THE FRISCO DISASTER.

Greymouth Evening Star, 24 May 1906, Page 1

THE FRISCO DISASTER.

A CHIEF STEWARD’S EXPERIENCES. SOME WEIRD INCIDENTS. Mr Hacked, chief steward of the Sonoma, who was transferred to the Alameda, which vessel connected with the Moan a at Honlulu, relates the following experience : “I was awakened by being thrown out of my bed at my home in Califoriiia'Stivet, the house rocking about like, a ship in a rough sea. I took my wife and family out on the street and from there to a place of safety for (he time being. For two days and nights neither myself, wife or children had a bite to eat or a drop to drink, and in sheer desperation 1 made my way to a grocer's store and tried to get in, but was met by a soldier, who placed a bayonet at my throat and forced me back. "Eventually I found the ‘bread line’ —that is, where thousands of people were lined up two deep, and were receiving iu their turn bread and tinned meat and water from the Relief Committee. I saw a man plead (o a sol-

dier lo til low him to embrace Ids mother. whom he recognised among (he dead close by. The soldier relented, and the man threw himself on the body of the woman and was seemingly embracing her. To (lie soldier’s horror lie discovered that the ghoul was biting the woman's ears off to obtain the ear-rings. The man was immediately shot.

"In another ease a man was found injured on the street, and was carried to the Mechanics’ Pavilion, which ph-uv was being used as a hospital, iu removing the mans coat seven ladies’ lingers, upon which were valuable rings, dropped on the floor. This ghoul was stood against the wall and riddled with bullets. "A woman and two children were wending their way along a street looking for water, and came across a man wheeling a barrelfnl. Ihe woman begged for a glass of wafer for her children, and was told that she could have one for 25 cents. A soldier approached, and, learning that file man was selling the precious fluid, immediately shot him. and distributed (he water himself.

“A young lady arrived at Denver. Colorado. from San Francisco, with lier arm in a sling, and slated (hat she was a guest at: (lie Hotel St. Francis v.lien the earthquake came. Site fainted elf. and when she came to,

‘■he found that, her linger, upon which thcr had been seme rings, had been cut off by seme ghoul. "Tlie Fall, Chronicle and Examiner newspaper buildings were practically uninjured by the earthquake, but '•ere gutted by tire. A determined effort was made to rub the .Mint, which contained millions dollars. The would-be robbers were frustrated bv I be ever watchful soldiers after a desperate light, and numbers were killed. I be Collier ’theatrical Company, wlm are passengers by the .Moaua, were in San Francisco at (he time of the earthquake, and all had most exciting •and hair-breadth escapes. Tiny lost all (heir clients and had to sleep in the streets. "I he s.s. Amur, belonging to the Canadian I’aeiiic Railway Company, was sont with a full cargo of food and clothing for the relief of the sufferers. A banner was stretched from her fore to her main mast displaying the following message: ‘'('food cheer from Canada’s barn of plenty.’ Then followed the names of (he various places that had subscribed to the relief fund, amongst which I noticed with delight ‘Wellington, New Zealand.’

"V.'in Ness Avenue, the beautiful slivet, with lordly tnansioiis of marble, ami (lie pride of all San Francisco, was dynamited and cannon-shots were showered against the millionaires’ residences in the vain effort to cheek the career of (lie devouring Karnes.

"Some hundred thousand refugees look shelter in (.(olden Kale Park, and after a few days a serious outbreak ol sniall-jjox occurred. On Sunday. the 22nd, there Were sivly thousand people quarantined in the Park.

"The actual number of the dead will probably never he known. One press despatch indicated (he number at 500. 'lbis, however, is not correct, as more than that number were seen in Washington Square alone, and probably 2000 would he nearer (he mark. The damage done to the city will run into hundreds of millions of dollars,”

WOP lIS CANNOT DESOJiI BE THE AWELL DISASTER. —:V .Mr Thomas Garrick, of the Collier Company, said : "Ue reached San .Francisco the itighl before the earthquake, and 1 pul up at the Occidental Hotel, in the heart of the city. I was awakened at about a quarter past live nest morning by the must awful shaking 1 have e\er experienced. The hotel was rock iug like a ship in the seaway, the sensation produced being indescribable, tt lasted about forty eight seconds, but it seemed to last lor hours. 1 rushed to the door, but could see no more than a few inches ahead of me, owing tu the dust of the falling plaster. The walls and ceiling were stripped, and the furniture and fittings were thrown about in all directions. Aiy wife and 1 stood not upon the order of our going, but. went at once, seeking the safety of the streets. People poured into the streets from every inhabited building. The streets were seen crowded with men, women and children, all in their night attire, but though there was ci'owcliug, there was no panic. The people behaved admirably. A TERRIBLE SIGHT. "The sight through the day was the great buildings collapsing like houses of cards iu all directions, blocking the roadways, which were themselves torn by huge rents six feet wide and double that depth. Fires broke out everywhere, completing the work begun by the earthquake. Among the debris lay the dead bodies of those killed by the falling masonry, and the cries of the injured could be heard in all directions. Fires broke out, adding to the horrors of an already terrible scene. The prompt arrival of the military prevented any rioting or panic, but not until fourteen thieves had been shot for robbing the dead or attempting to, pillage the banks, the Mint and shops. These decisive measures prevented any further depredation, and removed what would have been an added terror. The people were terror-stricken, but there was no panic, and the full extent of the loss scarcely seemed to bo realised. sleeping on the doorsteps. ‘‘That night wo slept in the open. Wo camped on one doorstep, but were driven Irom that by the advancing flames, and had to seek another shelter. Two hundred thousand people were homeless, and the parks were thronged by campors-out, many having no shelter at all, and llio best having nothing more than a blanket. Next morning w r o made our way by n circuitous route of about live miles to the water front, tut on getting there found that tho boat would not sail for nearly three weeks, and we therefore had to come by way of Vancouver. The soldiers sighted on our way back from tho wharf, and for an hour and a half wo were navies, shifting stones and bricks off the roadway to make it passable. Only a small part of tho residential arpa, was standing, all the business portion being in ruins. The great Spreckles’ building and the St. Francis Hotel through gutted, stood through the blaze, and wore about the only buildings which did not come down." • a

CHINATOWN. ITS SECRETS REVEALED. "Strange is the scene where San Francisco’s ( liinalown stood,” says -Mr \V, W. Eveitoii, who reached Los Angelos among the refugees. "No heap of smoking ruins marks the site of the woodden warrens, where the slant-eyed men of the Orient dwelt in thousands. The place is pitted with deep holes and pitted with dark passageways, from whose depths come smoke wreaths. All tlie wood has gone, and the winds are streaking the ashes. “.Men —white men never knew the depth of Chinatown's underground city?" said .Mr Kverlon. “They often talked of these subterranean passageways, and many of them had gone beneath the street levels two or three stories. Hot now that Chinatown has been unmasked, —for the destroyed Imfiuings wen' only a mask—men from The hillsides have looked on where in places they can see passages 100 feet deep. The fire swept 11 1 is Mongolian .section clean. It left not a shred of the painted wooden fabric. It ato down to the ground, and the interior lies hare. "Joss houses and mission schools, <tocery stores and opium dens, gambling hells and theatres—all of them went. The buildings blared up like (ho tissue paper lanterns used when the guttering randies touched their sides. "From tins place I. following the lire, saw hundreds of fright-crazed yellow men flee. In their arms they boro I heir opium pipes, their money bags, their silks and their children. Reside them ran the baggy-trousered women of the surface. Far beneath the street level in (hose cellars and pus.sagowavs were other lives.” FLUKING FROM THU CTI’V, A WEIRD PROCESSION. Telegraphing on April 21 s(, the San Francisco correspondent of the \ aiicoiiver "World” said : Twenty-five thousand persons left devastated San Francisco yesterday. All those who seek to cross the hay arc given to understand that (hey may go to any point in the State on any transportation line tree of charge, hut that they may not return. This condition is imposed to relieve the food ritual ion. and is cheerfully complied with hy the ileeing people, i hey are going to every point round the bay, and oven to Los Angelos, San Diego, and oilier far-olf cities in Hie south. It is anywhere to got away, anything but the sight of skeleton walls and smoking ruins of (he city. Oakland received the greatest number of refugees, though Alameda, San Rafael, Vallejo, and every oilier bav point is crowded to Hie limit. Hundred:; of others trekked southward over the roads leading toward San Mateo. Redwood Citv, and other places on the west side of the bay. The procession began yesterday morning from Golden (ode Park, Hie Presidio, and the North Ray shore line as soon as (j.i-v.un) went out lhat. it was safe, to cross the burned jetty towards (lie ferry. There were two great processions to this point, one down .Marini street, the thoroughfare winch was ihe pride of San Francisco, the other from the Presidio along the curving shore line of the North Ray, thence southward along the water front to the Central ferry station. WEARY IUM.T’ANITV. Throughout those routes, probably eight, miles long, a continuous itow nt hninanil v dragged their weary way amidst-hundred of vehicles, from the clumsy garbage cart to the modern automobile. Almost, every person and every vehicle carried luggage of some description, women staggered under burdens they disliked to relinquish. Stumbling over obstructions of stone and wire cntaindemonls, men hauled trunks on wheel harrows, shouldered suit eases, bedding, or household goods. Some trundled gocarts containing their sleeping children, and assisted their exhausted wives. lJnvors of vehicles were disregardful of these exhausted, hungry refugees, and drove their animals straight through to crowds. .So dazed and deadened to ill emotion were many of them that th > were bumped aside by carnage wheels or shouldered out of the way by horses. There wore persons with the r,c, ™ tlisl j sort of clothing, men in shirt sleeves, and women in plain skirts and the thinnest o waists, many without hats. Men and women carried children in Hum' arms. It was (I strange and weird procession.

A BEDLAM OF CONFUSION. There was no complaint from anjono, no disorder. There was realisation of the awful calamity. fwo awful (lavs and nights had deadened nil fear, and left them without any object than to get away. At the ferry station there was utter confusion. Mingled in indescribable masses were people of every race upon the earth. Common misfortune and tlie paramount emotion of manhunger—obliterated all racial distinctions. Degraded Chinese lying on their pallets of rags, slept near tho exhausted white women with babies iu their arms. Bedding, household furniture, of every description, pet animals, and bric-a-brac, luggage, and packages of every sort, packed almost every foot of space *. Men spread 11 Join bedding on tho asphalt pavement and slept the sleep of exhaustion, while all around a bedlam of confusion raged. This is a description of the scenes that marked the exodus of San Francisco’s opulatiou. A MA.MORAL PROCLAMATION. Mayor Schmidt issued the following proclamation on April 2lst: —“Do not bo afraid of famine. There will bo abundance of food supply. Do not use any water except for drinking and cooking purposes. Do not light any fires in houses, stoves or fire-places. Do not use any house closets under any circumstances, but dig earth closets in yards or vacant plots, 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 tho premises; bury it and cover immediately. Pestilence can only bo avoided by complying with these regulations. You are particularly requested not tcT'entor business houses or dwellings except your own, as you may bo mistaken for one of the looters and shot on sight, as the orders are not to arrest, but to shoot down anyone caught stealing.’’ BURYING THE DEAD. Tho Son Francisco correspondent ul tho Vancouver. "World” telegraphing on

April 20th, stated“ Between 20 and 50 corpses were laid side by side on tho grass in the Golden Gate Park for the lack of a more suitable place for their temporary resting place. Out at the Presidio, soldiers pressed into service all men who came near the Presidio, and forced them to labour at burying the dead. So thickly were the corpses piled up that they wore becoming a menace, and early in the day the order was issued to bury them at any cost. The soldiers were needed for other work, so at Hie point of rifles citizens were compelled to take to the work of burying. Mint abjeeted at first, but the troops stood no trilling, and every man who came within reach was forced to work at least an hour. Rich men, who had never done much work, laboured by the side of working men digging trenches in the sand for the last resting place of those who fell before the awful calamity. Many still remain unburied. and the soldiers are still pressing men into service.”