake Lahontan, and that before they ceased it had 
 already begun to dry up. 
 
 POURING OUT LAVA STREAMS. 
 
 In the Mono valley, also east of the Sierra Nevada, but farther 
 south, and near to the lake of the same name, are a number of 
 craters, some not much elevated above the surrounding country, 
 but others rising to over 2000 feet, with lava streams and fuma- 
 roles. The materials apparently consist of basalts and varieties 
 of andesite ; but the Mono craters, as the line of higher cones is 
 called, have ejected rhyolite and even obsidian. Professor Rus- 
 sell remarks that those cones (some of which have lost their cra- 
 ters), though forming an isolated group, are really a portion of a 
 much more extended series of recent eruptions, which follow the 
 general course of the great belt of branching faults by which the 
 eastern face of the Sierra Nevada has been determined. 
 
 The fact that, as a rule, the central cones are the less per- 
 fectly preserved and are the older, shows that '' the volcanic energy 
 early in the history of the range evidently found an avenue of 
 escape where [they] now stand, and when the conduits of these 
 craters became clogged newer craters were formed, both to the 
 north and south, along the same line or belt of fracture." 
 
NORTH AMERICAN VOLCANOES. 245 
 
 To the west of the WalisatcH Mountains, in the inlana oasin 
 of Utah, and ou the area once occupied by the great sheet of 
 water designated Lake Bonneville, are the Ice Spring Craters, a 
 group of low craters, three of which are very well defined, though 
 they are breached by streams of basaltic lava, which covers an 
 area of over twelve square miles. Other craters occur in the dis- 
 trict, some being older and some newer than Lake Bonneville, 
 while others were active during its existence. 
 
 In northern Arizona the San Francisco Mountains are vol- 
 canic. The higher summits, which rise to a mean elevation of 
 12,562 feet above the sea and about 5700 above the general level of 
 the surrounding table-land, consists largely of trachytic lavas and 
 have lost their craters ; but around them are numerous small 
 craters of basaltic scoria, which often are well preserved and are 
 associated with flows of the same rock. Some of these have been 
 breached by the lava, which has welled up in their interior and 
 has escaped exactly as was described by Scrope in his book on 
 The Volcanoes of Central France. In one, however, a lake is 
 
 r.heltered. 
 
 FAR-FAMED YELLOWSTONE PARK. 
 
 Just east of the crest of the Rocky Monutains, and in the north- 
 west corner of the State of Wyoming, is the far-famed volcanic 
 district of the Yellowstone Park and its neighborhood. Craters 
 apparently are not common in this region, but the great flows of 
 obsidian attracted much attention from geologists. This volcanic 
 glass is associated with pumice, the rocks generally being trachytes, 
 usually rich in silica. The vents are now extinct, unless a mud 
 volcano be regarded as an exception ; but the hot springs and 
 geysers to which the Park owes its world-wide fame show that a 
 high temperature still prevails, probably at no great depth below 
 the surface. 
 
 The vast flows of basalt in the valleys draining to the Snake 
 River in Idaho, to which reference has already been made, are on 
 the western slope of the Rocky Mountains, but at no very 
 great distance from the Yellowstone Park. Also east of 
 the Rocky Mountains, in the State of Colorado, are several 
 
246 NORTH AMERICAN VOLCANOES. 
 
 very large cones and flows of basalt, wliile to the soutli of 
 pucho the bold summits of the Spanish Peaks, which rise 
 respectively to heights of 12,720 and 13,620 feet above the sea, are 
 ancient volcanoes ; but in all these the craters seem to have been 
 destroyed. The materials are described as trachytes, some varie- 
 iies approaching rhyolite. 
 
 Farther south, however, in the State of New Mexico, arc 
 several extinct volcanoes, some of which retain their craters in 
 good preservation. The materials, so far as described, are basalt. 
 Mount Taylor (11,390 feet) also is the centre of a volcanic district. 
 Its crater has perished, but these remain on some of the smaller 
 neighboring cones. The rock apparentl}^ is basalt. 
 
 The long peninsula of Lower California may be regarded as 
 a prolongation of the chain of the Sierra Nevada. It also con- 
 tains many extinct volcanoes, which, however, are at present but 
 imperfectly known. Towards the north, according to Professor 
 Russell, Mount Santa Catalina rises to a height of some io,cuo 
 feet, and about the middle is a group of volcanic peaks known as 
 the Tres A'irgines, the highest of which is said to be 7250 feet. 
 In this group an eruption occurred in 1857, and since then 
 steam has been ejected, sometimes in great quantity. 
 
 THREE MOUNTAIN CHAINS. 
 
 Those described above, as Professor Russell remarks, are 
 only some of the most striking instances among the hundreds of 
 lava-flows and craters within the United States ; but it will be 
 noticed that the great majority are associated with the second one 
 of the three mountain chains which form the western flank of the 
 North American continent, the huge eastern mass of the Rocky 
 Mountains being almost entirel}-, and the smaller western one of 
 the Coast Range being wholly, free from volcanoes of recent date. 
 The Sierra Madre in Mexico, which may be regarded as a pro- 
 longation of the Rocky Mountains, appears to exhibit no signs of 
 volcanic action. 
 
 Thus a very considerable space separates the volcanoes of the 
 pftr^ if Mexico which l^ea south of the tropic of Cancer, a region 
 
NORTH AMERICAN VOLCANOES. 247 
 
 of great activity even in the present day, from those of which we 
 have been speaking. The former also appear not to lie, as nsnal, 
 along a belt parallel with the western coast, bnt to be rather 
 irregularly distribnted over one, about 150 miles in breadth, which 
 extends from sea to sea in a general direction from W. N. W. to 
 K. N. E. for not much less than 600 miles- 
 
 All the volanoes in Mexico which are still active (ten in 
 number according to Reclus) lie south of latitude 22°. The most 
 northerly of them is Ceboruco (about 7140 feet) on the Pacific 
 coast, the centre of a group of ciaters, which was in eruption in 
 1870, and has continued steaming ever since. Farther south, 
 near the same coast, is Colima, which has frequently been active. 
 In 1885, the dust from it was carried to the northeast for a dis- 
 tance of 280 miles. 
 
 A CELEBRATED VOLCANO. 
 
 Proceeding eastwards, and slightly to the south, wc come to 
 Jorullo, the eruption of which, ever since the days of Humboldt, has 
 figured so largely in geological text books. This for many years was 
 quoted as an example which very strongly supported the elevation 
 theory of volcanic cones. It was asserted that here a tract of land 
 from three to four miles in extent had almost suddenly swelled up 
 like a bladder, while cones were built b}?- discharges from its surface 
 and at its sides. This happened on the night of September 29, 1759; 
 but, as has been frequently shown, the evidence for this remark- 
 able phenomenon is quite untrustworthy. 
 
 Proceeding east, the volcanoes became more loft}'. Xinantecatl, 
 some forty miles southwest of the city of Mexico, crowned by two 
 crater-lakes, rises to about 15,000 feet; but east of that city are 
 two giants, Ixtacihuatl to the north, and Popocatepetl to the south. 
 The former, which, however, has lost its crater, is hardly less, per- 
 haps more, than 16,500 feet ; but Popocatepetl is about 1200 feet 
 more than this, and terminates in a crater from which a little 
 steam issues. The lower part of the mountain consists of basalt, 
 but the great cone is mostl}^ composed of andesite and its summit 
 is described as trach3'te. 
 
248 NORTH AMERICAN VOLCANOES. 
 
 Yet farther to the east come Cofre de Perote and Orizaba, 
 which also lie on a north and sonth line ; the former, which is 
 composed of hornblende andesite, has lost its crater and is only 
 13,552 feet high ; bnt its companion is the highest volcanic sum- 
 mit on the northern continent. The exact measurement is 
 iincertain, but it cannot be much, if at all, less than 18,000 feet. 
 On the summit are three craters in good preservation, and the 
 flanks of the mountain are studded with small cones. Its last 
 eruption is said to have occurred in the eighteenth century. 
 
 Finally, on the eastern coast is Tuxtla, reported to be a little 
 less than 5000 feet high, which is active from time to time. A 
 terrible eruption occurred, after a pause of nearly one hundred 
 and twenty years, in March, 1793. A series of violent explosions 
 considerabl}?- reduced the height of the mountain and scattered 
 ashes over a large area. The fine dust was borne by the wind 
 about 150 miles to the northwest, and the same distance to the 
 southwest. This fact suggests that, as happened to a less extent 
 in an eruption of Cotopaxi, part of the dust was shot up into a 
 region where an upper stratum of air was moving in a different 
 direction from the lower one. 
 
 EXPLOSION AFTER LONG REPOSE. 
 
 Still in Mexico, but considerabl}^ to the south of the belt 
 described above, and on the shore of the Pacific, is Chacahua, an 
 extinct crater, while to the east of it is Pochutla, a volcano which, 
 after a very long period of repose, exploded in 1870. 
 
 From Guatemala to Costa Rica is a zone marked b}?- great 
 volcanic activity, which follows the line of the Pacific coast. Some 
 of the cones on this rise to elevations considerably above 10,000 
 feet, but the majorit}' do not exceed 8000 In Guatemala, accord- 
 ing to a list given by Professor Russell, there are two active 
 volcanoes, four quiescent, and fifteen extinct. Among the last- 
 named is Tajamulco, which lays claim, though probably without 
 warrant, to an altitude of 18,317 feet. 
 
 In San Salvador five are active, three quiescent, and the same 
 number extinct. Honduras, which lies chiefl}' to the east of 
 
NORTH AMERICAN VOLCANOES. 249 
 
 tlie mountain axis, is without an active volcano, but lias two 
 quiescent and three extinct. Nicaragua contains four active, eight 
 quiescent, five extinct, while in Costa Rica one only can be called 
 active, and its last eruption was as long ago as 1726, while two are 
 quiescent and six extinct. Lastly, at the northern part of the 
 Isthmus of Panama are three mountains of volcanic origin, two 
 of them over 11,000 feet high, but it is doubtful whether any one 
 retains a remnant of a crater. 
 
 Three of the volcanoes in the above-named list are especially 
 interesting, because, like Monte Nuovo, the history of their actual 
 birth is recorded. Two of these are in San Salvador, the third in 
 Nicaragua, Of the former, Izalco, now rising about 3000 feet 
 above the surrounding country and 5000 feet above the sea-level, 
 began to be formed in the year 1770. It covers what previously 
 was a fine cattle farm. "The occupants on this estate were 
 alarmed by subterranean noises and shocks of earthquakes about 
 the end of 1769, which continued to increase in loudness and 
 strength until the twenty-third of the February following, when the 
 earth opened about half a mile from the dwellings on the estate, 
 sending out lava, accompanied by fire and smoke." 
 
 HOVV' THE CONE WAS BUILT UP. 
 
 The eruption thus begun went on continuously, lava some- 
 times being ejected, but at others only ashes and volcanic bombs, 
 and thus the cone has been built up to its present height. No 
 lava has been discharged for many years, but ashes and dust, 
 mingled with steam, are constantly ejected. There are three 
 craters, the central one being the largest and most active. Acid 
 vapors also are emitted from fumaroles. Lake Ilopango, which 
 possibly occupies an ancient crater, also in San Salvador, wit- 
 nessed the beginning of a volcano as lately as the year 1880. 
 
 A violent earthquake in 1879 was accompanied by a rising of 
 steam from the lake, and was followed by a steady fall in the level 
 of its waters, amounting to about thirty-five feet. Then, during 
 the night of January 20, 1880, the surface of the lake was again 
 agitated, and the next morning a pile of rocks was observed in 
 
aiO NORTH AMERICAN VOCLANOES. 
 
 the centre, from which rose a column of vapor. The eruption 
 lasted for more than a month, sulphurous vapors were emitted 
 copiously, the fish in the lake were killed, and a cone was ulti' 
 mately formed about i6o feet above the water, but rising from a 
 depth of some 600 feet. 
 
 A new volcano broke out on April 11, 1850, in Nicaragua, in 
 a district called the Plain of Leon. This is studded with cones, 
 of which one at least is active. The commencement of the erup- 
 tion was not carefully observed, but the outbreak occurred near 
 the base of an extinct crater called Las Pilas. It began with a 
 copious discharge of lava. 
 
 This ceased on the fourteenth of the month, and w^as suc- 
 ceeded by a different phase of action, namely, a series of paroxysms 
 lasting about three minutes, with intervals of about the same 
 length. By these, steam, ashes, and red-hot bombs were shot up 
 to a height of several hundred feet, accompanied, it is said, by 
 outbursts of flame. Thus in the course of a week a cone was 
 built up to a height of from a hundred and fifty to two hundred 
 feet, after which the action became much more intermittent. 
 
 THREE SOUTH AMERICAN PEAKS. 
 
 Among the older summits of Central America it may suffice 
 to mention three, all of which are lofty mountains. Volcan de 
 Agua, 12,213 feet, at the time of the Spanish invasion was a 
 crater-lake. In the ^'•ear 1541, after an earthquake, the wall of 
 the crater gave way on the northeastern side and the water 
 escaped, doing great damage as it rushed down the slope of the 
 mountain. Fuego, to the east, with its group of three volcanic 
 cones, the highest of which attains to 13,943 feet, was often active 
 in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and probably for some 
 long time previousl}^ ; but since then eruptions have been less 
 frequent, though one occurred as late as i860, and steam still 
 issiies from the crater. 
 
 But the most noted of all is Coseguina, for it was the scene 
 of a frightful eruption in the year 1835. So far as is known, this, 
 like the famous awakening of Vesuvius in the year 79, put an 
 
NORTH AMERICAN VOLCANOES. 2rA 
 
 end to a long period of complete repose. It began on tne morn- 
 ing of January aotli, when several loud detonations were heard, 
 followed by the ejection of a cloud of inky smoke, through which 
 *' darted tongues of flame resembling lightning." The cloud 
 spread gradually outward, obscuring the sun, while fine dust fell 
 from it like rain. This went on for two days, the sand falling 
 more and more thickly and the explosions becoming louder and 
 louder. 
 
 On the third day they reached a maximum and the darkness 
 became intense. The quantity of material that fell was so great 
 that for leagues around people actually deserted their houses, 
 fearing lest their roofs might be crushed in. At Leon, more than 
 a hundred miles away, the dust lay several inches deep, and it was 
 carried to Jamaica, Vera Cruz and Santa Fe de Bogota, over an 
 area of 1500 miles in diameter. The sea also was covered with 
 floating masses of pumice for a distance of some fifty leagues. 
 
 FOUR MILES IN DIAMETER. 
 
 During the eruption the height of the cone was considerably 
 reduced, but to what extent is not certainly known ; probably by 
 at least one half, for it is now a crater four miles in diameter and 
 only 3600 feet above the sea. Many of the phenomena during 
 this outbreak closely agree with those associated with the first 
 eruption of Vesuvius and that of Krakatoa already described. 
 
 The Isthmus of Panama, though its hills in places are com- 
 paratively low and without volcanic cones, links together the great 
 mountain chains of North and South America. But that of the 
 Andes, which extends along the whole western flank of the latter, 
 is rather less complicated in structure than the system of the 
 former country. It is a single chain, consisting partly of sedi- 
 mentary, partly of igneous rocks, old and new, both crystalline 
 and volcanic. The sedimentaries and the older igneous form the 
 lower part of the great mountain wall, and the volcanoes, gene- 
 rally speaking, rise more nearly from its crest than from its 
 flanks. 
 
 They are not, however, continuous along the whole chain, but 
 
252 NORTH AMERICAN VOLCANOES. 
 
 form three principal groups — those of Colombia and Ecuador in 
 the north, those of Bolivia in the centre, and those of Chili in the 
 south. About sixty craters are still active ; those which are 
 extinct and more or less ruined ma}^ be counted by hundreds. 
 The first group, in the more northern part, consists of three prin- 
 cipal ranges, of which the eastern one branches out at last into 
 the great mountains which runs roughly parallel with the border 
 of the Caribbean Sea. 
 
 The western range is less elevated than the others, at any 
 rate in its more northern part ; the central, on which the volcanoes 
 are chiefly situated, supports many lofty peaks. Of these Mesa 
 de Herveo, 18,340 feet, retains its ancient crater ; Ruiz, 17,189 
 feet ; Tolima, 18,392 feet ; and Huila, 18,701, all show some signs 
 of life. An eruption occurred at Purace, 15,425 feet, in 1849, 
 when the torrents of mud caused by the rapid melting of the snow 
 caused much devastation. Extinct volcanoes are also frequent. 
 In the eastern chain no vents are mentioned as active. 
 
 FIERY SUMMITS OF ECUADOR. 
 
 Passing into Ecuador, the volcanic summits, according to Mr. 
 Whymper, are grouped along two roughly parallel lines. On the 
 western, Cotocachi, Pichincha, Corazon, Illiniza, Carihuairazo, 
 and Chimborazo are the most important ; on the eastern, Cayambe, 
 Antisana, Sincholagua, Cotopaxi, Altar, and Sangai. Of these 
 the majorit}^ have lost their craters, including Chimborazo. Altar 
 retains one, so does Pichincha, which apparently is hardly extinct, 
 while Sangai and Cotopaxi, which has been already described, are 
 still active. 
 
 It may suffice to say that the specimens brought back by Mr. 
 Whymper were almost without exception varieties of andesite, 
 several of them containing hypersthene. Antisana, however, 
 also furnished a pitchstone. The volcanic cones, according to 
 Re:ss and Wolf, continue for some distance to the south of those 
 which have been mentioned. 
 
 In the Peruvian and Bolivian Andes we find the second 
 linear group of craters. The same arrangement in parallel lines 
 
NORTH AMERICAN VOLCANOES. 258 
 
 to continue, and tlie highest summit, Hauscan, is said to overtop 
 
 Chimborazo by rather more than 1300 feet. Volcanic cones are 
 
 most frequent in the southern part of the western range, where 
 
 they set in again some 1200 miles from those of Ecuador. Few, 
 
 however, are mentioned as active in historic times ; among them 
 
 Ubinas, Ornate, Candarave (18,964 feet), are enumerated by 
 
 Reclus. But among the extinct volcanoes some also rise to great 
 
 heights, such as Sara-Sara, Achatayhua, Coro Puna, Ampato, 
 
 Misti, and Chachani, all of which exceed 13,000 feet, the last 
 
 reaching 19,767 feet and Misti 18,504 feet. 
 
 This volcanic group continues into Bolivia, and there are 
 
 some active craters, especially near Lake Titicaca. Presumably 
 
 the higher peaks of this country, five of which are enumerated as 
 
 over 21,000 feet, and the highest, Illimani, reaching 22,350 feet, 
 
 are volcanic, and the last is said to smoke constantly. Altogether, 
 
 sixteen craters are asserted to be active in this second group of 
 
 Andres volcanoes, of which, at present, our knowledge is rather 
 
 imperfect. 
 
 LONG CEASED TO BE ACTIVE. 
 
 Passing on to the third group, the volcanoes of Chili, we find 
 these numerous, though, for the most part, they have long ceased 
 to be active. In the northern part, however, two at least, Llullai- 
 laco (17,061 feet) and Dona Inez are still at work. In the middle 
 are the highest summits — Aconagua, 22,867 feet ; Cerro del 
 Mercedario, 22,302 feet; Tupungato, 10,269 feet; San Jose, 
 20,000 feet ; and Maipo, 17,657 feet. Of these, Aconagua has 
 entirely lost its crater, and Tupungato retains due distinctive trace 
 of it, but one or two vents are still active; one about 13,000 feet 
 high, lying some twenty miles to the southwest of Tupungato. 
 In this part also, according to Mr. FitzGerald, the Andes consist 
 of two ranges, of which the western is the watershed ; the other 
 supports the highest peaks. There is also a third and eastern 
 range, but this is separated from the main chain by a valley only 
 about 4000 feet above sea level. 
 
 The rocks brought back by Messrs. FitzGerald and Vines are 
 mostly andesites, the actual summits of Aconagua and Tupun- 
 
254 NORTH AMERICAN VuLCANOi:s 
 
 gato beiug the hornblende-bearing variety of that rock, though a 
 rhj'olite or clacite was obtained on the flank of the latter mountain. 
 The volcanic line does not completely come to an end with Chili, 
 foi Corcovado (7510 feet) iu the Patagonian Andes is a volcano, 
 but though there may be some extinct cones yet farther south, 
 the active vents are not continued to Cape Horn. 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Ridge of Panama and the Andes. — The Great Canyon. — 
 California and Utah. — Yellowstone Park. — Mexico 
 and South America. 
 
 IN 110 point is there a more remarkable contrast between the phy- 
 sical structure of Eastern and Western America than in the 
 absence of volcanic phenomena in the former aud their prodigious 
 development in the latter. The great valley of the Mississippi 
 and its tributaries forms the dividing territory between the vol- 
 canic and non-volcanic areas ; so that on crossing the high ridges 
 in which the western tributaries of America's greatest river have 
 their sources, and to which the name of the " Rocky Mountains" 
 more properly belongs, we find ourselves in a region which, 
 throughout the later Tertiary times down almost to the present 
 day, has been the scene of volcanic operations on the grandest 
 scale ; where lava-floods have been poured over the country through 
 thousands ot square miles, and where volcanic cones, vying in 
 magnitude with those of Etna, Vesuvius, or Hecla, have estab- 
 lished themselves. 
 
 This region, generally known as "The Great Basia," is 
 bounded on the west by the " Pacific Range " of mountains, and 
 includes portions of New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, 
 Utah, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, Montana and Wash- 
 ington. To the south it passes into the mountainous region of 
 Mexico, also highly volcanic; and thence into the ridge of Pan- 
 ama and the Andes. It cannot be questioned but that the volcanic 
 nature of the Great Basin is due to the same causes which have 
 originated the volcanic outbursts of the Andes ; but, from what- 
 ever cause, the volcanic forces have here entered upon their sec- 
 ondary or moribund stage. 
 
 In the Yellowstone Valley, geysers, hot springs and fumaroles 
 
 give evidence of this condition. In other districts the lava streams 
 
 are so fresh and unweathered as to suggest that they had been 
 
 ?55 
 
256 HOME OF AMERICAN VOLCANOES, 
 
 erupted only a few hundred years ago ; but no active vent or cratet 
 is to be found over tbe whole of this wide region. A few special 
 districts only can here be selected by way of illustration of its 
 special features in connection with its volcanic history. 
 
 This tract, which is drained by the Colorado river and its 
 tributaries, is bounded on the north by the Wahsatch range, and 
 extends eastward to the base of the Sierra Nevada. Round its 
 margin extensive volcanic tracts are to be found, with numerous 
 peaks and truncated cones — the ancient craters of eruption — of 
 which Mount San Francisco is the culminating eminence. 
 
 South of the Wahsatch, and occupying the high plateaux of 
 Utah, enormous masses of volcanic products have been spread 
 over an area of 9000 square miles, attaining a thickness of 
 between 3000 and 4000 feet. The earlier of these great lava- 
 floods appear to have been trachytic, but the later basaltic ; and 
 in the opinion of Captain Button, who has described them, they 
 range in point of time from the Middle Tertiary (Miocene) down 
 to comparatively recent times. 
 
 HIGH LEVELS IN UTAH. 
 
 To the south of the high plateaux of Utah are many minox 
 volcanic mountains, now extinct ; and as we descend towards the 
 Grand Canon of Colorado we find numerous cinder cones scat- 
 tered about at intervals near the cliffs. Extensive lava fields, sur- 
 mounted by cinder cones, occupy the plateau on the western side 
 of the Grand Canon ; and, according to Button, the great sheets 
 of basaltic lava, of very recent age, which occupy many hundred 
 square miles of desert, have had their sources in these cones of 
 eruption. 
 
 Crossing to the east of the Grand Canon, we find other lava 
 floods poured over the country at intervals, surmounted by San 
 Francisco — a volcanic mountain of the first magnitude — which 
 reaches an elevation, according to Wheeler, of 12,562 feet above 
 the ocean. It has long been extinct, and its summit and flanks 
 are covered with snow fields and glaciers. Other parts of Arizona 
 are overspread by sheets of basaltic lava, through which old 
 
HOME OF AMERICAN VOLCANOES. 257 
 
 *' Qecks " of eruption, formed of more solid lava than the sheets, 
 rise occasionally above the surface, and are prominent features in 
 the landscape. 
 
 Further to the eastward in New Mexico, and near the margin 
 of the volcanic region, is another volcanic mountain little less 
 lofty than San Francisco, called Mount Taylor, which, according 
 to Button, rises to an elevation of 11,390 feet above the ocean, 
 and 8200 feet above the general level of the surrounding plateau 
 of lava. This mountain forms the culminating point of a wide 
 volcanic tract, over which are distributed numberless vents of 
 eruption. Scores of such vents — generally cinder cones — are 
 visible in every part of the plateau, and always in a more or less 
 dilapidated condition. Mount Taylor is a volcano, with a central 
 pipe terminating in a large crater, the wall of which was broken 
 down on the east side in the later stage of its history. 
 
 VOLCANIC RANGES. 
 
 Proceeding westward into California, we are again confronted 
 with volcanic phenomena on a stupendous scale. The coast range 
 of mountains, which branches off from the Sierra Nevada at 
 Mount Pinos, on the south, is terminated near the northern ex- 
 tremity of the State by a very lofty mountain of volcanic origin, 
 called Mount Shasta, which attains an elevation of 14,511 feet. 
 This mountain M-as first ascended by Clarence King in 1870, and 
 although forming, as it were, a portion of the Pacific Coast Range, 
 it really rises from the plain in solitary grandeur, its summit 
 covered by snow, aud originating several fine glaciers. 
 
 The summit of Mount Shasta is a nearly perfect cone, but 
 from its northwest side there juts out a large crater-cone just be- 
 low the snow line, between which and the main mass of the moun- 
 tain their exists a deep depression filled with glacier ice. This 
 secondary crater-cone has been named Mount Shastina, and round 
 its inner side the stream of glacier ice winds itself, sometimes 
 surmounting the rim of the crater, and shooting down masses of 
 ice into the great cauldron. 
 
 The length of this glacier is about three milet^^ aud its breadth 
 
 17-S. F. 
 
258 HOME OF AMERICAN VOLCANOES. 
 
 about 4000 feet. Anotlier verj^ lofty volcanic mountain is Mount 
 Rainier, in the Washington territory, consisting of three peaks 
 of which the eastern possesses a crater very perfect throughout 
 its entire circumfeience. This mountain appears to be formed 
 mainly of trachytic matter. Proceeding further north into British 
 territory, several volcanic mountains near the Pacific coast are said 
 to exhibit evidence of activity. 
 
 Of these may be mentioned Mount Edgecombe, Mount Fair- 
 weather, which rises to a height of 14,932 feet ; and Mount St. 
 Elias, just within the divisional line between British and Russian 
 territory, and reaching an altitude of 16,860 feet. This, the loftiest 
 of all of the volcanoes of the North American continent, except 
 those of Mexico, may be considered as the connecting link in the 
 volcanic chain between the continent aud the Aleutian Islands. 
 
 LAKES AND THEIR ORIGIN. 
 
 Returning to Utah we are brought into contact with phe- 
 nomena of special interest, owing to the inter-relations of vol- 
 canic and lacrustiue conditions which once prevailed over large 
 tracts of that territory. The present Great Salt Lake, and the 
 smaller neighboring lakes, those called Utah and Sevier, are but 
 remnants of an originally far greater expanse of inland water, the 
 boundaries of which have been traced out by Mr. C. K. Gilbert, 
 and described under the name of Lake Bonneville. 
 
 The waters of this lake appear to have reached their highest 
 level at the maximum cold of the Post Pliocene period, when the 
 glaciers descended to its margin, and large streams of glacier 
 water were poured into it. Eruptions of basaltic lava from suc- 
 cessive craters appear to have gone on before, during, and after the 
 lacustrine epoch; and the drying up of the waters over the greater 
 extent of their original area, now converted into the Sevier Desert, 
 and their concentration into their present comparatively narrow 
 basins, appears to have proceeded pai'i passu with the gradual 
 extinction of the volcanic outbursts. 
 
 Two successive epochs of eruption of basalt appears to have 
 been clearly established — an earlier one of the " Provo Age," 
 
HOME OF AMERICAN VOLCANOES. 259 
 
 wHen the lava was extruded from the Tabernacle craters, and a 
 later epoch, when the eruptions took place from the Ice Spring 
 craters. The oldest volcanic rock appears to be rhyolite, which 
 peers up in two small hills almost smothered beneath the lake 
 deposits. Its eruption was long anterior to the lake period. 
 
 On the other hand, the cessation of the eruptions of the later 
 basaltic sheets is evidently an event of such recent date that Mr. 
 Gilbert is led to look forward to their resumption at some future, 
 but not distant, epoch. As he truly observes, we are not to infer 
 that, because the outward manifestations of volcanic action have 
 ceased, the internal causes of those manifestations have passed 
 away. These are still in operation, and must make themselves 
 felt when the internal forces have recovered their exhausted 
 energies ; but perhaps not to the same extent as before. 
 
 COUNTRY BORDERING SNAKE RIVER. 
 
 The tract of country bordering the Snake River in Idaho and 
 Washington is remarkable for the vast sheets of plateau-basalt 
 with which it is overspread, extending sometimes in one great 
 flood farther than the eye can reach, and what is still more 
 remarkable, they are often unaccompanied by any visible craters 
 or vents of eruption. In Oregon the plateau-basalt is at least 2000 
 feet in thickness, and where traversed by the Columbia River it 
 reaches a thickness of about 3000 feet. 
 
 The Snake and Columbia rivers are lined by walls of volcanic 
 rock, basaltic above, trachytic below, for a distance of, in the 
 former, one hundred, in the latter, two hundred, miles. Captain 
 Button, in describing the High Plateau of Utah, observes that the 
 lavas appear to have welled up in mighty floods without any of 
 that explosive violence generally characteristic of volcanic action. 
 This extravasated matter has spread over wide fields, deluging the 
 surrounding country like a tide in a bay, and overflowing all in- 
 equalities. Here also we have evidence of older volcanic cones 
 buried beneath seas of lava subsequently extruded. 
 
 The absence or rarity, of volcanic craters or cones of eruption 
 in the neighborhood of these great sheets has led American geolo- 
 
200 HOME OF AMERICAN VOLCANOES. 
 
 gists to the conclusion that the lavas were in many cases extruded 
 from fissures in the earth's crust rather than from ordinary craters. 
 This view is also urged by Sir A. Geikie, who visited the Utah 
 region of the Snake River in 1880, and has vividly described 
 the impression produced by the sight of these vast fields of 
 basaltic lava. 
 
 He says, " We found that the older trachytic lavas of the hills 
 had been deeply trenched by the lateral valleys and that all these 
 valleys had a floor of black basalt that had been poured out as the last 
 of the molten material from the now extinct volcanoes. There were 
 no visible cones or vents from which these floods of basalt could have 
 proceeded. We rode for hours by the margin of a vast plain of basalt 
 stretching southward and westward as far as the eye could reach. 
 I realized the truth of an assertion made first by Richthofen, that 
 our modern volcanoes, such as Vesuvius and ^tna, present us with 
 by no means the grandest type of volcanic action, but rather belong 
 to a time of failing activity. There have been periods of tremendous 
 volcanic energy, when instead of escaping from a local vent, like 
 a Vesuvian cone, the lava has found its way to the surface by 
 innumerable fissures opened for it in the solid crust of the globe 
 over thousands of square miles." 
 
 HISTORY OF THE ERUPTIONS. 
 
 The general succession of volcanic events throughout the 
 region of Western America appears to have been somewhat as 
 follows : 
 
 The earliest volcanic eruptions occurred in the later 
 Eocene epoch and were continued into the succeeding Miocene 
 stage. These consisted of rocks moderately rich in silica, and are 
 grouped under the heads of propylite and andesite. To these 
 succeeded during the Pliocene epoch still more highly silicated 
 rocks of trachytic type, consisting of sanidine and oligoclase 
 trach3'tes. 
 
 Then came eruptions of rhyolite during the later Pliocene 
 and Pleistocene epoch ; and lastly, after a period of cessation, 
 during which the rocks just described were greatly eroded, came 
 
HOME OF AMERICAN VOLCANOES. 261 
 
 the great eruptions of basaltic lava, delugiug the plaius, winding 
 round the cones or plateaux of the older lavas, descending into the 
 river valleys and flooding the lake b6ds, issuing from both vents 
 and fissures, and continuing intermittently down almost into the 
 present day — certainly into the period of man's appearance on 
 the scene. 
 
 Thus the volcanic history of Western America corresponds 
 remarkably to that of the European regions with which we have 
 previously dealt, both as regards the succession of the various 
 lavas and the epochs of their eruption. 
 
 The geysers and hot springs of the Yellowstone Park, like 
 those in Iceland and New Zealand, are special manifestations of 
 volcanic action, geuerall}^ in its secondary or moribund stage. 
 The geysers of the Yellowstone occur on a grand scale ; the 
 eruptions are frequent, and the water is projected into the air to a 
 height of over 200 feet. Most of these are intermittent, like the 
 remarkable one known as Old Faithful, the Castle Geyser, and 
 the Giantess Geyser described by Dr. Hayden, which ejects the 
 water to a height of 250 feet. 
 
 TINTS OF RED AND YELLOW. 
 
 The geyser waters hold large quantities of silica and sulphur 
 in solution, owing to their high temperature under great pressure, 
 and these minerals are precipitated upon the cooling of the waters 
 in the air, and form circular basins, often gorgeously tinted with 
 red and yellow colors. 
 
 In the great Pacific Ocean, the Islands maybe referred to two 
 classes, distinguished by their elevation into high and low. The 
 latter class appear to be entirely of modern formation, the product of 
 that accumulation of coral reefs which Flinders and others have 
 described in so interesting a manner. The high islands, on the 
 contrary, are chiefly volcanic, though in the Friendly and Mar- 
 quesa Islands primitive rocks occur, and in the Waohoo porphyry 
 and amygdaloid. 
 
 The Mariana or Ladrone Islands constitute a sort of moun- 
 tain chain, consisting of a line of active volcanoes, especially 
 
262 HOME OF AMERICAN VOLCANOES. 
 
 towards their norfh, which is parallel to that of the Philippine 
 group, whereas the islands that lie detached in the middle of the 
 basin, of which these two groups are the boundaries, seem for the 
 most part to be extinguished. 
 
 Mr. Ellis, a missionary, has given in a narrative of a Tour 
 Through the Hawaii Islands a most detailed account of the active 
 volcano of Hawaii. 
 
 The plain over which their way to the mountain lay was a 
 vast waste of ancient lava, which he thus describes : — "The tract 
 of lava resembled in appearance an inland sea, bounded by distant 
 mountains. Once it had certainly been in a fluid state, but 
 appeared as if it had become suddenly petrified, or turned into a 
 glassy stone, while its agitated billows were rolling to and fro. 
 Not only were the large swells and hollows distinctly marked, but 
 in many places the surface of these billows was covered by a 
 smaller ripple, like that observed on the surface of the sea at the 
 springing up of a breeze, or the passing currents of air, which pro- 
 duce what the sailors call a cats-paw. 
 
 EDGE OF A STEEP PRECIPICE. 
 
 "About 2 P. M. the crater of Kilauea suddenly burst upon our 
 view. We expected to have seen a mountain with a broad base 
 and rough, indented sides, composed of loose slags, or hardened 
 streams of lava, and whose summit would have presented a 
 rugged wall of scoria, forming the rim of a mighty cauldron. 
 But instead of this, we found ourselves on the edge of a steep 
 precipice, with a vast plain before us fifteen or sixteen miles in 
 circumference, and sunk from two hundred to four hundred feet 
 below its original level. The surface of this plain was uneven, 
 and strewed over with huge stones and volcanic rock, and in the 
 center of it was the great crater, at the distance of a mile and a 
 half from the place where we were standing. We walked on to 
 the north end of the ridge, where, the precipice being less steep, a 
 descent to the plain below seemed practicable. With all our care, 
 we did not reach the bottom without several falls and slight bruises. 
 
 "After walking some distance over the sunken plain, which 
 
HOME OF AMERICAN VOLCANOES. 26^ 
 
 in several places sounded Hollow under our feet, we at length came 
 to the edge of the great crater, where a spectacle sublime, and 
 even appalling, presented itself before us. Immediately before us 
 yawned an immense gulf, in the form of a crescent, about two 
 miles in length, from N. E. to S. W., nearly a mile in width, and 
 apparently eight hundred feet deep. The Dottom was covered with 
 lava, and the S. W. and northern parts of it were one vast flood of 
 burning matter, in a state of terrific ebullition, rolling to and fro 
 its 'fiery surge' and flaming billows. 
 
 A BURNING LAKE. 
 
 "Fift3/--one conical islands of varied form and size, containing 
 so many craters, rose either round the edge, or from the surface 
 of the burning lake; twenty-two constantly emitted columns of 
 grey smoke, or pyramids of brilliant flame ; and several of these 
 at the same time vomited from their ignited mouths streams of 
 lava, which rolled in blazing torrents down their black indented 
 sides, into the boiling mass below. The existence of these conical 
 craters led us to conclude that the boiling cauldron of lava before 
 us did not form the focus of the volcano; that this mass of melted 
 lava was comparatively shallow ; and that the basin in which it 
 was contained was separated by a stratum of solid matter from 
 the great volcanic abyss, which constantly poured out its melted 
 contents through these numerous craters into this upper reservoir. 
 
 ''The sides of the gulch before us, although composed of 
 different strata of ancient lava, were perpendicular for about four 
 hundred feet, and rose from a wide horizontal ledge of solid black 
 lava of irregular breadth, but extending completely round, beneath 
 this ledge, the sides sloped gradually towards the burning lake, 
 which was, as nearly as we could judge, three hundred or four 
 hundred feet lower. It was evident that the large crater had been 
 recently filled with liquid lava up to this black ledge, and had, by 
 some subterraneous canal, emptied itself into the sea or under the 
 low land on the shore. 
 
 " The grey, and in some places apparently calcined sides of 
 the great crater before us — the fissures which intersected the sur- 
 
264 HOME OF AMERICAN VOLCANOES. 
 
 face of the plain on which we were standing — the long banks of 
 sulphur on the opposite side of the ab3^ss — the vigorous action of 
 the numerous small craters on its borders — the dense columns of 
 vapor and smoke that rose at the N. and S. end of the plain — 
 together with the ridge of steep rocks by which it was surrounded, 
 rising probabl}^ in some places three or four hundred feet in a per- 
 pendicular height, presented an immense volcanic panorama, the 
 effect of which was greatly augmented by the constant roaring of 
 the vast furnaces below 
 
 "The natives still persist in believing, that the conical craters 
 of the mountains are the houses of their gods, where they frequently 
 amuse themselves by playing at Konane (a game like draughts); 
 that the roaring of the furnaces and the crackling of the flames 
 are the music of their dance, and that the red flaming surge is the 
 surf in which they play, sportively swimming on the rolling wave. 
 Some of their legends may remind us of those that prevailed 
 among the Greeks. 
 
 CURIOUS OLD LEGEND. 
 
 " Thus one of their kings, who had offended Pel6, the princi- 
 pal goddess of the volcano, is pursued by her to the shore, where 
 leaping into a canoe he paddles out to sea. Pele, perceiving his 
 escape, hurls after him huge stones and fragments of rock, which 
 fall thickly around, but do not strike the canoe. A number of 
 rocks in the sea are shown by the natives, which like the C3'clo- 
 pean Islands at the foot of Mount Etna, are said to have been 
 those thrown by Pele to sink the boat. 
 
 " This legend is very characteristic of the manners and feel- 
 ings of savage life. The king is represented as taking little pains 
 to secure the escape of anyone but himself, for his mother, wife 
 and children are all abandoned without compunction ; his conduct 
 to the friend who accompanies him is the onl\^ trait which redeems 
 his character from the charge of utter selfishness, nor among the 
 natives who tell the story, is their praise of the adroitness with 
 which he effected his escape, at all less commended on account of 
 this desertion of his nearest relations." 
 
HOME OF AMERICAN VOLCANOES. 265 
 
 The globe is girdled by a chain of volcanic mountains in a 
 state of greater or less activity, which may, perhaps, be considered 
 a girdle of safety for the whole world, through which the masses 
 of molten matter in a state of high pressure beneath the crust 
 find a way of escape ; and thus the structure of the globe is pre- 
 served from even greater convulsions than those which from time 
 to time take place at various points on its surface. 
 
 This girdle is partly terrestrial, partly submarine ; and C(nn- 
 mencing at Mount Erebus, near the Antarctic Pole, ranging 
 through South Shetland Isle, Cape Horn, the Andes of South 
 America, the Isthmus of Panama, then through Central America 
 and Mexico, and the Rocky Mountains to Kamtschatka, the Aleu- 
 tian Islands, the Kuriles, the Japanese, the Philippines, New 
 Guinea, and New Zealand, reaches the Antartic Circle by the 
 Balleny Islands. This girdle sends off branches at several points. 
 
 DORMANT VOLCANIC EVENTS. 
 
 The linear arrangement of active or dormant volcanic vents 
 has been pointed out by Humboldt, Von Buch, Daubeny and other 
 writers. The great range of burning mountains of the Andes of 
 Chili, Peru,. Bolivia, and Mexico, that of the Aleutian Islands of 
 Kamtschatka and the Kurile Islands, extending southwards into 
 the Philippines, and the branching range of the Sunda Islands 
 are well known examples. That of the West Indian Islands, rang- 
 ing from Grenada through St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Martinique, 
 Dominica, Gaudeloupe, Montserrat, Nevis, and St. Eustace, is also 
 a remarkable example of the linear arragement of volcanic moun- 
 tains. On tracing these ranges on a map of the world it will be 
 observed that they are either strings of islands, or lie in proximity 
 to the ocean ; and hence the view was naturally entertained by 
 some writers that oceanic water, or at any rate that of a large lake 
 or sea, was a necessary agent in the production of volcanic 
 eruptions. 
 
 This view seems to receive further corroboration from the 
 fact that the interior portions of the continents and large islands 
 such as Australia are destitute of volcanoes in action, with the 
 
266 HOME OF AMERICAN VOLCANOES. 
 
 remarkable exceptions of Mounts Kenia and Kilimanjaro in Cen- 
 tral Africa, and a few others. It is also ver}^ significant in this 
 connection that many of the volcanoes now extinct, or at least 
 dormant, both in Europe and Asia, appear to have been in prox- 
 imity to sheets of water during the period of activity. 
 
 Thus the old volcanoes of the Hauran, east of the Jordan, 
 appear to have been active at the period when the present Jordan 
 valley was filled with water to such an extent as to constitute a 
 lake two hundred miles in length, but which has now shrunk back 
 to within the present limits of the Dead Sea. Again, at the 
 period when the extinct volcanoes of Central France were in 
 active operation, an extensive lake overspread the tract lying to 
 the east of the granitic plateau on which the craters and domes 
 are planted, now constituting the rich and fertile plain of Cler- 
 mont. 
 
 WATER AND EXPLOSIONS. 
 
 Such instances are too significant to allow us to doubt that 
 water in some form is very generally connected with volcanic 
 operations ; but it does not follow that it was necessary 
 to the original formation of volcanic vents, whether linear or 
 sporadic. If this were so, the extinct volcanoes of the British 
 Isles would still be active, as they are close to the sea-margin, 
 and no volcano would now be active which is not near to some 
 large sheet of water. 
 
 But Jorullo, one of the great active volcanoes of Mexico, lies 
 no less than 120 miles from the ocean, and Cotopaxi, in Ecuador, 
 is nearly equally distant. Kilimanjaro ,18,881 feet high, and Kenia, 
 in the equatorial regions of Central Africa, are about 150 miles 
 from the Victoria Nyanza, and a still greater distance from the 
 ocean ; and Mount Demavend, in Persia, which rises to an eleva- 
 tion of 18,464 feet near the southern shore of the Caspian Sea, a 
 volcanic mountain of the first magnitude, is now extinct or 
 dormant. 
 
 Such facts as these all tend to show that although water may 
 be an accessory of volcanic eruptions, it is not in all cases 
 essential ; and we are obliged, therefore, to have recourse to some 
 
HOME OF AMERICAN VOLCANOES. 267 
 
 other theory of volcanic action differing from that which would 
 attribute it to the access of water to highly heated or molten 
 matter within the crust of the earth. 
 
 The view of Leopold von Buch, who considered that the great 
 lines of volcanic mountains above referred to rise along the 
 borders of rents, or fissures, in the earth's crust, is one which is 
 inherently probable, and is in keeping with observation. That 
 the crust of the globe is to a remarkable extent fissured and torn 
 in all directions is a phenomenon familiar to all field geologists. 
 Such rents and fissures are often accompanied by displacement of 
 the strata, owing to which the crust has been vertically elevated 
 on one side or lowered on the other, and such displacements (or 
 "faults") sometimes amount to thousands of feet. 
 
 A SYSTEM OF FISSURES. 
 
 It is only occasionally, however, that such fractures are 
 accompanied by the extrusion of molten matter ; and in the north 
 of England and Scotland dykes of igneous rock, such as basalt, 
 which run across the country for many miles in nearly straight 
 lines, often cut across the faults, and are only rarely coincident 
 with them. Nevertheless, it can scarcely be a question that the 
 grand chain of volcanic mountains which stretches almost contin- 
 uousl}'' along the Andes of South America, and northwards through 
 Mexico, has been piled up along the line of a system of fissures in 
 the fundamental rocks parallel to the coast, though not actually 
 coincident therewith. 
 
 The structure and arrangemnt of the Cordilleras of Quito, 
 for example, are eminently suggestive of arrangement along lines 
 of fissure. As shown by Alexander von Humboldt, the volcanic 
 mountains are disposed in two parallel chains, which run side by 
 side for a distance of over 500 miles northwards into the State of 
 Columbia, and enclose between them the high plains of Quito 
 and Lacunga. Along the eastern chain are the great cones of 
 El Altar, rising to an elevation of 16,383 feet above the ocean, 
 and having an enormous crater apparently dormant or extinct^ 
 and covered with snow ; then Cotopaxi, its sides covered with 
 
268 HOME OF AMERICAN V0LCAN0F3. 
 
 snow, and sending forth from its crater several columns of smoke ; 
 then Guamani and Cayambe (19,000 feet), huge truncated cones 
 apparently extinct ; these constitute the eastern chain of volcanic 
 heights. 
 
 The western chain contains even loftier mountains. Here 
 we find the gigantic Chimborazo, an extinct volcano whose summit 
 is white with snow ; Carihuairazo and lUiniza, a lofty pointed 
 peak like the Matterhorn ; Corazon, a snow-clad dome, reaching a 
 height of 15,871 feet; Atacazo and Pichincha, the latter an. 
 extinct volcano reaching an elevation of 15,920 feet ; such is the 
 western chain, remarkable for its straightness, the volcanic cones 
 being planted in one grand procession from south to north. This 
 rectilinear arrangement of the western chain, only a little less 
 conspicuous in the eastern, is very suggestive of a line of fracture 
 in the crust beneath. 
 
 And when we contemplate the prodigious quantity of matter 
 included within the limits of these colossal domes and their envi- 
 ronments, all of which has been extruded from the internal reser- 
 voirs, we gain some idea of the manner in which the contracting 
 crust disposes of the matter it can no longer contain. 
 
 QUITO AND PERU. 
 
 Between the volcanoes of Quito and those of Peru there is an 
 intervening space of fourteen degrees of latitude. This is occupied 
 by the Andes, regarding the structure of which we have not 
 much information except that at this part of its course it is not 
 volcanic. But from Arequipa in Peru, an active volcano, we find a 
 new series of volcanic mountains continued southwards through 
 Tacora (19,740 feet), then further south the more or less active 
 vents of Sajama (22,915 feet), Coquina,Tutupaca,Calama, Atacama, 
 Toconado, and others, forming an almost continuous range with 
 that part of the desert of Atacama pertaining to Chili. 
 
 Through this country we find the volcanic range appearing 
 at intervals ; and still more to the southwards it is doubtless con- 
 nected with the volcanoes of Patagonia, north of the Magellan 
 Straits, and of Terra del Fuego. Mr. David Forbes considers 
 
HOME OF AMERICAN VOLCANOES. 200 
 
 that this great range of volcanic mountains, lying nearly north 
 and south, corresponds to a line of fracture lying somewhat to the 
 east of the range. 
 
 A similar statement in all probability applies to the systems 
 of volcanic mountains of the Aleutian Isles, Kamtschatka, the 
 Kuriles, the Philippines, and Sunda Isles. Nor can it be reason- 
 ably doubted that the Western American coast line has to a great 
 extent been determined, or marked out, by such lines of displace- 
 ment ; for, as Darwin has shown, the whole western coast of South 
 America, for a distance of between 2000 and 3000 miles south of 
 the Equator, has undergone an upward movement in very recent 
 times — that is, within the period of living marine shells — during 
 which period the volcanoes have been in activity. 
 
 GROUPS OF VOLCANOES. 
 
 This chain may also be cited in evidence of volcanic action 
 along fissure lines. It connects the volcanoes of Kamtschatka 
 with those of Japan, and the linear arrangement is apparent. In 
 the former peninsula Erman counted no fewer than thirteen active 
 volcanic mountains rising to heights of 12,000 to 15,000 feet above 
 the sea. In the chain of the Kuriles Professor John Milne 
 counted fifty-two well-defined volcanoes, of which nine, perhaps 
 more, are certainly active. 
 
 They are not so high as those of Kamtschatka ; but, on the 
 other hand, they rise from very deep oceanic waters, and have 
 been probably built up from the sea bottom by successive erup- 
 tions of tuff, lava, and ash. According to the view of Professor 
 Milne, the volcanoes of the Kurile chain are fast becoming 
 extinct. 
 
 Besides the volcanic vents arranged in lines, of which we have 
 treated above, there are a large number, both active and extinct, 
 which appear to be disposed in groups, or sporadically distributed, 
 over various portions of the earth's surface. I say appear to be, 
 because this sporadic distribution may really be resolvable (at 
 least in some cases) into linear distribution for short distances, 
 ^hus the Neapolitan Group, which might at first sight seem to 
 
270 HOME OF AMERICAN VOLCANOES. 
 
 be arranged around Vesuvius as a centre, really resolves itself 
 into a line of active and extinct vents of eruption, ranging across 
 Italy from tlie Tyrrhenian Sea to the Adriatic, through Ischia, 
 Procida, Monte Nuovo and the Phlegrseau Fields, Vesuvius and 
 Mount Vulture. 
 
 Again, the extinct volcanoes of Central France, which appear 
 to form an isolated group, indicate, when viewed in detail, a linear 
 arrangement ranging from north to south. Another region over 
 which extinct craters are distributed lies along the banks of the 
 Rhine, above Bonn and the Moselle ; a fourth in Hungary ; a fifth 
 in Asia Minor and Northern Palestine; and a sixth in Central 
 Asia around Lake Balkash. These are all continental, and the 
 linear distribution is not apparent. 
 
 By far the most extensive regions with sporadicall}^ distrib- 
 uted volcanic vents, both active and extinct, are those which are 
 overspread by the waters of the ocean, where the vents emerge in 
 the form of islands. These are to be found in all the great oceans, 
 the Atlantic, the Pacific, and the Indian ; but are especially numer- 
 ous over the central Pacific region. 
 
 VOLCANIC CORAL REEFS. 
 
 As Kotzebue and subsequently Darwin have pointed out, all 
 the islands of the Pacific are either coral-reefs or of volcanic origin ; 
 and many of these rise from great depths ; that is to say, from 
 depths of looo to 2000 fathoms. It is unnecessary here to attempt 
 to enumerate all these islands which rise in solitary grandeur 
 from the surface of the ocean, and are the scenes of volcanic opera- 
 tions ; a few may, however, be enumerated. 
 
 In the Atlantic, Iceland first claims notice, owing to the mag- 
 nitude and number of its active vents and the variety of the accom- 
 pan3dng phenomena, especially the geysers. As Lyell has 
 observed, with the exception of Etna and Vesuvius, the most com- 
 plete chronological records of a series of eruptions in existence 
 are those of Iceland, which come down from the ninth centurj' of 
 our era, and which go to show that since the twelfth centur}^ there 
 has never been an interval of more than forty years without either 
 
HOME OF AMERICAN VOLCANOES. 271 
 
 an eruption or a great earthquake. So intense is tlie volcanic 
 energy in this island that some of the eruptions of Hecla have 
 lasted six years without cessation. 
 
 Earthquakes have often shaken the whole island at once, 
 causing great changes in the interior, such as the sinking down 
 of hills, the rending of mountains, and the desertion by rivers of 
 their channels, and the appearance of new lakes. New islands 
 have often been thrown up near the coast, while others have dis- 
 appeared. In the intervals between eruptions, innumerable hot 
 springs afford vent to the subterranean heat, and solfataras dis- 
 charge copious streams of inflammable matter. The volcanoes in 
 different parts of the island are observed, like those of the Phle- 
 graean Fields, to be in activity by turns, one vent serving for a 
 time as a safety-valve for the others. 
 
 A HISTORIC ERUPTION, 
 
 The most memorable eruption of recent years was that of 
 Skapta Jokul in 1783, when a new island was thrown up, and two 
 torrents of lava issued forth, one forty-five and the other fifty 
 miles in length, and which, according to the estimate of Professor 
 Bischoff, contained matter surpassing in magnitude the bulk of 
 Mont Blanc. One of these streams filled up a large lake, and 
 entering the channel of the Skapta, completely dried up the river. 
 The volcanoes of Iceland may be considered as safety-valves 
 to the region in which lie the British Isles. 
 
 This group of volcanic isles rises from deep Atlantic waters 
 north of the Equator, and the vents of eruption are partially active, 
 partially dormant, or extinct. It must be supposed, however, that 
 at a former period volcanic action was vastly more energetic than 
 at present ; for except at the Grand Canary, Gomera, Forta Ven- 
 tura and Lancerote, where various non-volcanic rocks are found, 
 these islands appear to have been built up from their foundations 
 of eruptive materials. 
 
 The highest point in the Azores is the Peak of Pico, which 
 rises to a height of 7016 feet above the ocean. But this great ele» 
 vation is surpassed by that of the Peak of Teneriffe (or Pic de 
 
i>7i! HOME OF AMERICAN VOLCANOES. 
 
 Teyde) in the Canaries, wliich attains to an elevation of 12,225 
 feet, as determined by Professor Piazzi Smyth. 
 
 This great volcanic cone, rising from the ocean, its summit 
 shrouded in snow, and often protruding above the clouds, must be 
 an object of uncommon beauty and interest when seen from the 
 deck of a ship. The central cone, formed of trach3^te, pumice, 
 obsidian and ashes, rises out of a vast cauldron of older balsaltic 
 rocks with precipitous inner walls— much as the cone of A^esuvius 
 rises from within the partiall}- encircling walls of Somma. From 
 the summit issue forth sulphurous vapors, but no flame. 
 
 OUTER RING OF BASALT. 
 
 Piazzi Smyth, who during a prolonged vist to this mountain 
 in iSs6 made a careful survej- of its form and structure, shows 
 that the great cone is surrounded by an outer ring of basalt 
 enclosing two foci of eruption, the lavas from which have broken 
 through the ring of the outer crater on the western side, and have 
 poured down the mountain. At the top of the peak its once active 
 crater is filled up, and we find a convex surface ("The Plain of 
 Rambleta") surmounted towards its eastern end by a diminutive 
 cone, 500 feet high, called '' Humboldt's Ash Cone." The slope 
 of the great cone of Teneriffe ranges from 28° to 38°; and below a 
 level of 7000 feet the general slope of the whole mountain down to 
 the water s edge varies from 10° to 12'^ from the horizontal. The 
 great cone is penetrated b}- numerous basaltic dykes. 
 
 The Cape de Verde Islands, which contain beds of limestone 
 along with volcanic matter, possess in the island of Fuego an 
 active volcano, rising to a height of 7000 feet above the surface of 
 the ocean. The central cone, like that of Teneriffe, rises from 
 within an outer crater, formed of basalt alternating with beds of 
 agglomerate, and traversed by numerous dykes of lava. This has 
 been broken down on one side like that of Somma ; and over its 
 flanks are scattered numerous cones of scoria, Lhe most recent 
 dating from the years 1785 and 1799. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Amazing Phknomrna Connected with Volcanoes and 
 Earthquakes. — Fiery Explosions and Mountains in 
 Convulsions. — Changes in the Surface of the Earth. 
 
 BY sir. JOHN F. W. HERSCHEL, BART. 
 
 [The following: accurate and scientific account of the causes and 
 effects of volcanoes and earthquakes is furnished by the most eminent 
 authority on these subjects known to the world, and is of special interest in 
 connection with the great disasters in California.] 
 
 I PURPOSE to say something about volcanoes and earthquakes. 
 It is a subject I have thought a good deal about, and though I 
 have never been so fortunate as to have been shaken out of my 
 bed by an earthquake, still I have climbed the cones of Vesuvius 
 and Etna, hammer in hand and barometer on back, and have wan- 
 dered over and geologized among, I believe, nearly all the principal 
 scenes of extinct volcanic activity in Europe. 
 
 Every one knows that a volcano is a mountain that vomits 
 out fire, and smoke, and cinders, and melted lava, and sulphur, and 
 steam, and gases, and all kinds of horrible things ; nay, even 
 sometimes mud, and boiling water, and fishes ; and everybody 
 has heard or read of the earth opening, and swallowing up man 
 and beast, and houses and churches ; and closing on them with a 
 snap, and smashing them to pieces ; and then perhaps opening 
 again, and casting them out with a flood of dirty water from some 
 river or lake that has been gulped down with them. Now, all 
 Ihis, and much more, is literally true, and has happened over and 
 over again ; and when we have imagined it all, we shall have 
 formed a tolerably correct notion of some at least of these 
 
 visitations. 
 
 18-S. F, 273 
 
274 AMAZING PHENOMENA OF VOLCANOES. 
 
 And perhaps some ma}^ have been tempted to ask why and 
 how it is that God has permitted this fair earth to be visi:ed with 
 snch destruction. It can hardly be for the sins of men : for when 
 these things occur they involve alike the innocent and the gnilt}^ ; 
 and besides , the volcano and the earthquake were raging on this 
 earth M-itli as much, nay greater violence, thousands and thou- 
 sands of years before man set foot upon it. But perhaps, on the 
 other hind, it may have occurred to some to ask themselves 
 whether it is not just possible that these ngly affairs are sent 
 among us for some beneficent purposes ; or at all events that they 
 may form part and parcel of some great scheme of providential 
 arrangement which is at work for good and not for ill. 
 
 INCIDENTAL CATASTROPHES. 
 
 A ship sometimes strikes on a rock, and all on board perish ; 
 a railway train runs into another, or breaks down, and then wounds 
 and contusions are the order of the day ; but nobody doubts that 
 navigation and railway communication are great blessings. None 
 of the great natural provisions for producing good are exempt in 
 their workings from producing occasional mischief. Storms 
 disperse and dilute pestilental vapors, and lightnings decompose 
 and destroy them ; but both the one and the other often annihilate 
 the works of man, and inflict upon him sudden deaths 
 
 Well, then, I think I shall be able to show that the volcano 
 and the earthquake, dreadful as they are, as local and temporary 
 visitations, are in fact unavoidable (I had almost said necessary) 
 incidents in a vast system of action to which we owe the very 
 ground we stand upon, the very land we inhabit^ without which 
 neither man, beast, nor bird would have a place for their existence, 
 and the world would be the habitation of nothing but fishes. 
 
 Now, to make this clear, I must go a little out of my way 
 and say something about the first principles of geology. Geology 
 does not pretend to go back to the creation of the world, or concern 
 itself about its primitive state, but it does concern itself with the 
 changes it sees going on in it now, and with the evidence of a long- 
 series of such changes it can produce in the most unmistakable 
 
AMAZING PHENOMENA OF VOLCANOES. 275 
 
 features of tlie structure of our rocks and soil, and the wa^^ in 
 which they lie one on the other. 
 
 As to what we see going on. — We see everywhere, and along 
 every coast-line, the sea warring against the land, and everywhere 
 overcoming it ; wearing and eating it down, and battering it to 
 pieces ; grinding those pieces to powder ; carrying the powder 
 awa}'-, and spreading it out over its own bottom, by the continued 
 effect of the tides and currents. Look at our chalk cliffs, which 
 once, no doubt, extended across the Channel to the similar cliffs 
 on the French coast. 
 
 What do we see ? Precipices cut down to the sea-beach, 
 constantly hammered by the waves and constantly crumbling : 
 the beach itself made of the flints outstanding after the softer 
 chalk had been ground down and washed away ; themselves 
 grinding one onother under the same ceaseless discipline ; first 
 rounded into pebbles, then worn into sand, and then carried out 
 farther and farther down the slope, to be replaced by fresh ones 
 from the same source. 
 
 PROCESSES GOING ON. 
 
 Well, the same thing is going on everjrwhere, round every 
 coast of Europe, Asia, Africa and America. Foot b}^ foot or inch 
 by inch, month by month or century by century, down every- 
 thing must go. Time is as nothing in geology. And what the 
 sea is doing the river is helping it to do. Look at the sand-banks 
 at the mouth of the Thames. What are they but the materials of 
 our island carried out to sea by the stream ? The Ganges carries 
 awa}' from the soil of India, and delivers into the sea, twice as 
 much solid substance weekly as is contained in the great pyramid 
 of Eg3'pt. The Irawaddy sweeps off from Burmah sixtA'-two cubic 
 feet of earth in every second of time on an average, and there are 
 86,400 seconds in every day, and 365 days in every year ; and so 
 on for the other riveis. 
 
 What has become of all that great bed of chalk which once 
 covered all the weald of Kent, and formed a continuous mass from 
 Ramsgate avxd Dover to Beechy Head, running inland to Madams- 
 
276 AMAZING THENOMENA OF VOLCANOES. 
 
 court Hill and Seven Oaks ? All clean gone, and swept out into 
 the bosom of the Atlantic, and there forming other chalk-beds. 
 Now, geology assures us, on the most conclusive and undeniable 
 evidence, that all our present land, all our continents and islands 
 have been formed in this way out of the ruins of former ones. The 
 old ones which existed at the beginning of things have all per- 
 ished, and what we now stand upon has most assuredh* been, at 
 one time or other, perhaps mau}^ times, the bottom of the sea. 
 
 Well, then, there is power enough at work, and it has been 
 at work long enough utterl}- to have cleared away and spread over 
 the bed of the sea all our present existing continents and islands, 
 had the}- been placed where they are at the creation of the world ; 
 and from this it follows as clear as demonstration can make it, 
 that without some process of renovation and restoration to act in 
 antagonism to this destructive work of old Neptune, there would 
 not now be remaining a foot of dr}- land for living thing to stand 
 
 upon. 
 
 WERE HOISTED AT ONE BLOW. 
 
 Now, what is this process of restoration ? Let the volcano 
 and the earthquake tell their tale. Let the earthquake tell how, 
 within the memorv of man — under the eyesight of e^-e-witnesses, 
 one of whom (Airs. Graham) has described the fact — the whole 
 coast line of Chili, for one hundred miles about A'alparaiso, with 
 the mighty chain of the Andes — mountains to which the Alps 
 sink into insignificance — was hoisted at one blow (in a single 
 night, Nov. 19, A. D. 1822) from two to seven feet above its former 
 level, leaving the beach below the old water mark high and dry ; 
 leaving the shell-fish sticking on the rocks out of reach of water ; 
 leaving the seaweed rotting in the air, or rather dr3nng up to dust 
 under the burning sun of a coast where rain never falls. 
 
 The ancients had a fable of Titan hurled from heaven and 
 buried under Etna, and by his struggles causing the earthquakes 
 that desolated Sicily. But here we have an exhibition of Titanic 
 forces on a far mightier scale. One of the Andes upheaved on 
 this occasion was the gigantic mass of Aconagva, which overlooks 
 Valparaiso. To bring home to the mind the conception of sudi 
 
AMAZING PHENOMENA OF VOLCANOES. 277 
 
 an effort, we must form a clear idea of what sort of mountain this 
 is It is nearly 24,000 feet in height. ^ , . . 
 
 Chimborazo, the loftiest of the volcanic cones of the Andes 
 is lower by 2,500 feet ; and yet Etna, with Vesuvius at the top of 
 it and another Vesuvius piled on that, would ittle more than 
 surpass the midway portion of the snow-covered portion of that 
 cone which is one of the many chimneys by which the hidden 
 fires of the Andes fine vent. On the occasion I am speaking of, 
 at least ten thousand square miles of country were estimated as 
 having been upheaved, and the upheaval was not confined to the 
 land but extended far away to sea, which was proved by the 
 soundings off Valparaiso and along the coast, having been found 
 considerably shallower than they were before the shock. ^ 
 
 Aeain in the year 1819, m an earthquake m India, in the dis- 
 trict of Cutch, bordering on the Indus, a tract of country more 
 than fifty miles long and sixteen broad was suddenly raised ten 
 feet above its former level. The raised portion still stands up 
 above the unraised like a long perpendicular wall, which is known 
 by the name of the "Ullah Bund," or ^ God's Wall." 
 GIGANTIC UPHEAVALS. 
 And again, in 1538, in that convulsion which threw up the 
 Monte Nuovo (New Mountain), a cone of ashes 450 feet high, in 
 a sincrle night ; the whole coast of Pozzuoli, near Naples, was 
 raised twenty feet above its former level, and remains so perma- 
 nently upheaved to this day. ^ And I could mention innumerable 
 other instances of the same kind. 
 
 This then is the manner in which the earthquake does its 
 work • and it is always at work. Somewhere or other in the world, 
 there 'is perhaps not a day, certainly not a month, without an 
 earthquake. In those districts of South and Central America, 
 where the great chain of volcanic cones is situated-Chimborazo, 
 Cotopaxi, and a long list with names unmentionable, or at least 
 nnpronounceable-the inhabitants no more think of counting earth- 
 quake shocks than we do of counting showers of ram. 
 
 Indeed, in JX)me places along the coast, a shower is a greater 
 
278 AMAZING PHENOMENA OF VOLCANOES. 
 
 rarity. Even in our own island, near Pertli, a year seldom passes 
 without a sHock, happily, within the records of history, never 
 powerful enough to do any mischief. 
 
 It is not everywhere that this process goes on by fits and 
 starts. For instance, the northern gulfs, and borders of the 
 Baltic Sea, are steadily shallowing ; and the whole mass of Scan- 
 dinavia including Norway, Sweden and Lapland, is risiiig out of 
 the sea at the average rate of about two feet per century. But as 
 this fact (which is perfectly well established by reference to 
 ancient high and low water marks) is not so evidently connected 
 with the action of earthquakes, I shall not refer to it just now. 
 
 All that I want to show is, that there is a great cycle of 
 changes going on, in which the earthquake and volcano act a very 
 conspicuous part, and that part a restorative and conserv^ative 
 one ; in opposition to the steadily destructive and leveling action 
 of the ocean waters. 
 
 CAUSES OF THE PHENOMENA. 
 
 How this can happen ; what can be the origin of such an 
 enormous power thus occasionally exerting itself, will no doubt 
 seem very marvelous — little short, indeed, of miraculous inter., 
 vention — but the mystery, after all, is not quite so great as at first 
 seems. We are permitted to look a little way into these great 
 secrets ; not far enough, indeed, to clear up every difficulty, but 
 quite enough to penetrate us with admiration of that wonderful 
 system of counterbalances and compensations ; that adjustment 
 of causes and consequences, by which, throughout all nature, 
 evils are made to work their own cure ; life to spring out of death ; 
 and renovation to tread in the steps and efface the vestiges of 
 decay. 
 
 The key to the whole affair is to be foiind in the central heat 
 of the earth. This is no scientific dream, no theoretical notion, 
 but a fact established b}'- direct evidence up to a certain point, and 
 standing out from plain facts as a matter of unavoidable conclu- 
 sion, in a hundred waj'c. 
 
 We all know that when we go into a cellar out of a summer 
 
AMAZING PHENOMENA OF VOLCANOES. 27? 
 
 siin it feels cool ; but when we go into it out of a wintry frost it 
 is warm. The fact is, that a cellar, or a well, or any pit of a 
 moderate depth, has always, day and night, summer and winter, 
 the same degree of warmth, the same temperature, as it is called ; 
 and that always and everywhere is the same, or nearly the same, 
 as the average warmth of the climate of the place. Forty or fifty 
 feet deep in the ground, the thermometer here in this spot, would 
 always mark the same degree, 49°, that is, or seventeen degrees 
 above the freezing point. Under the equator, at the same depth, 
 it always stands at 84°, which is our hot summer heat, but which 
 there is the average heat of the whole year. 
 
 And this is so everywhere. Just at the surface, or a few 
 inches below it, the ground is warm in the daytime, cool at night ; 
 at two or three feet deep the difference of day and night is hardly 
 perceptible, but that of summer and winter is considerable. But 
 at forty or fifty feet this difference also disappears, and j^ou find a 
 perfectly fixed, uniform degree of warmth, day and night ; summer 
 and winter ; year after year. 
 
 HOTTER AS WE GO DOWN. 
 
 But when we go deeper, as, for instance, down into mine^* 
 or coal-pits, this one broad and general fact is always observed — • 
 everywhere, in all countries, in all latitudes, in all climates, 
 wherever there are mines, or deep subterranean caves — the deeper 
 you go, the hotter the earth is found to be. In one and the same 
 mine, each particular depth has its own particiilar degree of heat, 
 which never varies : but the lower always the hotter ; and that not 
 by a trifling, but what may well be called an astonishingly rapid 
 rate of increase — about a degree of the thermc meter additional 
 warmth for every 90 feet of additional depth, which is about 58° 
 per mile ! — so that, if we had a shaft sunk a mile deep, we should 
 find in the rock a heat of 105°, which is much hotter than the 
 hottest summer day ever experienced 
 
 It is not everywhere, however, that it is worth while to sink a 
 shaft to any great depth ; but borings for water (in what are 
 called Artesian wells) are often made to etiormous depths, and the 
 
2«0 AMAZING PHENOMENA OF VOLCANOES. 
 
 \vater always comes up hot ; and the deeper the boring, the hotter 
 the water. There is a very famous boring of this sort in Paris, at 
 La Crenelle. The water rises from a depth of 1794 feet, and its 
 temperature is 82° of our scale, which is almost that of the 
 equator. And, again, at Salzwerth, in Oeynhausen, in Germany, 
 in a boring for salt springs 2144 feet deep, the salt water comes 
 up with with a still higher heat, viz., 91°. 
 
 Then, again, we have natural hot water springs, which rise, 
 it is true, from depths we have no means of ascertaining ; but 
 which, from the earliest recorded times, have always maintained 
 the same heat. At Bath, for instance, the hottest well is 117° 
 Fahr. On the Arkansas River, in the United States, is a spring 
 of 180°, which is scalding hot ; and that out of the neighborhood 
 of an}' volcano. 
 
 MASS OF RED-HOT IRON. 
 
 Now, onl}- consider what sort of a conclusion this lands us in. 
 This globe of ours is 8000 miles in diameter ; a mile deep on its 
 surface is a mere scratch. If a man had twenty greatcoats on, 
 and I found under the first a warmth of 60° above the external 
 air, I should expect to find 60° more under the second, and 60° more 
 under the third, and so on ; and, within all, no man, but a mass of 
 red-hot iron. 
 
 Just so with the outside crust of the earth. Every mile thick 
 is such a greatcoat, and at twenty miles depth, according to this 
 rate, the ground must be fully red-hot ; and at no such ver}^ great 
 depth beyond, either the whole must be melted, or only the most 
 infusible and intractable kinds of material, such as our fireclaj^s 
 and flints, would present some degree of solidity. 
 
 In short, what the icefloes and icebergs are to the polar seas, 
 so we shall come to regard our continents and mountain-ranges 
 in relation to the ocean of melted matter beneath. I do not mean 
 to sa}^ there is no solid central mass ; there ma}^ be one, or there 
 may not, and, upon the whole, I think it likeU' enough that there 
 is — kept solid, in spite of the heat, by the enormous pressure ; 
 but that has nothing to do with the present argument. 
 
AMAZING PHENOMENA OF VOLCANOES. 281 
 
 All that I contend for is this. — Grant me a sea of liquid fire, 
 on which we are all floating — land and sea ; for the bottom of the 
 sea anyhow will not come nearly down to the lava level. The sea is 
 probably nowhere more than five or six miles deep, which is far 
 enough above that level to keep its bed from becoming red-hot. 
 
 Well, now, the land is perpetually wearing down, and the 
 materials being carried out to sea. The coat of heavier matter is 
 thinning off towards the land, and thickening over all the bed of the 
 sea. What must happen ? If a ship float even on her keel, trans- 
 fer weight from the starboard to her larboard side, will she con- 
 tinue to float even ? No, certainly. She will heel over to larboard. 
 Many a good ship has gone to the bottom in this way. If the 
 continents be lightened, they will rise ; if the bed of the sea receive 
 additional weight, it will sink. 
 
 BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN SINKING. 
 
 The bottom of the Pacific is sinking, in point of fact. Not 
 that the Pacific is becoming deeper. This seems a paradox ; but 
 it is easily explained. The whole bed of the sea is in the act of 
 being pressed down by the laying on of new solid substance over 
 its bottom. The new bottom then is laid upon the old, and so the 
 actual bed of the ocean remains at or nearly at the same distance 
 from the surface water. But what becomes of the islands ? They 
 form part and parcel of the old bottom ; and Dr. Darwin has 
 shown, by the most curious and convincing proofs, that they are 
 sinking, and have been sinking for ages, and are only kept above 
 water — by what, think you? By the labors of the coral insects, 
 which always build up to the surface ! 
 
 It is impossible but that this increase of pressure in some 
 places and relief in others must be very unequal in their bearings. 
 So that at some place or other this solid floating crust must be 
 brought into a state of strain, and if there be a weak or soft part, 
 a crack will at last take place. When this happens, down goes 
 the land on the heavy side and up on the light side. Now this is 
 exactly what took place in the earthquake which raised the Ullah 
 Bund in Cutch. 
 
282 AMAZING PHENOMENA OF VOLCANOES, 
 
 T "have told yoii of a great crack drawn across the country, not 
 far from the coast line ; the inland country rose ten feet, but much 
 of the sea-coast, and probably a large tract in the bed of the Indian 
 Ocean, sank considerably below its former level. And just as you 
 see when a crack takes place in ice, the water oozes up ; so this 
 kind of thing is always, or almost always, followed by an upburst 
 of the subterranean fiery matter. The earthquake of Cutch was 
 terminated by the outbreak of a volcano at the town of Bhooi, which 
 it destroyed. 
 
 Now where, following out this idea, should we naturally 
 expect such cracks and outbreaks to happen ? Why, of course, 
 aloug those lines where the relief of pressure on the land side is 
 the greatest, and also its increase on the sea side ; that is to say, 
 along or in the neighborhood of the sea-coasts, where the destruc- 
 tion of the land is going on with most activity. 
 
 CLOSE TO THE COAST LINE. 
 
 Well, now, it is a remarkable fact in the history of volcanoes, 
 that there is hardly an instance of an active volcano at any con- 
 siderable distance from the sea cost. All the great volcanic chain 
 of the Andes is close to the western coast line of America. Etna 
 is close to the sea ; so is Vesuvius ; Teneriffe is very near the 
 African coast ; Mount Erebus is on the edge of the great Antartic 
 continent. 
 
 Out of 225 volcanoes which are known to be in actual eruption 
 over the whole earth within the last 150 years, I remember only 
 a single instance of one more than 320 miles from the sea, and 
 that is on the edge of the Caspian, the largest of the inland seas 
 — I mean Mount Demawend in Persia. 
 
 Suppose from this, or any other cause, a crack to take place in 
 the crust of the earth. Don't imagine that the melted matter 
 below will simply ooze up quietly, as water does from under an 
 ice-crack. No such thing. There is an element in the case we 
 have not considered ; steam and condensed gases. We all know 
 what takes place in a high pressure steam-boiler, with what violence 
 the contents escape, and what havoc takes place. 
 
AMAZING PHENOMENA OF VOLCANOES. 283 
 
 Now there is no doubt tliat among tlie minerals of the subterra- 
 nean world, there is water in abundance, and sulphur, and many other 
 vaporizable substances, all kept subdued and repressed by the 
 enormous pressure. Let this pressure be relieved, and forth they 
 rush, and the nearer they approach the surface the more they 
 expand, and the greater is the explosive force they acquire ; till at 
 length, after more or fewer preparatory shocks, each accompanied 
 with progressive weakening of the overlying strata, the surface 
 finally breaks up, and forth rushes the imprisoned power, with all 
 the awful violence or a volcanic eruption. 
 
 Certainly a volcano does seem to be a very bad neighbor ; 
 and yet it affords a compensation in the extraordinary richness of 
 the volcanic soil, and the fertilizing quality of the ashes thrown 
 out. The flanks of Somma (the exterior crater of Vesuvius) are 
 covered with vineyards producing wonderful wine, and whoever 
 has visited Naples, will not fail to be astonished at the productive- 
 ness of volcanized territory as contrasted with the barrenness of 
 
 the limestone rocks borderins on it. 
 t ^ 
 
 THREE CROPS AT ONCE. 
 
 There. you will see the amazing sight (as an English farmer 
 would call it) of a triple crop growing at once on the same soil ; a 
 vineyprd, an orchard, and a cornfield all in one. A magnificent 
 wheat crop, five or six feet high, overhung with clustering grape- 
 vines swinging from one apple or pear tree to another in the most 
 luxuriant festoons ! When I visited Somma, to see the country 
 where the celebrated wine, the Lacryma Christi, is grown, it was 
 the festival of Madonna del Arco. Her church was crowded to 
 suffocation with a hot and dusty assemblage of the peasantry. 
 The fine impalpable volcanic dust was everywhere ; in your eyes, 
 in your mouth, begriming every pore ; and there I saw what I 
 shall never forget. Jammed among the crowd, I felt something 
 jostling ray legs. 
 
 Looking down, and the crowd making way, I beheld a line 
 of worshipers crawling on their hands and knees from the door of 
 the church to the altar, licking the dusty pavement all the way 
 
284 AMAZING PHENOMENA OF VOLCANOES. 
 
 with their tongues, positively applied to the ground and no mis- 
 take. No trifling dose of LacrN-ma would be required to wash 
 down what the}- must have swallowed on that journey, and I have 
 no doubt it was administered pretty copiously after the penance 
 Mas over. 
 
 Now I come to consider the manner in which an earthquake 
 ^s propagated from place to place ; how it travels, in short. It 
 runs along the earth precisely in the same manner, and according 
 to the same mechanical laws as a wave along the sea, or rather as 
 the waves of sound run along the air, but quicker. 
 
 The earthquake which destroyed Lisbon ran out from thence, 
 as from a centre, in all directions, at a rate averaging about twent}'- 
 miles per minute, as far as could be gathered from a comparison 
 of the time of its occurrence at different places ; but there is 
 little doubt that it must have been retarded by having to traverse 
 all sorts of ground, for a blow or shock of any description is con- 
 veyed through the substance on which it is delivered with the 
 rapidit}^ of sound in that substance. 
 
 SOUND CONVEYED BY WATER. 
 
 Perhaps it may be new to many to be told that sound is con- 
 vej^ed b}' water, by stone, by iron, and indeed, by everything, and 
 at a diff'erent rate for each. In air it travels at the rate of about 
 1 140 feet per second, or about thirteen miles a minute. In water 
 much faster, more than four times as fast (4700 feet). In iron ten 
 times as fast (11,400 feet), or about 130 miles in a minute, so that 
 a blow delivered endways at one end of an iron rod, 130 miles 
 long, would only reach the other after a lapse of a minute, and a 
 pull at one end of an iron wire of that length, would require a 
 minute before it would be felt at the other. 
 
 But the substance of the earth through which the shock is 
 conveyed is not only far less elastic than iron, but it does not 
 form a coherent, connected body ; it is full of interruptions, cracks, 
 loose materials, and all of these tend to deaden and retard the 
 shock ; and putting together all the accounts of all the earth- 
 quakes that have been exactly observed, their rate of travel may 
 
AMAZING PHENOMENA OF VOLCANOES, 2«6 
 
 be taken to vary from as low as twelve or thirteen miles a minute 
 to seventy or eighty ; but perhaps the low velocities arise from 
 oblique waves. 
 
 The way, then, that we ma}^ conceive an earthquake to travel 
 is this — I shall take the case which is most common, when the 
 motion of the ground to-and-fro is horizontal. How far each par- 
 ticular spot on the surface of the ground is actuall}^ pushed from 
 its place there is no way of ascertaining, since all the surrounding 
 objects receive the same impulse almost at the same instant of 
 time, but there are many indications that it is often several 
 
 yards. 
 
 GROUND SMITTEN BY TREES. 
 
 In the earthquake of Cutch, which I have mentioned, trees 
 were seen to flog the ground with their branches, which proves 
 that their stems must have been jerked suddenly away for some 
 considerable distance and as suddenly pushed back ; and the same 
 conclusion follows from the sudden rise of the water of lakes on 
 the side where the shock reaches them, and its fall on the opposite 
 side ; the bed of the lake has been jerked away for a certain dis- 
 tance from under the water and pulled back. 
 
 Now, suppose a row of sixty persons, standing a mile apart 
 from each other, in a straight line, in the direction in which the 
 shock travels ; at a rate, we will suppose, of sixty miles per 
 minute ; and let the ground below the first get a sudden and 
 violent shove, carrying it a yard in the direction of the next. 
 Since this shock will not reach the next till after the lapse of one 
 second of time, it is clear that the space between the two will be 
 shortened by a yard, and the ground — that is to sa}', not the mere 
 loose soil on the surface, but the whole mass of solid rock below, 
 down to an unknown depth — compressed, or driven into a 
 smaller space. 
 
 It is this compression that carries the shock forwards. The 
 elastic force of the rocky matter, like a coiled spring acts both 
 ways ; it drives back the first man to his old place, and shoves the 
 second a yard nearer the third, and so on. Instead of men place 
 a row o'tall buildings, or columns, and they will tumble down iu 
 
286 AMAZING PHENOMENA OF VOLCANOES. 
 
 successiou, the base fl3'iug fonvards, and leaving the top behind 
 to drop on the soil on the side from which the shock came. 
 
 This is just what has happened in Messina in the great Catlab-- 
 rian earthquake. As the shock ran along the ground, the houses 
 of the Faro were seen to topple down in succession ; beginning 
 at one end and running on to the other, as if a succession of mines 
 had been sprung. In the earthquake in Cutch, a sentinel stand- 
 ing at one end of a long straight line of wall, saw the wall bow 
 for^vard and recover itself; v^*- aV :-. • once, but with a swell like a 
 wave running all along it with immense rapidit}'. 
 
 In this case it is evident that the earthquake wave must have 
 its front oblique to the direction of the wall (just as an obliquely- 
 held \ule runs along the edge of a page of paper while it advances, 
 like a wave of the sea, perpendicularly to its own length). 
 
 CONCERNING EXTINCT VOLCANOES. 
 
 In reference to extinct volcanoes, I may just mention that any 
 one who wishes to see some of the finest specimens in Europe may 
 do so b}' making a couple of days' railway travel to Clermont, in the 
 department of the Pu3'-de-Dome in France. There he will find a 
 magnificent series of volcanic cones, fields of ashes, streams of 
 lavas, and basaltic terraces of platforms, proving the volcanic 
 action to have been continued for countless ages before the present 
 surface of the earth was formed; and all so clear that he who runs 
 ma}'- read their lesson. There can there be seen a configuration of 
 surface quite resembling what telescopes show in the most volcanic 
 districts of the moon. Let not my hearers be startled ; half the 
 moon s face is covered with unmistakable craters of extinct 
 volcanoes. 
 
 Many of the lavas of Auvergne and the Puj'-de-Dome are 
 basaltic ; that is, consisting of columns placed close together ; 
 and some of the cones are quite complete, and covered with loose 
 ashes and cinders, just as Vesuvius is at this hour. 
 
 In the study of these vast and awful phenomena we are 
 brought in contact with those immense and rude powers of nature 
 which seem to conve}^ to the imagination the impress of brute 
 
AMAZING PHENOMENA OF VOLCANOES. 287 
 
 force and lawless violence ; but it is not so. Sucli an idea is not 
 more derogatory to the wisdom and benevolence that prevails 
 throughout all the scheme of creation than it is in itself erroneous. 
 In their wildest paroxysms the rage of the volcano and the earth- 
 quake is subject to great and immutable laws : they feel the 
 bridle and obey it. 
 
 The volcano bellows forth its pent-up overplus of energy 
 and sinks into long and tranquil repose. The earthquake rolls 
 awa}^, and indnstr}^, that balm which nature knows how to shed 
 over every wound, effaces its traces, and festoons its ruins with 
 flowers. There is mighty and rough work to be accomplished, 
 and it cannot be done by gentle means. It seems, no doubt, terri- 
 ble, awful, perhaps harsh, that twenty or thirty thousand lives 
 should be swept away in a moment by a sudden and unforeseen 
 calamity ; but we must remember that sooner or later every one of 
 those lives must be called for, and it is by no means the most 
 sudden end that is the most afllictive. 
 
 NATURE'S TREMENDOUS ENERGIES. 
 
 It is well too that we should contemplate occasionally, if it 
 were onh'- to teach us hnmilit}^ and submission, the immense ener- 
 gies which are everywhere at work in maintaining the system of 
 nature we see going on so smoothly and tranquilly around us, and 
 of which these furious outbreaks, after all, are but minute, and 
 for the moment unbalanced surpluses in the great account. The 
 energy requisite to overthrow a mountain is as a drop in the ocean 
 compared with that which holds it in its place, and makes it a 
 mountain, Chemistr}- tells us that the forces constantly in action 
 to maintain a single grain of water in its habitual state, when 
 only partially and sparingly let loose in the form of electricity, 
 would manifest themselves as a powerful flash of lightning. 
 
 And we learn from optical science that in even the smallest 
 element of every material body, nay, even in what we call empty 
 space, there are forces in perpetual action to which even such 
 energies sink into insignificance. Yet, amid all this, nature 
 iolds her even course: the flowers blossom; animals enjoy theii 
 
288 AMAZING PHENOMENA OF VOLCANOES. 
 
 brief span of existence ; and man has leisure and opportunity to 
 contemplate and adore, secure of the watchful care which provides 
 for his well-being at every instant that he is permitted to remain 
 on earth. 
 
 The first great earthquake of which any very distinct knowl- 
 edge has reached us is that which occurred in the year 63 after 
 our Saviour, which produced great destruction in the neighbor- 
 hood of Vesuvius, and shattered the cities of Pompeii and Hercu- 
 laneum upon the Bay of Naples, though it did not destroy them. 
 This earthquake is chiefly remarkable as having been the fore- 
 runner and the warning (if that warning could have been under- 
 stood) of the first eruption of Vesuvius on record, which followed 
 sixteen years afterwards in the year 79. 
 
 DID NOT KNOW IT WAS A VOLCANO. 
 
 Before that time none of the ancients had any notion of its 
 being a volcano, though Pompeii itself is paved with its lava. 
 The crater was probably filled, or at least the bottom occupied, by 
 a lake ; and we read of it as the stronghold of the rebel chief 
 Spartacus, who, when lured there by the Roman army, escaped 
 with his followers by clambering up the steep sides by the help 
 of the wild vines that festooned them. The ground since the first 
 earthquake in 63 had often been shaken by slight shocks, when 
 at length, in August 79, they became more numerous and violent, 
 and, on the night preceding the eruption, so tremendous as to 
 threaten everything with destruction. 
 
 A morning of comparative repose succeeded, and the terrified 
 inhabitants of those devoted towns no doubt breathed more freely, 
 and hoped the worst was over, when, about one o'clock in the 
 afternoon, the Elder Pliny, who was stationed in command of the 
 Roman fleet at Misenum in full view of Vesuvius, beheld a 
 huge black cloud ascending from the mountain, which, " rising 
 slowly always higher," at last spread out aloft like the head of 
 one of those picturesque flat-topped pines which form such an 
 ornament of the Italian landscape. 
 
 The meaning of such a phenomenon was to Pliny and to 
 
AMAZING PHENOMENA OF VOLCANOES. 
 
 289 
 
 everyone a mystery. We know now too well what it imports, 
 and they were not long left in donbt. From that cloud descended 
 
 TERRIFIC ERUPTION OF THE GREAT CRATER OF VESUVIUS. 
 
 Stones, ashes, and pumice ; and the cloud itself lowered down 
 
 upon the surrounding country, involving land and sea in profound 
 
 darkness, pierced by flashes of fire more vivid than lightning. 
 19-s. F. 
 
290 AMAZING PHENOMENA OF VOLCANOES. 
 
 These, with the volumes of ashes that began to eucuinber 
 the soil, and which covered the sea with floating pumice-stone ; 
 the constant hea\-ing of the ground ; and the sudden recoil of the 
 sea, form a picture which is wonderfully well described by the 
 the Younger Plinv. His uncle, animated by an eager desire to 
 know what was ooiuo- on, and to afford aid to the inhabitants of 
 the towns, made sail for the nearest point of the coast and landed ; 
 but was instanth' enveloped in the dense sulphureous vapor that 
 swept down from the mountain, and perished miserably. 
 
 It does not seem that any lava flowed on that occasion. 
 Pompeii was buried under the ashes ; Herculaneum by a torrent 
 of mud, probably the contents of the crater, ejected at the first 
 explosion. This was most fortunate. We owe to it the preserva- 
 tion of some of the most wonderful remains of antiquity. For it 
 is not 3-et much more than a century ago that, in digging a well at 
 Portici near Naples, the Theatre of Herculaneum was discovered, 
 some sixty feet under ground, — then houses, baths, statues, and, 
 most interesting of all, a library full of books ; and those books 
 still legible, and among them the ^\'ritiugs of some ancient 
 authors which had never before been met with, but which have 
 now been read, copied, and published, while hundreds and 
 hundreds, I am sorry to say, still remain unopened. 
 
 Pompeii was not buried so deep ; the walls of some of the 
 buildings appeared among the modern vineyards, and led to exca- 
 vations which were easy, the ashes being light and loose. And 
 there you now may walk through the streets, enter the houses 
 and find the skeletons of their inmates, some in the very act of 
 trying to escape. Nothing can be more strange and striking. 
 
 Since that time Vesuvius has been frequently, but very 
 irregularlv, in eruption. The next after Pompeii was in the year 
 202, imder Severus, and in 472 occurred an eruption so tremendous 
 that all Europe was covered by the ashes, and even Constantinople 
 thrown into alarm. This may seem to savor of the marvelous, 
 but before I have done I hope to show that it is not beyond what 
 we know of the power of existing volcanoes. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Great Volcanic Eruptions in ]\Iany Parts of the World. 
 Story of IMt. Etna. — Convulsions in South America 
 AND Elsewhere. 
 
 T SHALIy not, of course, occupy attentiou with a liistorj^ of Vesu- 
 ^ vius, but pass at ouce to the eruption of 1779 — one of the 
 most interesting- on record, from the excellent account given of 
 it by Sir William Hamilton, who was then resident at Naples as 
 our Minister, and watched it throughout with the eye of an artist 
 as well as the scrutiny of a philosopher. 
 
 In 1767, there had been a considerable eruption, during M-liich 
 Pliny's account of the great pine-like, flat-topped, spreading mass 
 of smoke had been superbly exemplified ; extending over the 
 Island of Capri, which is twenty-eight miles from Vesuvius. The 
 showers of ashes, the lava currents, the lightnings, thunderings, 
 and earthquakes were very dreadful ; but the}- were at once 
 brought to a close when the mob insisted that the head of St. 
 Januarius should be brought out and shown to the mountain ; and 
 when this was done, all the uproar ceased on the instant, and 
 Wsuvius became as quiet as a lamb ! 
 
 He did not continue so, however, and it would have been well 
 for Naples if the good Saint's head could have been pennancntl}^ 
 fixed in some conspicuous place in sight of the hill — for from 
 that time till the year 1779 it never was quiet. 
 
 In the spring of that year it began to pour out lava; and on 
 one occasion, when Sir William Hamilton approached too near, 
 the running stream was on the point of surrouudinghim ; and the 
 sulphureous vapor cut off his retreat, so that his onlv mode of 
 escape was to w^alk across the lava, which, to his astonishment, 
 and, no doubt, to his great jo}^, he found accompanied with no 
 difficulty, and with no more inconvenience than what proceeded 
 from the radiation of beat on his legs and feet from the scoriae 
 and cinders with which the ext:rnal crust of the lava was loaded; 
 
 291 
 
292 ERUPTIONS IK MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD. ^ 
 
 aud which in great measure intercepted and confined the glowing 
 heat of the ignited mass below. 
 
 In such cases, and when cooled down to a certain point, the 
 motion of the lava-stream is slow and creeping ; rather rolling- 
 over itself than flowing like a river ; the top becoming the bottom, 
 owing to the toughness of the half-congealed crust. When it 
 issues, however, from am^ accessible vent, it is described as per- 
 fectly liquid, of an intense white heat, and spouting or welling 
 forth with extreme rapidity. 
 
 So Sir Humphrev Davy described it in an eruption at which 
 he was present ; and so Sir William Hamilton, in the eruption we 
 are now concerned with, saw it " bubbling up violently " from 
 one of its fountains on the slope of the volcano, " with a hissing 
 and crackling noise, like that of an artificial firework ; and fonn- 
 ing, bv the continual splashing up of the vitrified matter, a sort 
 of dome or arch over the crevice from which it issued," which was 
 all, internally, "red-hot like a heated oven.'' 
 
 RUMBLING NOISES AND EXPLOSIONS. 
 
 However, as time went on, this quiet mode of getting rid of 
 its contents would no longer suffice, and the usual SA^mptoms of 
 more violent action — rumbling noises and explosions within the 
 mountain ; puifs of smoke from its crater, and jets of red-hot stones 
 and ashes — continued till the end of July, when they increased 
 to such a degree as to exhibit at night the most beautiful firework 
 imaginable. 
 
 The eruption came to its climax from the 5th to the loth of 
 August, on the former of which days, after the ejection of an 
 enormous volume of white clouds, piled like bales of the whitest 
 cotton, in a mass exceeding four times the height and size of the 
 mountain itself; the lava began to overflow the rim of the crater, 
 and stream in torrents down the steep slope of the cone. This 
 was continued till the Sth, when the great mass of the lava would 
 seem to have been evacuated, and no longer repressing by its 
 weight the free discharge of the imprisoned gases, allowed what 
 remaiued to be ejected in fountains of fire, carried up to an 
 
ERL'ITIONS IX MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD. 
 
 29n 
 
 immense lieiglit in die air. The description of one of tliese I 
 must give in the pictnresque and vivid words of Sir William 
 Hamilton hiinself. 
 
 " About nine o'clock," he says, on Sunday the 8th of August, 
 " there was a loud report, which shook the houses at Portici and 
 
 NAPLES. SHOWING MOUNT VESUVIUS IN THE DISTANCE. 
 
 its neighborhood to such a degree as to alarm the inhabitants an^l 
 drive them out into the streets. ]\Iany windows were broken, and 
 as I have since seen, walls cracked by the concussion of the air 
 from that explosion. In one instant a fountain of liquid trans- 
 parent fire began to rise, and gradually increasing, arrived at so 
 amazing a height as to strike eveiy one who beheld it with the 
 most awful astonishment. I shall scarce! v be credited when I 
 
294 ERUPTIONS IN MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD. 
 
 assure you that, to the best of my judgment, the height of this 
 stupendous column of fire could not be less than three times that 
 of Vesuvius itself; which, you kuow, rises perpendicularly near 
 3,700 feet above the level of the sea." (The height of my own 
 measurement in 1824 is 3,920 feet.) 
 
 "Puffs of smoke, as black as can possibly be imagined, 
 suceeded one another hastily, and accompanied the red-hot, 
 transparent, and liquid lava, interrupting its splendid brightness* 
 here and there b}^ patches of the darkest hue. Within these 
 puffs of smoke, at the very moment of their emission from the 
 crater, I could perceive a bright but pale electrical fire playing 
 about in zigzag lines. 
 
 THROWN UPWARD THOUSANDS OF FEET. 
 
 " The liquid lava, mixed with scoriae and stones, after having 
 mounted, I veritably believe at least 10,000 feet, falling perpen- 
 dicularly on Vesuvius, covered its whole cone, part of that of 
 Somma, and the valle^^ between them. The falling matter being 
 nearly as vivid and inflamed as that which was continuall}' issuing 
 fresh from the crater, formed with it one complete bod}^ of fire, 
 which could not be less than two miles and a half in breadth, and 
 of the extraordinar}^ height above mentioned ; casting a heat to 
 the distance of at least six miles around it. 
 
 "The brushwood of the mountain of Somma was soon in flame, 
 which, being of a different tint from the deep red of the matter 
 thrown out from the volcano, and from the silvery blue of the 
 electrical fire, still added to the contrast of this most extraordinary 
 scene. After the column of fire had continued in full force for 
 nearly half an hour, the eruption ceased at once, and Vesuvius 
 remained sullen and silent." 
 
 The lightnings here described arose evidently in part from 
 the chemical activit}^ of gaseous decompositions going forward, in 
 part to the friction of steam, and in part from the still more 
 intense friction of the dust, stones and ashes encountering one 
 another in the air, in analog}^ to the electric manifestations which 
 accompany the dust storms in India. 
 
ERUPTIONS IN MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD. 29^5 
 
 To give an idea of tlie state of the inliabitants of tlie country 
 when an explosion is going on, I will make one other extract: — 
 "The mountain of Somma, at the foot of which Ottaiano is situ- 
 ated, hides Vesuvius from its sight, so that, until the eruption 
 became considerable, it was not visible to them. On Sunday night, 
 when the noise increased and the fire began to appear above the 
 mountain of Somma, many of the inhabitants of the town flew to 
 the churches, and others were preparing to quit the town, when a 
 sudden violent report was heard, soon after which they found them- 
 selves involved in a thick cloud of smoke and minute ashes; a 
 horrid clashing noise was heard in the air, and presently fell a 
 deluge of stones and large scoriae, some of which scoriae were of 
 the diameter of seven or eight feet, and must have weighed more 
 than one hundred pounds before they were broken by their falls, 
 as some of the fragments of them which I picked up in the streets 
 still weighed upw^ards of sixty pounds. 
 
 GLEAMING SPARKS OF FIRE. 
 
 " When the large vitrified masses either struck against each 
 other in the air or fell on the ground, they broke in many pieces, 
 and covered a large space around them with vivid sparks of fire, 
 which communicated their heat to everything that was combustible. 
 In an instant the town and country about it was on fire in many 
 parts ; for in the vineyards there were several straw huts which 
 had been erected for the watchmen of the grapes, all of which 
 were burnt. A great magazine of wood in the heart of the town 
 was all in a blaze, and had there been much wind, the flames must 
 have spread universally, and all the inhabitants would hav« 
 infallibly been burnt in their houses, for it was impossible for them 
 to stir out. 
 
 "Some who attempted it with pillows, tables, chairs, tops of wint 
 casks, etc., on their heads, were either knocked down or driven 
 back to their close quarters under arches or in the cellars of the 
 houses. Many were wounded, but only tw^o persons have died of 
 the wounds they received from this dreadful volcanic shower. To 
 add to the horror of the scene, incessant volcanic lightning was 
 
2% vKUl'TIONS IN MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD. 
 
 writhing about the black cloud that surrounded them, and the 
 sulphurous smell and heat would scarcely allow them to draw their 
 breath." 
 
 The next volcano I shall introduce is ^tna, the grandest of 
 all our European volcanoes. I ascended it in 1824, and found its 
 height by a very careful barometric measurement to be 10,772 
 feet above the sea, which, by the way, agrees within some eight or 
 ten feet with Admiral Smyth's measurement 
 
 The scenery of JEtna. is on the grandest scale. Ascending 
 from Catania you skirt the stream of lava which destroyed a part 
 of that city in 1669, and which ran into the sea, forming a jetty 
 or breakwater that now gives Catania what it never had before, 
 the advantage of a harbor. There it lies as hard, rugged, barren, 
 and fresh-looking as if it had flowed but yesterday. In many 
 places it is full of huge caverns ; great air-bubbles, into which one 
 may ride on horseback (at least large enough) and which com- 
 municate, in a succession of horrible vaults, where one might 
 wander and lose one's self without hope of escape. 
 
 BRISTLING WITH SMALL VOLCANOES. 
 
 Higher up, near Nicolosi, is tlie spot from which that lava 
 flowed. It is marked b}' two volcanic cones, each of them a con- 
 siderable mountain, called the Monti Rossi, rising 300 feet above 
 the slope of the hill, and which were thrown up on that occasion. 
 Indeed, one of the most remarkable features of ^tna is that of 
 its flanks bristling over with innumerable smaller volcanoes. For 
 the height is so great that the lava now scarcely ever rises to the 
 top of the crater ; for before that, its immense weight breaks 
 through at the sides. 
 
 In one of the eruptions that happened in the early part of the 
 century, I forget the date, but I think it was in 18 19, and which 
 was described to me on the spot by an eye-witness — the Old Man 
 of the Mountain, Mario Gemellaro — the side of ^tna was rent by 
 a great fissure or crack, beginning near the top, and throwing out 
 jets of lava from openings fourteen or fifteen in number all the 
 way down, so as to form a row of fiery fountains j'ising from dif- 
 
ERUPTIONS IN MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD. 21^7 
 
 ferent levels, aud all ascending nearh' to the same height : there- 
 by proving them all to have originated in the great internal cis. 
 tern as it were, the crater being filled np to the top level. 
 
 From the snnimit of ^-Etna extends a view of extraordinary 
 magnificence. The whole of Sicily lies at your feet, aud far 
 beyond it are seen a string of lesser volcanoes; the Lipari Islands, 
 between Sicily and the Italian coast ; one of which, Stromboli, is 
 always in eruption, unceasingly throwing up ashes, smoke, aud 
 liquid fire. 
 
 But I must not linger on the summit of ^^tna. We will now 
 take a flight thence, all across Europe, to Iceland — a wonderful 
 land of frost and fire. It is full of volcanoes, one of which, Hecla, 
 has been twenty-two times in eruption within the last 800 years. 
 Besides Hecla, there are five others, from which in the same 
 period twenty eruptions have burst forth, luaking aboutone every 
 twenty ^-ears. The most formidable of these was that which hap- 
 pened in 1783, a year also memorable as that of the terrible earth- 
 quake in Calabria. In ]\Iay of that year, a bluish fog was observed 
 over the mountain called Skaptur Jokul, and the neighborhood 
 was shaken by earthquakes. 
 
 DARKENED THE WHOLE COUNTRY. 
 
 After a while a great pillar of smoke was observed to ascend 
 from it, which darkened the whole surrounding district, and 
 descended in a whirlwind of ashes. On the loth of May, innum- 
 erable fountains of fire were seen shooting up through the ice and 
 snow which covered the mountain ; and the principal river, called 
 the Skapta, after rolling down a flood of foul and poisonous water, 
 disappeared. 
 
 Two days after, a torrent of lava poured down into the bed 
 which the river had deserted. The river had run in a ravine, 600 
 feet deep and 200 broad. This the lava entirely filled ; and not only 
 so, but it overflowed the surrounding country, and ran into a great 
 lake, from which it instantly expelled the Mater in an explosion 
 of steam. When the lake was fairly filled, the lava again over 
 flowed and divided into two streams, one of which covered some 
 
298 ERUPTIONS IN MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD. 
 
 ancient lava fields ; the other re-entered tlie bed of tlie Skapta 
 lower down ; and presented the astonnding site of a cataract of 
 liquid fire pouring over what was formerly the waterfall of 
 Stapafoss. 
 
 This was the greatest eruption on record in Europe. It lasted 
 in its violence till the end of August, and closed with a violent 
 earthquake ; but for nearl}'- the whole year a canopy of cinder- 
 laden cloud hung over the island ; the Faroe Islands, na}^, even 
 Shetland and the Orkneys, were deluged with the ashes ; and vol- 
 canic dust and a preternatural smoke, which obscured the sun, 
 covered all Europe as far as the Alps, over which it could not rise. 
 
 GREAT DESTRUCTION OF LIFE. 
 
 It has been surmised that the great Fireball of August i8, 
 1783, which traversed all England, and the Continent, from the 
 North Sea to Rome, by far the greatest ever known (for it was 
 more than half a mile in diameter), was somehow connected with 
 the electric excitement of the upper atmosphere produced by this 
 enormous discharge of smoke and ashes. The destruction of life 
 in Iceland was frightful ; 9000 men, 11,000 cattle, 28,000 horses 
 and 190,000 sheep perished : mostly by suffocation. The lava 
 ejected has been computed to have amounted in volume to more 
 than twenty cubic miles. 
 
 We shall now proceed to still more remote regions, and describe, 
 in as few words as may be, tw^o immense eruptions — one in Mexico, 
 in the year 1759; the other in the Island of Sumbawa in the 
 Eastern Archipelago, in 18 15. 
 
 I ought to mention, by way of preliminary, that almost the 
 whole line of coast of South and Central America, from Mexico 
 southwards as far as Valparaiso — that is to say, nearl}^ the w^hole 
 chain of the Andes — is one mass of volcanoes. In Mexico and 
 Central America there are two and twenty, and in Quito, Peru, and 
 Chili, six and twenty more, in activity ; and nearly as many more 
 extinct ones, any one of which ma}^ at any moment break out 
 afresh. This does not prevent the country from being inhabited 
 fertile and well cultivated. 
 
ERUPTIONS IN MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD. 299 
 
 Well : in a district of Mexico celebrated for tlie growth of 
 tlie finest cotton, between two streams called Cuitimba and San 
 Pedro, wbich furnished water for irrigation, lay the farm and 
 homestead of Don Pedro de Jurullo, one of the richest and most 
 fertile properties in that country. He was a thriving man and 
 lived in comfort as a large proprietor, little expecting the mischief 
 that was to befall him. 
 
 In June 1759, however, a subterranean noise was heard in this 
 peaceful region. Hollow sounds of the most alarming nature 
 were succeeded by frequent earthquakes, succeeding one another 
 for fifty or sixty days ; but they died away, and in the beginning 
 of September everything seemed to have returned to its usual 
 state of tranquillity. Suddenly, on the night of the 28th of Sep- 
 tember, the horrible noises recommenced. All the inhabitants 
 fled in terror, and the whole tract of ground, from three to four 
 square miles in extent, rose up in the form of a bladder to a height 
 of upwards of 500 feet. 
 
 IMMENSE TORRENT OF BOILING MUD. 
 
 Flames broke forth over a surface of more than half a square 
 league, and through a thick cloud of ashes illuminated by this 
 ghastly light, the refugees, who had ascended a mountain at some 
 distance, could see the ground as if softened by the heat, and 
 swelling and sinking like an agitated sea. Vast rents opened in 
 the earth, into which the two rivers I mentioned precipitated 
 themselves, but so far from quenching the fires, only seemed to 
 make them more furious. Finally, the whole plain became 
 covered with an immense torrent of boiling mud, out of which 
 sprang thousands of little volcanic cones called Hornitos, or 
 ovens. 
 
 But the most astonishing part of the whole was the opening 
 of a chasm vomiting out fire, and red-hot stones and ashes, which 
 accumulated so as to form " a range of six large mountain masses, 
 one of which is upwards of 1600 feet in height above the old 
 level, and which is now known as the volcano of Jurullo. It is 
 continually burning, and for a whole year continued to throw up 
 
J^OO ERUPTIONS IN MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD. 
 
 an immense quantity of ashes, lava and fragments of rock. Tlie 
 roofs of houses at the town or village of Queretaro, upwards of 
 140 miles distant, were covered with the ashes. 
 
 The two rivers have again appeared, issuing at some distance 
 from among the hornitos, but no longer as sources of wealth and 
 fertility, for they are scalding hot, or at least were so when Baron 
 Humboldt visited them several 3'ears after the event. The ground 
 even then retained a violent heat, and the hornitos were pouring 
 forth columns of steam twenty or tliirty feet high, with a rum- 
 bling noise like that of a steam boiler. 
 
 The island of Sumbawa is one of that curious line of islands 
 which links on Australia to the southeastern corner of Asia. It 
 forms, with one or two smaller volcanic islands, a prolongation of 
 Java, at that time, in 18 15, a British possession, and under the 
 government of Sir Stamford Raffles, to whom we owe the account 
 of the eruption, and who took a great deal of pains to ascertain 
 all the particulars. Java itself, I should observe, is one rookery- 
 of volcanoes, and so are all the adjoining islands in that long 
 crescent-shaped line I refer to. 
 
 EXTRAORDINARY ERUPTION. 
 
 On the island of Sumbawa is the volcano of Tomboro, which 
 broke out into eruption on the 5th of April in that 3'ear, and I 
 can hardly do better than quote the account of it in Sir Stamford 
 Raffles' own words : 
 
 " Almost every one," sa3's this writer, " is acquainted with 
 the intermitting convulsions of Etna and Vesuvius as they 
 appear in the descriptions of the poet, and the authentic accounts 
 of the naturalist ; but the most extraordinary of them can bear 
 no comparison, in point of duration and force, with that of Mount 
 Tomboro in the island of Sumbawa ! This eruption extended 
 perceptible evidences of its existence over the whole of the 
 Molucca Islands, over Java, a considerable portion of the Celebes, 
 Sumatra and Borneo, to a circumference of 1000 .'Statute miles 
 from its centre" (i. e., to 1000 miles distance), "by tremulous 
 motions and the report of explosions. 
 
ERUPTIONS IN MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD. 801 
 
 " In a short time tlie whole mountain near the Sang'ir 
 appeared like a body of liquid fire, extending itself in every direc- 
 tion. The fire and columns of flame continued to rage with 
 unabated fury until the darkness, caused by the quantity of falling 
 matter, obscured it about 8 P. M. Stones at this time fell \'ery 
 thick at Sang'ir, some of them as large as two fists, but generally 
 not larger than walnuts. Between 9 and 10 P. M. ashes began 
 to fall, and soon after a violent whirlwind ensued, which blew down 
 nearly every house of Sang'ir, carrying the roofs and light parts 
 away with it. 
 
 HUGE TREES TORN UP. 
 
 " In the port of Sang'ir, adjoining Sumbawa, its effects were 
 much more violent, tearing up by the roots the largest trees, and 
 carrying them into the air, together with men, horses, cattle, and 
 whatsoever came within its influence. This will account for the 
 immense number of floating trees seen at sea. The sea rose nearly 
 twelve feet higher than it had ever been known to do before, and 
 completely spoiled the only small spots of rice laud in Sang'ir^ 
 sweeping away houses and everything within its reach. The 
 whirlwind lasted about an hour. No explosions were heard until 
 the whirlwind had ceased at about 11 P. M. From midnight 
 till the evening of the nth they continued without intermi^^c^ou ; 
 after that time their violence moderated and they were heard only 
 at intervals ; but the explosions did not cease entirely until the 
 15th of July. 
 
 " Of all the villages round Tomboro, Tempo, containing 
 about forty inhabitants, is the only one remaining. In Pekate 
 no vestige of a house is left; twenty-six of the people, who were 
 at Sumbawa at the time, are the whole of the population who 
 have escaped. Froiu the best inquiries, there were certainly not 
 fewer than 12,000 individuals in Tomboro and Pekate at the time 
 of the eruption, of whom five or six survive. 
 
 " The trees and herbage of every description along the whole 
 of the north and west of the peninsula, have been completely 
 destroyed, with the exception of a high point of land near the spot 
 
302 ERUPTIONS IN MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD. 
 
 where the village of Toinboro stood. At Sang'ir, it is added, the 
 famine occasioned by this event was so extreme, that one of the 
 rajah's own daughters died of starvation. 
 
 " I have seen it computed that the quantity of ashes and lava 
 vomited forth in this awful eruption would have formed three 
 mountains the size of Mont Blanc, the highest of the Alps ; and 
 if spread over the surface of Germany, would have covered the 
 whole of it two feet deep. The ashes did actually cover the whole 
 island of Tombock, more than one hundred miles distant, to that 
 depth, and 44,000 persons there perished by starvation, from the 
 total destruction of all vegetation. 
 
 LAKE OF MOLTEN LAVA. 
 
 "The mountain Kirauiah, in the island of Owyhee, one of the 
 Sandwich Isles, exhibits the remarkable phenomenon of a lake of 
 molten and very liquid lava always filling the bottom of the 
 crater, and always in a state of terrific ebullition, rolling to and 
 fro its fiery surge and flaming billows — yet with this it is content, 
 for it would seem that at least for a long time past there has been 
 no violent outbreak so as to make what is generally understood by 
 a volcanic eruption. 
 
 " Volcanic eruptions are almost alwaj'S^ preceded by earth- 
 quakes, by which the beds of rock, that overlie and keep down the 
 struggling powers beneath, are dislocated and cracked, till at last 
 they give way, and the strain is immediately relieved. It is chiefly 
 when this does not happen, when the force below is sufftcient to 
 heave up and shake the earth, but not to burst open the crust, 
 and give vent to the lava and gases, that the most destructive 
 effects are produced. 
 
 "The great earthquake of November i, 1755, which destroyed 
 Lisbon, was an instance of this kind, and was one of the greatest, 
 if not the very greatest on record ; for the concussion extended 
 over all Spain and Portugal — indeed, over all Europe, and even 
 into Scotland — over North Africa, where in one town in Morocco 
 8000 or 10,000 people perished. Nay, its effects extended even 
 across the Atlantic to Madeira, where it was very violent ; and to 
 
ERUPTIONS IN MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD. 303 
 
 the West Indies. The most striking feature about this earth- 
 quake was its extreme suddenness. 
 
 " iVll was going on quite as usual in Lisbon the morn- 
 ing of that memorable day, the weather fine and clear, and 
 nothing whatever to give the population of that great capital 
 the least suspicion of mischief All at once, at twenty minutes 
 before lo A. M., a noise was heard like the rumbling of car- 
 riages under ground; it increased rapidly and became a suc- 
 cession of deafening explosions like the loudest cannon. Then 
 a shock, which, as described by one writing from the spot, 
 seemed to last but the tenth part of a minute, and down came 
 tumbling palaces, churches, theatres, and every large public edi- 
 fice, and about a third or a fourth part of the dwelling houses. 
 
 More shocks followed in succession, and in six minutes 
 from the commencement 60,000 persons were cirushed in the ruins ! 
 Here are the simple but expressive words of one J. Latham, 
 who writes to his uncle in London. " I was on the river with one 
 of my customers going to a village three miles off Presently 
 the boat made a noise as if on the shore or landing, though then 
 in the middle of the water. I asked my companion if he knew 
 what was the matter. He stared at me, and looking at Lisbon, 
 we saw the houses falling, which made him say, 'God bless us, it 
 is an earthquake !' About four or five minutes after, the boat 
 made a noise as before, and we saw the houses tumble down on 
 both sides of the river." They then landed and made for a hill, 
 whence they beheld the sea (which had at first receded and laid a 
 great tract dry) come rolling in, in a vast mountain wave fifty or 
 sixty feet high, on the land, and sweeping all before it. 
 
 Three thousand people had taken refuge on a new stone quay 
 just completed at great expense. In an instant it was turned 
 topsy-turvy, and the whole quay, and every person on it, with ah 
 the vessels moored to it, disappeared, and not a vestige of them 
 ever appeared again. Where that quay stood, was afterwards 
 found a depth of 100 fathoms (600 feet) of water. It happened t^ 
 be a religious festival, and most of the population were assembled 
 in the churches, which fell and crushed them. That no horror 
 
ri04 ERITPTIONS IN MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD. 
 
 iiiiglit be wanting, fires broke out in iuunmerable houses wbere 
 wt)od-work had falleu ou the fires, aud much that the earthquake 
 had spared was destroyed b}^ fire. 
 
 "And then, too, broke forth that worst of all scourges> 
 a lawless ruffian-like mob, who plundered, burned, and murdered in 
 the midst of all that desolation and horror. The huge wave I 
 have spoken of swept the whole coast of Spain and Portugal. Its 
 swell and fall was ten or twelve feet at Madeira. It swept quite 
 across the Atlantic, and broke on the shores of the West Indies. 
 Ever}^ lake aud firth in England and Scotland was dashed for a 
 moment out of its bed, the water not partaking of the sudden 
 shove given to the land, just as when you splash a flat saucerful 
 of water, the water dashes over ou the side from which the shock 
 is given. 
 
 One of the most curious incidents in this earthquake was its 
 effect on ships far out at sea, which would lead us to suppose that 
 the immediate impulse was in the nature of a violent blow or 
 thrust upward, under the bed of the ocean. Thus it is recorded 
 that this upward shock was so sudden and violent on a ship, at 
 that time fort}- leagues from Cape St. Vincent, that the sailors ou 
 deck wei'e tossed up into the air to a lieight of eighteen inches. 
 
 MAINMAST SPLIT BY A BLOW. 
 
 "So also, ou another occasion, in 1796, a British ship eleven 
 miles from land near the Philippine Islands was struck upwards 
 from below with such force as to unship and split up the main- 
 mast. 
 
 " Evidences of a similar sudden aud upward explosive action 
 are of frequent occurrence among the extinct volcanoes < f 
 Auvergne and the Vivarais, where in many instances the perfora- 
 tion of the granitic beds which form the basis or substatum of the 
 whole country appears to have been affected at a single blow, 
 accompanied with little evidence of disturb luce of the surround- 
 ing rocks — much in the same \va.y as a bullet will pass through a 
 pane of glass without starring or shattering it. 
 
 "In such cases it would seem as if water in a liquid state 
 
ERUPTIONS IN MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD. 305 
 
 had suddenly been let in through a fissure upon a most intensely 
 heated and molten mass beneath, producing a violent but local 
 explosion so instantaneous as to break its way through the over- 
 lying rocks, without allowing time for them to bend or crumple, 
 and so displace the surrounding masses. 
 
 "The same kind of upward bounding moveniement took place 
 at Riobambo in Quito in the great earthquake of February 4, 
 1797, which was connected with an eruption of the volcano of 
 Tuuguragua. That earthquake extended in its greatest intensity 
 over an oval space of 120 miles from south to north, and 60 from 
 east to west, within which space ever}^ town and village was 
 levelled with the ground ; but the total extent of surface shaken 
 was upward of 500 miles in one direction (from Puna to Popayan), 
 and 400 in the other. Ouero, Riobamba, and several other towns, 
 were buried under fallen mountains, and in a very few minutes 
 30,000 persons were destroyed. At Riobamba, how.ever, after the 
 earthquake, a great number of corpses were found to have been 
 tossed across a river, and scattered over the slope of a hill on the 
 
 other side. 
 
 EARTH SHAKING VIOLENTLY. 
 
 "The frequency of these South American earthquakes is not 
 more extraordinary than the duration of the shocks. Humboldt 
 relates than on one occasion, when traveling on mule-back with his 
 companion Bonpland, they were obliged to dismount in a dense 
 forest, and throw themselves on the ground ; the earth being 
 shaken uninterruptedly for upwards of a quarter of an hour 
 with such violence that they could not keep their legs. 
 
 "One of the most circumstantially described earthquakes on 
 record is that which happened in Calabria on the 5th of February, 
 1783 ; I should say began then, for it may be said to have lasted 
 four years. In the 3'ear 1783, for instance, 949 shocks took place, 
 of which 501 were great ones, and in 1784, 151 shocks were felt, 
 ninety-eight of which were violent. The centre of action seemed 
 to be under the towns of Monteleone and Oppido. 
 
 " In a circle twenty-two miles in radius round Oppido every 
 ':own and village was destroyed within two minutes by the first 
 
 2U' SiF, 
 
806 ERUPTIONS IN MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD. 
 
 shock, and Avitliin one of sevent\^ miles radius all were seriously 
 shaken and niucli damage done. The whole of Calabria was 
 affected, and even across the sea Messina was shaken, and a great 
 part of Sicily. 
 
 "There is no end of the capricious and out-of-the-way accidents 
 and movements recorded in this Calabrian earthquake. The 
 ground undulated like a ship at sea. People became actual}^ sea- 
 sick, and to give an idea of the undulation (just as it happens 
 at sea), the scud of the clouds before the wind seemed to be lit- 
 fullv arrested during the pitching movement when it took place 
 in the same direction and to redouble its speed in the reverse 
 
 movement. 
 
 HOUSES ENTOMBED. 
 
 "At Oppido many houses were swallowed up bodily. Loose 
 objects were tossed up several 3^ards into the air. The flagstones 
 in some places were found after a severe shock all turned bottom 
 upwards. Great fissures opened in the earth, and at Terra Nova 
 a mass of rock 200 feet high and 400 feet in diameter traveled 
 four miles down a ravine. All landmarks were removed, and the 
 land itself, in some instances, with trees and hedges growing on it, 
 carried bodih' awa}^ and set down in another place. 
 
 " Altogether about 40,000 people perished b}' the earthquakes, 
 and some 20,000 more of the epidemic diseases produced by want 
 and the effluvia of the dead bodies. 
 
 " Volcanoes occasionally break forth at the bottom of the sea, 
 and, when this is the case, the result is usually the production of 
 a new island. This, in mau}^ cases, disappears soon after it's 
 formation, being composed of loose and incoherent materials 
 w^hich easily yield to the destructive power of the waves. Such 
 was the case with the Island of Sabrina, thrown up in iSii, off 
 St. Alichael's, in the Azores, which disappeared almost as soon as 
 formed, and in that of Pantellaria, on the Sicilian coast, which 
 resisted longer, but was gradualh' washed into a shoal, and at 
 length has, we believe, completely disappeared. 
 
 " In numerous other instances, the cones of cinders and 
 scoriae, once raised, have become compacted and bound together 
 
ERUPTIONS IN MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD, 307 
 
 b}^ tlie effusion of lava, liardeniug into solid stone, and thus, 
 becoming habitual volcanic vents, they continue to increase in 
 height and diameter, and assume the importance of permanent 
 volcanic islands. Such has been, doubtless, the history of those 
 numerous insular volcanoes which dot the ocean in so mau}^ parts 
 of the world such as Teneriffe, the Azores, Ascension, St. Helena, 
 Tristan d'Acunha, etc. 
 
 " In some cases the process has been witnessed from its com- 
 mencement, as in that of two islands which arose in the Aleutian 
 group connecting Kamschatka with North America, the one in 
 1796, the other in 1814, and which both attained the elevation of 
 
 3000 feet. 
 
 VOLCANIC ACTION IN OCEANS. 
 
 " Besides these evident instances of eruptive action, there is 
 every reason to believe that enormous floods of lava have been, at 
 various remote periods in the earth's history, poured forth at the 
 bottom of the seas so deep as to repress, by the mere weight of 
 water, all outbreak of steam, gas, or ashes ; and reposing perhaps 
 for ages in a liquid state, protected from the cooling action of the 
 water on their upper surface by a thick crust of congealed stony 
 matter, to have assumed a perfect level ; and, at length, by slow 
 cooling, taken on that peculiar columnar structure which we see 
 produced in minature in starch by the contraction or shrinkage^ 
 and consequent splitting, of the material in drying ; and resulting 
 in those picturesque and singular landscape features called 
 basaltic colonnades : when brought up to-day by sudden or gradual 
 upheaval, and broken into cliffs and terraces by the action of 
 waves, torrents, or weather. Those grand specimens of such col- 
 onnades which Britain possesses in the Giant's Causeway of 
 Antrim, and the cave of Fingal, in Staffa, for instance, are no 
 doubt extreme outstanding portions of such avast submarine lava- 
 flood which at some inconceivably remote epoch occupied the 
 whole intermediate space ; affording the same kind of evidence of 
 a former connection of the coasts of Scotland and Ireland as do 
 the opposing chalk cliffs of Dover and Boulogne of the ancient con- 
 nection of France with Britain. Here and there a small basaltic 
 
308 
 
 ERUPTIONS IN MANY PARTS UF THE WORLD. 
 
 island, such as that of Rathlin, remains to attest this former con- 
 tinuity, and to recall to the contemplative mind that sublime 
 antagonism between sudden violence and persevering effort, which 
 the study of geology impresses in every form of repetition. 
 
 ''There exists a very general impression that earthquakes 
 are preceded and ushered in by some kind of preternatural, and, 
 
 NEAR VIEW OF A VOLCANIC CRATER IN SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 as it were, expectant calm in the elements ; as if to make the 
 confusion and desolation they create the more impressive. The 
 records of such visitations which we possess, however striking 
 some particular cases may appear, by no means bear out this as a 
 general fact, or go to indicate any particular phase of weather as 
 preferentially accompanying their occurrence. 
 
 "This does not prevent, however, certain conjunctures of 
 atmospheric or other circumstances from exercising a determining 
 
EKUPTIOXS IN MANY PARTS OP^ THE WuRLD. 399 
 
 influence on the times of their occurrence. According to the 
 view we have taken of their origin (viz., the displacement of 
 pressure, resulting in a state of strain in tlie strata at certain 
 points, gradually increasing to the maximum they can bear with- 
 out disruption), it is the last ounce which breaks the camel's back. 
 Great barometrical fluctuation, accumulating atmospheric pressure 
 for a time over the sea, and relieving it over the land ; an unusu- 
 ally high tide, aided by the long-continued and powerful winds 
 heaping up the water ; nay, even the tidal action of the sun and 
 moon on the solid portion of the earth's crust — all these causes, 
 for the moment combining, may very well suffice to determine 
 the instant of fracture, when the balance between the opposing 
 forces is on the eve of subversion. 
 
 '* The last-mentioned cause may need a few words of expla- 
 nation. The action of the sun and moon, though it cannot 
 produce a tide in the solid crust of the earth, tends to do so, and, 
 were it fluid, would produce it. It, therefore, in point of fact, 
 does bring the solid portions of the earth's surface into a state 
 alternately of strain and compression. 
 
 "The effective part of their force, in the present case, is not 
 that which aids to lift or to press the superficial matter (for that 
 acting alike on the continents and on the bed of the sea, would 
 have no influence), but that which tends to produce lateral dis- 
 placement ; or what geometers call the tangential force. This 
 of necessity brings the whole ring of the earth's surface, which 
 at any instant has the acting luminal y on its horizon, into a 
 state of strain ; and the whole area over which it is nearly ver- 
 tical, into one of compression. We leave this point to be further 
 followed out, but we cannot forbear remarking, that the great 
 volcanic chains of the world have, in point of fact, a direction 
 which this cause of disruption would tend rather to favor than 
 to contravene. 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 Eruption of Etna in the Year 1S65. — Mutual Dependence 
 
 OF ALL TeRRESTRL\L PHENOMENA. — SeA CoAST LiNE OF 
 
 Volcanoes. — The Pacific *' Circle of Fire.'' 
 
 T^HE Greek mythology', harmonizing in this respect with the 
 ^ ideas ot most nations which were acquainted with volcanoes, 
 attributed to these mountains an origin altogether independent of 
 the forces which are in action on the surface of the ground. Ac- 
 cording to the A-iews of the Hellenes, water and fire were two dis- 
 tinct elements, and each had its separate domain, its genii, and its 
 gods. Xeptune reigTied over the sea ; it was he that unchained 
 the storms and caused the waves to swell. The tritons followed 
 in his traiu ; the n^-mphs, sirens, and marine monsters obeyed 
 his orders, and in the mountain valleys, the solitary* naiads 
 poured out to his honor the murmuring water from their urns. In 
 the dark depth of unknown abysses was enthroned the gloomy 
 Pluto ; at his side Vulcan ; surrounded by Cyclops, forged thun- 
 derbolts at his resounding an\*il, and from their furnaces escaped 
 all the flames and molten matter the appearance of which so 
 appalled mankind. Between the gods of water and of fire there 
 was nothing in common, except that both were the sons of Chronos, 
 that is, of Time, which modifies every thing, which destroys and 
 renews, and, by its incessant work of destruction, makes ready a 
 place for the innumerable germs of ^-itality which crowd on the 
 threshold of life. 
 
 Even in our days, the common opinion is not much at vari- 
 ance \Wth these mythological ideas, and volcanic phenomena are 
 looked upon as events of a character altogether different from 
 other facts of terrestrial vitality. The latter, the sudden changes 
 of which are visible and easily to be observed, are i ustlv considered to 
 be owing principally to the position of tlie earth in respect to the sun 
 and the alternations of light and darkness, heat and cold, dr^mess 
 
 and moisture, which necessarilv result. 
 310 
 
MUTUAL DEPENDENCE OF ALL TERRESTRLA.L PHENOMENA. 811 
 
 As regards voicaiioes, on tlie contrary, an order of eniirel}'- 
 distinct facts is imagined, cansed by the gradnal cooling of the 
 planet or the unequal tides of an ocean of lava and tire. Certainly, 
 the eruptions of ashes and incandescent matter have not revealed 
 the mystery of their formation, and in this respect numerous 
 problems still remain unsolved by scientific men. Nevertheless, 
 the facts already known warrant us in asserting that volcanic 
 crises are connected, like all other planetary phenomena, with the 
 geuerai causes which determine the continual changes of conti- 
 nents and seas, the erosion of mountains, the courses of rivers, 
 winds, and sionns, the movements of the ocean, and all the innum- 
 erable modifications which are taking place on the globe. 
 
 ORIGIN OF VOLCANOES. 
 
 If, some day, we are to succeed in pointing out exactly and 
 plainly liowvolcanoes likewise obey, either partialh' or completeh', 
 tlie system of laws which govern the exterior of the globe, the first 
 and most important requisite is to observe vdih the greatest care 
 all the incidents of volcanic origin. When all the premouiton^' 
 signs and all the products of eruptions shall have been perfectly 
 ascertained and duly classified, then the glance of science ^\'ill be 
 on the point of penetrating into, and duly reading, the secrets of 
 the subterranean abysses where these marvelous convulsions are 
 being prepared. 
 
 The last great eruption of Etna, that central pyramid of the 
 Mediterranean, which the ancients named the " Umbilicus of the 
 world,'- is one of the most magnificent examples which can be 
 brought forward of volcanic phenomena ; and as it has, moreover, 
 been studied most precisely and completely, it well deserves to 
 be described in some detail. 
 
 The explosion had been heralded for some long time by pre- 
 cursor\' signs. In the month of Juh', 1S63. after a series of con- 
 vulsive movements of the soil, the loftiest cone of the volcano 
 opened on the side which faces the south. The incandescent 
 matter descended slowly over the plateau on which stands the 
 " Maison des Anof'ais :" and this building itself was demolished 
 
812 MUTUAL DEPENDENCE OF ALL TERRESTRLAL PHENOMENA. 
 
 bv tlie lumps of lava which were hurled from the mouth o{ the 
 crater. lu some places heaps of ashes several yards thick covered 
 the slopes of the volcano. 
 
 After this first explosion, the mountain never became com- 
 pletely calm ; numerous fissures, which opened on the outer slopes 
 of the crater, continued to smoke, and the hot vapor never ceased 
 to jet out from the summit in thick eddies. Often, indeed, dur- 
 ing the night, the reflection of the lava boiling up in the central 
 cavity lighted up the atmosphere ^^-ith a fier\- red. The liquid, 
 being unable to rise to the mouth of the crater, pressed against 
 the external walls of the volcano, and sought to fiud an issue 
 through the weakest point of the crust by melting gradually the 
 rocks that opposed its passage. 
 
 GROUND RENT ASUNDER. 
 
 Finally, in the night of the 30th to the 31st of January, 
 1865, the wall of the crater yielded to the pressure o{ the lava ; 
 some subterranean roaring was heard ; slight agitations aftected 
 the whole of the eastern part of Sicily, aud the ground was rent 
 open for the length of a mile and a half to the north of Monte 
 Frumento, one of the secondary cones which rise on the slope of 
 Etna. Through this fissure, which opened oil a gently-inclined 
 plateau, the pent-up lava violently broke through to the surface. 
 
 The fissure which opened on the side of the mountain, and 
 could be easily followed by the eye to a point about two-thirds of 
 the height of Monte Frumento, in the direction of the terminal 
 crater of Etna, seems to have vomited out lava but for a verj' few 
 hours. Beiugsoon obstructed by the snow and debris of the adjacent 
 slopes, it ceased to retain its communication with the interior of 
 the mountain, and now resembled a kind of furrow, as if hol- 
 lowed out bv the rain-water on the side of the cone. On the 31st 
 of January all the volcanic activity of the crevice was concen- 
 trated on the gently iuclined plateau which extends at the base 
 of ^lonte Frumento, in the midst of which several new hillocks 
 made their appearance. 
 
 Ou the lower prolongation of the line of fracture, all the 
 
MUTUAL DF.rENDENCK OF ALL TERRESTRIAL PHENOMENA 313 
 
 pheuomena of the eruption properly so-called Avcve distributed iu 
 a periectly regular way. Six principal cones ot ejection were 
 raised above the crevice, and oraduallv increased in size, owine to 
 the debris which they threw out of their craters. These, gradu- 
 ally mingling their inten-ening slopes, and blending them one 
 with another, absorbed in succession other smaller cones which 
 had been formed bv their sides, thus reaching a height of nearly 
 300 feet. Soon after the commencement of the eruption the two 
 upper craters, standing close together on an isolated cone, vomited 
 nothing but lumps of stone and ashes, while jets of still liquid 
 lava were emitted bv the lower craters, which were arranged in a 
 semi-circle around a sort of funnel-shaped cavity. 
 
 HOW LAVA MADE ITS ESCAPE. 
 
 In consequence of the specific gravities of the substances 
 evacuated, a regular division of labor took place between the 
 various points of the crevice. The projectiles which had solidified 
 the triturated debris, and the more or less porous fragments which 
 floated on the top of the lava, made their escape b\' the higher 
 orifices ; but the liquid mass, being heavier and more compact, 
 could onlv burst forth from the ground by the mouths opening at 
 a less elevation. 
 
 Two months after the commencement oi the eruption, the 
 cone which was the nearest to Frumento ceased to send out either 
 scoriae or ashes. The pipe of the crater was filled up with debris, 
 and the internal activity was revealed by vapors either of a sul- 
 phurous character or charged with hydrochloric acid. These rose 
 like smoke from the slope of the hillock. The second cone, 
 situated on a lower part of the fissure, remained in direct commnni- 
 cation ^dth the central flow of la\a ; but it was not in a constant 
 state of eruption, and rested after each eflfort as if to take breath. 
 A crash like that of thunder was the forerunner of the explosion ; 
 clouds of vapor, rolling in thick folds, gray with ashes and 
 furrowed with stones, darted out from the mouth of the volcano, 
 darkening the atmosphere and throwing their projectiles over a 
 radius of several hundreds of 3'ards round the hillock. 
 
314 MUTUAL DEPENDENCE OF ALL TERRESTRIAL PHENOMENA 
 
 Then, after having discliarged their burdens of debris, the 
 dark clouds, giving way to the pressure of the winds, mingled far 
 and M'ide with the mists of the horizon. Tbe lower cones, which 
 rose immediatel}' over the lava-source, continued to rumble and 
 discharge molten matter outside their cavities. The vapor 
 which escaped from the seething wall of lava crowded in dark 
 contortions round the orifice of the craters. Some of it was red 
 or yellow, owing to the reflection of the red-hot matter, and some 
 was varioush' shaded bj' the trains of debris ejected with it ; but it 
 was impossible to follow them with the eye so rapid was their 
 flight. An unintelligible tumult of liarsh sounds simultaneously 
 burst forth. The}- were like the noises of saws, whistles, and of 
 hammers falling on an anvil. Sometimes one might have fancied 
 it like the roaring of the waves breaking upon the rocks during a 
 storm, if the sudden explosions had not added their thunder to all 
 this uproar of the elements. 
 
 HILLS ROARING AND SMOKING. 
 
 One felt disma^-ed, as if before some living being, at the sight 
 of these groups of hillocks, roaring and smoking, and increasing 
 in size ever}^ hour, by the debris which they vomited forth from 
 the interior of the earth. The volcano, however, then commenced 
 to rest ; the erupted matter did not rise much be^'ond lOO yards 
 above the craters, while, according to the statement of M, Fouque, 
 at the commencement of the eruption it had been thrown to a 
 height of 1850 to 1950 yards. 
 
 During the first six da3'S the quantit}' of lava M'hich issued 
 from the fissure of Monte Frumcnto was estimated at 117 cubic 
 3^ards a second, equivalent to a volume twice the bulk of the Seine 
 at low-water time. In the vicinity of the outlets the speed of the 
 current was not less than twenty feet « minute ; but lower down, 
 the stream, spreading over a wider surface, and throwing out sev- 
 eral branches into the side valle3'S, gradualh' lost its initial speed, 
 and the fringes of scoriae, which were pushed on before the incan- 
 descent matter, advanced, on the average, according to the slope 
 of the ground, not more than one and a half to six feet a minute. 
 
MUTUAL DEPENDENCE OF ALL TERRESTRIAL PHENOMENA. 315 
 
 On the second of February tlie principal current, the breadth 
 
 of which varied from 300 to 550 yards, with an average thickness 
 
 of forty-nine feet, reached the upper ledge of the escarpment 
 
 of Colla-Vecchia, or CoUa-Grande, three miles from the 
 
 fissure of eruption, and plunged like a cataract into the gorge 
 
 below. It was a magnificent spectacle, especially during the night, 
 
 to see this sheet of molten matter, dazzling red like liquid iron, 
 
 making its way, in a thin layer, from the heaps of brown scoriae 
 
 which had gradually accumulated up above ; then, carrying with 
 
 it the more solid lumps, which dashed one against the other with a 
 
 metallic noise, it fell over into the ravine, only to rebound in stars 
 
 of fire. 
 
 ITS BEAUTY FINALLY FADED. 
 
 But this splendid spectacle lasted only for a few days ; the 
 fiery fall, by losing in height, diminished gradually in beauty. In 
 front of the cataract, and under the jet itself, there was formed 
 an incessantly increasing slope of lava, which ultimately filled up 
 the ravine, and, indeed, prolonged the slope of the valley above. 
 From the reservoir, which was more than 160 feet deep, the stream 
 continued to flow to the east toward Mascali, filling up to the brink 
 the winding gorge of a dried up rivulet. 
 
 By the middle of the month of February, the fiery stream, 
 already more than six miles long, made but very slow progress, and 
 the still liquid lava found it difficult to clear an outlet through 
 the crust of stones cooled b}^ their contact with the atmosphere ; 
 when, all of a sudden, a breaking out took place at the side of the 
 stream, at a point some distance up, not far from the source. Then 
 a fresh branch of the burning river, flowing toward the plains of 
 Linguagrossa, swallowed up thousands of trees which had been 
 felled by the woodman. 
 
 This second inundation of lava did not, however, last long. 
 The villages and towns situated at the base of the mountain were 
 no longer directly menaced ; but the disasters caused by the erup- 
 ^.ion were, notwithstanding, very considerable. A number of 
 farm-houses were swept away ; vast tracts of pasturage and culti- 
 ":ated ground were covered by slowly hardening rock, and — a 
 
816 MUTUAL DEPENDENCE OF ALL TERRESTRIAL PHENOMENA. 
 
 misfortune which was all the worse on account of the almost general 
 deforesting of Sicily — a wide band of forest, comprising, according 
 to the various estimates that were made, from 100,000 to 130,000 
 trees — oaks, pines, chestnuts, or birches — was completely destroyed. 
 When seen from the lower part of the mountain, all these 
 burning trunks borne along upon the lava, as if upon a river of 
 fire, singularly contributed to the beauty of the spectacle. As is 
 always the case in the events of this world, the misfortune of some 
 proved to be a source of gratification to others. During the ear- 
 liest period of the eruption, while the villagers of Etna looked at 
 it with stupor, and were bitterly lamenting over the destruction of 
 their forests, hundreds of curious spectators, brought daily b}' the 
 steamboats from Catania and ]\Iessina, came to enjoy at their ease 
 the contemplation of all the splendid horrors of the conflagration. 
 
 PYRAMIDS AND TWISTED COLUMNS. 
 
 The aspect of the current of lava, as it appeared covered with 
 its envelope of scoriae, was scarceh' less remarkable than the sight 
 of the matter in motion. The black or reddish aspect of the 
 cheire was all roughened with sharp-edged projections, which 
 resembled steps, pyramids or twisted columns, on which it was a 
 difficult matter to venture, except at the risk of tearing the feet and 
 hands. Some months after the commencement of the eruption, the 
 onward motion of the interior of the molten stone, which, by break- 
 ing the outer crust in every direction, had ultimatel}^ given it this 
 rugged outline, was still visibly taking place. Here and there 
 cracks in the rock allowed a view, as if through an air-hole, of the 
 red and liquid lava swelling up as it flowed gently along like some 
 viscous matter. 
 
 A metallic clinking sound was incessantly heard, proceeding 
 from the fall of the scorise, which were breaking under the pres- 
 sure of the liquid matter. Sometimes, on the hardening current 
 of lava, a kind of blister gradualh'' rose, wlrlch either opened 
 gently, or bursting with a crash gave vent to the molten mass 
 which formed it. Fumerolles, ct>mposcd of various gases, accord- 
 ing to the degree of heat of the lava which gave rise to them, jetted 
 
MUTUAL DEPENDENCE OF ALL TERRESTRIAL PHENOMENA. 317 
 
 out from all the issues. Even ou the banks of the river of stone 
 the soil was in many places all burning and pierced with crevices, 
 through which escaped a hot air thoroughl}^ charged with the 
 smell of burnt roots. 
 
 On the slopes of Frumento, quite close to the upper part of 
 the fissure, at a spot where the liquid mass had flowed like a tor- 
 tent, M. Fouque noticed a remarkable phenomenon ; sheaths of 
 solidified lava were surrounding the trunks of pines, and thus 
 showing the height to which the current of molten stone had reached. 
 In like manner, the streams of obsidian which flow rapidl}- 
 from the basin of Kilauea, in the isle of Hawaii, leave behind 
 them on the branches of the trees numerous stalactites like the 
 icicles which are formed by melting snow which has again frozen. 
 Below the escarpments of the Frumento, the torrent, which was 
 there retarded in its progress, had not contented itself with bathing 
 for a moment the trunks of the forest trees, but had laid them low. 
 Great trunks of trees, broken down by the lava, lay stretched in 
 disorder on the uneven bed of the stream, and, although the3^were 
 only separated from the molten matter b}^ a crust a few inches thick, 
 numbers of them were still clothed with their bark ; several had 
 even preserved their branches. 
 
 PINE TREES AND FIRS. 
 
 At the edge of thecheire, some pine trees, which had perhaps 
 been preserved from the fire by the moisture being converted b}^ 
 the heat into a kind of coating of steam, were surrounded by a 
 wall of heaped up lava, and their foliage still continued green ; it 
 could not 3'et be ascertained if the sources of the sap had perished 
 in their roots. 
 
 In some places, rows of firs verj- close together were suificienl 
 to change the direction of the flow, and to cause a lateral deviation. 
 Not far from the crater of eruption, on the western bank of the 
 great cheire, a trunk of a tree was noticed which by istelf had 
 been able to keep back a branch of the stream, and to prevent it 
 from filling up the glen which opened immediately below. 
 
 This tree, being thrown down by the weight of the scoriae, had 
 
318 MUTUAL DEPE>'DEXCE OF ALL TERRESTRL\L PHEN'OMEN.\. 
 
 fallen so as to bar up a slight depression in the ground which pre- 
 sented a natural bed to the molten matter. The latter had bent 
 and cracked the trunk, but had failed in breaking it and the stony 
 torrent had remained suspended, so to speak, above the beautiful 
 ■wooden slopes which it threatened to destroy completely. 
 
 Round the ver\- mouth of the volcano, a vast glade was 
 formed in the forest ; the ground was covered everywhere with 
 ashes which the wind had blown into hillocks, like the dunes on 
 the sea coast ; all the trees had been broken do\ni by the volcanic 
 projectiles, and burned by the scoriae and small stones. The near- 
 est trees that were met with, at unequal distances from the mouths 
 of eruption, had had their branches torn off by the falling lumps 
 of stone, or were buried in ashes up to their terminal crown. 
 
 SEVENTY-FIVE RECORDED ERUPTIONS. 
 
 A spectator might have walked among a number of yellow 
 branches which were once the tops of lofty pines. Thus, on the 
 plateau of Fnimento and the lower slopes, everything was 
 changed both in form and aspect ; we might justly sa^- that, by 
 the effects of the erupted matter, the outline of the sides of Etna 
 itself had been perceptibly modified. 
 
 And yet this last eruption, one of the most important in our 
 epoch, is but an insignificant episode in the history- of tlie mountain; 
 it was but a mere pulsation of Etna. During the last twenty cen- 
 turies only, more than seventy-five eruptions have taken place, 
 and in some of them the flows of lava have been more than 
 twelve miles in length, and have covered areas of more than forty 
 square miles, which were once in a perfect state of cultivation, 
 and dotted over with towns and ^-illages. In former ages, thou- 
 sands of other lava-flows and cones of ashes have gradually raised 
 and leugthened the slopes of the mountain. 
 
 The mass oi Mount Etna, the total bulk of which is three or 
 four thousand times greater than the most considerable of the 
 rivers of stone vomited from its bosom, is. in fact, from its sum- 
 mit to its base, down even to the lowest submarine depths, nothing 
 but the product of successive eruptions throwing out the molten 
 
MlTl'AL DEPENDENCE OF ALL TERRESTRL\L PHENOISIENA. 819 
 
 matter of tsie interior. The volcano itself has slowly raised the 
 walls of its crater, and then extended its long slopes down to the 
 waters of the Ionian Sea. By its fresh beds ot lava and scoriae 
 incessantly renewed one npon the other, it has nltimately reared 
 its summit into the regions of snow, and has become, as Pindar 
 called it, the great " pillar of heaven." 
 
 The earth being generally looked npon as immobility' itself, 
 it is a ver^' strange thing to see it open to shoot out into the air 
 torrents of gas, and shedding forth like a river the molten rocks of 
 its interior. From what invisible source do all these fluid matters 
 proceed which spread out in sheets over vast regions? Whence 
 come those eriormoiis bodies of steam, extensive enough to Qathet 
 immediateh* in clouds around the loftiest summits, and sometimes 
 indeed to fall in actual rain-showers ? Science, as we have alreadv 
 said, has not completely answered these questions, the positive 
 solution of which would be so highly important for our knowledge 
 of the globe on which we live. 
 
 AN OLD POPULAR SUPERSTITION. 
 
 According to an ancient popular belief, Etna merelv vomits 
 forth, in the shape of vapor, the water which the sea has poured 
 into the gulf of Charybdis. This legend, although clothed in a 
 poetic garb, has in fact become the hypothesis which is thought 
 beyond dispute by those savants who look npon volcanic eruptions 
 as being a series of phenomena caused chiefly bv water converted 
 into steam. 
 
 The remarkable fiict that all volcanoes are arranged in a kind 
 of line along the coasts of the sea, or of inland lacustrine basins, 
 is one of the gTeat points which testify in favor of this opinion as 
 to the infiltration of water, and give to it a high degree of proba- 
 bility*. The Pacific, which is the principal reser^-oir of the water 
 of our earth, is circled round b^- a series of volcanic mountains, 
 some ranged in chains, and others very distant from one another, 
 but still maintaining an evident mutual connection, constituting 
 a ''circle of fire," the total development of which is about 22,000 
 miles in length. 
 
320 
 
 MITL'AL DEPENDENCE OF ALL TERRESTRL\L PHENOMENA. 
 
 This ring of volcanoes does not exactly coincide with the 
 semicircle formed by the coasts of Australia, the Sunda Islands, 
 the Asiatic continent, and the western coasts of the New World. 
 Like a crater described within some ancient and more extensive 
 outlet of eruption, the great circle of igneous mountains extends 
 
 PICTURESQUE VIEW OF L.\KE TAUPO AND VOLCANIC MOI^NTAINS. 
 
 its immense curve in a westward direction across the waves of the 
 Pacific, from New Zealand to the peninsula of Alaska; on the east, 
 it is based on the coast of America, rising in the south so as to 
 form some of the loftiest summits of the Andes. 
 
 The still smoking volcanoes of New Zealand, Tongariro and 
 tlie cone of Whakari, on White Island, are, in the midst of the 
 southern waters of the Pacific properly so called, tlie first evidence 
 
MUTUAL DEPENDENCE OF ALL TERRESTRIAL PHENOMENA. 821 
 
 of volcanic activity. On the north, a considerable space extends 
 in which no volcanoes have yet been observed. The gronp of the 
 Feejee Islands, at which the volcanic ring recommences, presents 
 a large nnmber of former craters which still manifest the internal 
 action of the lava by the abundance of thermal springs. At this 
 point, a branch crossing the South Sea in an oblique direction 
 from the basaltic islands of Juan Fernandez as far as the active 
 volcanoes of the Friendly group, unites itself with the principal 
 chain which passes round, in a northeast direction, the coast of 
 Australia and New Guinea. 
 
 GREAT FOCUS OF LAVA STREAMS. 
 
 The volcanoes of Abrini a'ud Tanua, in the New Hebrides, 
 Tinahoro, in the archipelago of Santa Cruz, and Semoya, in the 
 Salomon Isles, succeeding one after the other, connect the knot of 
 the Feejees to the region of the Sunda Islands, where the earth is 
 so often agitated b}?' violent shocks. This region mav be consid- 
 ered as the great focus of the lava streams of our planet. On the 
 kind of broken isthmus which connects Australia with the Indo- 
 Chinese peninsula, and separates the Pacific Ocean from the great 
 Indian seas, one hundred and nine volcanoes are vomiting out lava, 
 ashes, or mud in full activity-, destroying from time to time the 
 towns and the villages which lie upon their slopes ; sometimes, 
 in their more terrible explosions, they ultimately explode bodily, 
 covering with the dust of their fragments areas of several thou- 
 sands of miles in extent. 
 
 From Papua to Sumatra, ever}- large island, including prob- 
 ably the almost unknown tracts of Borneo, is pierced with one or 
 more volcanic outlets. There are Timor, Flores, Sumbawa, 
 Lombok, Bali, and Java, which last has no less than forty-five 
 volcanoes, twenty-eight of which are in a state of activit}^ and, 
 lastly, the beautiful island of Sumatra. Then, to the east of 
 Borneo — Ceram, Amboyna, Gilolo, the volcano of Temata, sung 
 by Camoens, Celebes, Mindanao, Mindoro, and Luzon ; these form 
 across the sea, as it were, two great tracks of fire. 
 
 Northward of Luzon, the volcanic ring curves gradually so as 
 
 21-F.S. 
 
822 MUTUAL DEPENDENCE OF ALL TERRESTRL^L PHENOMENA. 
 
 to follow a direction parallel to the coast of Asia. Formosa, the 
 Liou-Kieou archipelago, and other groups of islands stand in a 
 line over the submarine volcanic fissure ; farther on, there are the 
 numerous volcanoes of Japan, one of which, Fusiyama, with a 
 cone of admirable regularity, is looked upon by the inhabitants 
 of Niphon as a sacred mountain, from which the gods come down. 
 The elongated archipelago of the Kuriles, comprising about a 
 dozen volcanic orifices, unites Japan to the peninsula of Kams- 
 chatka, in which no less than fourteen volcanoes are reckoned as 
 being in full activity. 
 
 To the east of this peninsula, the range of craters suddenl}' 
 changes its direction, and describes a graceful semicircle across the 
 Pacific, from Behring Island to the point of Alaska. Thirtj'-four 
 smoking: cones stand on this oreat transversal dike, extending- from 
 continent to continent. Ounimak, which rises on the extremity 
 of the peninsula of Alaska, the peak of which is 7939 feet in 
 height, serves as the western limit of the New World, and is also 
 pierced b}- a crater in a state of full activit}". 
 
 VOLCANO IN ALASKA. 
 
 Eastward of the peninsula, the volcanic chain extends along 
 the seacost of the continent. ]\Iount St. EHas, one of the highest 
 summits in America, often vomits lava from its crater, which opens 
 at an elevation of 17,716 feet. Farther to the south, another 
 active volcano. Mount Fairweather, rises to a height of 14,370 
 feet. Next comes ]\Iount Edgecumbe, in Lazarus Island, and 
 the volcanic regfion of British Columbia. The whole chain of the 
 Cascades, in Oregon, as well as the parallel ranges of the Sierra 
 Nevada and the Rock}^ Alountains, are overlooked b}" a great 
 number of volcanoes ; but onl}' a few of them continue to throw 
 out smoke and ashes : these are Mount Baker, Renier, and St. 
 Helens, enormous peaks 10,000 to 16,000 feet high. 
 
 In California and Northern Mexico, it is probable that the 
 basaltic and trachtic mountains on the coast no longer present 
 outlets of eruption. Subterranean activity is not manifested with 
 anv degree of violence until we reach the high plateaux of Central 
 
MUTUAL DEPENDENCE OF ALL TERRESTRIAL PHENOMENA. 323 
 
 Mexico. There a series of volcanoes, rising over a fissure cross- 
 ing the continent, extends over the whole plateau of Anahuac, 
 from the Southern Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. The Colima, 
 then the celebrated JoruUo, which made its appearance in 1759, the 
 Nevado de Tolima, Istacihuetl, Popocatepetl, Orizaba, and Tuxtla 
 are the vents for the furnace of lava which is boiling beneath 
 the Mexican plateau. 
 
 To the south, in Gautemala and the South American repub- 
 lics, thirt}' burning mountains, much more active and terrible than 
 those of Anahuac, rise in two chains, one of which is parallel to 
 the sea-coast, and the other crosses obliquely the isthmus of 
 Nicaragua. Among these numerous volcanoes there are some, 
 the names of which have become famous on account of the friehtful 
 disasters which have been caused by their eruptions. Such are 
 the mountains del Fuego and del Agua, above the Ciudad-Antigua 
 of Gautemala; the Phare d'lsalco, which during the night lights 
 up far and wide the plains of Salvador with its jets of molten 
 stone and its column of red smoke ; Coseguina, the last great 
 eruption of which was probably the most formidable of modern 
 times ; the Viejo, Nuevo, Momotombo, and other mountains, which 
 are almoFt worshiped from being so much dreaded. 
 
 ON THE PACIFIC COAST. 
 
 The depressions of the isthmuses of Panama and Darien 
 interrupt the series of volcanoes which border on the coast of the 
 Pacific. The peak of Tolima, which rises to the great height of 
 17,716 feet, is the most northern of the active volcanoes of South 
 America, and is also one of the most distant from the sea among 
 all the fire-vomiting mountains, for the distance from its base 
 to the Pacific coast is not less than 124 miles. South of 
 Tolima, and the great plateau of Pasto, where there likewise exists 
 a crater, stands the magnificent group of sixteen volcanoes, some 
 already extinct and some still smoking, over which towers the 
 proud dome of Chimborazo. 
 
 Occup3-ing an elliptical space, the great axis of which is only 
 about 112 miles long, this group, comprising the Tunguagua, 
 
324 MUTUAL DEPENDENCE OF ALL TERRESTRIAL PHENOMENA. 
 
 Caraliuizo, Cotopaxi, Aiitisaua, Picliinclia, Imbabiira, and Sangay, 
 is often looked upon as but one volcano with several eruptions ; 
 it is tlie cluster wliicb, on the southern coasts of the Isthmus of 
 Panama, corresponds symmetrically to the volcanic group of 
 Anahuac. South of Sangay, which is perhaps the most destruc- 
 tive volcano on the earth, the chain of the Cordelleras offers no 
 volcanoes for a length of about 930 miles ; but in Southern Peru 
 the volcanic series recommences, and outlets of eruption still in 
 action open at intervals among extinct volcanoes and domes of 
 trachyte. 
 
 The three smoking peaks of the inhabited part of Chili, the 
 mountains of Antuco, Villarica, and Osono, terminate the series of 
 the great American volcanoes ; the activity of subterranean action 
 is, however, disclosed by some other less elevated craters down to 
 the extremity of the continent as far as the point of Terra-del- 
 Fuego. This is not all ; the South Shetland Islands, situated in 
 the Southern Ocean, in a line with the New World, are likewise 
 volcanic in their character ; and if the same direction be followed 
 toward the polar regions, the line will ultimately touch upon the 
 coasts of the land of Victoria, on which rise the two lofty volcanoes 
 of Brebus and Mount Terror, discovered by Sir John Ross. 
 
 VOLCANIC CIRCLE ROUND THE EARTH. 
 
 Stretching round the sphere of the earth, the great volcanic 
 circle is extended toward the north by various islets of the antartic, 
 and ultimately rejoins the archipelago of New Zealand. Thus is 
 completed the great ring of fire which circles round the whole 
 surface of the Pacific Ocean. 
 
 Within this ampitheatre of volcanoes a multitude of those 
 charming isles, which are scattered in pleiads over the ocean, are 
 also of volcanic origin, and many of them can be distinguished 
 from afar by their smoking or flaming craters. Of this kind are 
 some of the Marianne and Gallapagos Islands, which contain 
 several orifices in full activity, and more than two thousand cones 
 in a state of repose. Among these we must especially mention 
 the Sandwich Islands, the lofty volcanoes of which rise in the 
 
MUTUAL DEPENDENCE OF ALL TERRESTRIAL PHENOMENA. 325 
 
 middle central basin of tlie North Pacific like so many cones of 
 eruption in tlie midst of a former crater cHanged into a lake. 
 
 The Mauna-Loa and Mauna-Kea, the two volcanic summits 
 of the island of Hawaii, are each more than 13,000 feet in height ; 
 and the eruptions of the first cone, which are still in full activity, 
 must be reckoned among the most magnificent spectacles of this 
 kind. On the sides of the Mauna-Loa opens the boiling crater of 
 
 VOLCANO OF TONGARRIRO, NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 Kilauea, which is, without doubt, the most remarkable lava-source 
 which exists on our planet. 
 
 Round the circumference of the Indian Ocean the border of 
 volcanoes is much less distinct than round the Pacific ; still it is 
 possible to recognize some of its elements. To the north of Java 
 and Sumatra, the volcanoes of which overlook the eastern portion 
 of the basins of the Indian seas, stretches the volcanic archipelago 
 of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, in which there are several 
 cones of eruption in full activity. On the west of Hindostan, the 
 
326 MUTUAL DEPENDENCE OF ALL TERRESTRIAL PHENOMENA. 
 
 peninsula of Kutch, and the delta of tlie Indus, are often agitated 
 by subterranean forces. 
 
 Many mountains on tbe Arabian coast are notliing but masses 
 of lava; and, if various travelers are to be believed, tlie volcanic 
 furnace of these countries is not yet extinct. The Kenia, the great 
 mountain of Eastern Africa, has on its own summit a crater still 
 in action — perhaps the only one which exists on this continent. 
 Lastly, a large number of islands which surround the Indian 
 Ocean on the west and on the south — Socotora, Mauritius, Reunion, 
 St. Paul, and Amsterdam Islands — are nothing but cones of 
 eruption, which have gradually emerged from the bed of the 
 ocean. 
 
 The volcanic districts which are scattered on the edge of the 
 Atlantic are likewise distributed with a kind of symmetry round 
 three sides of this great basin. On the north, Jan Ma3^en, so 
 often wrapt in mist, and the more considerable island of Iceland, 
 pierced by numerous craters, Hecla, the Skapta-Jokul, the Kotlu- 
 gaja, and seventeen other mountains of eruption, separate the 
 Atlantic from the Polar Ocean. At about 1500 miles nearer the 
 equator the peaks of the Azores, some extinct and some still 
 burning, rise out of the sea. 
 
 DEAD VOLCANOES. ^ 
 
 The archipelago of the Canaries, over which towers the lofty 
 mass of the peak of Teyda, continues toward the south the 
 volcanic line of the Azores, and is itself prolonged by the smok- 
 ing summits of the Cape de Verde Islands. All the other moun- 
 tains of lava which spring up from the bed of the Atlantic more 
 to the south appear to have completely lost their activit}^, and on 
 the coast itself there is, according to Burton, only one volcano 
 still in action — that of the Cameroons. With regard to the "line 
 of fire" along the western Atlantic, it is developed at the entrance 
 of the Caribbean Sea with perfect regularity, like the range of the 
 Aleutian Isles. Trinidad, Grenada, St, Vincent, St. Lucia, Do- 
 minica, Gaudeloupe, Montserrat, Nevis, St. Kitts, and St. Eusta- 
 tins are so many outlets of volcanic force, either through their 
 
MUTUAL DEPENDENCE OF ALL TERRESTRIAL PHENOMENA. 327 
 
 smoking craters or their mud volcanoes, their solfataras or their 
 thermal springs. 
 
 North and south of the Antilles, the eastern coast of America 
 does not present a single vent of eruption. It is a remarkable 
 fact that the two volcanic groups of the Antilles and the Sunda 
 Islands are situated exactly at the antipodes one of the other, and 
 also in the vicinity of the two poles of flattening, the existence of 
 which on the surface of the globe has been proved by the recent 
 calculations of astronomers. More than this, these two great 
 volcanic centres, which are undoubtedly the most active on the 
 whole earth, flank, one on the west and the other on the east, the 
 immense curve of volcanoes which spreads round the Pacific. 
 
 HIGH SUMMITS ON FIRE. 
 
 The Mediterranean is not surrounded by a circle of volcanoes ; 
 but there, as elsewhere, it is from the midst of the sea, or imme- 
 diately on the sea-coast, that the burning mountains rise — Etna, 
 Vesuvius, Stromboli, Volcano, Bpomeo and Santorin. In like 
 manner, the volcanoes of mud and gas of the peninsula of Apche- 
 ron, and the summit of Demavend, 14,436 feet high, rise at no 
 great distance from the Caspian Sea. 
 
 With regard to the volcanoes of Mongolia — the Turfan, which 
 is said to be still in action, and the Pe-chan, which, according to 
 Chinese authors, vomited forth, up to the seventh century, ''fire, 
 smoke, and molten stone, which hardened as it cooled" — their 
 existence is not yet absolutely proved ; but even if these moun- 
 tains, situated in the centre of the continent, should be in full 
 activity, their phenomena might depend on the vicinity of exten- 
 sive sheets of water, for this very region of Asia still possesses a 
 large number of lakes, the remnants of a former inland sea, 
 almost as vast as the Mediterranean. 
 
 What is the number of volcanoes which are still vomiting forth 
 lava during the present period of the earth's vitality ? It is diffi- 
 cult to ascertain, for often mountains have seemed for a long time 
 to be extinct ; forests have grown up in their disused craters, and 
 their beds of lava have been covered up under a rich carpet of 
 
328 MUTUAL DEPENDENCE OF ALL TERRESTRIAL PHENOMENA. 
 
 vegetation, wlien suddenh' the sleeping force beneath is aroused 
 and some fresh volcanic outlet is opened through the ground. 
 
 When Vesuvius woke up from its protracted slumber to 
 swallow up Pompeii and the other towns l3^ing round its base, it 
 had rested for some centuries, and the Romans looked upon it as 
 nothing but a lifeless mountain like the peaks of the Apennines. 
 On the other hand, it is very possible that some craters, from w^hich 
 steam and jets of gas are still escaping, or which have thrown out 
 lava during the historic era, have entered decisively into a period 
 of repose, ceasing somehow to maintain their communication with 
 the subterranean centre of molten matter. The number of vents 
 which serve for the eruption of lava can, therefore, be ascertained 
 in a merely approximate wa3^ 
 
 Humboldt enumerates 223 active volcanoes ; Keith Johnston 
 arrives at the larger number of 270, 190 of which are compre- 
 hended in the islands and the Pacific ''circle of fire;" but this 
 latter estimate is probably too small. To the number of these 
 burning mountains, standing nearly all of them on the sea-shore, 
 or in the vicinit}^ of some great fresh water basin, must be added 
 the salses, or mud-volcanoes, which are also found near large 
 sheets of salt water. With regard to the thousands of extinct 
 volcanoes which rise in various parts of the interior of the conti- 
 nent, geology shows that the sea used formerly to extend round 
 their bases. 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Torrents of Steam Escaping from Craters. — Gases Pro- 
 
 DUCED BY THE DECOMPOSITION OF SEA-WATER. — HYPOTH- 
 ESES AS TO THE Origin of Eruption. — Growth of 
 
 Volcanoes. 
 
 /^NE of the most decisive arguments which can be used in 
 ^^ favor of a free communication existing between marine 
 basins and volcanic centres is drawn from the large quantities of 
 steam which escape from craters during an eruption, and com- 
 pose, according to M. Ch. Sainte-Claire Deville, at least 999 
 thousandths of the supposed volcanic smoke. During the erup- 
 tion of Etna, in 1865, M. Fouque attempted to gauge approxi- 
 mately the volume of water which made its escape in a gaseous 
 form from the craters of eruption. 
 
 By taking as his scale of comparison the cone which appeared 
 to him to emit an average quantity of steam, he found this mass, 
 reduced to a liquid state, would be equivalent to about 79 cubic 
 yards of water for each general explosion. Now, as these ex- 
 plosions took place on the average every four minutes during a 
 hundred days, he arrived at the result, that the discharge of 
 water during the continuance of the phenomenon might be 
 estimated at 2,829,600 cubic yards of water — a flow equal to that 
 of a permanent stream discharging fifty-five gallons a second. 
 Added to this, account ought to have been taken of the enormous 
 convolutions of vapor which were constantly issuing from the 
 great terminal crater at Etna, and, bending over under the pres- 
 sure of the wind, spread out in an immense arch around the 
 vault of the sky. 
 
 In great volcanic eruptions it often happens that these clouds 
 of steam, becoming suddenly condensed in the higher layers of 
 the atmosphere, fall in heavy showers of rain, and form temporary 
 torrents on the mountain-side. According to the statements of 
 Sir James Ross, the mountain Erebus, of the antarctic land, is 
 
 329 
 
330 CR-ATER3 BELCHING TORRENTS OF STEA>L 
 
 covered with snow, which, it has just vomited forth in the form of 
 vapor. It has besides been remarked that the vapor which issues 
 from volcanoes is not always warm ; often, according to Pceppig, 
 it is of the same temperature as the surrounding air. 
 
 x\s was said long since by Krug von Xidda, a German savant, 
 volcanoes must be looked upon as enormous intermittent springs. 
 The basaltic flows may be compared to streams on account of the 
 water which they contain. It is probable that most of the lava 
 which flows from volcanic fissures owes its mobility to the 
 innumerable particles of vapor which fill up all the interstices of 
 m-oWng mass. Being composed in great measure of crystals 
 already formed in the body of which may be noticed nodules and 
 crj-stals rounded by friction, the lava would be unable to descend 
 over the slopes if it were not rendered fluid by its mixture ^vith 
 steam ; and the gradual slacking in speed and ultimate stoppage 
 of the flow are chiefl\- caused by the setting free of the gases 
 which serv^ed as a vehicle to the solid matter. Owing to this 
 rapid loss of their humidit}', basalts contain in their pores but a 
 very slight quantity of water in comparison with other rocks. 
 Yet even old lava themselves contain as much as ten to nineteen 
 thousandths of water at the edge of the bed, and flve to eighteen 
 thousandths at the centre. 
 
 SEA-WATER DECOMPOSED. 
 
 The various substances which are produced from craters also 
 tend to show that sea-water has been decomposed in the great 
 labaratory of lava. Ordinarj^ salt or chloride of sodium, which 
 is the mineral that is most abundant in sea-water, is also that 
 which is deposited the first and most plentifully round the orifices 
 of eruption. Sometimes, the scoriae and ashes are covered for a 
 vast space with a white efflorescence, which is nothing but com- 
 mon salt ; one might fancy it a shingly beach which had j ust been 
 left by the ebbing tide. After each eruption of Hecla, the Ice- 
 landers are in the habit, it is said, of collecting salt on the slopes. 
 The lava from the eruption of Frumento, analyzed by M. Fouque, 
 contained about thirteen ten thousandths of marine salt. 
 
CRATERS BELCHING TORRENTS OF STEAM. 881 
 
 Almost all other component parts of sea-water are likewise 
 found in the gases and deposits of fnmerolles ; only the salts of 
 magnesia have disappeared, bnt still are found under another 
 form among the volcanic products. Being decomposed by the 
 high temperature, just as the}^ would be in the laboratory of a 
 chemist, the}- go to constitute other bodies. Thus the chloride of 
 magnesium is changed into hydrochloric acid and magnesia ; the 
 gas escapes in abundance from the fnmerolles, while the magne- 
 sia remains fixed in the lava. 
 
 FOUR PERIODS IN EVERY ERUPTION. 
 
 As M. Ch. Sainte-Claire Deville was the first to ascertain with 
 certaint}^, four successive periods may be observed in every erup- 
 tion, each of which periods assumes a different character, owing 
 to the exhalation of certain substances. After the first period, 
 remarkable especially for marine salt and the various compounds 
 of soda and potash, comes a second in which the temperature is 
 lower, and during which brilliantly colored deposits of chloride 
 of iron are formed and hydrochloric and sulphurous acids are 
 expelled. AVhen the temperature is below 392° (Fahr.), there are 
 ammoniacal salts and needles of sulphur, which are found in yel- 
 lowish masses on the scoriae of lava. 
 
 Lastly, when the heat of the erupted bodies is below 212° 
 (Fahr.), the fnmerolles eject nothing but steam, azote, carbonic 
 acid and combustible gases. Thus the activity of the exhala- 
 tions and deposits is in proportion to the incandescence of the 
 lava. At the commencement of the eruption, the orifices throw 
 out a large quantity of substances, from marine salt to carbonic 
 acid ; but by degrees the power of elaboration weakens simultane- 
 ously with the heat, and the gases ejected gradually diminish in 
 number, and testify, by their increasing rarity, to the approach- 
 ing cessation of volcanic phenomena. In consequence of the differ- 
 ence which is presented by the exhalations during the various 
 phases of eruptions of lava, observers have, at first sight, thought 
 that each volcano was distinguished by emanations peculiar to 
 itself. Hydrochloric acid was looked upon as one of the normal 
 
332 CRATERS BELCHING TORRENTS OF STEAM. 
 
 products of Vesuvius, and sulphurous vapors as more especial 
 to Etua. It was stated (with Boussingault) that carbonic acid 
 was exhaled especially by the volcanoes of the Andes ; and, with 
 Bunseu, it was believed that combustible gases prevailed in the 
 eruptions of Hecla. 
 
 In his beautiful investigations into the various chemical 
 phenomena presented by Etna and the neighboring volcanic out- 
 lets, such as Vesuvius and Stromboli, M. Fouque appears to have 
 established as a fact which must be henceforth beyond dispute, 
 that the gradual series of these emanations is just that which 
 would be produced by the decomposition of sea-water. Added to 
 this, we also find in lava iodine and fluorine, both of which we 
 should expect to detect in it on account of their presence in sea- 
 water. The salts of bromine, of which, however, only a slight 
 trace is found in sea-water, have not yet been detected in volcanic 
 products, which, no doubt, proceeds from the dif&culty which 
 chemists have experienced in separating such verj^ small 
 
 quantities. 
 
 MELTED ROCKS. 
 
 The other mattters ejected b}^ eruptions are of terrestrial 
 origin, and evidently proceed from rocks reduced by heat to a 
 liquid or past}^ state; they consist principally of silica and 
 alumina, and contain, besides, lime, magnesia, potash, and soda. 
 Oxides of iron also enter into the composition of lava, to the extent 
 of more than one-tenth, wdiich is a very considerable proportion, 
 and warrants us in looking upon the volcanic flows as actual tor- 
 rents of iron ore ; sometimes, indeed, this metal appears in a pure 
 state. It is to this presence of iron that lava especially owes its 
 reddish color, and the sides of the crater their diversely colored 
 
 sides. 
 
 Compounds of copper, maganese, cobalt, and lead are also mei 
 with in lava ; but, in comparison with the iron, they are but of 
 slight importance. Lastly, phosphates, ammonia, and gases com- 
 posed of hydrogen and carbon are discharged during eruptions. 
 The presence of these bodies is explained by the enormous pro- 
 portion of animal and vegetable matter which is decomposed in 
 
CRATERS BELCHING TORRENTS OF STEAM. 333 
 
 sea-water. EHrenberg found tlie remains of marine animalculae 
 in tlie substances thrown out by volcanoes. 
 
 Is tlie composition of tbe lava, and especially that of the vapor 
 and gases, the same in those eruptions which take place at a 
 great distance from the ocean ? It is probable that, as regards 
 this point, considerable differences might be established between 
 the products of volcanoes placed on the sea-coast, such as Vesuvius 
 and Etna, and those which rise far in the interior of the land, as 
 Tolima, Jorullo, and Purace. This comparative study, however, 
 which would be calculated to throw light on the chemical phe- 
 nomena of deep-lying beds, has as yet been made at only a few 
 
 points. 
 
 HOT WATER UNDER GROUND. 
 
 Eruptions are rare in volcanoes situated far from the coast, 
 and when they do take place, scientific men do not happen to be 
 on the spot to study the course of the occurrence. Popocatepetl, 
 one of the most remarkable continental volcanoes, produces a large 
 quantity of hydrochloric acid ; the snow from it, which has a 
 very decided muriatic taste, is carried by the rain into the Lake 
 of Tezcuco, where, in conjunction with soda, its forms salt. 
 
 When the water, either of sea or rivers, penetrates into the 
 crevices of the terrestrial envelope, it gradually increases in tem- 
 perature the same as the rocks it passes through. It is well 
 known that this increase of heat may be estimated on the average 
 at least as regards the external part of the planet, at i° (Fahr.) 
 for every 54 feet in depth. Following this law, water descending 
 to a point 7500 feet below the surface would show, in the southern 
 latitudes of Europe, a temperature of about 212° (Fahr.). But it 
 would not on this account be converted into steam, but would re- 
 main in a liquid state, owing to the enormous pressure which it 
 has to undergo from tbe upper layers. 
 
 According to calculations, which are based, it is true, on 
 various hypothetical data, it would be at a point more than nine 
 miles below the surface of the ground that the expansive force of 
 the water would attain sufficient energy to balance the weight of 
 the superincumbent liquid masses, and to be suddenly converted 
 
334 CRATERS BELCHING T0RRENT5 OF STEAM. 
 
 into steam at a temperature of 800° to 900° (Falir.). These gas- 
 eous masses would then have force to lift a column of water of 
 the weight of 1500 atmospheres; if, however, from any cause, 
 they can not escape as quickly as they are formed, they exercise 
 their pressure in every direction, and ultimately find their way 
 from fissure to fissure until they reach the fused rocks which exist 
 in the depths. To this incessantly increasing pressure we must, 
 therefore, attribute the ascent of the lava into vent-holes of vol- 
 canoes, the occurrence of earthquakes, the fusion and the rupture 
 of the terrestrial crust, and, finally, the violent eruptions of the 
 imprisoned fluids. 
 
 But wh}^ should the vapor thus pervade the subterranean 
 strata and upheave them into volcanic cones, when, by the natural 
 effect of its overcoming the columns of water which press it down, 
 it ought simply to rise toward the bed of the sea from which it 
 descended ? In the present state of science, this is a question to 
 which it seems absolutely impossible to give a satisfactory answer, 
 and geologists must at least have the merit of candidly acknowl- 
 edging their ignorance on this point. 
 
 STEAM IN VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS, 
 
 The discoveries of natural philosoph}^ and chemistry, which 
 have been the means of making known to us the enormous activity 
 of steam in volcanic eruptions, will doubtless, sooner or later, ex- 
 plain to us in what way this activity is exercised in the subter- 
 ranean cavities. But at the present time the phenomena which 
 are taking place in the interior of our globe are not better known 
 to us than the history of the lunar volcanoes. 
 
 Be this as it may, the direct observations which have been 
 made on volcanic eruptions have now rendered it a very doubtful 
 point whether the lavas of various volcanoes proceed from one 
 and the same reservoir of molten matter, or fiom the supposed 
 great central furnace which is said to fill the whole of the interior 
 of the planet. Volcanoes which are very close to one another 
 show no coincidence in the times of their eruptions, and vomit 
 forth at different epochs, lavas which are most dissimilar both in 
 
CRATERS BELCHING TOKKENTS OF STEAM. 335 
 
 appearance and mineralogical composition. These facts would be 
 eminently impossible, if tlie craters were fed from the same 
 source. 
 
 Etna, the group of the Lipari Isles, and Vesuvius, have often 
 been quoted as being volcanic outlets placed upon the same 
 fracture of the terrestrial crust ; and it is added, in corroboration 
 of this assertion, that a line traced from the Sicilian volcano to 
 that of Naples passes through the ever-active furnace of the 
 Lipari Isles. Although the mountain of Stromboli, so regular in 
 its eruptions, is situated on a line slightly divergent from the 
 principal line, and, on the other side, the volcanic isles of Salini, 
 Alicudi, and Felicudi tend from east to west, it is possible, and 
 even probable, that Vesuvius and Etna are in fact situated on 
 fissures of the earth which were once in mutual communication. 
 But during the thousands of years in which these great craters 
 have been at work, no connection between their eruptions has 
 ever been positively certified. 
 
 T^A/'0 INDEPENDENT VOLCANOES. 
 
 Sometimes, as in 1865, Vesuvius vomits forth lava at the 
 same time as- Etna ; sometimes it is in a state of repose when its 
 mighty neighbor is in full eruption, and rouses up when the lava 
 of Etna has cooled. There is nothing which affords the slighest 
 indication of any law of rhythm or periodicity in the eruptive 
 phenomena of the two volcanoes. The inhabitants of Stromboli 
 state that, during the winter of 1865, at the moment when the 
 sides of Etna were rent, the volcanic impulse manifested itself 
 very strongly in their island by stirring up the always agitated 
 waves of the lava-crater which commands their vineyards and 
 houses. 
 
 A comparative calm, however, soon succeeded this temporary 
 effervescence, and in the adjacent island of Volcano no increase 
 of activity was noticed. If the shafts of Etna, Vesuvius, and the 
 intervening volcanoes, take their rise in one and the same ocean 
 of liquid lava, all the lower craters must necessarily overflow 
 simultaneously with the most elevated. Now, as has often been 
 
336 CRATERS BELCHING TORRENTS OF STEAM. 
 
 noticed, tlie lava may ascend to tlie summit of Etna, at a lieiglit 
 of 10,827 ^^^^^ without a simultaneous flow of rivers of molten 
 stone from Vesuvius, Stromboli, and Volcano, whicli are respec- 
 tively but one-third, one-fourth, and one-tenth the height of the 
 former. In like manner, Kilauea, situated on the sides of Mauna- 
 Loa, in the Isle of Hawaii, in no way participates in the eruptions 
 of the central crater opening at a point 9800 feet higher up, and 
 not more than twelves miles away. 
 
 If there is any present geological connection between the 
 volcanoes of one and the same region, it probably must be attrib- 
 uted to the fact of their phenomenal depending on the same 
 climatic causes, and not because their bases penetrate to one and 
 the same ocean of fire. Volcanic orifices are not, therefore," safety 
 valves," for two centers of activity may exist on one mountain 
 without their eruptions exhibiting the least appearance of 
 
 connection. 
 
 OPINIONS OF MEN OF SCIENCE. 
 
 Isolated as they are amid all the other formations on the 
 surface of the earth, lavas appear as if almost independent of the 
 rest. Basalts, trachytes, and volcanic ashes, are the comparatively 
 modern products which are scarcely met with in the periods 
 anterior to the Tertiary age. Only a very small quantity of these 
 lavas of eruption has been found in the Secondary and Palseozoic 
 rocks. Formerl}^, most geologists thought that the granites and 
 rocks similar to them had issued from the earth in a pasty or 
 liquid state ; they looked upon them as the " lavas of the 
 past," and believed that these first eruptive rocks were succeeded 
 age after age by the diorites, the porphyries, the trap-rocks, then 
 by the trachytes and the basalts of our own da}^, all drawn from 
 a constantly increasing depth. 
 
 They thought also that, in the future, when the whole series 
 of the present lavas shall have been thrown up to the surface, 
 volcanoes would produce other substances as distinct from the 
 lavas as the latter are from the granite. Granites, however, differ 
 so much from the trachytes and basalts as to render it impossible 
 for us to imagine that they have the same origin ; added to which, 
 
CRATERS BELCHING TORRENTS OF STEAM. 337 
 
 tte labors of modem savants liave proved tliat, under the action 
 of fire, granite and the other rocky masses of the same kind, 
 would have been unable to assume the crystalline texture which 
 distinguishes them. We are, then, still ignorant how volcanic 
 eruptions commenced upon the earth, and how they are connected 
 with the other great phenomena which have co-operated in the 
 formation of the external strata of the globe. 
 
 Considered singly, each volcano is nothing but a mere orifice, 
 temporary or permanent, through which a furnace of lava is 
 brought into communication with the surface of the globe. The 
 matter thrown out accumulates outside the opening, and gradually 
 forms a cone of debris more or less regular in its shape, which 
 ultimately attains to considerable dimensions. One flow of molten 
 matter follows another, and thus is gradually formed the skeleton 
 of the mountain ; the ashes and stones thrown out by the crater 
 accumulate in long slopes ; the volcano simultaneously grows 
 wider and higher. 
 
 MOUNTS INTO CLOUDS AND SNOW^. 
 
 After a long succession of eruptions, it at last mounts up 
 into the clouds, and then into the region of permanent snow. At 
 the first outbreak of the volcano the orifice is on the surface of the 
 ground ; it is then prolonged like an immense chimney through 
 the center of the cone, and each new river of lava which flows 
 from the summit increases the height of this conduit. Thus the 
 highest outlet of Etna opens at an elevation of 10,892 feet above 
 the level of the sea; Teneriffe rises to 12,139 feet ; Mauna-Loa, 
 in Hawaii, to 13,943 feet, and, more gigantic still, Sangay and 
 Sahama, in the Cordilleras, attain to 18,372 and 23,950 feet in 
 elevation. 
 
 This theory of the formation of volcanic mountains by the 
 accumulation of lava and other matters cast out of the bosom of 
 the earth presents itself quite naturally to one's mind. Most 
 savants, from Saussure and Spallanzani down to Virlet, Constant 
 Prevost, Poulett Scrope and Lyell, have been led, by their inves- 
 tigations, to adopt it entirely ; indeed, in the present daj' it is 
 
 22^ F. 
 
838 CRATERS BELCHING TORRENTS OF STEAM. 
 
 scarce!}^ disputed. It is true tliat Humboldt, Leopold vou Buch 
 and, following tliem, M. Blie de Beaumont, have put forth quite a 
 different hypothesis, as to the origin of several volcanoes, such as 
 Etna, Vesuvius and the Peak of TenerifFe. 
 
 According to their theor}^, volcanic mountains do not owe 
 their present conformation to the long-continued accumulation of 
 lava and ashes, but rather to the sudden upheaval of the terrestrial 
 strata. During some revolution of the globe, the pent-up matter 
 in the interior suddenly upheaves a portion of the crust of the 
 planet into the form of a cone, and opens a funnel-shaped gulf 
 between the dislocated strata, thus by one single paroxysm pro- 
 ducing lofty mountains, as we now see them. As an important 
 instance of a crater thus formed by the upheaval and rupture of 
 the terrestrial strata, Leopold von Buch mentions the enormous 
 ab3^ss of the Isle of Palma, known by the natives under the name 
 of " Caldron," or Caldera. 
 
 HUGE FUNNEL-SHAPED CAVITY. 
 
 The funnel-shaped cavity is of enormous dimensions, and is 
 not less than four or five miles in width on the average ; the 
 bottom of it is situated about 2000 feet above the level of the sea. 
 Lofty slopes, from 1000 to 2000 feet in height, rise round the vast 
 amphitheatre, and abut upon inaccessible cliffs, the upper ledges 
 of which reach a total altitude of 5900 to 6900 feet in height. The 
 highest point, the Pico-de-los-Muchachos, is covered by snow dur- 
 ing the winter months ; and, although it penetrates to regions of 
 the atmosphere which are of a very different character from those 
 of the rest of the island, the slope that is turned toward the crater 
 is so steep that blocks of stone falling from the summit roll down 
 into the enclosed hollow. 
 
 The prodigious cavity in the Isle of Palma was, perhaps, the 
 most striking instance that Leopold von Buch could bring forward 
 in favor of his hypothesis ; nevertheless, the exploration of this 
 island, since carried out by Hartung, Lyell and other travelers, 
 is ver}^ far from confirming the ideas of the illustrious German 
 geologist. The lofty side walls of the hollow appear to be formed 
 
CRATERS BELCHING TORRENTS OF STEAM. 339 
 
 principally, not of solid lava, wliicli constitute scarcely a quarter 
 of the whole mass, but of layers of ashes and scoriae, regularly 
 arranged like beds of sand on the incline of a talus. Basalts and 
 strata of ashes lie upon one another in the greatest order round 
 the inclosed hollow, which would be a fact impossible to compre- 
 hend if any sudden upheaval, acting in an upward direction with 
 suf&cient violence to break the terrestrial crust, had shattered and 
 ruptured all the strata, and by a mighty explosion, opened out 
 the immense Caldron of Palma. 
 
 LIKE CRACKS IN BROKEN GLASS. 
 
 Finally, if a phenomenon of this kind had taken place, star- 
 formed cracks, like those produced in broken glass, would be 
 visible across the thickness of the upheaved strata, and their 
 greatest width would be turned toward the crater. Now there are no 
 fissures of this kind, and the ravines in the circumference of the 
 volcano, which one might perhaps be tempted to confound witt 
 actual ruptures of the ground, become wider in proportion as they 
 approach the sea. The enormous cavity in Palma is, therefore, a 
 crater similar to those of volcanoes of less dimensions. It is, 
 however, certain that the Caldera was once both shallower and 
 less in extent, for the ashes and volcanic scoriae are easily carried 
 away by the rain, which is swallowed up in the bottom of the 
 basin, and has hollowed out for itself a wide drainage channel in a 
 southwest direction. 
 
 M. Hlie de Beaumont, as his chief support of Leopold von 
 Buch's hypothesis, brought forward the fact that most of the strata 
 of lava — a section of which may be seen on the sides of Btna, in 
 the immense amphitheatre of the Val del Bove — are very sharply 
 inclined. The celebrated geologist affirmed that thick sheets of 
 molten matter could not run down steep slopes without being very 
 soon reduced, in consequence of the acceleration of their speed 
 into thin layers of irregular scoriae. If this were really the case, 
 the position of the thick flows of lava in the Val del Bove must have 
 changed since the date of the eruption. It would then be neces- 
 sary to admit that they have been violently tilted up aftf^r having 
 
340 CRATERS BELCHING TORRENTS OF STEAM. 
 
 been originally deposited on the soil in sheets, whicli were either 
 horizontal or very gently sloped. 
 
 Nevertheless, the recent observations made by Sir C. Lyell, 
 those of Darwin on the cones of the Gallapagos Isles, and of Dana 
 on the lava flows of Kilauea ; lastly, the remarks of the Italian 
 savants who studied on the spot the volcanic phenomena of 
 Vesuvius and Etna, have satisfactorily proved that, in modern 
 times, a great number of rivers of lava, and especially that of the 
 Val-de-Bove, in 1852 and 1853, have flowed over steep slopes vary- 
 ing in inclination from 15 to 40 degrees. It must, besides, be 
 understood that the lava which poured over the steepest slopes 
 was exactly that portion which, not having experienced any cause 
 of delay, or met with any obstacle, in its course, presented layers 
 of the most uniform consistence and the most regular action. 
 
 CLEFT IN THE EARTH. 
 
 One of the strongest arguments of scientific men in favor of 
 the theory of upheaval is, that certain volcanic mountains, 
 especially that of Monte-Nuovo, Pouzzoles, and Jorullo, in Mexico, 
 had been suddenly raised up by the swellings of the soil. Now the 
 unanimous testimony of those who, more than three centuries ago, 
 witnessed the eruption of Monte-Nuovo, is, that the earth was cleft 
 open, affording an outlet to vapor, ashes, scoriae, and lava, and that 
 the hill, very much lower than some of the subordinate cones of 
 Etna, gradually rose during four days by the heaping up of the 
 matter thrown out. The total volume of this eruption was no 
 doubt considerable, but compared with the amount of matter which 
 flowed down upon Catania in 1669, or with the rivers of lava from 
 Skaptar-Jokul, it is a mass of no great importance. 
 
 Added to this, if the soil was really upheaved, how was it that 
 the neighboring houses were not thrown down, and that the 
 colonnade of the Temple of Neptune, which stands at the foot of 
 the mountain, kept its upright position ? With regard to Jorullo, 
 which rises to a height of more than 1650 feet, the only witnesses 
 of this volcano making its first appearance were the Indians, who 
 fled away to the neighboring heights, distracted with terror. 
 
CRATERS BELCHING TORRENTS OF STEAM. 841 
 
 We have, therefore, no authentic testimony on which we can 
 base an hypothesis as to any swelling up of the ground in the 
 form of a blister. Quite the contrary, the travelers who have 
 visited this Mexican volcano since Humboldt have discovered beds 
 of lava lying one over the other, as in all other cones of eruption ; 
 and more than this, they have also ascertained that none of the 
 strata in the ground overlooked by the mountain have been at all 
 tilted up. 
 
 It is true enough that local swellings have often been observed 
 
 in the burning matter issuing from the interior of the earth ; in 
 
 many places the lava is pierced by deep caverns, and entire 
 
 mountains — especially that of Volcano — have so many hollows in 
 
 the rocks on their sides that every step of the climber resounds 
 
 on them as if in a vault. Besides, the lava itself, being a kind of 
 
 impure glass, is so pervaded by bubbles filled with volatile matter 
 
 that, when acted, upon by fire, so as to expel the water and the 
 
 gas, it loses on an average, according to Fouque, two thirds of its 
 
 weight. 
 
 MIXTURE OF LAVA AND VAPOR. 
 
 But these caverns, these hollov/s and bubbles, proceed from 
 the mixture of the lava with vapor which is liberated with 
 difficulty from the viscous mass, or are caused by the longitudinal 
 rupture of the strata during an eruption, and can in no way be 
 compared to the immense blister-like elevation which would be 
 formed by the strata of a whole district being tilted up to a 
 height of hundreds, or even thousands, of yards, leaving at 
 the summit, between two lines of fracture, room for an immense 
 cavity. 
 
 None of these prodigious upheavels have been directly 
 observed by geologists, and none of the legends invented by the 
 fears of our ancestors, referring to the sudden appearance of vol- 
 canic mountains, which have been since confirmed. Lastly, the very 
 structure of the peaks which are said to have risen abruptly from 
 the midst of the plains testifies to the gradual accumulation of 
 material that has issued from the bowels of the earth. It is, there- 
 fore, prudent to dismiss definitely an hypothesis which marks 
 
342 CRATERS BELCHING TORRENTS OF STEAM. 
 
 an important period in the history of geolog}^, but wliicli, for the 
 future, can onl}^ serve to retard the progress of science. 
 
 As, when the burning matter seeks an outlet, the earth is 
 generall}' cleft open in a straight line, the volcanic orifices are 
 frequently distributed somewhat regularly along a fissure, and 
 the heaps of erupted matter follow one another like the peaks in 
 a mountain chain. In other places, however, the volcanic cones 
 rise without any apparent order on ground that is variously cleft, 
 just as if a wide surface had been softened in every direction, and 
 had thus allowed the molten matter to make its escape, sometimes 
 at one point, sometimes at another. From the town of Naples — 
 which is itself built on a half crater in great part obliterated — 
 to the Isle of Nisida, wdiich is an old volcano of regular form, the 
 Phlegraean Fields presents a remarkable example of this confu- 
 sion of craters. 
 
 LANDSCAPE TURNED TO CHAOS. 
 
 Some are perfectl}' rounded, others are broken into, and their 
 circle is invaded by the waters of the sea ; grouped, for the most 
 part, in irregular clumps, even encroaching upon one another 
 and blending their walls, they give to the whole landscape a 
 chaotic appearance. As Mr. Poulett Scrope very justly remarks, 
 the aspect of the terrestrial surface at this spot reminds one exactly 
 of the volcanic districts of the moon, dotted over, as it is, with 
 craters. 
 
 As the type of a region pierced all over with volcanic orifices, 
 we may also mention the Ishthmus of Auckland, in New Zealand, 
 which Dr. Hockstetter has reckoned, in an area of 230 square 
 miles, sixty-one independent volcanoes, 520 to 650 feet in height 
 on the average. Some are mere cones of tufa; others are heaps 
 of scorise, or even eruptive hillocks, w^hich have shed out round 
 them long flows of lava. At one time the INIaori chiefs used to 
 intrench themselves in these craters as if in citadels ; they 
 escarped the outer slopes in terraces, and furnished them with 
 palisades. At the present day, the English colonists, having 
 become lords of the soil, have constructed their farms and country 
 
CRATERS BELCHING TORRENTS OF STEAM. 343 
 
 houses on these ancient volcanoes, and are constantly bringing 
 the soil under cultivation. 
 
 The Safa, in the Djebel-Hauran, is also a complete chaos of 
 hillocks and abysses. On this plateau of 460 square miles, which 
 the Arabs call a " portion of hell," almost all the craters open 
 on the surface of the ground, and not on the summits of volca- 
 noes scattered here and there on the black surface. In every 
 direction there may be seen rounded cavities like the vacuities 
 formed in scoriae by bubbles of gas, only these cavities are 600 to 
 900 feet wide, and 65 to 160 deep. Some are isolated ; some 
 either touch or are separated by nothing but narrow walls like 
 masses of red or darkish-colored glass. One hardly cares to ven- 
 ture on these narrow isthmuse2, bordered by precipices, and inter- 
 sected here and there by fissures. 
 
 ALWAYS SLOPING IN FORM. 
 
 The normal form of the volcanoes in which the work of erup- 
 tion takes place is that of a slope of debris arranged in a circular 
 form round the outlet. Whether the volcano be a mere cone of 
 ashes or mud only a few yards high, or rise into the regions of the 
 clouds, vomiting streams of lava over an extent of ten or twenty 
 miles, it none the less adheres to the regular form so long as the 
 eruptive action is maintained in the same channel, and the debris 
 thrown out falls equally on the external slopes. 
 
 The beauty of the cone is increased by that of the crater. 
 The terminal orifice from which the lava boils out well deserves, 
 from the purity of its outline, its Greek name of " cup," and the 
 harmony of its curve contrasts most gracefully with the declivity 
 of the slope. In some volcanoes the symmetry of the architectural 
 lines is so complete that the crater itself contains a cone placed 
 exactly in the centre of the cavity, and pierced by a second crater 
 in miniature, from which the vapor makes its escape. 
 
 Volcanoes in which the eruptive action frequently changes its 
 position — and these are the more numerous class — do not possess 
 this elegance of outline. Very often the upheaved lava finds some 
 weak place in the walls of the crater ; it hollows them out at first, 
 
344 CRATERS BELCHING TORRENTS OF STEAM. 
 
 and then, bringing- all its weiglit to bear on the rocks which oppose 
 its passage, it nltimately completely breaks down the edge of the 
 crater, leaving pernaps dnly one side standing. Among the 
 Enropean volcanoes, Vesuvius is the best example of these rup- 
 tured craters : before A. D. 79, the escarpments of La Somma, 
 which now surround with their semicircular rampart the terminal 
 cone of Vesuvius, were the real crater. The portion of it which 
 no longer exists disappeared, and buried under its debris the towns 
 of Herculaneum and Pompeii. 
 
 INCREASING DIMENSIONS. 
 
 Active volcanoes, however, never cease to increase in all their 
 dimensions, and sooner or later the breach is ultimatel}^ repaired ; 
 the remains of the former craters are gradually hidden under the 
 growing slopes of the central cone. Thus a former crater on 
 Etna, which was situated at a point three miles in a straight line 
 from the present outlet, at the commencement of the Val del Bove, 
 has been gradually obliterated by the lava of successive eruptions ; 
 prolonged explorations on the part of MM. Seyell and Walters- 
 hausen have been necessary in order to find it out. The normal 
 form of Etna is that of a cone of debris placed upon a large dome 
 with long slopes, becoming more and more gentle, and descending 
 gracefully toward the sea. 
 
 In fact, in most of the eruptions, the lava does not rise as far 
 as the great crater, and breaks through the sides of the volcano 
 so as to flow laterally over the flanks of Etna. These eruptions, 
 succeeding one another in the course of centuries, bring about the 
 necessary result of gradually enlarging the dome which consti- 
 tutes the mass of the mountain, thus breaking the uniformity of 
 the lateral talus. The same thing occurs with regard to Vesuvius 
 on the side which faces the seacoast. There, the terminal cone 
 stands on a kind of dome, which has been gradually formed by the 
 coats of lava running one over the other. If Vesuvius continues to 
 be the great volcanic outlet of Italy, and rises gradually into the 
 sky by the superposition of lava and ashes, it cannot fail, some time 
 or other, to assume a form similar to that of the Sicilian giant. 
 
CRATERS BELCHING TORRENTS OF STEAM. 345 
 
 The volcanoes whicli present cones of almost perfect regu- 
 larity are those which have their terminal outlet alone in a state 
 of activity, and vomit out a large quantity of ashes or other 
 matter which glides readily over the slopei^. Among this class of 
 mountains, those which attain any considerable elevation are 
 distinguished by their majesty from all other peaks. Stromboli, 
 although it is not more than 2600 feet in height, is one of the 
 wonders of the Mediterranean. From its proud form, it will 
 readily be understood that its roots plunge down into the sea to 
 an enormous depth ; the slope of debris may be seen, so to speak, 
 prolonged under the water down to the abysses of 3000 to 4000 
 feet, which the sounding-line has reached at the bottom of the 
 ^olian Sea. 
 
 At sight of it one feels as if suspended in the midst of the 
 void, as if the ship was sailing in the air midway up the mountain. 
 This feeling of admiration mingled with dread increases when 
 this great pharos of the Mediterranean is approached during the 
 night over the dark-waved sea. Then the sky above the summit 
 seems all lighted up by the reflection of the lava, and a misty 
 band of vapor may be dimly seen girdling round the body of the 
 volcano. In the daytime the impression made is of a different 
 character ; but it is none the less deep, for the real grandeur of 
 Stromboli consists not so much in the immensity of the mass as 
 in the harmony of its proportions. 
 
 SACRED MOUNTAINS. 
 
 Volcanic mountains of an ideal form are those which infant 
 nations have most adored. Among these sacred mountains are 
 the sublime Cotopaxi of the Andes, Orizaba of Mexico, Mauna- 
 Ivoa of Hawaii, and Fusi-Yama of Japan. The volcanoes of Java, 
 and chiefly those in the eastern portion of the island, also present 
 a very majestic appearance on account of their isolation. 
 
 Those on the western side are based upon an undulating 
 plateau, which causes them to lose their appearance of height ; 
 but on the east all the volcanic mountains rise up from verdant 
 plains like islands above the waves of the sea, and command the 
 
346 
 
 CRATERS BELCHING TORRENTS OF STEAM. 
 
 horizon far and wide with, their enormous cones. Between the 
 Merapi and Lavoe mountains lies a depression, the highest ledge 
 of which exceeds the level of the sea by only 312 feet. Between 
 Lavoe and Villis the plain is 230 feet in height. Lastly, the 
 plains which separate the Villis and Keloeet mountains nowhere 
 attain an elevation of more than 200 feet above the ocean. 
 
 In the external details of their conformation many of the vol- 
 
 j^.t3iMt-,.»=nf>r* iT?g>Br-:^i 
 
 A REMARKABLE VOLCANO CRATER, ISLE OF JAVA. 
 
 canoes of Java present a regularit}^ of outline which is all the 
 more striking, since they owe it in great part to the monsoon 
 rains, the most destructive agents of the tropical regions. In 
 beating against the mountains, the clouds let fall their burden of 
 moisture on the slopes composed of ashes and loose scorise. The 
 latter offer but a slight resistance to the action of the temporary 
 torrents which carry them away, and, crumbling down into the 
 
CRATERS BELCHING TORRENTS OF STEAM. 347 
 
 plains wliicli surroTind the base of the volcano, are deposited in 
 long slopes, like those caused by avalanches. 
 
 In consequence of the fall of all this debris, the sides of the 
 mountain are cut out at intervals by ravines or furrows, which 
 gradually widen from the summit to the base of the mountains, 
 and attain a depth of 200, 600, and 660 feet. There are some 
 volcanoes, such as the Sumbing, in which these ravines assume 
 so perfect a regularity that the whole mountain, with its equi- 
 distant furrows and its intermediate walls, resembles a gigantic 
 edifice based upon enormous buttresses, like the nave of a Gothic 
 
 cathedral. 
 
 BEAUTIFUL ISLAND. 
 
 Formerly the beauty of the island and the fury of its vol- 
 canoes were the cause of its being altogether dedicated to Siva, 
 the god of destruction ; and in the very craters of the burning 
 mountains the worshipers of Terror and Death were in the habit 
 of building their temples. In many spots the ruins of these sanc- 
 tuaries are discovered in the midst of trees and thickets, which 
 the Arab conquerors have left to grow in the formidable cavities 
 of the volcanoes. Semerce, the loftiest peak in the island, was 
 the sacred mountain par excellence ; the Siimbing, which rises in 
 the centre of the island, was the "nail which fastens Java to the 
 earth." 
 
 Even in our own time some faithful followers of Siva inhabit 
 a sandy plain, more than four miles wide, which was once the 
 crater of the Tengger volcano ; every year they proceed solemnly 
 to pour rice on the summit of an eruptive cone, into the roaring 
 mouth of the monster. In like manner, in New Zealand, the ever- 
 smoking orifice of Tougariro was considered as the only place 
 M^orthy of receiving the dead bodies of their great chiefs : when 
 cast into the crater, the heroes went to sleep among the gods. 
 
 But the volcanic divinities, like most of the other rulers in- 
 voked by nations, did not content themselves with the fruits of 
 the earth or the companionship of a few warriors ; they also de- 
 manded blood, both by their subterranean roarings, by their 
 thundering eruptions, and their devastating rivers of lava. In- 
 
348 CRATERS BELCHING TORRENTS OF STEAM. 
 
 numerable sacrifices have been offered to volcanoes to appease 
 their anger : impelled by a mingled feeling of fear and ferocity, 
 the priests of not a few religions have cast victims with great 
 pomp into the gaping hollows of these immense furnaces. 
 
 Scarcely three centuries ago, when the disciples of Christi- 
 anity were exterminated over the whole length and. breadth of 
 Japan, the followers of the new religion were thrown by hundreds 
 into one of the craters of the Unsen, one of the most beautiful 
 volcanoes of the archipelago ; but this offering to the offended 
 gods did not appease their anger, for, toward the end of the 
 eighteenth century, this very same mountain and the neighboring 
 summits caused by their eruptions one of the most frightful 
 disasters of any that are mentioned in the history of volcanoes. 
 
 Actuated by a feeling of dread very similar to that exhibited 
 by the Japanese priests, the Christian missionaries in America 
 recognized in the burning mountains of the New World not the 
 work of a god, but that of the devil, and went in procession to the 
 edge of the craters to exorcise them. A legend tells how the 
 monks of Nicaragua climbed the terrible volcano of Momotombo 
 in order to quiet it by their conjurations ; but they never returned ; 
 the monster swallowed them up. 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Various Kinds of Lava. — Beautiful Cave in Scotland. — 
 Crevices in Volcanoes. — Snow Under Burning Dust. 
 
 T AVA is the most important product of the volcanic fires. The 
 -'— ' various kinds of lava differ very much in their external 
 appearance, in the color of their substance, and in the variety of 
 their crystals, but they are all composed of silicates of alumnia 
 or magnesia, combined with protoxide of iron, potash or soda, and 
 lime. When the feldspathic minerals predominate, the rock is 
 generally of a whitish, grayish or yellowish hue, and receives the 
 name of trachyte. When the lava contains an abundance of crys- 
 tals of augite, hornblende, or titaniferous iron, it is heavier, of a 
 darker color, and often more compact ; it then takes the generic 
 formation of basalt. Numerous varieties, diversely designated 
 by geologists, belong to this group. 
 
 Of all the lavas, trachyte is the least fluid in its form. In 
 many places rocks of this nature have issued from the earth in a 
 pasty state, and have accumulated above the orifice in the shape 
 of a dome, "Just like a mass of melted wax." In this way were 
 formed the great domes of Auvergne, the Puys de Dome and de 
 Sarcouy. In this district the flows of trachy tic lava are far inferior 
 in length to the basaltic cheires ; the most important do not exceed 
 four or five miles in length. 
 
 At the present day, eruptions of trachyte are much more rare 
 than those of other lavas; so much so, that certain authors class 
 all the trachytic rocks among the formations of anterior ages. It 
 is, however, ascertained that most of the American volcanoes and 
 those of the Sunda Archipelago vomit out lava of this nature ; the 
 last eruptions of the ^olian Isles, Lipari and Volcano, likewise 
 produced only trachyte and pumice-stone. 
 
 This latter substance resembles certain white, yellow, or 
 greenish scoria, which issue like a frothy dross from the furnaces 
 
 349 
 
350 PRODUCTS OF VOLCANOES. 
 
 of our ircn-works, and is, like tHe compact trachyte, of a felds- 
 patliic nature. Some mountains are almost entirely composed of 
 it ; among others, the Monte Bianco of Lipari, which, viewed from 
 a distance, appears as if covered with snow. Long white flows, 
 like avalanches, fill up all its ravines, from the summit of the 
 mountain to the shore of the Mediterranean; the slightest move- 
 ment caused by the tread of an animal or a gust of wind detaches 
 from the surface of the slope hundreds of stones, which bound 
 down to the foot of the incline, and are borne away by the waves 
 which bathe the base of the mountain. 
 
 In the southern part of the Tyrrhenean Sea, and especially 
 in the vicinity of the Lipari (^olian) Islands, the water is some- 
 times covered with these floating stones, almost like flakes of 
 foam. In the Cordilleras the currents of fresh water convey the 
 morsels of pumice to considerable distances. The River Amazon 
 drifts down large quantities of pumice as far as its mouth, more 
 than 3000 miles from the place where it fell into the river. Bates 
 says that the Indians, who live too far away from the volcanoes 
 even to know of their existence, assert that these stones, floating 
 down the river by the side of their canoes, are surely solidified 
 
 foam. 
 
 APPEARANCE OF VARIOUS LAVAS. 
 
 The external appearance of various lavas differs even more 
 than their chemical composition. The more or less perfect state 
 of fluidity, and the presence in them of a greater or less quantity 
 of bubbles of vapor, give a very different texture to rocks which 
 are composed of the same elements. Pumice-stone has the 
 appearance of sponge ; obsidian looks like black glass, and some- 
 times it is even semi-transparent. 
 
 It is entirely liquid, and issues from the interior ot the earth 
 like a stream flowing rapidly over the steeper slopes, and coagu- 
 lating slowly in large sheets in the low ground and on the gentle 
 inclines whither its own weight has drawn it. The surface of 
 obsidian — for instance, that of Teneriffe — shines with a vitreous 
 glitter ; the cleavage of the rock is clean and sharp. 
 
 Some less degree of fluidity in the current of lava gives it 
 
PRODUCTS OF VOLCANOES. 351 
 
 sometimes tlie appearance of resiu ; this is tlie stone wliicli is 
 
 called peclistein (pitch-stone). When the rock, issuing in a state 
 
 of fusion from the bosom of the mountain, becomes still cooler, it 
 
 contains innumerable perfectly-formed crystals, and only owes its 
 
 fluidity to the particles of vapor in its pores. The external layer 
 
 of the lava is also immediately covered with scoria which float in 
 
 flakes on the fiery stream. These scoria, too, assume a great variety 
 
 of shapes ; some are mammillated, others are exceedingly rough 
 
 and irregular. 
 
 In the Dj ebel-Hauran, near the crater of Abu-Ganim, there is 
 
 an infinity of needles of red lava, about a yard high on the average, 
 
 and bent in various directions toward the surface of the plateau; 
 
 one might often fancy them flames half beaten down under the 
 
 pressure of the wind. According to M. Wetzstein, these strange 
 
 stone needles proceed from an eruption of flaky lava. In the 
 
 Sandwich Islands, and in the Island of Reunion, certain cr3^stals 
 
 of a ferruginous appearance are grouped at the outlet of the crater 
 
 in herbaceous forms of the most curious and sometimes elegant 
 
 character. 
 
 RESEMBLE HEMP TOW. 
 
 Some of the products of the volcano of Mauna-Loa and Kil- 
 auea resemble the tow of hemp ! These are the whitish filaments 
 which are sometimes carried away by the wind ; the Kanakes used 
 to consider them as the hair of Pele, the goddess of fire. 
 
 Among the old basaltic lavas there are some to which the 
 name of "basalt" is more specially applied, which present a col- 
 umnar disposition with wonderful regularity. These form the 
 enormous monuments, much more imposing than those of man, 
 which seem as if they had been constructed by giant builders, 
 turning their mighty hands to the noble art of architecture, which 
 is still practiced, though on a smaller scale, by us their feeble 
 descendants. These magnificent colonnades of basalt are every- 
 where attributed to giants. 
 
 In Ireland, on the coast of Antrim, the summits of 40,000 
 prisms, leveled pretty regularly by the waves of the sea, and 
 resembling a vast paved quay, have received the name of the 
 
352 PRODUCTS OF VOLCANOES. 
 
 Giant's Causeway. In Scotland, tlie beautiful cave of the Isle of 
 Staffa, hollowed out by the action of the waves between two ranges 
 of basaltic shafts, is celebrated as the work of Fingal, the demi- 
 god. In the Sicilian Sea, the Faraglioni Isles, or Isles of the 
 Cyclopes, situated not far from Catania, at the base of Etna, are 
 looked upon by tradition as the rocks cast by Polyphemus on the 
 ships of Ulysses and his companions. Many of these prisms are 
 from lOO to i6o feet high, and are not less than from six to six- 
 teen feet in thickness. 
 
 Near Fair Head and the Giant's Causeway some of the shafts 
 ^connected with the perpendicular cliff of the headland are nearly 
 400 feet in height. In the Isle of Skye, some of the columns, 
 according to M'Culloch's statement, are still higher. On the 
 other hand, there are also colonnades in miniature, each shaft of 
 which is not more than three quarters of an inch to an inch from 
 the summit to the base ; instances of these are found in the basalts 
 of the hill of Morven in Scotland. 
 
 BEDS OF LAVA ARRANGED IN COLUMNS. 
 
 Some geologists have thought that basaltic columns could 
 not be formed except under the pressure of enormous masses of 
 water ; but a comparative study of these rocks in different parts 
 of the world has proved that several beds of lava are arranged in 
 columns at heights considerably above the level of the sea. In 
 this colonnade-like formation of lava there is, however, no phe- 
 nomenon which is entirely peculiar to basalt. Trachyte, also, 
 sometimes assumes this form, and M. Fouque has discovered a 
 magnificent instance of it in the island of Milo, in which there is 
 a cliff composed of prismatic shafts 320 feet in height. 
 
 Masses of mud when dried in the sun, the alluvium of rivers, 
 beds of clay or tufa, and, in general, all matter which, in conse- 
 quence of the loss of its moisture, passes from a pasty to a solid 
 state, either in a state of nature or in our manufactories and 
 dwellings, likewise assume a columnar structure similar to that 
 of the basaltic lava. In fact, the entire mass, when gradually 
 losing the moisture whicji swelled out its substance, can not con- 
 
PRODUCTS OF VOLCANOES 353 
 
 tract so as to shift tlie position of all its particles toward tlie 
 centre ; certain points remain fixed, and round each of these the 
 contraction of a portion of the mass takes place. 
 
 In basalt, in particular, it is the lower layer which assumes the 
 columnar structure, for these alone cool gently enough to allow 
 the phenomena of contraction to follow the normal course. The 
 highest portion of the mass, being deprived, immediately after its 
 issue from the earth, of the caloric and the steam which filled its 
 pores, is almost immediately transformed into a more or less 
 rough and cracked mass. But this very crust protects the rest of 
 the lava against any radiation, and serves as a covering to the 
 semi-crystalline columns which, by the continual contraction of 
 their particles, are slowly separated from the rest of the mass. 
 
 A FOREST OF PRISMS. 
 
 When a section of a bed of basaltic lava has been laid bare by 
 the water of a river, the waves of the ocean, or earthquake, the 
 rough stones of the top layers may be seen lying, with or without 
 any gradual transition, on a forest of prisms, sometimes rudi- 
 mentary in their shape, but often no less regular in their shape 
 than if they had been carved out by the hand of man. Most are 
 of a hexagonal form ; others, which were probably subject to less 
 favorable conditions, have four, five or seven faces ; but all are 
 definitely separated from one another by their particles gathering 
 round the central axis. 
 
 Mr. Poulett Scrope describes a fact which proves the enormous 
 power of this contractile force. The colonnade of Burzet in 
 Vivarais, contains numerous nodules of olivine, many of which 
 sre as large as a man's fist : and, in spite of their extreme hard- 
 ness, have been divided into two pieces, each fixed in one of two 
 adjacent columns. Although the two corresponding surfaces have 
 been polished by the infiltration of water, it is impossible to doubt 
 that the two separate portions were not once joined in the same 
 nodule. 
 
 As natural philosophers have verified by experiments on 
 
 j various viscous substances, basaltic shafts are always formed per- 
 23-s. F. 
 
854 PRODUCTS OF VOLCANOES. 
 
 pendicularly to the surface of refrigeration. Now, this surface 
 being inclined, according to the locality, in a diversity of ways, 
 the result is, that the columns may assume a great variety of 
 directions in their position. Although most of them are vertical, 
 on account of the cooling taking place in an upward direction, 
 others, as at St. Helena, take a horizontal direction, and resemble 
 trunks of trees heaped upon a wood-pile. 
 
 In other places, as at the Coupe d'Ayzac in Auvergne, the 
 columns of a denuded cliff are arranged in the form of a fan, so 
 as to lean regularly on the wall of the cliff as well as on the 
 ground of the valley. At Samoskoe, in Hungary, a sheet of 
 columnar basalt, very small at its origin, spreads out from the 
 top of a rock like the water of a cascade, and hangs suspended 
 over a precipice, resembling a cupola which has lost its base. 
 Elsewhere masses of basaltic pillars radiate in every direction like 
 the weapons in an immense trophy of arms. 
 
 LIKE GIGANTIC BAMBOOS. 
 
 An exact prismatic form, is not, however, the only shape 
 assumed by the cooling lava. The phenomenon of contraction 
 takes place in different ways, according to the nature of the 
 erupted matter, the declivity of the slopes, and all the other sur- 
 rounding circumstances. Thus, in consequence of the sinking of 
 the rock, most basaltic prisms exhibit at intervals a kind of joint, 
 which gives the columns a kind of resemblance to gigantic bam- 
 boos. In some lavas these joints are so numerous, and the edges 
 of the stone are so eaten away by the weather, that the shafts are 
 converted into piles of spheroids of a more or less regular form. 
 
 At the volcano of Bertrich, in the Bifel, one might fancy 
 them a heap of cheeses ; whence comes the name of " Cheese 
 Cave," which is given to one of the caverns which opens in the 
 flow of the lava. Sometimes, too, crystals scattered about in the 
 midst of the mass have served as nuclei to globular concretions 
 formed of numerous concentric layers. Lastly, many currents of 
 molten matter present a tabular or schistose structure, caused, 
 like that of slate, by the pressure of the superincumbent masses. 
 
PRODUCTS OF VOLCANOES. 355 
 
 Althougli lava, wlien cooled, is easy enough to study, it is 
 more difficult to observe with any exactitude the molten matter 
 immediately on its exit from the craters or fissures ; besides this, 
 the opportunities for study which are afforded to savants are 
 sometimes very dangerous. Long years often elapse before an 
 enquirer can notice at his ease, and without fear of sudden explo- 
 sions, the mouths of ^tna or Vesuvius filling up to the brink 
 with boiling lava. 
 
 Stromboli is the only volcano in Europe in which this 
 phenomenon occurs regularly at closely-recurring intervals, some- 
 times of only five minutes, or even more frequently. When an 
 observer stands on the highest edge of the crater, he sees, about 
 300 feet below him, the waves of a matter which shines like molten 
 iron, and tosses and boils up incessantly ; sometimes it swells up 
 like an enormous blister, which suddenly bursts, darting forth 
 eddies of vapor accompanied by solid fragments. 
 
 HAS BOILED FOR CENTURIES. 
 
 For centuries past the lava has never ceased to boil in the 
 cavity of Stromboli, and it is but very rarely that a period of even 
 a few hours lapses without molten matter overflowing. Thus the 
 crater, which, during the day, is white with steam, and during the 
 night red with the glare of the lava, has served as a light-house 
 for mariners ever since the first vessel ventured upon the 
 Tyrrhenian Sea. 
 
 In Nicaragua, to the north of the Great Lake, the volcano of 
 Masaya (or " Devil's Mouth ") presents a spectacle similar to that 
 of Stromboli, but grander, and perhaps still more regular. After 
 having remained in a state of repose for nearly two centuries, from 
 1670 to 1853, the monster — which has received the name it bears 
 from the frightful turbulence of its burning waves — resumed all 
 its former activity. In this crater the enormous bubbles of lava, 
 which ascend from the bottom of the abyss and throw out a shower 
 of burning stones, break forth in a general way every quarter of 
 an hour. 
 
 The volcano of Isalco, not far from Sonsonate, in the State of 
 
356 PRODUCTS OF VOLCANOES. 
 
 San Salvador, is also one of the most curious on account of its 
 regularity. Its first breaking out was noticed on the 29th of March, 
 1783, and since this date it has almost always continued to increase 
 in size by throwing outside its cavity ashes and stones. Some of 
 its eruptions, remarkable for their comparative violence, have been 
 accompanied by flows of lava ; but, generally, the crater of Isalco 
 confines itself to hurling burning matter to a height of 39 to 46 
 feet above its crater ; explosions follow one another at intervals of 
 every two minutes. The total elevation of the cone of debris above 
 the village of Isalco being 735 feet, and the slope of the side of 
 the mass being, on the average, 35 degrees, M. von Seebach, one 
 of the observers of the volcano, has been able to calculate approxi- 
 mately the bulk and regular increase of the mountain. In 1865 
 the mass of debris was about 35,000,000 of cubic yards, giving an 
 increase of about 491,000 cubic yards every year, or 56 cubic yards 
 every hour. The volcano, therefore, might be looked upon as a 
 gigantic hour-glass. 
 
 WORLD-RENOWNED CRATER. 
 
 Of all the craters in the world, the one which most astonishes 
 those who contemplate it is the crater of Kilauea, in the island of 
 Hawaii. This volcanic outlet opens at more than 3900 feet of 
 elevation on the sides of the great mountain of Mauna-Loa, which 
 is itself crowned by a magnificent funnel-shaped crater 2735 yards 
 across from one brink to the other. The elliptical crater of Kilauea 
 is no less than threemiles in length and seven miles in circumfer- 
 ence. The hollow of this abyss is filled by a lake of lava, the 
 level of which varies from year to year, sometimes rising and 
 sometimes falling like water in a well. 
 
 In a general way, it lies about 600 to 900 feet below the outer 
 edge, and, in order to study its details, it is necessary to get on 
 to a ledge of black lava which extends round the whole circum- 
 ference of the gulf; this is the solidified edge of a former sheet 
 of molten matter, similar to those circular benches of ice which, 
 in northern countries, border the banks of a lake, and even in 
 spring still mark the level the water has sunk from. The surface 
 
PRODUCTS OF VOLCANOES. 357 
 
 Of the sea of fire is generally covered by a thick crust over its 
 whole extent ; here and there the red lava-waves spring up like the 
 water of a lake through the broken ice. Jets of vapor whistle 
 and hiss as they escape, darting out showers of burning scoria, 
 and forming cones of ashes on the crust 60 to 100 feet in height, 
 which are so many volcanoes in miniature. 
 
 Intense heat radiates from the immense crater, and a kind of 
 hot blast makes its way through all the chinks in the vertical 
 walls of the sides. In the midst of the hot vapors, one feels as 
 if lost in a vast furnace. During the night time an observer 
 might fancy himself surrounded with flames ; the atmosphere 
 itself, colored by the red reflection of the vent holes of the volcano, 
 seems to be all on fire. 
 
 RUSHES THROUGH THE OPENING. 
 
 The level or the fire lake of Kilauea is incessantly changing. 
 In proportion as fresh lava issues forth from the subterranean 
 furnace, the broken crust afl"ords an outlet to other sheets of 
 molten matter and fresh heaps of scoria, and gradually the boil- 
 ing mass rises from ledge to ledge, and ultimately reaches the 
 upper edge of the basin. Sooner or later, however, the level 
 rapidly sinks. The fact is, that the burning mass contained in 
 the depths of the abyss gradually melts the lower walls of solid 
 lava ; these walls ultimately give way at some weak points in 
 their circumference, a crevice is produced in the outer face of the 
 volcano, and the liquid matter, " drawn off'' like wine from a vat, 
 rushes through the opening made for it. 
 
 The flow increases the orifice by the action of its weight on 
 the sill of the opening, and by melting the rocks which oppose its 
 passage, and then, running down over the slopes, flows into the 
 sea, forming promontories on the shore. In 1840 the crater was 
 full to the brink, when a crack suddenly opened in the side of the 
 mountain. This fissure extended to a distance of 131 feet from 
 its stai ting-point, and vomited forth a stream of lava 37 miles 
 long and 16 miles wide, which entirely altered the outline of the 
 sea-coast, and destroyed all the fish in the adjacent waters. Mr. 
 
358 PRODUCTS OF VOLCANOES. 
 
 Dana estimated tlie total mass of tliis enormous flow as equal co 
 7,200,000 cubic yards — tliat is, to a solid body fifty times as great 
 as the quantity of eartb dug out in cutting through the Isthmus 
 of Suez. 
 
 The enormous basin of Kilauea, 1476 feet deep, remained 
 entirely empty for some time, and the former lake of lava left no 
 other trace of its existence than a solid ledge like those which 
 had been formed at the time of previous eruptions. Since this 
 date the great cauldron of lava has been several times filled and 
 several times emptied, either altogether or in part. 
 
 OUTLET FOR OVERFLOW. 
 
 Almost all the volcanoes which rise to a great height, 
 get rid, like Kilauea, of their overflow of lava through fissures 
 which open in their side walls. In fact, the column of molten 
 matter which the pressure of the gas beneath raises in the 
 pipe of the crater is of an enormous weight, and every inch 
 it ascends toward the mouth of the crater represents an expense of 
 force which seems prodigious. The more or less hypothetical 
 calculations which have been made as to the degree of pressure 
 necessary for the steam to be able to act on the lava-furnace lead 
 to the belief that the outlet-conduits of volcanoes, and conse- 
 quently the mass of liquid stone to be lifted, are not less than 
 nine miles in depth. Various geologists — among others Sartorius 
 von Waltershausen, the great explorer of Etna — believe that the 
 volcano-shafts are of a still more considerable depth. The rocks 
 of the terrestrial surface, limestone, granite, quartz, or mica, are 
 of a specific gravity two and a half times superior to that of water, 
 while the planet itself, taken as a whole, weighs nearly five and a 
 half times as much as the same mass of distilled water; the density 
 of the interior layers must therefore increase from the circum- 
 ference to the center. With regard to the proportion of this 
 increase, it is established by a calculation, the whole responsi- 
 bility of which must rest upon its authors. Baron Waltershausen 
 has ascertained, by means of a great number of weighings, that the 
 lava of Etna and that of Iceland have a specific gravity of 2. 9 11. 
 
PRODUCTS OF VOLCANOES. 359 
 
 The presumed consequence of this fact is that the rocks 
 thrown out by the volcanoes of Sicily and Iceland proceed from a 
 depth of seventy-seven to seventy-eight miles (?). Thus the shaft 
 which opens at the bottom of the crater of Etna would be no less than 
 seventy-seven miles deep, and the lava which boils in this abyss 
 would be lifted by a force of 36,000 atmospheres, an idea altogether 
 incomprehensible by our feeble imaginations. There would, then, be 
 nothing astonishing in the fact that a mass of lava, which is 
 sufficiently heavy to balance a pressure of this kind, should, in a 
 great many eruptions, melt and break through the weaker parts of 
 its walls, instead of ascending some hundreds or thousands of 
 feet higher, so as to run out over the edge of the upper crater. 
 
 When the side of the mountain opens, and affords a passage 
 to the lava, the fissure is always perceptibly vertical, and those 
 which are continued to the summit pass through the very mouth 
 of the volcano. In a general way, these fissures of eruption are 
 of considerable length, and are sufficiently wide to form an impass- 
 able precipice. Before these fissures become obliterated by the lava 
 or by other debris — such as the snow and earth of avalanches — 
 they may be traced out by the eye as deep furrows hollowed out 
 on the mountain side. 
 
 DEPRESSIONS FILLED WITH SNOW. 
 
 In 1669 the lateral fissure, of ^tna extended over more than 
 two-thirds of the southern side — from the plains of Nicolosi to the 
 terminal gulf of the great crater. In like manner, in the Isle of 
 Jan Mayen, the volcano of Beerenberg, 7514 feet high, presents 
 from top to bottom a long depression filled up with snow, which is 
 nothing else than a fissure of eruption. On other mountains, 
 especially in Montserrat,Guadeloupe,and Martinique, these fissures 
 have assumed such dimensions that the peaks themselves have 
 been completely split in two. 
 
 Through outlets of this kind the lava jets out, first making 
 its appearance at the upper part, where the declivity is generally 
 steeper, then springing out below on the more gentle slopes of the 
 lower regions of the mountain. 
 
360 
 
 PRODUCTS OF VOLCANOES. 
 
 At the source itself the lava is altogether fluid, and flows w-ith 
 considerable speed — sometimes, on steep slopes, faster than a 
 horse can gallop; but the course of the molten stone soon slackens, 
 and the liquid, hitherto dazzling ^^^th its light is covered by 
 brow-n or red scoria, like those of iron just come out of a 
 furnace. These scoria come together, and, combining, soon 
 leave no interstices between them beyond narrow vent-holes, 
 through which the molten matter escapes. The scoria then form 
 a crust, which is incessantly breaking with a metallic noise, but 
 gradually consolidates into a perfect tunnel round the river of 
 fire ; this is the cheire, thus named on account of the asperities 
 which bristle on its surface. 
 
 STANDING ON A THIN SURFACE. 
 
 Any one may safely venture on the arch-shaped crust, although 
 only a few inches above the mass in state of fusion, without any 
 fear of being burnt just as in winter we trust ourselves on the 
 sheets of ice which cover a running stream. The pressure of the 
 lava succeeds in breaking through its shell only at the lower 
 parts of its flow, in spots where the waves of burning sione fall 
 with all their weight. Then the envelope is suddenly ruptured 
 and the mass springs out like water from a sluice, pushing before 
 it the resounding scoria, and swelling out gently ii\ the form of 
 an enormous blister ; it then again becomes covered with a solid 
 crust, which is again broken through by a fresh ett:ort of the 
 lava. 
 
 Thus the river, surrounding itself ^\-ith dikes, which it con- 
 stantly breaks through, gradually descends over the slopes, terrible 
 and inexorable, so long as the original stream does not cease to 
 flow. The only means of diverting the curreut is to modify the 
 incline in front of it, either by opposing obstacles to it to throw it 
 to either side, or by preparing a road for it b}- digging deep 
 trenches, or b}- opening up above some lateral outlet for the 
 pent-up lava. In 1669, at the time of the great eruption which 
 threatened to swallow up Catania, all these varioui? means were 
 adopted in order to save the to\\Ti. On one side rlic inhabitants 
 
PRODUCTS OF VOLCANOES. 3^^ 
 
 worked at consolidating the rampart, and placed obstacles across 
 the path of the current to turn it toward the south. 
 
 Other workmen, furnished with shovels and mattocks, ascended 
 along the edge of the flow, and, in spite of the resistance offered 
 by the peasants, tried to pierce throuh the shell of scoria, and thus, 
 by tapping the stream, to open fresh outlets for the molten matter. 
 These means of defense parth' succeeded, and the terrible current 
 which, at its source near Nicolosi, had been able to melt and pierce 
 through the volcanic cone of Monpilieri at its thickest point 
 i^this cone standing in its path) was turned from its course 
 toward the centre of Catania, and destroyed nothing but the 
 suburbs. 
 
 The radiation from the lava being arrested bv the crust of 
 scoria, which is a ver^'bad conductor of heat, the temperature of the 
 air surrounding a flow of lava rises but verv slightly. The Neapolitan 
 guides have no fear in approaching the Vesuvianlava in order to 
 stamp the rough medals made of it, which they sell to foreigners. 
 At a distance of a few 3*ards from the vent-holes in the cheire the 
 trees of Etna continue to grow and blossom, and some clumps, 
 indeed, mav be seen flourishing on an islet of vegetable earth b'ing 
 between two branches of a flow of burning lava. And yet, b}"- a 
 contrast which at first sight seems incomprehensible, it sometimes 
 happens that trees which are distant from an\' visible flow of 
 molten matter suddenly wither and die. 
 
 VINEYARDS BLIGHTED. 
 
 Thus, in 1S52, at the time of the great eruption from the 
 \'al del Bove, on the eastern slopes of Mount Etna, vineyards 
 and vines, covering a considerable area, and situated at a distance 
 of more than half a mile below the front of the flow, were sud- 
 denly dried up, just as if the blast of a fire had burnt up their 
 foliage. In order to explain this curious phenomena, it is neces- 
 sary- to admit that some rivulets of the great lava river must have 
 penetrated under the earth througli the fissures of the soil, and 
 have filled up a subterranean ca\4ty in the mountain exactly 
 below the vineyards that were destroyed ; the roots being con- 
 
3(32 PRODUCTS OF VOLCANOES. 
 
 sumed, or deprived of tlie necessary moisture, the trees them- 
 selves could not do otherwise than perish. 
 
 On lofty mountains in a state of eruption, the masses of 
 snow and ice, which are covered by the fiery currents which issue 
 from the volcanic fissures, do not always melt, and some have been 
 preserved under the scoria for centuries, or even thousands of 
 3'ears. Lyell has discovered them under the lava of Etna, 
 American geologists under the masses thrown out by the crater of 
 Mount Hooker, Darwin under the ashes in Deception Island, in 
 the Terra del Fuego, M. Philippi under the flows of the volcano 
 Nuevo de Chilian, which in 1861 erupted through a glacier. 
 
 There every bed of snow which falls during the winter 
 
 remains perfect under the coat of burning dust which is ejected 
 
 from the outlet of eruption, and sections made through the mass 
 
 of debris show for a great depth the alternate black and white 
 
 strata of the volcanic ashes and the snow. In i860 the crater of 
 
 the mountain of Kutlagaya, in Iceland, hurled out simultaneously 
 
 into the air lumps of lava and pieces of ice all intermingled 
 
 together. 
 
 BURIED LAVA STILL BURNING. 
 
 In like manner, the immense flows of lava in Iceland have 
 left in a perfect state of preservation the trunks of the Sequoias, 
 and other American trees, which adorned the surface of the island 
 during the ages of the Tertiary epoch, at a time when the mean 
 temperature of this country was 48° (Fahr.); that is, 42° to 44° 
 above that which it is at present. Although the radiation from 
 the lava is so slight that it neither melts the ice nor burns the 
 trunks of buried trees, yet, on the other hand, the heat and fluidity 
 of the lava are maintained in the central part of the flow for a 
 very considerable number of years. Travelers state that they 
 have found deeply buried lava which was still burning after it had 
 remained for a century on the mountain side. 
 
 Although the lava covers up and often preserves the snow 
 and the ice, which are doubtless defended against the heat by a 
 cushion of spheroidal particles of humidity, it immediately con- 
 verts into steam the water with which it comes in contact. The 
 
PRODUCTS OF VOLCANOES. 363 
 
 liquid mass, being suddenly augmented to about 1800 times its 
 
 former volume, explodes like an enormous bombshell, and hurls 
 
 away, like projectiles, all the objects which, surround it. A serious 
 
 occurrence of this kind is recorded, which took place in 1843, ^ 
 
 few days after the formation of a fissure in Mount Etna, from 
 
 which a current of molten matter issued, making its way toward 
 
 the plain of Bronte. 
 
 A crowd of spectators, who had come from the town, were 
 
 examining from a distance the threatening mass, the peasants 
 
 were cutttng down the trees in the fields, others were carrying off 
 
 in haste the goods from their cottages, when suddenly the 
 
 extremity of the flow was seen to swell up like an enormous 
 
 blister, and then to burst, darting forth in every direction clouds 
 
 of steam and volleys of burning stones. Everything was 
 
 destroyed by this terrible explosion — ^-trees, houses and cultivated 
 
 ground ; and it is said that sixty-nine persons, who were knocked 
 
 down by the concussion, perished immediately, or in the space of 
 
 a few hours. 
 
 LIKE GUNPOWDER. 
 
 This disaster was occasioned by the negligence of an agri- 
 culturist, who had not emptied the reservoir on his farm ; the 
 water, being suddenly converted into steam, had caused the lava 
 to explode with all the force of gunpowder. 
 
 The quantity of molten matter which is ejected by a fissure 
 in one single eruption is enormous. It is known that the current 
 of Kilauea, in 1840, exceeded 6550 millions of cubic yards. That 
 which proceeded from Mauna-Loa, in 1835, produced a still larger 
 quantity of lava, and extended as far as a point seventy-six miles 
 from the crater. Flows of this kind are certainly rare ; but there 
 are some recorded in the earth's history which are still more con- 
 siderable. Thus the volcano of Skaptar-Jokul, in Iceland, was 
 cleft asunder in 1873, and gave vent to two rivers of fire, each of 
 which filled up a valley ; one attained a length of fifty miles, 
 with a breadth of fifteen miles ; the other was of less dimensions, 
 but the depth of the mass was in some places as much as 492 
 feet. A subterranean fissure, ninety-nine miles in length, which 
 
364 PRODUCTS OF VOLCAriOES. 
 
 cleaves in two the ground of Iceland, was doubtless filled up witli 
 lava along its entire length, for hillocks of eruption sprung up 
 on various points of this straight line. 
 
 It has been calculated that the whole of the lava evacuated 
 by the Skaptar in this great eruption was not less in bulk than 
 655,000 millions of cubic j^ards, a mass equivalent to the whole 
 volume of Mont Blanc ; it would be a quantity sufficient to cover 
 the whole earth with a film of lava 0.0393 i^^^ i^ thickness. As 
 to the celebrated flow from the Monti Rossi, which threatened to 
 destroy Catania, in 1669, it seems very trifling in comparison ; it 
 contained a mass of molten stone which was estimated at 13 10 
 millions of cubic yards. On how trifling a scale, therefore, are 
 these ordinary- eruptions compared with the surface of the globe ! 
 They are, however, phenomena perceptible enough to man, in all 
 his infinite littleness. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Volcanic Projectiles. — Explosions op Ashes. ^Subordinate 
 Volcanoes. — Mountains Reduced to Dust. — Flashes 
 AND Flames Proceeding from Volcanoes. 
 
 'X'HE lava swelling up in enormous blisters above tbe fissures 
 -■■ from whicii it flows in a current over the slopes is far from 
 being tbe only substance ejected from volcanic mountains. When 
 the pent-up vapor escapes from the crater with a sudden explo- 
 sion, it carries with it lumps of molten matter, which describe their 
 curve in the air, and fall at a greater or less distance on the slope 
 of the cone, according to the force with which they were ejected 
 
 These are the volcanic projectiles, the immense showers of 
 which, traced in lines of fire on the dark sky, contribute so much 
 during the night time to the magnificent beauty of volcauic erup- 
 tions. These projectiles have already become partially cooled by 
 their radiation in the air, and when they fall are already solidified 
 on the outside, but the inside nucleus remains for a long time 
 in a liquid or pasty state. The form of these projectiles is often 
 of an almost perfect regularity. 
 
 Each sphere is in this case composed of a series of concentric 
 envelopes, which have evidently been arranged in the order of their 
 specific gravity during the flight of the projectile through the air. 
 The dimensions of these projectiles vary in each eruption ; some 
 of them are one or more yards in thickness ; others are nothing 
 but mere grains of sand, and are carried by the wind to great 
 distances. 
 
 In most eruptions, these balls of lava, still in a fluid and 
 
 burning state, constitute but a small part of the matter thrown 
 
 out by the mountain. The largest proportion of the stone ejected 
 
 proceeds from the walls of the volcano itself, which break up under 
 
 the pressure of the gas, and fly off in volleys, mingled with the 
 
 products of the new eruption. This is the origin of the dust or 
 
 365 
 
366 VOLCANIC PROJECTILES. 
 
 ashes which some craters vomit out in such large quantities, which 
 too, are the causes of such terrible disasters. 
 
 When the impetus of the gas confines itself to forming a 
 fissure in the side of the mountain, the fragments of rocks which 
 are broken up and reduced to powder are compratively small in 
 quantity. They are projected in clouds out of the fissure, and, 
 falling like hail round the orifice, are gradually heaped up in the 
 form of a cone on the side of the mountain from which they arose. 
 In Europe, the enormous circumference of Etna presents more 
 than 700 of these subordinate volcanoes, some scarcely higher than 
 an Esquimaux hut, and others, like the Monti Rossi, Monte 
 Minardo, Alonte Ilici, several hundred yards high, and more than 
 half a mile wide at the base. 
 
 SCANTY GROWTH OF BROOM. 
 
 There are some which are entirely sterile, or covered only by 
 a scanty vegetation of broom, and are marked out by a red, yellow, 
 or even black color on the main body of Etna ; those situated on 
 the lower slopes are covered with trees or planted with vines, and 
 sometimes contain admirable crops in the very cavity on their sum- 
 mit. These cones of ashes, springing up like a progeny on the 
 vast sides of their mother mountain, give to Etna a singular 
 appearance of vital personality and of creative energy. The sam^ 
 phenomenon occurs on the volcanoes of Hawaii, which carry on 
 their declivities thousands of subordinate cones. 
 
 In the formation of these hillocks a real division of labor takes 
 place. The rocks and heavier stones fall either on the edge of the 
 crater or in the gulf itself. The ashes and light dust are shot up 
 to a much greater height, and, hurried along by the impulse of 
 the wind, fall far and wide, like the chaff of corn winnowed in a 
 threshing-floor. Thus the slope of the cone toward which the wind 
 directs the ashes is always more elongated, and rises to a greater 
 height on the edge of the crater. On Etna, where the wind gen- 
 erally blows in the direction of west to east, the eastern slope of 
 the hillocks is more developed than on the opposite side. It must, 
 perhaps, be attributed to the action of the wind blowing on tho 
 
VOLCANIC PROJECTILES. 367 
 
 heiglits, and not, as Siemsen, the geologist, supposes, to the obli- 
 quity of the shaft of the crater, that all the scoria and ashes fall 
 to the north of the orifice of the volcano Nuevo de Chilian, in 
 Chili. 
 
 The phenomena which take place when the ashes issue from 
 the mouth of the crater itself do not differ from those which are 
 observed at the outlets in fissures. In the former case, however, 
 the mass of rocks reduced to powder is so considerable that the 
 rain of ashes assumes all the proportions of a cataclj^sm. It has 
 sometimes happened that, during a paroxysm of volcanic energy, 
 the whole summit of a mountain, for a depth of several thousands 
 of feet, has been hurled into the air, mingled with a cloud of vapor 
 and the smoke of burning lava. 
 
 Thus Etna, if we are to believe ^lianus, was once much 
 loftier than it is in our time, and on the north of the present 
 terminal cone there may, in fact, be noticed a kind of platform 
 which seems to have been the base of a summit twice as high as 
 the present crest. The whole of the Val del Bove is probably an 
 empty space left by the disappearance of a former cone. 
 
 REDUCED TO POWDER. 
 
 With regard to Vesuvius, it is known that, in the year 79 of 
 the present era, the whole of that part of the mountain which was 
 turned toward the sea was reduced to powder, and that the debris 
 of the cone, nothing of which now remains except the semicircular 
 inclosure of La Somma, buried three towns and a vast extent of 
 plain. The ashes and dust, mingled with white vapor rising in 
 thick eddies, ascended in a column to a point far above the summit 
 of the volcano, until, having reached those regions of the atmos- 
 phere where the rarefied air could no longer sustain them, they 
 spread out into a wide umbrella-like shape, the falling dust of 
 which obscured the sky. 
 
 Pliny the younger compared this vault of ashes and smoke to 
 the foliage of an Italian pine curving at an immense height over 
 the mountain. Since this memorable epoch the height of the 
 column of vapor has been measured which has issued from Vesu- 
 
368 VOLCANIC PROJECTILES. 
 
 vius at fhe time of several great eruptions, and it has been some- 
 times found tliat it readied 23,000 to 26,000 feet ; that is, six times 
 higher than the summit of the volcano itself. 
 
 o 
 
 One of these explosions of entire summits which caused most 
 terror in modern times was that of the volcano of Coseguina, a 
 hillock of about 500 feet high, situated on a promontory to the 
 south of the Bay of Fonseca, in Central America. The debris 
 hurled into the air spread over the sky in a horrible arch several 
 hundreds of miles in width, and covered the plains for a distance 
 of 25 miles with a layer of dust at least 16 feet thick. At the 
 very foot of the hill the headland advanced 787 feet into the bay, 
 and two new islands, formed of ashes and stones falling from the 
 volcano, rose in the midst of the water several miles away. 
 
 PUMICE-STONE ON THE WATER. 
 
 Beyond the districts close round the crater, the bed of dust, 
 which fell gradually, became thinner, but it was carried by the 
 wind more than forty degrees of longitude toward the west, and 
 the ships sailing in those waters penetrated with difficulty the 
 layer of pumice-stone spread out on the sea. To the north, the 
 rain of ashes was remarked at Truxillo, Honduras, and at Chiapas, 
 in Mexico ; on the south, it reached Carthagena, Santa Martha, 
 and other towns of the coast of Grenada ; to the east, being carried 
 by the counter current of the trade-winds, it fell on the plains of 
 St. Ann's, in Jamaica, at a distance of 800 miles. The area of 
 land and water on which the dust descended must be estimated at 
 1,500,000 square miles, and the mass of matter vomited out could 
 not be less than 65,500 million cubic yards. 
 
 The uproar of the breaking up of the mountain was heard as 
 far as the high plateaux of Bogota, situated 1025 miles away in a 
 straight line. While the formidable cloud was settling down 
 round the volcano, thick darkness filled the air. For forty-three 
 hours nothing could be seen except by the sinister light of the 
 flashes darting from the columns of steam, and the red glare of 
 the vent holes opening in the mountain. 
 
 To escape from this prolonged night, the rain of ashes, and 
 
VOLCANIC PROJECTILES. 369 
 
 the burning atmospliere, the inhabitants who dwelt at the foot of 
 Coseguina lied in all haste along a road running by the black 
 water of the Bay of Fonseca. Men, women, children, and domes- 
 tic animals travelled painfully along a difhcult path, through 
 quagmires and marshes. So great, it is said, was the terror of all 
 animated beings during this long night of horror, that the ani- 
 mals, themselves, such as monkeys, serpents, and birds, joined the 
 band of fugitives, as if they recognized in man a being endowed with 
 intelligence superior to their own. 
 
 A large number of volcanoes have diminished in height, or 
 have, indeed, entirely disappeared, in consequence of explosions, 
 which reduced their rocks to powder, and distributed them in thick 
 sheets on the ground adjacent. Mount Baker, in California, and 
 the Japanese volcano of Unsen, have thus raised the level of the 
 surrounding plains at the expense of a diminution in their own 
 volume. In 1638, the summit of the peak of Timor, which might 
 be seen like a light-house from a distance of 270 miles, exploded, 
 and blew up into the air, and the water collecting, formed a lake 
 in the enoroiious void caused by the explosion. 
 
 GREAT DESTRUCTION OF LIFE. 
 
 In 1815, Timboro, a volcano in the island of Sumbara, de- 
 stroyed more men than the artillery of both of the armies engaged 
 on the battle-field of Waterloo. In the island of Sumatra, 550 
 miles to the west, the terrible explosion was heard, and, for a 
 radius of 300 miles round the mountain, a thick cloud of ashes, 
 which obscured the sun, made it dark like night even at noonday. 
 This immense quantity of debris, the whole mass of which was, it 
 is said, equivalent to thrice the bulk of Mont Blanc, fell over an 
 area larger than that of Germany. 
 
 The pumice-stone which floated in the sea was more than a 
 
 yard in thickness, and it was with some difiiculty that ships could 
 
 make theirway through it. The popular imagination was so deeply 
 
 impressed by this cataclysm, that at Bruni, in the island of 
 
 Borneo, whither heaps of the dust vomited out by Timboro, 
 
 870 miles away to the south, had been carried by the wind, they 
 24hS. f. 
 
370 VOLCANIC PROJECTILES. 
 
 date tlieir j-ears froiu '' the great fall of ashes." It is the com- 
 meucemeut of au era for the inhabitants of Bruni, just as the 
 flight of Mohammed was for the Mussulmans. 
 
 The friction of the steam against the innumerable particles 
 of solid matter which are darted out into the air is the principal 
 cause of the electricity which is developed so plentifully during 
 most volcanic eruptions. In consequence of this friction, which 
 operates simultaneousl}^ at all points in the atmosphere which 
 are reached by the volcanic ashes, and vapor, sparks flash out 
 which are developed into lightning. The skies are lighted up 
 not onl}' by the reflection from the lava, but also by coruscations 
 of lioht which dart from amid the clouds. 
 
 When the vast canopy of vapor spreads over the summit of 
 the mountains, numerous spirals of fire whirl round on each side 
 of the clouds, which, as they unroll, resemble the foliage of a 
 gigantic tree. Doubtless, also, the encounter of two aerial cur- 
 rents ma}^ contribute to produce lightning in the columns of 
 vapor ; 3^et, when the latter are slightly mingled with ashes, they 
 are rarel}- stormy. 
 
 ACTUAL FIRES SEEN. 
 
 Although the evolution of electricity in the columns of vapor 
 and ashes vomited out by volcanoes has never been called in 
 question, the appearance of actual flames at the time of volcanic 
 eruptions was for a long time disputed. IM. Sartorius von Wal- 
 tershauseu, the patient observer of Etna, has maintained that 
 neither this mountain, nor Stromboli, nor au}^ other volcano, has 
 ever presented among its phenomena any fire properl}^ so called, 
 and that the supposed flames were nothing more than the reflec- 
 tion of the red or white lava that was boiling in the crater. 
 
 On the other hand, Elie de Beaumont, Abich and Pilla posi- 
 tively assert that they have seen light flames on the summit of 
 Vesu\'ius and Etna. It would, however, be ver}' natural to believe 
 that inflammable gases might be liberated and take fire at the 
 outlet of those immense shafts which place the great subterra- 
 nean laboratory of lava in communication with the outer air. 
 
VOLCANIC PROJECTILES. 37;| 
 
 This question was, however, resolved in the affirmative at 
 the time of the eruption of Santorin, and popular opinion was 
 right in opposition to most men of science. All those who were 
 able to witness, at its commencement, the upheaval of the lava at 
 Cape Georges and Aphroessa, have certified to the appearance of 
 burning gas dancing above the lava, and even on the surface of 
 the sea. All round the upheaved hillocks, bubbles of gas, break- 
 ing forth from the waves, became kindled as they came in contact 
 with the burning mass, and were diffused over the water in long 
 trains of white, red or greenish flames, which the breeze alter- 
 nately raised or beat down ; sometimes a smart puff of wind put 
 out the fire, but it soon recommenced to run over the breakers ; 
 by approaching it carefully, fragments of paper might be burnt 
 in it, which lighted as they dropped. On the slopes of the volcano 
 of Aphroessa fire, rendered of a yellowish hue by salts of soda, 
 sprung out from all the fissures, and rose to a height of several 
 yards. On the rather older lava of Cape Georges the trains of 
 flame were less numerous ; there, however, bluish glimmers 
 might be seen flitting about in some spots over the black ridges 
 
 of lava. 
 
 GROWING MOUNTAINS. 
 
 Added to this, are not the flames at Bakou, on the coast of 
 the Caspian Sea, produced by the volcanic action of the ground ? 
 The "growing mountains" in the neighborhood are mud-vol- 
 canoes, and we must doubtless attribute to the same subterranean 
 activity the production of the hydrogen gas which burns in an 
 "eternal flame " in the temple of the Parsi. During some of the 
 evenings in autumn, when the weather is fine and the sun has 
 heated the surface of the ground, the flames occasionally make 
 their appearance on the hills, and for several hours may be seen 
 the marvelous spectacle of a train of fire stretching along the 
 country without burning the ground, and even without scorching 
 a blade of grass. 
 
 Next to lava and ashes, streams of water and mud are the 
 most considerable products of volcanic activity, and the catas- 
 trophes which they have caused are perhaps among the most terri- 
 
372 VOLCANIC PROJECTILES. 
 
 ble whicli history has to relate. B}^ means of these sudden deluges, 
 towns have been swept away or swallowed up, whole districts dotted 
 over with habitations have been flooded with mud or converted 
 into marshes, and the entire face of nature has been changed in 
 the space of a few hours. 
 
 The liquid masses which descend rapidly from the mountain 
 height do not always proceed from the volcano itself Thus the 
 local deluge may be caused by a rapid condensation of large quan- 
 tities of steam which escape from the crater and fall in torrents on 
 the slopes. A phenomenon of this kind must evidently take 
 place in a great many cases, and it was doubtless by a cataclysm 
 of this kind that the town of Herculaueum, at the foot of 
 Vesuvius, was buried. 
 
 MELTED SNOW AND ICE. 
 
 As regards the lofty snow-clad volcanoes of tb^ tropical and 
 temperate zones, and also those of the frozen regions, the torrents 
 of water and debris — the "water-lava," as the Sicilians call them 
 — may be explained by the rapid melting of immense masses of 
 snow and ice, with which the burning lava, the hot ashes, or the 
 gaseous emanations of the volcanic furnace have come in contact. 
 Thus, in Iceland, after each eruption, formidable deluges, carry- 
 ing with them ice, scoria, and rocks, suddenly rush down into the 
 valleys, sweeping away everything in their course. 
 
 These liquid avalanches are the most terrible phenomena 
 which the inhabitants of the island have to dread. They show 
 three headlands formed of debris, which the body of water descend- 
 ing from the sides of Kutlugaya in 1766 threw out far iuto the sea, 
 in a depth of 246 feet of water. 
 
 Other deluges no less formidable are caused by the rupture 
 of the walls which pen back a lake in the cavity of a former cra- 
 ter, or by the formation of a fissure which affords an outlet to 
 liquid masses contained in subterranean reservoirs. It would be 
 too difficult to explain otherwise the mud-eruptions of several 
 trachytic volcanoes of the Andes — Imbambaru, Cotopaxi, and 
 Carahuarizo. In fact, the mud which comes down from these 
 
VOLCANIC PROJECTILES. 373 
 
 mountains often contains a large quantity of organized beings, 
 aquatic plants, infusoria, and even fish, which could only have 
 lived in the calm waters of a lake. 
 
 Of this kind is the Pimelodes cyclopum, a little fish of the 
 tribe of the Silurida, which according to Humboldt, has hitherto 
 been found nowhere except in the Andini caverns and in the rivu- 
 lets of the plateau of Quito. In 169 1 the volcano of Imbambaru 
 vomited out, in combination with mud and snow, so large a quan- 
 tity of these remains of organisms that the air was contaminated 
 by them, and miasmatic fevers prevailed in all the country round. 
 The masses of water which thus rush down suddenly into the 
 plains amount sometimes to millions, or even thousands of 
 millions of cubic yards. 
 
 UNDERGROUND LAKES. 
 
 Although, in some cases, these eruptions of mud and water 
 may be looked upon as accidental phenomena, they must, on the 
 contrary, as regards many volcanoes, be considered as the result 
 of the normal action of the subterranean forces. They are, then, 
 the waters of the sea or of lakes which, having been buried in the 
 earth, again make their appearance on the surface, mingled with 
 rocks which they have dissolved or reduced to a pasty state. 
 
 A remarkable instance of these liquid eruptions is that pre- 
 sented by Papandayang, one of the most active volcanoes in Java. 
 In 1792 this mountain burst, the summit was converted into dust 
 and disappeared, and the debris, spreading far and wide, buried 
 forty villages. Since this epoch a copious rivulet gushes out in the 
 very mouth of the crater, at a height of 7710 feet, and runs down 
 into the plain, leaping over the blocks of trachyte. Round the spring 
 pools of water fill all the clefts in the rocks, and boil up inces- 
 santly under the action of the hot vapors which rise in bubbles ; 
 here and there are funnel-shaped cavities, in which black and 
 miiddy water constantly ascends and sinks with the same regu- 
 larity as the waves of the sea ; elsewhere, muddy masses slowly 
 issuing from small craters flow in circular slopes over mounds of 
 a few inches or a yard in height ; lastly, jets of steam dart out of 
 
374 VOLCANIC TROJECTILES. 
 
 all the fissures witli a shrill noise, making the ground tremble 
 with the shock. 
 
 All these various noises, the roaring of the cascades, the ex- 
 plosion of the gaseous springs, the hoarse murmur of the mud- 
 volcanoes, the shrill hissing of the fumaroles, produce an inde- 
 ccribable uproar, which is audible far awa}^ in the plains, which, 
 too, has given to the volcano its name of Papanda3^ang, or 
 "Forge," as if one could incessantly hear the mighty blast of the 
 flames and the ever-recurring beating of the anvils. 
 
 In volcanoes of a great height it is rarely found that erup- 
 tions of water and mud are constant, as in the Papandayang ; 
 but temporary ejections of liquid masses are frequent, and there 
 are, indeed, some volcanoes which vomit out nothing but muddy 
 matter. The volcano of Aqua (or water), the cone of which is 
 gently inclined like that of Etna, and rises to about 13,000 feet in 
 height, into the regions of snow, has never vomited anything but 
 water ; and it is, indeed, stated that lava and other volcanic 
 products are entirely wanting on its slopes. 
 
 INHABITANTS DRIVEN OUT. 
 
 Yet in 1541, this prodigious intermittent spring hurled into 
 the air its terminal point and poured over the plains at its base, 
 and over the town of Guatemala, so large a quantity of water, 
 mingled with stones and debris, that the inhabitants were com- 
 pelled to fly with the greatest haste, and to reconstruct their 
 capital at the foot of the volcano of Fuego. This new neighbor, 
 however, showed that he was as much or more to be dreaded than 
 their former one, for the violent eruptions from the mountain 
 compelled the inhabitants of the second town to again migrate 
 and to rebuild their capital at a point twenty miles to the north- 
 west. 
 
 Several volcanoes in Java and the Philippines also give vent, 
 during their eruptions, to large quantities of mud, sometimes' 
 mingled with organic matter in such considerable proportions that 
 they have been utilized as fuel. In 1793, a few months after the 
 terrible eruption gf Uusen, in the island of Kiousiou, an adjacent 
 
VOLCANIC PROJECTILES. 375 
 
 volcano, the Miyi-Yama, vomited, according to Kampfer, so pro- 
 digious a quantity of water and mud that all the neighboring 
 plains were inundated, and 53,000 people were drowned in the 
 deluge ; unfortunately, we have no historical details of this catas- 
 trophe. Of all the eruptions of mud, the best known is that of 
 Tunguragua, a volcano in Ecuador, which rises to the south of 
 Quito to 16,400 feet in height. 
 
 In 1797, at the time of the earthquake of Riobamba, a whole 
 side of the mountain sank in the downfall, with the forests which 
 grew on it ; at the same time, a flow of viscous mud issued from the 
 fissures at its base, and rushed down into the valleys. One of 
 these currents of mud filled up a winding defile, which separated 
 two mountains, to a depth of 650 feet, over a width of more than 
 1000 feet, and damming up the rivulets at their outlet from the 
 side valleys, kept back the water in temporary lakes ; one of these 
 sheets of water remained for eighty-seven days. 
 
 A CURIOUS TRANSITION. 
 
 The volcanic mud, therefore, has this point of resemblance 
 with the lava — that it sometimes flows out through the crater, as 
 on Papandayang ; sometimes through side craters, as on Tungu- 
 ragua. Doubtless, when the volcanic muds have been better 
 studied, we shall be enabled to trace the transition which takes 
 place by almost imperceptible degrees between the more or less 
 impure water escaping from volcanoes, and the burning lava more 
 or less charged with steam. This transition is, however, already 
 noticed in the ancient matter which the water has carried down 
 and deposited in the strata at the foot of volcanic mountains. 
 These rocks, known under the name of tufa, trass, or perperino, 
 are nothing but heaps of pumice, scoria, ashes, and mud, 
 cemented together by the water into a species of mortar or con- 
 glomerate, and gradually solidified by the evaporation of the 
 humidity which they contained. 
 
 Of this kind, for instance, is the hardened stone which, for 
 eighteen centuries, has covered the city of Herculaneum with a 
 a layer of 50 to 150 feet in thickness. Among rocks of various 
 
376 VOLCANIC PROJECTILES. 
 
 formations, there are but few whicli exhibit a more astonishing 
 diversity than the tufas. They differ entirely in appearance and 
 physical qualities, according to the nature of the materials which 
 have formed them, the quantity of water which has cemented 
 them, the greater or less rapidity with v/hich their fall and desi- 
 cation take place ; lastly, the number and distribution of the 
 chinks which are produced across the dried mass, and have been 
 filled up with the most different substances. Many kinds of tufa 
 resemble the most beautiful marble. 
 
 LITTLE CONES. 
 
 The small hillocks, which are specially called mud-volcanoes, 
 or salses, on account of the salts which are frequently deposited 
 by their waters, are cones which differ only in their dimensions 
 from the mighty volcanoes of Java or the Andes. Like these 
 great mountains, they shake the ground, and rend it, in order to 
 discharge their pent-up matter ; they emit gas and steam in 
 abundance, add to their slopes by their own debris, shift their 
 places, change their craters, throw off their summits in their 
 explosions ; lastly, some of these salses are incessantly at work, 
 while others have periods of repose and activity. In nature, 
 transitions merge into one another so perfectly, that it is difficult to 
 discover any essential difference between a volcano and a salse, 
 and between the latter and a thermal spring. 
 
 Mud-volcanoes exist in considerable numbers on the surface 
 of the earth, and, like the volcanoes of lava, the neighborhood of 
 the sea-coast is the principal locality where we find their little 
 cones. In Europe, the most remarkable are those which are situ- 
 ated at the two extremities of the Caucasus, on the coasts of the 
 Caspian Sea, and on both sides of the Straits of Yenikale, which 
 connect the Sea of Azof with the Black Sea. On the east, the 
 mud-springs of Bakou are especially distinguished by their com- 
 bination with inflammable gases ; on the west, those of Taman 
 and Kertch flow all the year round, but especially during times 
 of drought, pouring out large quantities of blackish mud. One 
 of these mud-volcanoes, the Gorela, or Kuku-Oba, which, in the 
 
VOLCANIC PROJECTILES. 377 
 
 time of Pallas, was called tlie "Hell," or Prekla, on account of its 
 frequent eruptions, is no less than 246 feet in height, and from 
 this crater, which is perfectly distinct, muddy streams have flowed 
 one of wnich was 2624 feet long, and contained about 850,000 
 cubic yards. 
 
 The volcanitos of Turbaco, described by Humboldt, and the 
 maccalube of Girgenti, which have been explored, since Dolomieu, 
 by most European savants who have devoted themselves to the 
 study of subterranean forces, are also well-known examples oJ 
 mud-springs, and may serve as a type to all the hillocks of the 
 same character. In winter, after a long course of rains, the plain 
 is a surface of mud and water forming a kind of boiling paste, 
 from which steam makes its escape with a whistling noise ; but 
 the warmth of spring and summer hardens this clay into a thick 
 crust, which the steam breaks through at various points and 
 covers with increasing hillocks. At the apex of these cones a 
 bubble of gas swells up the mud like a blister, and then bursts it, 
 the semi-liquid flowing in a thin coat over the mound ; then a fresh 
 bubble ejects more mud, which spreads over the first layer already 
 become hard, and this action continues incessantly until the rains 
 of winter again wash away all the cones. 
 
 DEPENDENT ON THE TIDES. 
 
 This is the ordinary course of action of the salse, sometimes 
 interrupted by violent eruptions. On the coast of Mekran the 
 mud-volcanoes are not only subject to the action of the seasons, 
 but also depend on the action of the tides, although many of them 
 are from 9 to 12 miles from the Indian Ocean. At the time of the 
 flow the mud rises in great bubbles, accompanied by a hoarse mur- 
 mur, like the distant roar of thunder. The highest cone is not 
 more than 246 feet high, and stands seven miles from the shore. 
 
 In a general way, the expulsion of mud and gas is accom- 
 panied by a discharge of heat, but in some salses, like those of 
 Mekran, the matter ejected is not higher in temperature than the 
 surrounding air, as if the expulsion of the mud from the ground 
 was an entirely superficial phenomenon. Occasionally, in peat 
 
f 8 VOLCANIC PROJECTILES. 
 
 bogs, the ground cracks and cold mud is ejected from tlie fissure ; 
 and then, after this kind of eruption, the spongy soil sinks and 
 again levels down. Is this eruptive phenomenon similar to that 
 presented by the mud volcanoes, and caused by the fermentation 
 of gases in the midst of substances in a state of putrefaction ? 
 This is M. Otto Volger's idea ; and it would be difficult to give 
 any other explanation of the phenomenon. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 Volcanic Thermal Springs. — Geysers. — Springs in New 
 Zealand. — Craters of Carbonic Acid. 
 
 \ /OIvCANOBS, both of lava and mud, all have, either on their 
 ^ sides or in the vicinity of their base, thermal springs, which 
 afford an outlet to their surplus water, gas, and vapor. Most even 
 of those mountains which are at present tranquil, but which were 
 once centres of eruption, continue to manifest their activity by 
 vapors and gas, like furnaces in which the flames are extinct, but 
 the smoke is still rising. Although lava and ashes no longer 
 make their escape from the crater of lateral fissures, yet numer- 
 ous hot springs, formed by the condensation of the steam, gen- 
 erally serve as a vehicle for the gas pent up in the depths of the 
 mountain. 
 
 We may reckon by hundreds and thousands the "geysers," 
 the "vinegar springs," and other thermal springs in countries 
 once burning with volcanoes, the fires of which are extinct, or at 
 least quieted down for a period more or less protracted. Thus the 
 former volcanoes of Auvergne ; the mountains of the Eifel, on the 
 Rhine, the craters of which contain nothing but lakes or pools ; 
 the Demavend, with its mouth filled up with snow — all still exhale 
 here and there, through springs, as it were, a feeble breath of their 
 once mighty vitality. 
 
 The volcanic regions of the earth where thermal springs gush 
 out, are very numerous. In Europe we have Sicily, Iceland, Tus- 
 cany, and the peninsula of Kertch, and Yellowstone Park, in 
 America — land so rich in volcanoes — the springs warmed by sub- 
 terranean vapor are still more numerous, and there are some 
 on the sides of the volcano Nuevo del Chilian which gush out 
 through a thick bed of perpetual snow. 
 
 A lateral gorge of the valley of Napa, in California, called the 
 " Devil's Canyon," may be quoted as one of the most striking exam- 
 ples of the active production of thermal waters. The narrow 
 
880 VOLCANIC THERMAL SPRINGS. 
 
 ravine, filled witli vapor rising in eddies, opens on the side of a 
 red and bare mountain, that one might fancy was scorched by fire. 
 The entry to the ravine follows the course of a rivulet, the boiling 
 waters of which are mingled with chemical substances horrible to 
 the taste. Innumerable springs — some sulphurous, others charged 
 with alum or salt — gush out at the base of the rocks. There are 
 both warm and cold springs, and hot and boiling ; some are blue 
 and transparent, others white, yellow or red with ochre. In a 
 cavity which is called the "Sorcerers' Caldron" a mass of black 
 and fetid mud boils up in great bubbles. 
 
 Higher up, the "Devil's Steam-boat" darts out jets of gas- 
 eous matter, which issue pufiing from a wall of rock : fumerolles 
 may be seen by hundreds on the sides of the mountain. All these 
 various agents either murmur, whistle, rumble or roar, and thus 
 a tempest of deafening sounds incessantly fills the gorge. The 
 burning ground, composed of a clayey mud — in one spot yellow 
 with sulphur, and in another white with chalk — gives way under 
 the feet of the traveler who ventures on it, and gives vent to puffs 
 of vapor through its numberless cracks. The whole gorge appears 
 to be the common outlet of numerous reservoirs of various mineral 
 waters, all heated by some great volcanic furnace. 
 
 THE DEVIL'S CANYON. 
 
 The ravine of Infernillo (Little Hell), which is situated at 
 the base of the volcano of San Vincente, in the centre of the 
 Republic of San Salvador, presents phenomena similar to those 
 of the "Devil's Canyon." There, too, a multitude of streams of 
 boiling water gush from the soil, which is calcined like a brick, 
 and eddies of vapor spring from the fissures of the rock wi-th a 
 noise like the shrill whistle of a locomotive. The most consider- 
 able body of water issues from a fissure 32 feet in width which 
 opens under a bed of volcanic rocks at a slight elevation above 
 the bottom of the valley. 
 
 The liquid stream, partially hidden by the clouds of vapor 
 which rise from it, is shut out to a distance of 130 feet as if by a 
 force-pump, and the whistling of the water pent up between the 
 
VOLCANIC THERMAL SPRINGS. 381 
 
 rocks reminds one of the furnace of a manufactory at full work. 
 One might fancy that it was the respiration of some prodigious 
 being hidden under the mountain. 
 
 The hottest springs v/hich gush out on the surface of the 
 ground, such as those of Las Trincheras and Comangillas, do not 
 reach the temperature of 212° (Fahr.); but we have no right to 
 conclude from this that the water in the interior of the earth does 
 not rise to a much more considerable heat. It is, on the contrary, 
 certain that water descending into the deepest fissures of the 
 earth although still maintaining a liquid state, may reach, inde- 
 pendently of any volcanic action, a temperature of several 
 hundred degrees ; being compressed by the liquid masses above 
 it, it is not converted into steam. At a depth which is not cer- 
 tainly known, but which various savants have approximately 
 fixed at 49,000 feet, water of a temperature exceeding 750° (Fahr.) 
 ultimately attains elasticity sufficient to overcome the formidable 
 weight of 1500 atmospheres which presses on it ; it changes into 
 steam, and in this new form mounts to the surface of the earth 
 through the fissures of the rocks. 
 
 FRESH JETS OF STEAM. 
 
 Even if this steam, passing through beds of a gradually 
 decreasing temperature, is again condensed and runs back again 
 in the form of water, still it heats the liquid which surrounds it, 
 and increases its elasticity ; it consequently assists the genera- 
 tion of fresh jets of steam, which likewise rise toward the uppei 
 regions. Thus, step by step, water is converted into steam up to 
 the very surface of the earth, and springs out from fissures. 
 
 In Iceland, California, New Zealand and several other vol- 
 canic regions of the world, jets of steam mingled with boiling water 
 are so considerable as to rank among the most astonishing phe- 
 nomena of the planet. The most celebrated, and certainly the 
 most beautiful, of all these springs is the Great Geyser of Iceland. 
 Seen from afar, light vapors, creeping over the low plain at the 
 foot of the mountain of Blafell, point out the situation of the jet of 
 water and of the neighboring springs. The basin of siliceous stone 
 
382 VOLCANIC THERMAL SPRINGS. 
 
 wliicli the Geyser itself lias formed during tlie lapse of centuries 
 is no less tlian fifty-two feet in widtli, and serves as tlie outet 
 inclosure of a funnel-sliaped cavity, seventy-five feet deep, from 
 tlie bottom of wliicli rise the water and steam. A tliin liquid sheet 
 flows over the edges of the basin, and descends in little cascades 
 over the outer slope. 
 
 The cold air lowers the temperature of the water on the sur- 
 face, but the heat increases more and more in all the layers 
 "ieneath ; everj^ here and there bubbles are formed at the bottom 
 of the water, and burst when they emerge into the air. Soon 
 bodies of steam rise in clouds in the green and transparent water, 
 but, meeting the colder masses on the surface, they again con- 
 dense. Ultimatel}^ they make their wa}'- into the basin, and 
 cause the water to bubble up ; steam rises in dififerent places from 
 the liquid sheet, and the temperature of the whole basin reaches 
 the boiling-point ; the surface swells up in foamy heaps, and 
 the ground trembles and roars mth a stifled sound. The cauldron 
 constantl}' gives vent to clouds of vapor, which sometimes gather 
 round the basin, and sometimes are cleared away by the wind. 
 
 LEAP OUT WITH A CRASH. 
 
 At intervals, a few moments of silence succeed to the 
 noise of the steam. Sudden!}^ the resistance is overcome, the 
 enormous jet leaps out with a crash, and, like a pillar of glitter- 
 ing marble, shoots up more than loo feet in the air. A second 
 and then a third jet rapidl}^ follow; but the magnificent spectacle 
 lasts but for a few minutes. The steam blows awaj-; the water, now 
 cooled, falls in and round the basin ; and for hours, or even 
 daj's, a fresh eruption maj- be waited for in vain. Leaning over 
 the edge of the hole whence such a storm of foam and water has 
 just issued, and looking at the blue, transparent, and scarcely- 
 rippled surface, one can hardly believe, sa3's Bunsen, in the sud- 
 den change which has taken place. 
 
 The slight deposits of siliceous matter which are left by the 
 evaporation of the boiling ^vater have alread}^ formed a conical 
 hillock round the spring, and, sooner or later, the increasing curb 
 
VOLCANIC THERMAL SPRINGS. 383 
 
 of Stone will have so considerably augmented the pressure of the 
 liquid mass in the spring that the waters must ultimately open a 
 fresh outlet beyond the present cone. From the experiments and 
 observations made by Forbes as to the formation of the layer of 
 incrustations round the jet, this spring must have commencd its 
 eruptions ten centuries and a half ago, and they will probably 
 cease in a much shorter space of time. 
 
 Not far from the Geyser, the mound of deposits from which 
 is not less than 39 feet in height, there are a number of pools 
 which once acted as basins for springs which gushed up through 
 them, but are now nothing but cisterns filled with blue and limpid 
 water, at the bottom of which may be seen the mouth of a former 
 channel of eruption. A shifting in the position of the centre of 
 activity takes place in the Geyser, just as in mud volcanoes and 
 incrusting springs. Several springs lying on the same terrestrial 
 fissure as the great jet d'eau, the Strokkr, the Small Geyser, and 
 some others, present phenomena which are nearly similar, and are 
 evidently subject to the action of the same forces. 
 
 IN CONTACT WITH HOT LAVA. 
 
 The vicinity of the active volcanoes of Iceland warrants us, 
 however, in supposing that the water produced by the melting of 
 the snow on Blafell does not require to descend many thousands of 
 yards into the earth in order to be converted into steam. There 
 is no doubt that, at no very great depth below the surface, they 
 come in contact with burning lava, which gives them their high 
 temperature. By reproducing in miniature all the conditions 
 which are thought to apply to the Icelandic springs — that is, by 
 heating the bases of tubes of iron filled with water and sur- 
 mounted by a basin — Tyndall succeeded in producing in his labora- 
 tory charming little geysers, which jetted out every five minutes. 
 
 About the centre of the northern Island of New Zealand the 
 activity of the volcanic springs is manifested still more remark- 
 ably even than in Iceland. On the slightly winding line of fissure 
 which extends from the southwest to the northeast, between the 
 ever active volcano of Tongariro and the smoking island of 
 
384 VOLCANIC THERMAL SPRINGS. 
 
 Whakari, in Plenty Bay, thermal springs, mud fountains, and 
 geysers rise in more tlian a thousand places, and in some spots 
 combine to form considerable lakes. 
 
 In some localities the hot vapors make their escape from the 
 sides of the mountains in such abundance that the soil is reduced 
 to a soft state over vast surfaces, and flows down slowly to the 
 plains in long beds of mud. For a distance of more than a mile 
 a portion of the Lake of Taupo boils and smokes as if it was 
 heated by a subterreanean fire, and the temperature of its water 
 reaches, on the average to ioo° (Fahr.). Farther to the north, the 
 two sides of the valley, through which flows the impetuous rivei 
 of Waikato after its issue from Lake Taupo, present, for more 
 than a mile, so large a number of water jets, that in one spot as 
 many as seventy-six are counted. These geysers, which rise to 
 various heights, play alternately, as if obeying a kind of rhythm 
 in their successive appearances and disappearances. 
 
 While one springs out of the ground, falling back into its 
 basin in a graceful curve bent by the wind, another ceases to 
 jet out. In one spot a whole series of jets suddenly become 
 quiet, and the basins of still water emit nothing but a thin mist 
 of vapor. Farther on, however, the mountain is all activity ; 
 liquid columns all at once shine in the sun, and white cascades 
 fall from terrace to terrace toward the river. Every moment the 
 features of the landscape are being modified, and fresh voices 
 take a part in the marvelous concert of the gushing springs. 
 
 About the middle of the interval which separates the Lake 
 of Taupo from the coast of Plenty Bay, several other volcanic 
 pools are dotted about, all most remarkable for their thermal and 
 jetting springs. One of them, however, is among the great 
 wonders of the world. This is the Lake of Rotomahanna, a small 
 basin of about 120 acres, the temperature of which, being raised 
 by all the hot springs which feed it, is about 78° (Fahr.). Dr. 
 von Hochstetter has not even attempted to count the basins, the 
 funnels, and the fissures from which the water, steam-mud, and 
 sulphurous gases make their escape. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 'yHE later scenes of devastation and horror in the earthquake-convulsed 
 A city of San Francisco were such as might have been expected from 
 the destruction and terror that had gone before. And what went before 
 was graphically described by a railway clerk. 
 
 Caught by the first av/ful shock of the earthquake in a street car at 
 Sixteenth and Mission Streets, while on his way to report "out" at the 
 general postoffice, and forced to grope his way through the debris-strewn 
 streets from there to the ferry house, C. E. Presson, railway mail clerk. 
 Told a most graphic story. 
 
 "I was at Sixteenth and Mission Streets on a street car when the 
 shock came. It was at 5.15 o'clock, as nearly as I can tell. I was headed 
 for the postoffice, as I was due to go out on my run on No. 8 on the 
 Southern Pacific. There was one great detonating roar, a succession of 
 friglitful crashes, and then came the flames, breaking out everywhere. 
 
 "The shock set all of the passengers in a panic, myself among the 
 rest. The cars were stopped at once. We all got off and tried to walk, 
 but couldn't make any headway while the shock lasted. It seemed to come 
 from east to west, and then from north to south, and there was also a 
 vertical motion. It c*ne as a thunderbolt to me. There was no oppres- 
 sion in the atmosphere and there was absolutely no warning. The first 
 shock, I should say, lasted about two minutes. When the shock came 
 there was a noise as though a cannon had exploded. This was made by 
 falling walls and houses. We also heard the crashing of glass as it was 
 hurled from the windows to the pavement. 
 
 "We started to walk down Mission Street. I went as far as the post- 
 office, at Seventh and Mission Streets. As I walked on women were in 
 the street clad only in their nightclothes and calling for their little ones 
 amidst their tears. Men were rushing through half-fallen buildings and 
 throwing clothing to the women in the streets from the upper windo\vs. 
 It was a terrible sight. When I got to the postoffice I entered the mailing 
 
 department to go to my office and register 'out' on train 8. 
 
 25— S.F. 885 
 
386 APPENDIX 
 
 "In going through the building I saw that all of the beautiful marble 
 work on the staircase had been broken into a thousand pieces. The 
 bu-ilding had sunk so that I could not get through the doors in the interior. 
 The plastering was all down in the mailing room and the custodian of 
 the building had been injured about the head by falling debris. The office 
 was abandoned at 6 A. M. I went from the postofhce down Mission 
 Street to Sixth. At Sixth and Howard Streets a big rooming house had 
 collapsed and was a mass of flames. The bystanders told me that there 
 were 250 people in the ruins. There was no chance to aid them. 
 
 "I turned there and went to Market Street. Going down that street 
 I saw that every conveyance on the street was loaded with the dead and 
 injured, taking them to the emergency morgue and hospital. By this 
 time it was nearly 6 o'clock. Market Street, as I looked toward the ferry, 
 was a mass of brick and stone debris from fallen walls. The street itself 
 was sunken in some places and raised in others, so that it looked like the 
 waves of the ocean. The depressions were at right angles to the street. 
 
 MARKET STREET A MASS OF DEBRIS. 
 
 "The Call building was twisted slightly. The rear end of the Ex- 
 aminer building, toward the Palace Hotel, had partially fallen in. The 
 new Monadnock building, not yet finished, that is between the Examiner 
 and the Palace Hotel, seemed to have been cut in two. That portion 
 toward the Examiner had collapsed and was in ruins. The Palace Hotel, 
 as I saw it, was leaning about thirty degrees toward Montgomery Street. 
 All of the guests were crowded in the street, but all seemed to have had 
 rime to dress. The new portion of the Chronicle building had fallen in, 
 as far as I could see, but the old ]>ortion was still standing. 
 
 "The building at Montgomery and Market Streets, occupied as South- 
 ern Pacific headquarters, and the Hobart Building had lost their upper 
 stories. The fall of the demolished portion was toward Market Street. 
 -An hour had elapsed since the first shock. Farther down Market Street 
 I saw that the building occupied by Holbrook, Merrill & Stetson, wholesaH 
 hardware dealers, was in flames. The fire department was pumping wat?" 
 from the sewer, but could make no headway. To the left of this buildi'T^. 
 on Front Street, two other fires had started. I went on down Market 
 
APPENDIX 587 
 
 Street about a block and a half, when I heard an explosion. I looked back 
 and saw that the big hardware building had been blown up. That waS at 
 6. 20. 
 
 "When I got to the ferry building I saw that the front of the tower 
 as far as the clock had fallen in. The clock stopped at 5.15. The wall of 
 the south end of the ferry, occupied by the Southern Pacific as a baggage 
 room, had fallen into the bay. I went back on East Street, and as I stood 
 looking over the ruins I counted seventy-two different fires in the city 
 That was before they had a chance to get together." 
 
 WOMEN IN MEN'S GARB. 
 
 In some of the provisional camps established for refugees near the 
 foot of Van Ness Avenue and near Fort Mason it was difficult to distin- 
 guish men from women. Evidently the supply of women's clothing had 
 been exhausted, for many women could be seen dressed in ordinary soft 
 shirts and overalls. In this garb they were walking about their tents un- 
 concernedly, preparing breakfast. It was no time for false modesty, and 
 those who were able to make themselves comfortable in any sort of cloth- 
 ing were indeed fortunate. It was suggested to the Relief Committee, and 
 especially to the members of the Finance Committee, that stores of khaki 
 bloomeis and blouses be purchased for the women. 
 
 Congressman Kahn arrived, having left Washington Thursday after- 
 noon. "Never in my life have I seen such a spontaneous response to the 
 needs of a distressed country. From every hand I was promised assistance 
 to repair the damage that had been done to the western metropolis. Money 
 was offered in any amount we might need, and promises were made that all 
 the Federal buildings that had been destroyed would be rebuilt. Congress- 
 man Overstreet, of the Committee on Post-offices, asked me to telegraph 
 him the extent of the damage to the local post-office, and said that he would 
 incorporate in the appropriation bill now pending a sufficient sum to put it 
 in repair. The same action will be taken in regard to the other government 
 buildings. 
 
 "As soon as I find my family I will do what I can to aid the stricken 
 city, because I believe that the disaster will not destroy, but only retard 
 its progress. We should all put our shoulders to the wheel to help bring 
 
i6$ APPENDIX 
 
 from the ruins a city more beautiful and kiore prosperous than San Fran- 
 cisco has been in the past." 
 
 Chief of Police Dinan talked of reported clashes between police and 
 national guardsmen, saying they had been exaggerated. *"As tar as the 
 police department is concerned." said Chief Dinan, '*\ve have endeavored 
 to co-operate with the regulars in patroling the streets and preserving 
 order. We have had no clash with militiamen or the citizens' patrol, but 
 there have been nimierous complaints of the overzealousness oi the gxiards- 
 men by citizens, and for that reason we have deemed it advisable to 
 request the withdrawal of all bodies of troops not acting under the direct 
 command of General Funston. 
 
 "Policeman Alpers. detailed on duty in an automobile, was fired upon 
 by militiamen at Hayes Street and Van Xess Avenue. He was speeding 
 to headquarters, and was challenged by regulars several times, but no 
 effort was made to stop him until he came up against the militia patrol at 
 Hayes and \'an Xess. They commenced to shoot before challenging the 
 automobile party, and as the officer dashed by four shots were fired by the 
 guardsmen. 
 
 "Captain of Police Martin was informed by militiamen in his section 
 that there must be no lights. He told the guards that the orders were 
 that the lights should be permitted until lo o'clock P. M.. but the guards 
 were obdurate, and the captain put in tfte evening without lights. It was 
 such little incidents as these that made the militiamen undesirable for 
 patrol duty, and called forth a vigorous protest from the citizens. * 
 
 OFFICER DEMANDED HIS CARD. 
 
 Captain Rettenhaus, of the Marine Corps, notified Chief Dinan that 
 liquor was being sold in a saloon at Fillmore and Fuller Streets. Police 
 Captain Duke, with a platoon of police, accompanied Captain Rettenhaus 
 to the saloon and found the place closed. Captain Rettenhaus insisted 
 that the stock be destroyed, and when Captain Duke explained that he had 
 no authority to take such action Captain Rettenhaus became indignant, 
 demanded his card and declared that General Funston would be informed 
 that a call had been made upon the police for aid and that it had been 
 refused. 
 
APPENDIX 889 
 
 Commanding a company of ten detective sergeants identified with the 
 Chicago police, Lieutenant Hereford arrived on Tuesday and reported for 
 duty to Chief of Police Dinan. They worked with the local detective ser- 
 geants and kept a special watch on Eastern thieves who were coming this 
 way with an eye to wholesale looting. 
 
 The story had hardly spread of the killing of H. C. Tilden, a promi- 
 nent relief worker, who was shot while doing missionary service in his 
 auto, than there came the news of the slaying of Superintendent Joseph 
 Myers, of the Children's Playgrounds. Acting under orders from the 
 Committee of Safety. Superintendent Myers had refused to allow some 
 armed guards to build fires on the grounds. His refusal was met with a 
 bullet, and he died almost instantly. Superintendent Myers was a leader 
 in charitable works. 
 
 Dr. K. A. T. MacKenzie, of Portland, Ore., second vice-president of 
 the American Medical Association, who w'as in charge of the contagious 
 diseases hospital, reported to the surgeon general of the army that 500 
 San Francisco physicians were destitute, their diplomas destroyed: that 
 they were working bravely and resolutely for their fellow-men. An 
 appeal was made to physicians to assist them. 
 
 DYNAMITE SQUAD'S WORK. 
 
 Three heroes saved what is left of San Francisco. They were the 
 dynamite squad, who turned back the fire at Van Ness Avenue. When 
 the burning city seemed doomed and the flames lit the sky farther and 
 farther to the west Admiral McCalla sent a trio of his most trusted men 
 from Mare Island with orders to check the conflagration at any cost. With 
 them they brought a ton and a half of guncotton. Captain McBride was 
 in charge of the squad. Chief Gunner Adamson placed the charges and 
 the third gunner set them off. 
 
 The thunderous detonations to which the terrified city listened all that 
 dreadful Friday night meant the salvation of many lives. A million dol- 
 lars' worth of property, noble residences and worthless shacks alike, were 
 blown to drifting dust, but that destruction broke the fire and sent the 
 raging flames over their own charred path. The whole east side of Van 
 Ness Avenue, from Golden Gate to Greenwich, was dynamited a block 
 
390 APPENDIX 
 
 deep, though most of the structures stood untouched by spark or cinder. 
 Unless some second malicious miracle of nature reversed the direction of 
 the west wind the whole populous district to the west, blocked with fleeing 
 refugees and unilluminated except by the disastrous glare on the water 
 front, seemed safe by 9 o'clock. 
 
 \'an Xess Avenue is tlat as the earth on the east side. Every pound 
 of gTjncotton did its work, and though the ruins burned it was but feebly. 
 From Golden Gate Avenue north the fire crossed the wide street in but one 
 place. That was the Glaus Spreckels house, at California Street. There 
 the flames were writhing up the walls before the d}iiamiters could reach 
 it. Yet they made their way to the foundations, carrying their explosives 
 despite the furnace-like heat. The charge had to be placed so swiftly and 
 the fuse lighted in such a hurry that the explosion was not quite successful 
 from the trained viewpoint of the gunners. But though the walls still 
 stood it was only an empty victory for the Are, as bare brick and smoking 
 ruins were poor food for the flames. 
 
 Engines pimiping brine through Fort Madison from the bay com- 
 pleted the little work that the guncotton had left. [Mayor Mott, of Oak- 
 land, was notified that several cities of the State had been placarded with 
 statements to the effect that skilled labor was eagerly sought in San 
 Francisco. He said that such notices were erroneous, as there was no 
 material in San Francisco for mechanics to work with. 
 
 TO CONTINUE LEGAL HOLIDAYS. 
 
 Governor Pardee announced that he would continue to proclaim legal 
 holidays from day to day as long as the financial condition of the State 
 w^as unsettled. The United Railroads declared that lines were safe for 
 operations. The lights would be turned on as soon as the wires leading 
 into houses which might prove a source of danger were cut. This work 
 was progressing rapidly. The United Railroads tendered the use of its 
 entire system to Mayor Schmitz for the benefit of the people during the 
 present crisis. Free transportation was furnished the people over the 
 lines of the company for themselves and their baggage. 
 
 There is one place within pistol shot of the city that the earthquake 
 did not touch, that did not lose a chimney or feel a tremor — Alcatraz 
 
APPENDIX 391 
 
 Island. Despite the tact that tlie island is covered with brick buildings, 
 brick forts and brick chimneys, not a brick was loosened nor a crack made. 
 When the scientists come to write of the disturbance they will have their 
 hands full explaining why Alcatraz did not have any physical knowledge 
 of the event. The scene from the island was awe-inspiring. The crash 
 of a falling city filled the ears of the aroused island, but no one under- 
 stood what it was all about until a boat from Alcatraz landed at the * 
 shattered wharves in San Francisco. 
 
 CHINATOWN OBLITERATED. 
 
 The big fire obliterated Chinatown from San Francisco. Mayor 
 Schmitz informed Chief of Police Dinan that all of th«: Chinese in the 
 city would be collected and placed in and near Fontanas warehouses near 
 Fort Mason, and that the new Chinatown would be located at Hunter's 
 Point, on the southern extremity of the county on the bay shore. It is 
 several miles distant from the old Chinatown. 
 
 One of the gruesome scenes that followed the fire was that witnessed 
 on Telegraph and Russian Hills and along the entire north beach front of 
 the city, when scores of half-starved dogs were found eating human bodies. 
 The animals were discovered gnawing and tearing at the corpses half- 
 buried in the ruins. Men who had been sent into the nu'ns of homes to 
 look for what little property might have escaped the flames came upon this 
 sickening condition and immediately reported it to the naval officers in 
 command of the water front military districts. In response to their 
 appeal that something be done, bluejackets were detailed to cover the sec- 
 tions designated and kill all dogs found in those vicinities. All morning 
 rifle reports could be heard on the hillside and along the beach as the dogs 
 were killed. 
 
 It was a ragged, unkempt and hungry crowd of refugees which 
 arrived at Omaha from San Francisco on the first of the fiee trains on the 
 Union Pacific Railroad. Other such trains were following closely, .\mong 
 the passengers in the entire trainload there prol*ibly was not $5. \\'eary 
 and worn they had climbed aboard the train at Oakland in a condition 
 bordering on collapse. Added to this was three days' travel in ordinary 
 dav coache?. everv seat filled. 
 
892 APPENDIX 
 
 Mrs. Wilson Evans, of Reading, Pa., said: "I am all that is left of 
 a family of five. My husband and three children were killed, and their 
 bodies buried. We were living in the city. I saved an old wrapper, noth- 
 ing more. I only want to get away from that terrible place," 
 
 Henry Howe, a seventy-year-old man from St. Paul, was in the 
 Hotel Langdon. He said : "I woke when the ceiling fell on me and 
 pinned me to the bed. After several hours I managed to get loose, 
 wrapped a blanket around me and crawled away. Sometimes crawling, 
 sometimes walking, I managed to reach a camp with nothing but my 
 blanket. Somebody gave me the old clothes I am wearing." 
 
 L. A. Dickerson, of Indianapolis, was in a hospital sick with ferver. 
 
 "I was twenty-four hours making my way to the ferry because of my 
 feeble condition," he said. "I had only a night shirt. The steward of the 
 train lent me a pair of trousers and the porter gave me this coat. I have 
 no hat and nothing else." 
 
 '1[ was in the Golden West Hotel," said Willis Hammond, of Ander- 
 son, Ind. "I managed to reach the street and was knocked senseless by 
 something. When I recovered I was lying in Mechanics' Pavilion along 
 with a long row of dead men. I had been hauled there in a wagonful of 
 dead. When it was found that I was practically unhurt a pair of trousers 
 taken from a dead man was given to me. It is all I have." 
 
 MAN KILLED ON WEDDING TRIP. 
 
 "My husband and I were at a rooming house south of Market Street." 
 said Mrs. William Stone, of Emmettsburg, la. "The house collapsed. 
 He was killed at my side. His body was taken away by the authorities. 
 I don't know where. I secured an old dress skirt and at Ogden a woman 
 took oflf her shoes and gave them to me. We were on our wedding trip." 
 
 Mrs. James Taylor, an old woman, who had a bloody cloth bound 
 about her head, said : "I am a widow and lived with my son and his family. 
 The house fell. The relief workers pulled me out after several hours. 
 They said the others were dead. I have friends in eastern Ohio and am 
 going there." 
 
 Similar stories were told by all. There was little excitement. Occa- 
 sionally some woman broke out into hysterical weeping for a moment, but 
 
APPENDIX 898 
 
 in the main all they seemed to want was to be let alone with their 
 thoughts, and all wanted to get as far away from San Francisco as 
 possible. 
 
 At Omaha a large booth was erected in the street near the Union 
 Depot and in this the refugees were being fed. The trains were expected to 
 continue for two or three weeks at the rate of two or three a day. 
 
 The first mails from San Francisco, after the catastrophe, arrived on 
 Tuesday. Volumes of letters, unstamped and many of them without 
 envelopes, were in the sacks. They had been sent by sufferers in San 
 Francisco in the desperate chance that they would reach relatives and 
 friends in other places. The Government was delivering all such matter 
 received and was collecting no due stamps thereon. Some letters were 
 written on cards, others on wrapping paper and even pieces of paper sacks 
 were used. The general trend was, "We are alive, but have lost every- 
 thing." 
 
 GRAPHIC ACCOUNT OF DISASTER. 
 
 The following letter was from a prominent advertising agent of San 
 Francisco. It was written hastily the day after the earthquake and fire, 
 and is a graphic first-hand account of the disaster: 
 
 "San Francisco is a heap of smouldering ruins. Since the first shock 
 there have been several shocks, lighter, of course, yet each adding to the 
 terror of the people. At 5.13 yesterday morning I was awakened by the 
 rocking of the house. 
 
 "I sat up in bed, saw the bureau dancing about the room, and said: 
 This must be a real earthquake.' Then I looked for my glasses and 
 found them safe on tlie floor, dressed and climbed over the bricks, for the 
 chimney had fallen through the roof, striking about twenty inches from 
 the head of the bed. Narrow squeak, that! 
 
 "I go downstairs to street, which is filled with frightened men and 
 women, some moaning and shrieking, others laughing hysterically. I go 
 up to Mission Street, w^here a great fire is in progress. 
 
 "The Valencia Hotel, near Nineteenth and Valencia Streets, has col- 
 lapsed, the ground opening and the hotel dropping into the crevice. Four 
 stories, containing eighty odd souls. I watch them removing eight dead 
 
iHA APPENDIX 
 
 bodies. Here is a dr}-eyed little woman who wants me to find out it her 
 brotlier was saved. I ask where he slept, and learn tliat he was on the 
 first floor. Poor fellow ! He i- crushed to deatli. Anotlier blood-stained, 
 tearless woman, assures me tliat her husband is in tlie hospital witli a 
 broken shoulder. I saw his body at tlie comer barroom not five minutes 
 ago. but I don't tell her so. 
 
 "So I go do\Mitown. Streams of terror-stricken refugees, tliousands 
 of tliem. laden with all manner of goods, pouring up Market Stre^ aiming 
 for the upper part of tlie city. San Francisco must be wholly rebuilt All 
 the business section and tlie manufacturing district is burned to the ground. 
 In the residential districts tlie buildings are so twisted tliat they must be 
 torn down and rebuilt 
 
 CORPSES FEARFULLY MANGLED. 
 
 "Twenty-six adults and two children lay stretched dead on the g^ass 
 at Washington Square, all fearfully mangled, for most of them were killed 
 in bed by falling walls. Chief of the Fire Department Sulli\*an was so 
 killed. One corpse is laid on tlie grass, and tlie soldier lays his foot, 
 wrendied off midway between tlie# ankle and the knee, beside the corpse. 
 The soldiers' hands and miifoniis are blood-soaked. One Chinaman has 
 tlie top of his head oft*. The buildings across tlie street are being d}nia- 
 mited by tlie soldiers, and they go up in a sliower of sparks. 
 
 "See the people flee! Here is a woman, a parrot in one hand, a milli- 
 ner's creation in tlie other, followed by her husband, witli a tin teapot and 
 a woman's silk dress. He would do better to carry a blanket He will 
 need it 
 
 "Battery- Street — here and tliere Is a front wall standing, ready to 
 topple over on the mass of debris. I climb over the bricks in the middle 
 of the street. My God I How hot it is here! The bricks beneadi scordi 
 gny shoes. And there falls a front wall just back where I was a few 
 seconds ago. Sometliing must have struck my left shoulder, for it is 
 sore and numb. A brick from tlie wall, no doubt Finally I readi Market 
 Street, and turn down towards the Ferr}- building, ninning between two 
 seething walls of flame, on either side, my face and hands scorciied. my 
 feet hot Safes are strewn all around tlie street. 
 
APPENDIX 3!»0 
 
 "I look at one. Within the ruins are hundreds of snfes. Ivinc^ on the 
 burning mass. Electric wires impede my progress, and I stumble and tall 
 upon the sharp bricks many times. From Battery to within half a block 
 of the Ferr}- not a soul do I see. Xo soldier, no fireman, no policeman 
 will enter that furnace. But I must get across the bay with despatches for 
 the East. I cross the ferry and bulldoze the operator to forward them ' 
 'collect,' for I have not two dollars in change with me. My money is . 
 undemeatli the mass of bricks at the house. 
 
 "Never mind. I am alive, and 'in luck' to be here. 
 
 ''No trains going through Oakland to San Francisco. They stop in 
 Oakland by orders of the military, to keep strangers out of the city. So 
 I hoof it tliree miles over the tracks to the Oakland mole, and am one of 
 twenty-odd passengers to the city. The sight of the burning city across 
 the bay is a grand one. The wildest rumors are current. 
 
 "Arrived at San Francisco. I make my way west along the water 
 front, pass through the Latin Quarter, which has been lightly visited by 
 the 'quake,' pass through Chinatown, where the 'chinks' are in terrible 
 confusion ; climb the hill, and find the beautiful new Faimiount Hotel is 
 intact, tlie finest, most costly building in the city. I look down on the 
 burning city below, with the business blocks rising high in the air, dyna- 
 mited by the soldiers in hopes to prevent tb.e spreading of the flames. 
 
 GRAND. TERRIBLE SIGHT. 
 
 "It is a grandly terrible sight ; worse. I think than war, for here there 
 is a nameless dread of something which may happen any moment. Poor, 
 old, aged women are seated on their few belongings, with terror in their 
 eyes and mutely questioning gaze. One 70-year-oId woman asks in a voice 
 scarcelv above a whisper for whiskey, and I had bought a bottle of Scotch 
 whiskev in Oakland to bring home. The old lady clutches the bottle 
 eagerlv, and I pass on, leaving it with her. Well, the folks at the house 
 must sreit some whiskev, if thev want it. I have 'invested' mine. 
 
 "Food is at famine prices. Oranges, two for 2^, cents. A San Mateo 
 County milk-man drives along. He wants $5 per can for his milk. A , 
 member of the crowd olTers liim a doll.ir per can. He refuses, and in a 
 minute the crowd empties his wagon, carr^-Ing off the cans, and he gets 
 
896 APPENDIX 
 
 no: a penny. Sen*ed him right. Teams charge $S. Sio or $12 :o cany a 
 trunk four blocks. The falling ashes from the conflagration cv"»\-er the 
 sidewalks. Thieves have been busy throughout the night, and several ha\-c 
 been shot dead by the militan*. San Francisco has receiN'ed a terrible 
 blow, one which it will not recover from in ten }-ears. To mail this I 
 must walk four miles and then cross the bay."* 
 
 STATEMENT BY WELL-KNOWN AUTHORITY. 
 
 The following is ;i s:;.:;:-;::: by :::e ■.ve^-k:::-^:: ::;::hor::y. Frof. 
 Edgar L. Larkin: 
 
 Seismic ragings have been familiar since ^ :e historic times. And 
 the torn stran of the ancier.: e.ir:h r^.-.r ::v.::e e. ."c-.-re :hat they have 
 tossed, warped and wrenched the ever-: c shell, since the external 
 
 euN-elope began. 
 
 The eanh was once a pro.rite sphereoid of white hot liquid. It rotated 
 on its axis and this motion caused a bulging out of the liquid all round 
 the equator. And at the time the cooling allowed a crust or la\-er of rock 
 to solidify, the ring of melted stuff was thirteen miles deep, at least the 
 solid band is that deep now. 
 
 But the liquid inside the thin shdl cooled, contracted, shnmk and 
 subsided and the rock>- covering settled and cracked into millions of pieces 
 and fell into the seething mass below, exactly as would cakes of ice to a 
 drained pond. And the process was repeated over and over again during 
 an uncounted number of millions of year^ Great tides, causevl by the 
 nKK>n. after it had been formed by matter separated from the eanh. movevi 
 around the globe, and this tide cracked the shell into numberless cakes 
 imtil it became too rigfid to break it further. 
 
 After the earth became firm, and when \\*ater appeared, deposits on 
 the ocean floor began. Countless ages expirevl in the deposition of strata. 
 Quadrillions of aquatic animals died and contributed skeletons to the fonn- 
 ing layers on the bottom of the seas. La\-er after layer appearevl all 
 resting on primordial azoic rocks, igneous, without trace of life. 
 
 But the interior kept on losing heat by con\-ection and radiation par- 
 tially, but far more escaped intc> space through torn and ragged throats, 
 incipient volcanoes. 
 
APPENDIX r07 
 
 Contractions continued with increased bending;?, cracking and rending 
 of the now thickened "egg shell." luirthquakes rapidly increased in num- 
 ber and severity. The thicker the crust the greater the intensity of rup- 
 ture's. Coohng went on and then an entirely new giant appeared — cheni- 
 isni. It could not act until the temperature was low enough. Thus chem- 
 isni does not now act in the sun : tliat is, comp<.ninds are not forming, el- 
 ements are at such territic heat that they cannot unite. 
 
 But wlien chemical elements formed in the earth's interior, in a cooler 
 place, and then separated in a hotter, immense volumes of gas were liber- 
 ated with pressures beyond tomparison. These gases made vast numbers 
 of volcanoes and numerous earthquakes. And when water reached the 
 white hot mass, real and t}-pical earthquvikes and volcanoes appeared in 
 colossal power and racked the primeval world. The mass of the earth's 
 interior is now white hot. for the craters of \'esuvius and Kilauea. when 
 boiling, just before an outburst, are blinding white. 
 
 ACTION OF VOLCANOES. 
 
 I have \\*atched every detail of craters on the nxx^n in the great tele- 
 scope in the Lowe Observatory. Some are low. mere gas-escapes, and 
 others rise to more than two miles in altitude. The rims, cones and edges 
 can be studied at leisure. Rocks, weighing many tons, have been shot up 
 from terrestrial cones to great heights. These elevations have been meas- 
 ured, and from that the pressure required has been computed, and forces 
 in some volcanoes were several thousands of pounds per square inch. 
 Cones fall into the caverns formed by the outcast lava at times, and there 
 is a beautiful example on the moon. 
 
 The question now arises, did man appear before the earth was ready? 
 
 \\'hat awful energ>' raged throughout cosmic space when suns and 
 planets were condensing, and what lightnings played, what roaring of 
 thunders, explosions, boilings, kneadings and mixing, and what eons 
 were passed in the process. Then appalling turmoil, turbulence and up- 
 hea\-al died away. Things grew still more quiet : forces died away, hush 
 came on and silence almost. 
 
 Nature was preparing a quiet, still place for the home of man. Finally 
 quietude almost complete came on, scarcely a breath, and then man came. 
 
8?»8 ArpFNPIX 
 
 He is dclic.-itc. iiulccd. a mere creatine of tciiiperaiir.e. A /.cplivr can w ipe 
 him out of existence. 
 
 The marvel is that nature ever became quiet and still enough for him 
 to step upon the stupendous scene. If th.e sun increases its heat a few de- 
 grees, or loses a few. all humanity will expire, and the change in the sun 
 would not be great. Positively, a hush is now on the earth or man would 
 vanish. Primitive men were sorely disturbed by internal earth convulsions. 
 Modem man has ever been harassed. 
 
 And now the appalling disaster at San Francisco will rank with any * 
 calamity that has troubled man. Xot only the metropolis, but the lovely 
 cities round about, die great Stanford University, that marvel of beauty 
 and loveliness — vanished in ruins. Stop one moment and think about the 
 w ord ruins. 
 
 I do not like to write about the dead and dying. A shudder is over 
 the nation, and pity. It is still the opinion of the writer that Los Angeles 
 is not strictly in an earthquake region. The land was placed here by 
 water and not by fire. The region is not volcanic. L'nnecessan,- fear 
 should not be entertained. True. I am writing this in a high building, that 
 was shaken by three faint tremors a few minutes ago. but I have exoeri- 
 enced worse up in the observatory. 
 
 We recall some poems which have a pertinent meaning in connection 
 with the great catastrophe: 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO. 
 
 Serene. inditYerent to Fate. 
 Thou sittest at the Western Gate ; 
 
 Upon thy heights so lately won 
 Still slant the banners of the sun ; 
 
 Thou seest the white seas strike their tents, 
 O Warder of two Continents! 
 
 And scornful of the peace that flies 
 Thv anerv winds an^l sullen skies. 
 
APPENDIX .;<»« 
 
 Thou drawest all things, small or great, 
 To thee, heside the Western Gate. 
 
 lion's whelp, that hidest fast 
 
 In jungle growth of spire and mast. 
 
 1 know thy cunning- and thy greed, 
 Thy hard, high lust and wilful deed, 
 
 And all thy glory loves to tell 
 Of specious gifts material. 
 
 Drop down. O tieecy Fog. and hide 
 Her skeptic sneer, and all her pride! 
 
 Wrap her. O Fog, in gown and hood 
 Of her Franciscan Brotherhood. 
 
 Hide nie her faults, her sin and blame; 
 With thy gray mantle cloak her shajne! 
 
 So shall she, cowled, sit and pray 
 Till morning benrs her sins away. 
 
 Then rise, O fleecy Fog, and raise 
 The glory of her coming days ; 
 
 Be as the cloud that flecks the seas 
 Above her smok}- argosies. 
 
 When forms familiar shall give place 
 To stranger speech and newer face ; 
 
 When all her throes nnd anxious fears 
 Lie hushed in the re^-'se r.f years ; 
 
400 APPENDIX 
 
 Wlien An shall raise and Culture lift 
 The sensual joys and meaner thrift. 
 
 And all fulfilled tlie \-ision. we 
 
 ^\^lo \\-atch and wait shall never see — 
 
 WTio, in the morning of her race. 
 Toiled fair or meanly in our pla 
 
 But. yielding to tlie common lot. 
 Lie unrecorded and forgot. 
 
 — From the poems of Bret Harte. 
 
 OUR LADY OF THE GOLDEN GATE. 
 "Serene, indifferent to Fate." she stands — 
 
 Bare breasted, girt witli sand, and sun caressed ; 
 
 Witli power undiminished, strengtli unguessed 
 Till now. though gaping pits and rav'ning brands 
 Have scordied her ttmic and have scarred her hands — 
 
 As who should say: "My race is not yet nm. 
 
 My triumph comes when my new days are won. 
 Bring bay and laurel I These are my demands." 
 
 So speaks Our Lady of the Golden Gate, 
 
 -\nd we who hear tlie marvel oi her voice 
 
 Smile back and toss her laurel, rose and bay: 
 Because serene indifference to Fate 
 
 Breeds strensfth to conquer, power to gr^in a choice. 
 
 That thmsts our night of sorrow into d.iy. 
 
 — J. C. B. Andrews. 
 
 THE STRICKEN CITY. 
 
 Cnished by the earthquake's hea\y car. 
 
 Seared by the flames' destnictive breath. 
 Thy friends and lovers we from far 
 
 Hasten to rescue thee from deatli. 
 
APPENDIX 401 
 
 Hope, stricken city by the sea! 
 
 O'er mountain height and dreary waste, 
 The weary miles to succor thee. 
 
 With helpful sympathy we haste. 
 
 Thy woes are ours. Did we appeal 
 
 In need to thee, as now thy call. 
 The bonds of brothers, strong as steel. 
 
 Would gladly offer us thine all. 
 
 Take heari ! The future, hath in store 
 
 A grandeur that shall dim the past. 
 And. Phoenix like, shall rise once more 
 
 A city nobler than the last. 
 
 — William C. Wheeler. 
 
 A survivor who reached Philadelphia told his ston.- of two days and 
 nights of horror in San Francisco: 
 
 "At this moment." he said. "I don't know how exactly to describe my 
 sensations. I am as one who has been called back from the g^tes of the 
 grave. It all seems so strange to be back here in this quiet old city. It 
 was about. 6 o'clock on Tuesday night when we entered the St. Francis 
 Hotel in San Francisco and took a room on the eleventh floor. 
 
 "I had been asleep a little more than four hours, when I was awakened 
 by a crash as oi thunder, to find myself in the middle of the floor. The 
 room was shaking to and fro, or rather rolling from side to side, like the 
 movement of a pendulum, gradually slackening as the pendulum does when 
 the clock stops. All was still. I heard no sound outside, and at first 
 I thought that the shaking might be part of my disordered fancy. 
 
 "Xothing in the room was disturbed. As my senses slowly returned. 
 I began to realize that it was an earthquake. Then Mr. Heyl. my traveling 
 companion, rushed into my room and an instant later ran out. Somehow, 
 after the first shock we did not seem in the least disturbed. I put on my 
 clotlies. packed my grripsack and wound up my watch just as usual. Then 
 I walked over to the window and looked out. \Miat I saw sent me stag- 
 gering against the wall with amazement and fright, for before me houses 
 96-^ P. 
 
402 APPENDIX 
 
 were crumbling. Down in the street, in the Hght of the dawn, a thousand 
 faces, with a white terror on them that I shall never forget, were, it 
 seemed, looking up into mine. I saw the crowd move onward with a 
 swift swirling rush, like a picture impossibly painted on a running river. I 
 van out into the corridor. Mr. Heyl was nowhere in sight. 
 
 ''The thought came to me of the women who were downstairs. For, 
 in telling you this story. I have almost forgotten the women. I made for 
 the second floor, where I knew the women were. I noticed as I walked 
 down the broken stairs that, while the rooms on the high floors had escaped 
 damage, the lower part of the hotel was wrecked. 
 
 "The rooms of the Aumonts were all broken up and empty, and so I 
 went into the square and came upon ^Ir. Gill and ]\Ir. Heyl with the ladies. 
 ^\'e saw the fires breaking out in half a dozen places, and we decided to 
 move on. The rest of the crowd, or so it seemed to us, did the game, and 
 we were carried northward with the tide, so we were plodding onward, the 
 women growing wearier and wearier at every step, when we came upon a 
 young, sweet-looking woman, who was crying. She said she was looking 
 for an undertaker. Her little brother lay dead at home. He had been 
 crushed by a falling chimney. 
 
 TURNED FROM HER OWN GRIEF. 
 
 "Then she turned to us. saying, 'Oh, you poor people, your need is as 
 great or greater than mine, so come to our house and we will take care of 
 you until the danger is past.' She was a Miss McEwen. Her mother was 
 a widow, with three unmarried daughters, and they lived at the foot of 
 Xob Hill. They forgot their trouble, the presence of death in their house. 
 Their thought was only for us. And our women cried, kissed and cried 
 over the little boy, lying as he had been stricken in his sleep. 
 
 "For a whole day we were in that house, sharing what little they had. 
 ]\Ir. Gill and myself had the forethought to go into the street and gather 
 up all the eatables we could buy at famine prices. The order had gone out 
 that no fires were to be lighted, and all that we could get was such things 
 as biscuits, cheese, pickles and ginger ale. 
 
 "All my own thought at this time was of my wife. I knew that the 
 story of the earthquake was in Philadelphia. Twice I fought my way 
 
APPENDIX 403 
 
 through the streets to the Western Union office, and each time was told 
 that the wires were down. All through that Wednesday the fire was grad- 
 ually creeping nearer and nearer our part of the city, and the flames were 
 already on Nob Hill when we started for the Presidio. That was our ob- 
 jective point, the only place that I or any one else thought of at that 
 momerkt. 
 
 "We had gone about half way through the city when Mr. Gill sug- 
 gested that we make for the ferry. And there it was that we had to s'.iy 
 good-by to our good friends the McEwens. In a grave by that deserted 
 house they had left the child. They were seeking refuge at the Presidio. 
 The last we saw of them they were looking after us, their eyes red with 
 crying. 
 
 AT THE FERRY. 
 
 "A great, black, heavy mist was in the air. As we walked along the 
 throng seemed to grow bigger and bigger with every step. From time to 
 time soldiers would stop us, but they were always as kind as tiiey could 
 be and helped us along. As we went we could hear the crash of buildings 
 and the reports of the dynamite. Women, from first to last, were wonder- 
 fully cool and composed. When we reached the ^leggs Ferry it seemed as 
 though all the world had come together, blacks,, whites. Celestials, children 
 of the Orient, children of the Occident, heathen and Christian, laborer and 
 aristocrat, beggar and millionaire, all brought togrether as they will be on 
 the last day. There came up to us a blackened, bedraggled man pushing 
 a cart laden high with papers and valuables. His wife and daughters 
 trailed behind with, bundles on their heads. Everybody in that crowd recog- 
 nized him as one of San Francisco's biggest millionaires. 
 
 "We waited two hours in that crowd before the ferryboat came up. 
 I thought that no ferryboat ever built could hold that crowd, until I saw 
 the boat which we took. That was as large as some ocean-going steam- 
 ships. At Oakland we quickly got a train." 
 
 Another refugee told of his experience: "What I have to tell can be 
 told in a very few words," he said. "I was one of a party headed by 
 George Kessler. of New York. We went West in ^^lardi : the trip was 
 purely a business one and on the way Mr. Lewis, one of the party died. 
 
404 APPENDIX 
 
 But to come down to the earthquake: I was in the St. Francis with the 
 rest and was tumbled out on the floor like the rest. I knew what had 
 happened ; decided that lig-htning never struck twice in the same place and 
 took my time dressing. I was on the second floor and I really think that 
 I was the first man out of the hotel. All the world seemed to be collected 
 in Union Square. There was just the sort of rush that you'd expect to 
 find at such a time. Yet every one was quiet. The earthquake had scared 
 the wits out of them. 
 
 "George Kessler came along presently and said, 'Look here, boys, 
 we've all got to keep together.' We saw Pol Plancon in a night shirt, a 
 cutaway coat and a silk hat. He was carr>'ing a valise. Finally I went 
 back to my room, and soon after we got the second shock. Well, we made 
 tracks out again just as quick as we could. A Frenchman had gone to 
 the garage and got George's automobile ready. That auto saved our lives. 
 The whole party got together and we spun out to the Casino, which is on 
 the other side of Golden Gate Park, far away from the Presidio. There we 
 remained two nights, having a pretty good time, all things considered, 
 though we had to pay $50 for a wagon to fetch some more of our goods 
 from the St. Francis. From that point, when it began to get crowded, we 
 went on to San Jose, which was in an awful condition, and then we made 
 our way to Oakland. That auto was a godsend if ever you saw one. 
 George Kessler gave $3500 for it two days before the earthquake. After 
 the earthquake he would not have taken $35,000." 
 
 AS A WOMAN SAW IT. 
 
 Mrs. W. E. Aumont, one of the party aided by Mr. Kessler, told about 
 the earthquake : "The room rolled like a ship at sea," she said. "The 
 lower part of the hotel suffered the most, and our room looked as though 
 a cyclone had gone through it. 
 
 "The first instinct of a woman in danger is to rush for the window. 
 I did this, and I saw a great throng flocking into the square from all 
 directions. We all caught up what clothing we had and got out into the 
 square. Then we heard that fire was beginning to eat its way through 
 the city, and at the suggestion of Mr. Kessler we made for higher ground. 
 On every hand we saw fires. The air was full of thick smoke that choked 
 
APPENDIX 408 
 
 and blinded us, while the way was blocked by falling buildings. Then, in 
 front of the Fairmount Hotel, there came to us a young lady, Miss Jane 
 McEwen. She saw perhaps that I was exhausted, for she caught my arm, 
 saying: 'Come to my house. You must come, and you will be safe with 
 us.' Her mother and sisters were in that house. How in this world can 
 I or those dear to me ever forget how those poor women took us in and 
 sheltered us all for that day and night until the cruel, merciless fire came 
 up and ate their home? I can never forget our parting." 
 
 A startling reminder of the horror of a week before came in the 
 afternoon of April 25th, in the shape of another earthquake shock, which 
 shook the ruined city from end to end and sent terror to the hearts of the 
 people, whose nerves were suffering from an experience which at times 
 touched the limit of human endurance. The new shock came at a quarter 
 past three and lasted nearly a minute. A number of walls left standing in 
 the burned district were shaken down and some damage was done to frail 
 structures. The shock was also felt in Oakland and Berkeley, but in 
 these places, it was very slight and of brief duration. 
 
 SUFFERED FROM COLD. 
 
 While there was food in plenty for those left destitute by the earth- 
 quake and fire, which drove 300,000 from home, the need of proper shelter 
 for the refugees in the parks was felt Tuesday night, when the wind blew 
 cold and raw across the camp grounds. Thinly clad women and children 
 huddled close or walked about all night trying to keep warm. Even those 
 in tents or shacks suffered, as the order against building fires was strictly 
 enforced. 
 
 Except for the need of blankets and tents conditions were growing 
 brighter. The work of the engineers who were dealing with the sanitary 
 questions was effective and the health of the city was remarkably good 
 under the circumstances. 
 
 The exodus from this city continued, stimulated by the shock of the 
 afternoon. All day a constant stream of men, women and children, afoot 
 and on every conceivable vehicle, wended their way down Market and 
 Mission Streets toward the ferries. A little bundle on a stick carried over 
 the shoulders represented all the worldly possessions of some; others held 
 
406 APPENDIX 
 
 grips and baskets, and a gtttit many had saved trwinks and fumiiurc. It 
 was estimated that oo.ooo persons were luniished \v:i:h iretr transponation 
 yesterday to the different pans of the State by the Sanu Fe and Southern 
 Pacific Railways. 
 
 Between 6 A. M. Wednesday. April iSth, and the following Stmday 
 night, the Southern Pacific ran 129 trains with over 900 cars o\-tt- the 
 main Hne and local and eastern points. carr>Tng refugees free. During 
 the same time 610 suburban trains were nm from the Oakland pier with 
 4880 cars. During the same period about fift\- trains with $00 cars were 
 run from points between Third and Townsend Streets and Ocean\-iew to 
 the south. The number of people carried from San Francisco exceeded 
 225.OCO. The \-aliie of the transportation issued free by the Southern 
 Pacinc at San Francisco. Oakland. San Jose. Santa Rosa. Sacramento and 
 Yallejo had. at a rough estimate, exceeded $400,000. 
 
 PROVISIONS COMING IN. 
 
 Many carloads of pro\-i5ions and supplies were r c ':ve»^-ed daily. 
 Fi\-e cars were receive Southern Cali: ^: gs 
 
 3000 blankets, which were immediately distributed at the ir;m<po-r£ docks 
 by the mn ^ ^ kets came at an opport- e : "? ^ : vere in- 
 
 signiticant hat are actually require^ 
 
 As a . : Mayor Schmitz's sharp letter to - Kv>5ter, in 
 
 which the Ma>-or called the General's attention to at the city 
 
 was not under martial law and that the drastic measur; .iry ac^ 
 
 tions of some of his men were illegal, there was '-"'e '^ 
 
 trict over which the militia held sway. A marine re. e::ee. , ., ' 
 
 burning in a house on lower Fillmore Street after 10 o'clock at night 
 and the mt1itar>- sentry on the pO(St shot through the viindow. A looter 
 who. it \N-as said, broke into several! places on Yallejo Street wa? -: 
 to have been shot by a marine sentry at Yallejo and East S:~: "- 
 
 Se\-eral bullets fired from the water front strtick a Re J 
 in which Dr. Diggins. of the Emergenoi- Hospital serrice, A\*as going from 
 the Pc»trero district to the Presidia The shooting was done while the 
 launch \N-a$ off the ferry depot. None of the occupants was injured. The 
 fact that two companies of the Fourteenth United States Infantry, from 
 
APrt^'.MX 407 
 
 \'ancouver, went to OakUitiu on Tuesday to do g:uard duty in that ciy. 
 indicated that the militia would be recalled. 
 
 "All's well !" were the words that went down the line at police head- 
 quarters when the otiicers had tinished their long: night vigil through the 
 burned districts and reported otY duty to their captains to-day. 
 
 ■'From the reports of officers filed." said Chief of Police Dinan, "there 
 is every indication that San Francisco has settled down to almost a nomial 
 condition. Our officers are everywhere as usual, but petty thievery has 
 kept the upper office men of the department busy. 
 
 "The one perplexing problem that we now have to contend with is tiie 
 prevention of an unequal distribution of food. Those of the worst element 
 of the city, we find, are living better than they ever did in their lives, while 
 the unfortunates who have never been accustomed to ask for aid are actu- 
 ally suffering. We are doing all in our power to relieve this condition, 
 and hope, in a few da>'S, to get rid of those who are taking everything in 
 
 sight." 
 
 TO GUARD AGAINST FRAUD 
 
 Beginning on Thursday kitchens and mess rooms were established. 
 where meals were supplied to all who applied, and the distribution of food 
 to be carried away was discontinued. 
 
 In the distribution of clothing precautions against fraud were taken 
 by squads detailed to visit eacli tent and tabulate the wants. Orders were 
 given out entitling the holders to the needed clothing, bedding or otlier 
 
 stores. 
 
 At one of the parks Wednesday morning a handsomely dressed woman 
 with two children at her skirts stood in a line of many hundreds where 
 supplies were being given out. She took some uncooked bacon, and as 
 she reached for it jewels sparkled on her fingers. One of the tots took a 
 can of condensed milk, the other a bag of cakes. 
 
 "I have monev." she said, ""if I could get it and use it. I have prop- 
 erty, if I could realize on it. I have friends, if I could get to them. Mean- 
 time I am going to cook this piece of bacon on bricks and be happy." She 
 was onlv one of thousands like her. 
 
 In a walk through the city this note of cheerfulness of the people in 
 
408 APPENDIX 
 
 the face of an almost incredible week of horror was to a correspondent the 
 mitigating element to the awfulness of disaster. In the streets of the 
 residential district in the western addition, which the fire did not reach, 
 women of the houses were cooking meals on the pavement. In most cases 
 they had moved out the family ranges, and were prq>aring the food which 
 the\' secured from the Relief Committee. 
 
 FORGOT MISERY IN SONG. 
 
 At night out on Broderick Street, hear the Panhandle, a piano sounded. 
 It was nigh lo o'clock and the stars were shining after the rain. Fires 
 gleamed up and down through the shrubbery and the refugees sat huddled 
 together about the flames, with their blankets about their heads, Apache- 
 like, in an effort to dry out after the wetting of the afternoon. The piano, 
 dripping with moisture, stood on the curb, near the front of a cottage, 
 which had been wrecked by the earthquake. A youth with a shock of red 
 hair sat on a cracker box and pecked at the ivories. "Home x\in't Nothing 
 Like This" was thrummed from the rusting wires with true vaudeville 
 dash and syncopation. "Bill Bailey," "Good Old Summer Time," "Dixie" 
 and "In Toyland" followed. Three young men with handkerchiefs 
 wrapped about their throats in lieu of collars stood near the pianist and 
 lifted up their voices in melody. The harmony was execrable, the time 
 without excuse, but the songs rang through the trees of the Panhandle 
 and the crowds, forgetting their misery for a time, joined the strange 
 chorus. 
 
 They tell a tale of comedy — how on the morning of the fire a richly 
 dressed woman who lived in one of the aristocratic Sutter Street apartments 
 came hurrying down the street, faultlessly gowned as to silks and sables, 
 save that one dainty foot was shod with a high-heeled French slipper and 
 the other was incased in a laborer's brogan. They say that as she walked 
 the beauty careened to leeward like a bark-rigged ship before a typhoon. 
 
 An hour spent behind the counter of the food supply depot in the 
 park tennis court yielded rich reward to the seeker after the outlandish. 
 The tennis court was piled high with the plunder of several grocery stores 
 and the cargoes of many relief cars. A square cut in the wire screen 
 permitted of the insertion of a counter, behi'nd which stand members of the 
 
APPENDIX 40V 
 
 militia acting as food dispensers. Before the improvised window passed 
 the line of refugees, a line which stretched back fully 300 yards to Speed- 
 way track. 
 
 '*I want a can of condensed cream, so I can feed my baby and my 
 dog," says a large, florid-faced woman in a gaudy kimono, "and I don't 
 care for crackers, but you can throw in some potted chicken if you have it." 
 
 "What's in the bottles over there?" queries the next applicant. "To- 
 mato ketchup? Well, of all the luck! Say, young man, just give me 
 three." 
 
 A little gray-haired woman in an Indian shawl peers timorously 
 through the window. "J^st a little of anything you may have handy, 
 please," she whispered, and she cast a careful eye about to see if any of 
 her neighbors recognized her standing there in the "bread line" where food 
 w-as given away, not sold. Her pride pinched almost as hard as her hunger, 
 but the keener spur was the stronger. 
 
 WANTED SOME OLIVES. 
 
 Even the weary National Guardsmen who dispensed food from this 
 wicket the whole day through found odd cases of absolute perversity in 
 them at times. Said a seargeant of the signal corps: "This morning a 
 lady with diamonds in her ears asked if we could send to the Presidio 
 camp for some green olives, and another woman said if we could not give 
 her any better food she would not eat our stuff. And she made good on 
 her threat all right. She went away without anything." 
 
 The "bread line" was not the only rich field for comedy. \\'here the 
 tent dwellers did the family cooking there laughter in "cap and bells" sat 
 enthroned. One young householder who had known until recently the 
 dignity of a stool in a railroad office and $75 a month, knelt gingerly on 
 two pieces of paper spread upon the damp ground and blew into his brick 
 furnace with the wrath of Boreas, with the result that his fountain pen 
 dropped out of his waistcoat pocket into the coals, exploded and tattooed 
 his countenace with beautiful designs in violet. 
 
 Mrs. Rudolph Spreckels, wife of the well-known financier, presented 
 her husband with an heir on the lawn in front of their mansion on Friday 
 when the family were awaiting the coming of the dynamite squad to blow 
 
no APPENDIX 
 
 up their magnincenr residence. An Irish woman who had been called in to 
 play the part of midwife at a birth on Saturday, made a pertinent comment 
 after the wee one's eyes were opened to tlie walls of its tent home. 
 
 "God send earthquakes and babies," she said, "but He might, in His 
 mercy, cut out sending them both together." 
 
 The follcrwing telegram was received to-day from President Roose- 
 velt by James D. Phelan, chairman of the Finance Committee : 
 
 'The Finance Committee can use the United States Mint at San 
 Francisco as a depositor}- for relief funds until the sub-treasur\' opens, and 
 thereafter can use the sub-treasur}- until the banks open. They could 
 withdraw funds from the depositories in sums not less than Siooo. as the 
 Government offices in San Francisco are not equipped to do banking 
 business. Please consult as to details of arrangements the superintendent 
 of the mint at San Francisco. Secretar}- Shaw will immediately wire suit- 
 able instructions to the superintendent of the mint and the assistant treas- 
 urer. Authority is specially given to the Secretary of War to disburse 
 the congressional appropriation, amounting altogether to $2,500,000." 
 
 THE FIRE DEPARTMENT LOSSES. 
 
 The losses of the San Francisco Fire Department during the earth- 
 quake and fire were made known. As far as known three firemen were 
 killed and one injured. The apparatus of the department, while damaged, 
 was still intact. X'ineteen companies, however, were put out of commission, 
 and many of them were disbanded. Excluding the dead and injured, there 
 were about 100 members of the department missing. It was believed, how- 
 ever, that these men had been separated from their companies and would 
 rejoin them soon. 
 
 The Commissioners were equipping the department for the protection 
 of the unburned portion of the city. The alarm system was wrecked. In 
 the meantime men were detailed to patrol near the firehouses and, at 
 the first indication of fire the engines were turned out. The department 
 was still handicapped for water. 
 
 An idea of the task which confronted the Food Committee may be 
 gained from the fact that throughout the city rations for 349.440 persons 
 were distributed on Tuesday. This was an average estimate based on re- 
 
APPENDIX 411 
 
 ports from a few of the food depots. At one point provisions were given 
 
 out of 6/2 persons an hour for ten hours. All flour that was received in 
 sacks was exchanged at the bakeries pound for pound for bread. Almost 
 all the bakeries in the unburned regions opened and were selling bread 
 at 5 cents a loaf. 
 
 There was no danger of a meat famine. Representatives of the West- 
 ern Meat Company in South San Francisco reported to the Relief Com- 
 mittee that there were 1500 cattle, 3000 sheep and 500 hogs on hand. 
 More than 200 cattle were killed and dressed daily and sheep and hogs 
 were put under the knife as fast as they arrived. The full quota of 
 employees was at work. 
 
 The Southern Pacific ordered all cattle cars to be rushed to San 
 Francisco with precedence over passenger trains. Some stories of suffer- 
 ing from exposure, ignorance and helplessness weretcoming to the Relief 
 Committee. Of the great refuge camps that in the Presidio, which was 
 under Government control, seemed most thoroughly systematized and that 
 in Golden Gate Park most disorganized, although it was rapidly assuming 
 a habitable basis. 
 
 FRUIT DISTRIBUTED. 
 
 Many .tons of fresh fruit were distributed Tuesday and Wednesday. 
 Bunches of bananas and boxes of oranges were given unsparingly to the 
 people who flocked from the tents along the beach and about Fort Mason. 
 The oranges had been shipped to San Francisco for commission merchants 
 before the earthquake. They had not been unloaded from the warehouses 
 and cars, and escaped destruction to a large degree. 
 
 The surgeon in charge of the general hospital at the Presidio said 
 that his force was perfectly organized, and that seventy-five members of 
 the army nurse corps came from Chicago. They were divided among the 
 Presidio and the emergency hospitals of the city. 
 
 An official list of the condition of the school buildings throughout 
 the city showed that twenty-nine buildings were utterh destroyed and 
 that forty- four were at least partly spared. As many of the latter were 
 so damaged that they would have to be either pulled down or thoroughly 
 
412 APPENDIX 
 
 repaired, it was probable that the resumption of the short term would be 
 
 made in tents erected in the parks. 
 
 With unwavering faith in an image, twenty Chinese gathered in a 
 desolate spot in the ruins of Chinatown one afternoon and worshipped in 
 full compliance with the rites of their religion. In the ashes of their 
 temple they knelt and silently offered prayers. Prostrate in the smoulder- 
 ing wreckage before them was the charred trunk of an image that once 
 held the altar in the temple of Shai Tai. The fumes of fresh incense and 
 sacred punks sailed skyward. All the dainties obtainable under the circum- 
 stances were spread in propitiatory offering to the devil that no offense to 
 that personage might bring a recurrence of the disaster. 
 
 GENERAL GREELY'S MESSAGE. 
 
 General Greely sent the following message to the Acting Secretary of 
 War : 
 
 "Three hundred thousand people are homeless and the entire busines.^^ 
 facilities of a city of half a million have been destroyed, except those of one 
 street of minor importance ; accommodations for most urgent financial aiJ<^^ 
 other indispensable business institutions are being obtained only with the 
 greatest difficulty. The entire body of those men are naturally devotine 
 their energies to restoring their own affairs, and even those who have ap- 
 plied themselves devotedly to relief and rescue work the past week are 
 gradually withdrawing therefrom, stating correctly that domestic and busi- 
 ness affairs demand their entire attention. 
 
 "The Mayor and the police are so fully occupied operating without 
 ordinary accommodations that even the ordinary current duties, such as 
 pertain to the Coroner's office and vital statistics, are largely neglected for 
 lack of force and office accommodations. Under such conditions a regis- 
 tration bureau is impossible. The newspapers have taken up the matter 
 as far as possible with their own limited accommodation, and it is under- 
 stood that a kind of registration bureau has been opened in Oakland. Can 
 only suggest that interested parties telegraph the Examiner, the Coll and 
 Chronicle, who at present are best informed as to the location of prominent 
 individuals. 
 
APPENDIX 418 
 
 "To appreciate this situation it is to be borne in mind that San 
 Francisco covers twenty-five square miles, and that all street car lines and 
 usual methods of local transportation are still unavailable and inoperative. 
 
 "There is no telegraph system within the city except that constructed 
 by the signal corps, nor does any telephone service exist beyond the military 
 system connecting these headquarters with the mint, post-office, various 
 district headquarters and other points of great public importance. 
 
 "Even the present military systems are being continually broken by 
 parties engaged in repair and rescue operations. Under these conditions, 
 no part of the city can be reached save by a messenger on foot, which 
 entails hours, or by automobiles, of which there are few. 
 
 "I have gone fully into the situation to prevent misapprehension and 
 to enable the War Department to disclose the situation to the public. It 
 should be added that the names of dead have already been furnished the 
 Department, and if desired the names of every injured person in hospital 
 will be similarly transmitted. To relieve public apprehension, it should 
 be clearly understood that beyond isolated cases already reported there are 
 no deaths or serious injuries of guests of any well-known hotel in San 
 Francisco. 
 
 NO DEMAND FOR NURSES OR DOCTORS. 
 
 "It should be also understood that there is no demand for nurses or 
 doctors. The medical, civil and military will be able to handle the entire 
 situation unless unexpectedly adverse conditions arise. The hospital 
 corps force sent here will be utilized more for sanitary purposes and 
 preventive measures than for the cure of any great body of sick, of which 
 none exist." 
 
 A wave of business activity was shown and preparations for resump- 
 tion in all sorts of trade were in evidence everywhere. Many more retail 
 merchants opened their stores, some at the old stands, others in temporary 
 quarters, but each one with a cheerful determination which characterized 
 the attitude of all who were planning the city's restoration. 
 
 There was especial activity among banking interests. Over in Oak- 
 land the majority of the banks reopened and announced themselves ready 
 for business. There was no run and no excitement at any of these institu- 
 
414 APPENDIX 
 
 tions. The remarkable feature of the day's business at some of the banks 
 was that more money was deposited than was withdrawn, indicating a 
 feehng of confidence which was cheering to business interests. 
 
 Among the local institutions plans were formed for a speedy resump- 
 tion, "Bankers' Row" was organized on La Guna Street, west of Lafay- 
 ette Square. The Crocker-Woolworth National Bank, the Central Trust 
 Company and the Mercantile Trust Company placed their cotton banners 
 on residences overlooking the tented camps of the refugees in the square. 
 The clearing house, representing the commercial banks, held their usual 
 meeting. While the details were not completed, it was arranged to pay 
 depositors not exceeding $500 on their accounts. Each of the banks had 
 large sums transferred to its credit by correspondents in London, Paris and 
 New York. These transfers were made to the Mint, on Fifth Street, and 
 the money was available at that point. 
 
 WAITING FOR VAULTS TO COOL. 
 
 The bankers were waiting for the cooling of their vaults so that they 
 might open them and reach their books and papers. The Executive Com- 
 mittee of the savings banks also met. Much satisfaction was expressed 
 at the fact that all the vaults of these banks had been found to be in 
 excellent condition. 
 
 The embargo against travel into the city was raised on April 26th, 
 and as a result thousands who had fled the town during the disaster re- 
 turned to visit the scene of their former homes or business places. An offi- 
 cial estimate was that San Francisco had lost, temporarily at least, about 
 200,000 of her population. The estimate was probably very much too 
 small. The San Franciscans who were in deadly earnest contended that 
 a large percentage of those who left would return soon, and that they did 
 not want the others. The tide of exodus slackened considerably. A promi- 
 nent city officer said : 
 
 "There will be more work in San Francisco this year than there are 
 people in all California to do it." 
 
 Parts of the city, on the outskirts of the ruins and in the unburned 
 section, resembled a boom town on the frontier. There was talk of real 
 estate deals, temporary offices of all kinds were erected and improvised, 
 
APPENDIA 4W 
 
 and plans were made for active business operations at once. The Stars 
 and Stripes were hoisted over one tall building that stood surrounded t)y 
 ruins. 
 
 One of the most encouraging reports with reference to the work of 
 rebuilding the burned district was that of the San Francisco Planing Mill 
 Owners' Association. Fifteen of the thirty-nine mills escaped the fire 
 and two of them were now in operation. The Lumber Dealers' Association 
 estimated that there were 70,000,000 feet of lumber on hand or en route 
 to the city, and also available large stores of timber near by. It was agreed 
 that there would be no immediate rise in the prices of the material owing 
 to shortage. 
 
 Three of the handsomest buildings in the business district were to 
 be restored as soon as men and material could be secured. The first of 
 these buildings is the St. Francis Hotel, the second is the Crocker Building 
 and the third is the Shrove Building. All these structures were, gutted 
 from cellar to roof by the fire, but unharmed by the earthquake. Their 
 reconstruction would consist of naturally nothing but a replacing of floors, 
 partitions and fittings. 
 
 SANTA FE TO RUSH WORK. 
 
 President E. P. Ripley, of the Santa Fe Railroad, gave instructions 
 to immediately spend the $300,000 recently set aside for the completion 
 of the company's China basin terminal. During the past two years the 
 Santa Fe spent more than $2,000,000 in filling in the basin and preparing 
 it for tracks and freight warehouses. The $300,000 mentioned was to 
 be used for building these tracks and warehouses, and thus put the terminal 
 in shape to use within the next sixty days. The earthquake and fire did 
 not damage the terminal, and the Santa Fe people expected there would be 
 a pressing use for their new terminal in the near future for the handling 
 of cars laden wnth material intended for the rebuilding of San Francisco. 
 
 For the first time since the earthquake street lights were burning in 
 San Francisco on the night of the 26th. The lighting company had been 
 hard at work for several days with a large force, installing a system of arc 
 lights on three different routes. Restoration of the telephone system was 
 making good headway. Forty telephones were in operation, but the dyna- 
 
•416 APPENDIX 
 
 miting of walls temporarily put some of them out of commission again. 
 The clearing of the streets continued, and large quantities of debris were 
 being hauled away from the business district. 
 
 The Oakland Tribune said : 
 
 "An engineer states that the area devastated by fire in San Francisco 
 approximates 10,000 acres, or about fifteen square miles. There are few 
 cities in the world where so much valuable property is contained in an 
 equal territory. Within this fifteen square miles were nearly 100 banks, 
 some of the finest buildings in the world, thousands of merchants and 
 manufacturing establishments. 
 
 "Notwithstanding the enormous and widespread destruction, the 
 homes of 150,000 people are still standing and virtually uninjured. There 
 still remains the great shipyards at the Potrero, the Pacific Mail docks, the 
 stockyards at South San Francisco, the docks and manufactories along the 
 water ftont from Mission Creek to Hunter's Point, the Mint, the postofBces 
 and a large district on Fillmore and Devisadero Streets." 
 
 NOTICE 
 
 ♦While the last page of the text in this volume shows 
 page 416. the complete books contain about 500 pages. 
 The large number of beautiful full page pictures which 
 are not Included in the numbering of the pages form a 
 magnificent and very necessary part of this book, and 
 bring the number up to about 500 pages. 
 
MAY 22 1b«t) 
 
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS