The Project Gutenberg EBook of Complete Story of the San Francisco Horror, by Richard Linthicum and Trumbull White and Samuel Fallows This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: Complete Story of the San Francisco Horror Author: Richard Linthicum Trumbull White Samuel Fallows Release Date: August 21, 2008 [EBook #26380] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SAN FRANCISCO HORROR *** Produced by Suzanne Shell, Sam W. and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net Transcriber's Note Chapters 27 and 33 both end abruptly in the middle of a sentence. There are no omitted page numbers, so it is likely that this was an error made by the publisher when the book was in preparation. There are some instances where sections of text are repeated, and these are preserved as printed. It may be that this book was published very hurriedly following the earthquake, and that these repetitions were simply missed. Cover of the book COMPLETE STORY OF THE San Francisco Horror INTRODUCTION BY RT. REV. SAMUEL FALLOWS, D. D., LL. D. A Comprehensive and Connected Account of the Terrible Tragedy that Befell the People of Our Golden City—The Metropolis of the Golden Gate, and the Death and Ruin Dealt Many Adjacent Cities and Surrounding Country. Destroying Earthquake Comes Without Warning, in the Early Hours of the Morning; Immense Structures Topple and Crumble; Great Leland Stanford University Succumbs; Water Mains Demolished and Fire Completes Devastation; Fighting Fire With Dynamite. SCENES OF DEATH AND TERROR Thousands Killed, Maimed, or Unaccounted For; Tens of Thousands Without Food or Shelter; Martial Law Declared; Millions Donated for Relief; Congress Makes an Appropriation; Sympathetic Citizens Throughout the Land Untie Their Purse-Strings to Aid the Suffering and Destitute; Property Loss Hundreds of Millions; Appalling Stories by Eye Witnesses and Survivors; The Disaster as Viewed by Scientists, etc. Comprising Also a Vivid Portrayal of the Recent Death-Dealing ERUPTION OF MT. VESUVIUS BY RICHARD LINTHICUM of the Editorial Staff of the Chicago Chronicle. Together with twelve descriptive chapters giving a graphic and detailed account of the most interesting and historic disasters of the past from ancient times to the present day. BY TRUMBULL WHITE Historian, Traveler and Geographer. Profusely Illustrated with Photographic Scenes of the Great Disasters and Views of the Devastated Cities and Their People. THE AWFUL HORROR OF AN EARTHQUAKE. Lives, homes and property lost in a few seconds. A PANORAMA OF THE RUINS. Photographed from Nob Hill—City Hall at the left. BUSINESS DISTRICT IN SAN FRANCISCO. View from Nob Hill. ————— Copyright 1906 I BY HUBERT D. RUSSELL ————— PREFACE N PRESENTING this history of the San Francisco Earthquake Horror and Conflagration to the public, the publishers can assure the reader that it is the most complete and authentic history of the great disaster published. The publishers set out with the determination to produce a work that would leave no room for any other history on this subject, a task for which they had the best facilities and the most perfect equipment. The question of cost was not taken into consideration. The publishers wanted the best writers, the best illustrations, the best paper, printing and binding and proceeded immediately to get them. The services of the two best historical writers in the United States were secured within an hour after the first news of the catastrophe was received. The names and historical works of Richard Linthicum and Trumbull White are known in every household in the United States where current history is read. They are the authors of many standard works, including histories of recent wars and books of permanent reference, and rank among the world’s greatest descriptive writers. A large staff of photographers have supplied illustrations for this great historical work depicting every phase of the catastrophe from the first shock of earthquake to the final work of relief. These illustrations have special interest and value because they are made from actual photographs taken by trained and skilled photographers. This history of the most recent of the world’s great disasters is beyond all comparison the most sumptuously and completely illustrated of any publication on this subject. So numerous are the illustrations and so accurately do they portray every detail of the quake and fire that they constitute in themselves a complete, graphic and comprehensive pictorial history of the great catastrophe. The story as told by the authors, however, is one of absorbing interest that thrills the reader with emotion and depicts the scenes of terror, destruction, misery and suffering as vividly as if the reader were an eye-witness to all the details of the stupendous disaster. The history of the Earthquake and Fire Horror is told consecutively and systematically from beginning to end. “The Doomed City” is a pen picture of San Francisco while its destruction was impending. The four days of the conflagration are described each in separate chapters in such a way that the reader can follow the progress of the fire from the time of the first alarm until it was conquered by the dynamite squad of heroes. A great amount of space has been devoted to “Thrilling Personal Experiences” and “Scenes of Death and Terror,” so that the reader has a thousand and one phases of the horror as witnessed by those who passed through the awful experience of the earthquake shock and the ordeal of the conflagration. For purposes of comparison a chapter has been devoted to a magnificent description of San Francisco before the fire, “The City of a Hundred Hills,” the Mecca of sight-seers and pleasure loving travelers. The descriptions of the Refuge Camps established in Golden Gate Park, the Presidio and other open spaces depict the sorrow and the suffering of the stricken people in words that appeal to the heart. The magnificent manner in which the whole nation responded with aid and the conduct of the relief work are told in a way that brings a thrill of pride to every American heart. “Fighting the Fire with Dynamite” is a thrilling chapter of personal bravery and heroism, and the work of the “Boys in Blue” who patrolled the city and guarded life and property is adequately narrated. Chinatown in San Francisco was one of the sights of the world and was visited by practically every tourist that passed through the Golden Gate. That odd corner of Cathay which was converted into a roaring furnace and completely consumed is described with breathless interest. The “Ruin and Havoc in Other Coast Cities” describes the destruction of the great Leland Stanford, Jr., University, the scenes of horror and death at the State Asylum which collapsed, and in other ruined cities of the Pacific coast. “The Earthquake as Viewed by Scientists” is a valuable addition to the seismology of the world—a science that is too little known, but which possesses tremendous interest for everyone. The threatened destruction of Naples by the volcano of Vesuvius preceding the San Francisco disaster is fully [Pg 7] [Pg 8] [Pg 9] described. The chapters on Vesuvius are especially valuable and interesting, by reason of the scientific belief that the two disasters are intimately related. Altogether this volume is the best and most complete history of all the great disasters of the world and one that should be in the hands of every intelligent citizen, both as a historical and reference volume. THE PUBLISHERS. CONTENTS Preface 7 Introduction 21 CHAPTER I. THE DOOMED CITY. Earthquake Begins the Wreck of San Francisco and a Conflagration without Parallel Completes the Work of Destruction—Tremendous Loss of Life in Quake and Fire—Property Loss $200,000,000 33 CHAPTER II. SAN FRANCISCO A ROARING FURNACE. Flames Spread in a Hundred Directions and the Fire Becomes the Greatest Conflagration of Modern Times —Entire Business Section and Fairest Part of Residence District Wiped Off the Map—Palaces of Millionaires Vanish in Flames or are Blown Up by Dynamite—The Worst Day of the Catastrophe 46 CHAPTER III. THIRD DAY ADDS TO HORROR. Fire Spreads North and South Attended by Many Spectacular Features—Heroic Work of Soldiers Under General Funston—Explosions of Gas Add to General Terror 57 CHAPTER IV. TWENTY SQUARE MILES OF WRECK AND RUIN. Fierce Battle to Save the Famous Ferry Station, the Chief Inlet to and Egress from San Francisco—Fire Tugs and Vessels in the Bay Aid in Heroic Fight—Fort Mason, General Funston’s Temporary Headquarters, has Narrow Escape—A Survey of the Scene of Desolation 69 CHAPTER V. THE CITY OF A HUNDRED HILLS. A Description of San Francisco, the Metropolis of the Pacific Coast, Before the Fire—One of the Most Beautiful and Picturesque Cities in America—Home of the California Bonanza Kings 78 [Pg 10] [Pg 11] JAMES D. PHELAN. Former Mayor of San Francisco, and who gave $1,000,000 for the relief of the sufferers. Largest sum given by an individual. EUGENE E. SCHMITZ. Mayor of San Francisco and who rendered great assistance in bringing order out of chaos. LOOKING EAST ON MARKET STREET. [Pg 12] VIEW FROM FIFTH AND MARKET STREETS. CHAPTER VI. SCENES OF TERROR, DEATH AND HEROISM. Thrilling Escapes and Deeds of Daring—Sublime Bravery and Self-Sacrifice by Men and Women—How the United States Mint and the Treasuries Were Saved and Protected by Devoted Employes and Soldiers— Pathetic Street Incidents—Soldiers and Police Compel Fashionably Attired to Assist in Cleaning Streets—Italians Drench Homes with Wine 103 CHAPTER VII. THRILLING PERSONAL EXPERIENCES. Scenes of Horror and Panic Described by Victims of the Quake Who Escaped—How Helpless People Were Crushed to Death by Falling Buildings and Debris— Some Marvelous Escapes 119 CHAPTER VIII. THRILLING PERSONAL EXPERIENCES— CONTINUED. Hairbreadth Escapes from the Hotels Whose Walls Crumbled—Frantic Mothers Seek Children from Whom They Were Torn by the Quake—Reckless Use of Firearms by Cadet Militia—Tales of Heroism and Suffering 132 CHAPTER IX. THROUGH LANES OF MISERY. A Graphic Pen Picture of San Francisco in Flames and in Ruins—Scenes and Stories of Human Interest where Millionaires and Paupers Mingled in a Common Brotherhood—A Harrowing Trip in an Automobile 141 CHAPTER X. WHOLE NATION RESPONDS WITH AID. [Pg 13] Government Appropriates Millions and Chicago Leads All Other Cities with a Round Million of Dollars—People in All Ranks of Life from President Roosevelt to the Humblest Wage Earner Give Promptly and Freely 157 CHAPTER XI. ALL CO-OPERATE IN RELIEF WORK. Citizens’ Committee Takes Charge of the Distribution of Supplies, Aided by the Red Cross Society and the Army—Nearly Three-Fourths of the Entire Population Fed and Sheltered in Refuge Camps 162 CHAPTER XII. OUR BOYS IN BLUE PROVE HEROISM. United States Troops at the Presidio and Fort Mason Under Command of General Funston Bring Order Out of Chaos and Save City from Pestilence—San Francisco Said “Thank God for the Boys in Blue”— Stricken City Patrolled by Soldiers 171 CHAPTER XIII. IN THE REFUGE CAMPS. Scenes of Destitution in the Parks Where the Homeless Were Gathered—Rich and Poor Share Food and Bed Alike—All Distinctions of Wealth and Social Position Wiped Out by the Great Calamity 178 CHAPTER XIV. RUINS AND HAVOC IN COAST CITIES. San Jose, the Prettiest Place in the State, Wrecked by Quake—State Insane Asylum Collapsed and Buried Many Patients Beneath the Crumbled Walls— Enormous Damage at Santa Rosa 189 CHAPTER XV. DESTRUCTION OF GREAT STANFORD UNIVERSITY. California’s Magnificent Educational Institution, the Pride of the State, Wrecked by Quake—Founded by the Late Senator Leland Stanford as a Memorial to His Son and Namesake—Loss $3,000,000 198 CHAPTER XVI. FIGHTING FIRE WITH DYNAMITE. San Francisco Conflagration Eventually Checked by the Use of Explosives—Lesson of Baltimore Needed in Coast City—Western Remnant of City in Residence Section Saved by Blowing Up Beautiful Homes of the Rich 208 CHAPTER XVII. MISCELLANEOUS FACTS AND INCIDENTS. Many Babies Born in Refuge Camps—Expressions of Sympathy from Foreign Nations—San Francisco’s Famous Restaurants—Plight of Newspaper and Telegraph Offices 214 CHAPTER XVIII. DISASTER AS VIEWED BY SCIENTISTS. [Pg 14] Scientists are Divided Upon the Theories Concerning the Shock That Wrought Havoc in the Golden Gate City —May Have Originated Miles Under the Ocean— Growth of the Sierra Madre Mountains May Have Been the Cause 230 CHAPTER XIX. CHINATOWN, A PLAGUE SPOT BLOTTED OUT. An Oriental Hell within an American City—Foreign in Its Stores, Gambling Dens and Inhabitants—The Mecca of All San Francisco Sight Seers—Secret Passages, Opium Joints and Slave Trade Its Chief Features 246 CHAPTER XX. THE NEW SAN FRANCISCO. A Modern City of Steel on the Ruins of the City that Was —A Beautiful Vista of Boulevards, Parks and Open Spaces Flanked by the Massive Structures of Commerce and the Palaces of Wealth and Fashion 255 CHAPTER XXI. VESUVIUS THREATENS NAPLES. Beautiful Italian City on the Mediterranean Almost Engulfed in Ashes and Lava from the Terrible Volcano—Worst Eruption Since the Days of Pompeii and Herculaneum —Buildings Crushed and Thousands Rendered Homeless 267 CHAPTER XXII. SCENES IN FRIGHTENED NAPLES. Blistering Showers of Hot Ashes—The People Frantic— Cry Everywhere “When Will It End?”—Atmosphere Charged with Electricity and Poisonous Fumes 279 CHAPTER XXIII. VOLCANOES AND EARTHQUAKES EXPLAINED. BY TRUMBULL WHITE. The Theories of Science on Seismic Convulsions— Volcanoes Likened to Boils on the Human Body, Through Which the Fires and Impurities of the Blood Manifest Themselves—Seepage of Ocean Waters Through Crevices in the Rocks Reaches the Internal Fires of the Earth—Steam Is Generated and an Explosion Follows—Geysers and Steam Boilers as Illustrations—Views of the World’s Most Eminent Scientists Concerning the Causes of the Eruptions of Mount Pelee and La Soufriere 285 CHAPTER XXIV. TERRIBLE VOLCANIC DISASTERS OF THE PAST. BY TRUMBULL WHITE. Destruction of Sodom, Gomorrah and the Other Cities of the Plain—The Bible Account a Graphic Description of the Event—Ancient Writers Tell of Earthquakes and Volcanoes of Antiquity—Discovery of Buried Cities of Which No Records Remain—Formation of the Dead Sea—The Valley of the Jordan and Its Physical Characteristics 303 [Pg 15] CHAPTER XXV. VESUVIUS AND THE DESTRUCTION OF POMPEII. BY TRUMBULL WHITE. Most Famous Volcanic Eruption in History—Roman Cities Overwhelmed—Scenes of Horror Described by Pliny, the Great Classic Writer, an Eye-Witness of the Disaster—Buried in Ashes and Lava—The Stricken Towns Preserved for Centuries Excavated in Modern Times as a Wonderful Museum of the Life of 1,800 Years Ago 309 CHAPTER XXVI. MOUNT ÆTNA AND THE SICILIAN HORRORS. BY TRUMBULL WHITE. A Volcano with a Record of Twenty-five Centuries— Seventy-eight Recorded Eruptions—Three Hundred Thousand Inhabitants Dwelling on the Slopes of the Mountain and in the Valleys at Its Base—Stories of Earthquake Shocks and Lava Flows—Tales of Destruction—Described by Ancient and Modern Writers and Eye-Witnesses 321 CHAPTER XXVII. LISBON EARTHQUAKE SCOURGED. BY TRUMBULL WHITE. Sixty Thousand Lives Lost in a Few Moments—An Opulent and Populous Capital Destroyed—Graphic Account by an English Merchant Who Resided in the Stricken City—Tidal Waves Drown Thousands in the City Streets—Ships Engulfed in the Harbor— Criminals Rob and Burn—Terrible Desolation and Suffering 334 CHAPTER XXVIII. JAPAN AND ITS DISASTROUS EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES. BY TRUMBULL WHITE. The Island Empire Subject to Convulsions of Nature— Legends of Ancient Disturbances—Famous Volcano of Fuji-yama Formed in One Night—More Than One Hundred Volcanoes in Japan—Two Hundred and Thirty-two Eruptions Recorded—Devastation of Thriving Towns and Busy Cities—The Capital a Sufferer—Scenes of Desolation after the Most Recent Great Earthquakes 344 CHAPTER XXIX. KRAKATOA, THE GREATEST OF VOLCANIC EXPLOSIONS. BY TRUMBULL WHITE. East Indian Catastrophes—The Volcano that Blew Its Own Head Off—The Terrific Crash Heard Three Thousand Miles—Atmospheric Waves Travel Seven Times Around the Earth—A Pillar of Dust Seventeen Miles High—Islands of the Malay Archipelago Blotted Out of Existence—Native Villages Annihilated —Other Disastrous Upheavals in the East Indies 353 [Pg 16] CHAPTER XXX. OUR GREAT HAWAIIAN AND ALASKAN VOLCANOES. BY TRUMBULL WHITE. Greatest Volcanoes in the World Are Under the American Flag—Huge Craters in Our Pacific Islands—Native Worship of the Gods of the Flaming Mountains— Eruptions of the Past—Heroic Defiance of Pele, the Goddess of Volcanoes by a Brave Hawaiian Queen —The Spell of Superstition Broken—Volcanic Peaks in Alaska, Our Northern Territory—Aleutian Islands Report Eruptions 363 CHAPTER XXXI. SOUTH AMERICAN CITIES DESTROYED. BY TRUMBULL WHITE. Earthquakes Ravage the Coast Cities of Peru and the Neighboring Countries—Spanish Capitals in the New World Frequent Sufferers—Lima, Callao and Caracas Devastated—Tidal Waves Accompany the Earthquakes—Juan Fernandez Island Shaken— Fissures Engulf Men and Animals—Peculiar Effects Observed 373 CHAPTER XXXII. EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES IN CENTRAL AMERICA AND MEXICO. BY TRUMBULL WHITE. A Region Frequently Disturbed by Subterranean Forces— Guatemala a Fated City—A Lake Eruption in Honduras Described by a Great Painter—City of San Jose Destroyed—Inhabitants Leave the Vicinity to Wander as Beggars—Disturbances on the Route of the Proposed Nicaragua Canal—San Salvador Is Shaken—Mexican Cities Suffer 382 CHAPTER XXXIII. CHARLESTON, GALVESTON, JOHNSTOWN—OUR AMERICAN DISASTERS. BY TRUMBULL WHITE. Earthquake Shock in South Carolina—Many Lives Lost in the Riven City—Galveston Smitten by Tidal Wave and Hurricane—Thousands Die in Flood and Shattered Buildings—The Gulf Coast Desolated— Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Swept by Water from a Bursting Reservoir—Scenes of Horror 389 CHAPTER XXXIV. ST. PIERRE, MARTINIQUE, ANNIHILATED BY A VOLCANO. BY TRUMBULL WHITE. Fifty Thousand Men, Women and Children Slain in an Instant—Molten Fire and Suffocating Gases Rob Multitudes of Life—Death Reigns in the Streets of the Stricken City—The Governor and Foreign Consuls Die at Their Posts of Duty—No Escape for the Hapless Residents in the Fated Town—Scenes of Suffering Described—Desolation Over All—Few Left to Tell the Tale of the Morning of Disaster 397 [Pg 17] ILLUSTRATIONS The Awful Horror of an Earthquake Frontispiece A Panorama of the Ruins Frontispiece Business District of San Francisco Frontispiece Former Mayor James D. Phelan 11 Mayor Eugene E. Schmitz 11 Looking East on Market Street 12 View from Fifth and Market Streets 12 Market Street, Scene of Ruins 31 United States Guards in Charge of Dead 32 Street Torn Up by Earthquake 41 Stockton Street 42 Grant Avenue 42 Mission Street 43 O’Farrell Street 43 Looking North from Sixth and Market Streets 44 The Orpheum Theatre 44 San Francisco on Fire 53 Destroyed Wholesale Houses 54 Cracks in Earth 63 Ruins of Emporium Building 63 Map—Bird’s-Eye View of San Francisco 64 Ruins of Hall of Justice 65 Looking Down Market Toward Call Building 66 From California Street Toward Call Building 66 Market Street Before the Disaster 75 The Devouring Flames 76 Mark Hopkins Institute, Nob Hill 85 United States Mint 86 New Postoffice Building 87 Jefferson Square 88 Chronicle Building 97 St. Francis Hotel (Before the Earthquake) 97 Ferry House 98 Free Water 115 Distributing Clothes 115 Wires Destroyed 116 Military Camp 116 Kitchens in the Street 133 Wing of City Hall, Crumbled 133 Cattle Killed 134 St. John’s Church, Ruined 134 Camp Kitchen in Ball Park 151 Shacks in Golden Gate Park 151 Governor Pardee 152 Major General Adolphus Greely 152 Refugees on Telegraph Hill 169 General Funston and Wife 170 Vendome Hotel, San Jose 187 Postoffice, San Jose 188 Corner of Baptist Church 205 [Pg 18] [Pg 19] Kearney Street, San Francisco 205 Ferry Building 206 Military Quarters 206 Randolph Storage 223 Switchboard Destroyed 223 St. Dominici Church, Freak with Steeple 224 St. Dominici Church, Wrecked 224 Chinese Refugees 241 Flat Building, Sunk 242 Seeking Lost Friends 259 All that Was Left of a Fine Residence 259 Soldiers’ Encampment 260 Alameda Park 260 Dolores Mission 277 Wreck and Ruin 278 Wreck and Ruin 278 Crack in Earth 295 Ghoulish Thieves Looting the Dead 296 Effect of Earthquake on Modern Steel Building 313 Vesuvius During Recent Eruption 314 Road Leading to Vesuvius Before Eruption 314 [Pg 20]