James B. Stetson

“ The explosions of dynamite were felt fearfully in my house; those within two blocks would jar and shake the house violently, breaking the windows, and at the same time setting off the burglar alarm. As the windows would break it tore the shades and curtains, covered the floor with glass, and cracked the walls. ”

“ Mary's Church, on the corner of California and Dupont Streets and Grace Cathedral, on the corner of California and Stockton, were on fire. To the north, Chinatown was in a whirlpool of fire. I returned home on California Street and Van Ness Avenue. Both streets were thronged with men, women, and children—some with bundles, packages, and baby-carriages; but the usual method was to drag a trunk, which made a harsh, scraping noise on the sidewalk. I overtook a man dragging a trunk with a valise on the top which kept frequently falling off. ”

“ One of our men who roomed near the engine-house on California Street, packed his trunk and dragged it downstairs, and started along the street for a place of safety until he came to a pile of brick, when he stopped and had just time to lay the brick all around it and run away. The next day as soon as the heat would permit, he went for his trunk and found it slightly roasted, but the contents uninjured.
A lady who does not wish her name mentioned relates a very interesting and thrilling story of her earthquake experience. ”

“ On arrival in New York on the 20th there was much excitement. Newspapers issued extras every hour, filled with fearful stories and of the progress of the fire. The limits of the burned districts were reported with great accuracy, but the stories were alarmingly exaggerated, and in many instances absurd. One telegram read that the dead were so numerous that it was impossible to give burial, and the Government at Washington was asked to furnish a ship that they might be carried out far into the ocean and thrown into the sea. ”

“ When I awoke and looked out the flames were pouring from every window of the Spreckels mansion. At 10 A. M. the house was thoroughly burned out. (The general appearance of the house from a distance is the same as formerly, the walls and roof remaining the same as before the fire.)
In the morning I went over to the California-Street engine-house, and found it in ruins. Beams, pipes, iron columns, tie-rods, car-trucks, and a tangled mass of iron-work; all that was not consumed of 32 cars, bricks, mortar, ashes, and debris of every description filled the place. ”

“ I tried the door in the adjoining office of the American Beet Sugar Company and found it open. From that room I got into mine. I raised my shades, and the fire was blazing at Battery Street and California, fully seventy-five feet high, and not more than three hundred feet distant from me. I looked through the hall and rooms and saw no smoke, and was sure that I was safe for a few minutes. As I turned the combination of my safe to open it another shock of earthquake came, which confused me a little, but I persevered and opened it. ”

“ Oxnard, with her husband was on the way to New York. At about noon of the 18th they heard, at North Platte, that there had been a severe shock of earthquake in San Francisco, and that the lower part of the city south of Market Street was on fire. They thought the report exaggerated, and at first declined to give it much attention; but when they met friends at Grand Island at about 3 o'clock they got information of such a character that it began to give them fear. At every place until they reached Chicago additional news was obtained, which indicated a very alarming condition of things here. ”

“ The fire at that hour, 10:30 A. M., was raging strong south of Market Street from about Fifth to Tenth Street. I left Market Street and went up on to Golden Gate Avenue. At Hyde and Golden Gate Avenue I saw a large two-story house which had been wrecked by the earthquake. The doors, windows and all the upright-portion of the first story, were crushed and stood on an angle of 45°. I enquired of a woman seated on a pile of rubbish, who said "no one was killed, but what am I to do?" The City Hall was badly wrecked, great cracks were to be seen and about two-thirds of the great dome had fallen. ”

“ At noon the flames were continuous from Clay, on Jones, to California. At 1:30 it had almost reached Hyde and Clay, and was continuous from that point to Polk and Sutter, the blaze reaching from 50 to 75 feet high. At 2:30 it was approaching Van Ness at Hyde and Washington, and reaching south as far as Sutter and Van Ness. I was in my front room watching with my field-glass, house after house take fire and the long line as I have just described. I saw many pigeons flying wildly about, seeking some place of safety. As it approached Van Ness it did not burn north of Washington Street. ”

“ A very few people were to be seen at that time among the ruins, which added much to the general gloom of the situation. I found it then, and ever since, very difficult to locate myself when wandering in the ruins and in the rebuilt district, as all the old landmarks are gone and the only guide often is a prominent ruin in the distance. As there were no cars running in the burnt district, I found my automobile very useful although the rough streets filled with all manner of debris, punctured the tires too frequently. ”

“ They first set fire to every house on the east side of Van Ness Avenue between Washington and Bush streets, and by 3:30 nearly every one was on fire. Their method was this: A soldier would, with a vessel like a fruit-dish in his hand, containing some inflammable stuff, enter the house, climb to the second floor, go to the front window, open it, pull down the shade and curtain, and set fire to the contents of his dish. ”

“ He begged for a little more time, when one of them petulantly exclaimed: "Oh! let him burn up if he is so slow!" The fire did not come within two miles of this place.
Shortly after the fire and as soon as people began to realize the extent of the calamity, I listened to many discussions and prophecies concerning the future in reference to business and rebuilding. It was the general opinion that the business of jewelry and other luxuries, would be ruined for many years to come; that Fillmore Street and Van Ness Avenue would be only used temporarily ”

“ Some people set up a cooking stove, many set up two rows of bricks, with a piece of sheet iron laid across. Our door-bell was rung several evenings, and we were ordered to "put out that light."
About noon on the 20th the blocks between Pacific and Filbert were on fire at Jones Street, and the fire was again threatening Van Ness Avenue, but several engines were pumping, from one to another, saltwater from Black Point and had a stream on the west side of Van Ness until it was saved. ”

“ The news came to London in English, and there cut down as brief as possible and translated into German, so the information was very brief. San Francisco people who were there sought one another for news. Within a week the New York papers came, which gave more particulars. While waiting for authentic information, such items as these were in circulation: "Golden Gate Park has been withered by the intense heat, and people are crowded to the beach," and that "Typhoid fever has broken out"; that a tidal-wave had swept over the city; that the earthquake shocks continued ”

“ As the excitement subsided, we began to shiver, so by common consent we sought in the ruins for our clothing. I felt that another shock might follow, and possibly worse than the first, and got out of the wrecked building as soon as possible.
A little later I found the Head Master of the school. "Good morning," said I. "Unfortunate morning," he replied. "Brick structures do not hold together when acted upon by conflicting motions caused by the vibrations due to earthquakes. ”

“ In the general appearance it resembles the country where a forest fire has swept, the chimneys and unburned telephone poles representing the standing trunks of trees. The loss of life is probably nearly 450. Many earthquake shocks were felt during the three days of the calamity, and for as much as two months we felt gentle reminders. ”

“ It was stated that a man came out of the wreck of the Palace Hotel with his pockets filled with human fingers and ears taken from the dead inmates for the rings and earrings. As no one was injured in the hotel, it was wholly imaginative. A man near the Park met another who related the shocking occurrence of two men having been hanged on a tree in sight, and not a long way off; the man hastened to the spot and found no crowd, nor men hanging. ”

“ At 3 o'clock the soldiers drove the people north on Van Ness and west up to Franklin Street, saying that they were going to dynamite the east side of Van Ness. From my window I watched the movements of the fire-fighters and dynamiters. ”

“ In this state of mind, she found in a New York paper a picture of the Spreckels residence which showed mine. This was the first information that she received in reference to her family or their belongings. Mr. and Mrs. Dohrmann and his sister, Mrs. Paulsen, of San Francisco, were in Dresden, and did much to allay the fears of the San Franciscans.
During the first few days the German people got over the excitement, but not so with those whose homes were in this city. ”

“ The city authorities issued an order that no fires could be built in any house until the chimneys were fully rebuilt and inspected by an officer. The water we used was brought by my son in a wash-boiler in his automobile. He got it out near the Park. People all cooked in improvised kitchens made in the street. As we were prohibited from making fires in the house, I improvised a kitchen on the street. I found some pieces of board which were blown into the street and partially covered with brick and stone, from St. ”

“ The city being under military rule, on May 4th I obtained the following orders:
San Francisco, May 4, 1906. To All Civic and Military Authorities: Permit the bearer, Mr. J. B. Stetson, to visit the premises, 123 California, and get safe. J. F. Dinan, Chief of Police. May 4, 1906. Permit Mr. Stetson, No. 123 California Street, to open safe and remove contents. J. M. Stafford, Major 20th Infantry, U. S. A.
So, with this permit, authority or protection, or whatever it may be called, I found my safe in the ruins and everything in it that was inflammable burned to a coal ”