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Title
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San Francisco Earthquake, 1906
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Description
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Regional Narrative
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Date
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1906
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Creator
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Frank H. Shoemaker
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Identifier
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321301-00626
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Rights
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To inquire about usage, please contact Archives & Special Collections, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries. These images are for educational use only. Not all images are available for publication.
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extracted text
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as @ rule rather grave, and uncertein as to the
iumdiate futures but as rogards "catching cn*
after thay heve decided what to do, tney seen to
nave no feer, I ventura the assertion that 90%
of the tears shed about the Ry are duo, not to the
@arthqueke, tut to formaldenyde; and I volun-tear
thet I myself have contributed more or less in
this direction. The disinfectants are fierce, fi
but the eutnorities seem to heve sanitation well in
hand, so wo mst forgive then.
Mre Young ana I wert over to the city yesterday —
(Tuesday) afternoon, et shout 3:50. The weether
was cloudy ard rain fell from time to tine - the
real San Francisco rain, which defies all rules
governing ordinary precipitstion, and drifts along
parallel with the surfece of the eerthe Aside from |
the long lines of smoke whieh the northwest breese
drove before it, there wes little to indicate te
an observer, at a distance ¥ two milea, that ary
thing untoward had occurred. The ferry building, 3
the Fairmount Hotel, the Call Puilding and other
landmarks occupiel their prover places quite faith-
fully, and the hazy stete of the atmosphere con-
oealed lesser tuildings, Sut on approaching the
ferry building, all this was changed; everything
indicated disaster; the tower of tne hullding
cracked and tie flagstaft* on top bent over shout
30 degrees; several square yards of surface veneer
(vrick and mortar) crunbled sway under the rreat
lock, whien had stopped at 5: Boldiers end Red
Cross people much in evidence, irstesd of ths usual
crowd, Only the extreme south end of the hui lding y |
is being used, as the tower is considered unfate;
the Oaklend ‘ferries land at the narrow-gauge piers
Outside the building there wes a terrible con-
fusion of haggege, household goods, personal effects
ot avery possible cherecter. And before us strotehad
tho smoldering ruins - notning hut wallg, piles of
brick and stone, twisted ste] girders snd feljen
cornices, with smoke rising on every side and :ittle
red points of fire showing at intervels among the
debris, Few buildings in this part of tne city
retain even e semblence of their normal linea, for
it is 211 *made* lend, snc the destruction is almost
complste, It was pitiful and dishesrtening; the
grand and the awful hed hed their dey and were
things of the pest.
Owing to military restrictions no one is per-
witted on this side without @ pass, so the passen~
gers on our ferry were few; the minred o¥ thoreahout
