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About The Loup City northwestern. (Loup City, Neb.) 189?-1917 | View Entire Issue (April 26, 1906)
FIERCE BLAZE ON WATER FRONT Hopes That the Conflagration Had Been Checked Dashed by the Arising of Gale of Grea.t Velocity. SUFFERING IS BORNE WITH THE UTMOST FORTITUDE ■■ — # People Unanimous in Making the Best of the Situation—Food Supply Scanty, but in Sufficient Quantity to Prevent Absolute Famine. San Francisco, April 21.—Late Fri day night the fire was raging over fifty acres of the water front be tween Bay slreet and the end of Meiggs and Fisherman’s wharf.. To the eastward it extended down to the sea wall, but had not reached the piers, which lie a quarter of a mile toward the east. Flames and smoke hid from view the vessels that lay off shore.. No v/ater was available except from the water side, and it was not until almost dark that the fire department was able to turn its attention to this point. San Francisco, April 21.—From con fidence in the belief that the fire which for 70 hours had worked its will on their fair city had been checked, the people of San Francisco were plunged into new despair yesterday afternoon when a wind of high velocity, com ing from the northwest, blew over the fire stricken district. Driven by the wind the flames quickly neared the water front, threatening to cut off communication with Oakland and Berkeley. Gen. Custer at once ordered a squad ron of men to endeavor to keep back the fire which, spreading in this di rection, bid fair to destroy the Union ferry depot, the only means of egress from the city. The Postal Telegraph company was tion, which was driven back by a veer ing wind. Everything on Van Ness avenue and west seemed doomed, while the main fire at Octavia street, with its destroying advance wedges, seemed too formidable to be stopped. At the farthermost south line of the burned district a fitful wind seemed likely to spread the flames to the hills and cacti sand heaps. • But when despair was deepest and refugees from the remaining part of the residence district began to drag their effects into sand hollows, Octavia street sent the joyful message “Fire stopped!” Artillery had roared and dynamite made holes without avail where once stood the most beautiful homes of Nob Hill. But great hopes were centered in tfce efficacy of an in tervening burned area. Desolation on Market Street. Not even the desolation of Market street and the banking and business district seemed as terrible as that of the reads leading from the ferry north and around the shore of the bay as far as Fort Mason. Vehicles of all kinds, including baby carriages that broke down under abnormal weights, are strewn along the way. Household effects, clothing and valuables of all kinds abandoned by the terror-strick en owners are where they left them. Some day the owners may claim them. CLIFF HOUSE, WHICH FELL IKTO THE SEA. This famous resort was located at Point Lobas, facing the Pacific, ad jacent to the Golden Gate. The rocks opposite are known as seal rocks and are frequented by the animals for which they are named. The quake toppled the building into the ocean. rorccd to abandon its temporary of fices in the Ferry building, already scorched by the flames. The water front emergency hospital, confidently believed to be a place of safety, was in the gravest danger, and the officers in charge made hasty prep arations to move from their quar ters. The wind was of such velocity that brick and granite walls, already weak ened by the earthquake and subse quent fire, were falling into the streets. The gravest fear was that Market street, the principal avenue of escape from the city to the ferry, would be blocked up, ending all possi bility of egress. Thought Conflagration Ended. When daylight appeared on the ruin3 Friday hope of saving anything from Telegraph Hill to Golden Gate park was slight. Fringrs of houses about the base of the hill, left stand ing, were attacked by the conflagra The soldiers permit no looting. Rear Admiral McCalla, commandant at the Mare Island navy yard, report ed that the war ships under construc tion at the Union Iron works were not damaged. In hte report to Wash ington the admiral said the loss of life had been exaggerated. “No estimate of the loss of life Is at hand,” said one of the committee of safety. “WTe hope it is not as some have feared. The fire now practically ‘is under control, having been checked west of Van Ness avenue and in the j Mission. North of Russian Hill It is raging toward the bay, but it will not spread west. The destitute need relief. After the living are cared for the dead will be ennumerated.” Hungry People Aid Firemen. Thousands of refugees were with out food and water. In sheer desper ation they aided the fire and dynamite men at Van Ness avenue until they fell in their tracks from exhaustion. Finally they were cheered by .military regulations for their succor. Bakeries were started in the ruins, great masses of half-charred wood from the homes of millionaires being used to heat the ovens. Oakland bakeries were worked overtime and every available boat was pressed Into service to bring the sup plies over the bay. More bread and ilenty of milk for the weak and sick ly children and women refugees was th# cry. Five hundred thousand pounds of canned beef in the warehouses of Swift & Co. at South San Francisco were moved into the refugee camps. Face Horror with Fortitude. Homeless and starving the people of San Francisco are facing the awful ca lamity with a apirit of fortitude which must command the admiration of the r——————————————————— into service all men who came near and forced them to labor at burying the dead. So thick were the corpses piled up that they were becoming a menace, and the order was issued to bury them at any cost. The soldiers were needed for other work, and at the point of rifles citizens were compelled to take to the task of burial. Some oh jected at first, but the troops stood no trifling, and every man who came iD reach was forced to labor at least one hour. Rich men who had never done much work stood by the side of work men digging trenches in the sand foi those who fell in the awful calamity. At the present writing many remain unburied, and the soldiers are still pressing men into service. Docks Used as Hospital. The Folsom street dock was turned ■ United Sta world. There are no evidences of weakness among the crowds moving back leluctantly upon each advance 01 the flames, which continue to sweep toward the ocean. Conquered for the moment, but undaunted, the bravery exhibited by men, women and children in the face of overwhelming disaster is that of a race destined to arise stronger than ever out of the ruins which surround it. There is little left of the great American metropolis by the Golden Gate. Shorn of its many glories, its palaces and vast commercial empori ums leveled to the earth, its wide area of homes in ashes, it will rise again in still greater magnificence, a monu ment to the courage and indomitable spirit shown by its inhabitants in the present awful emergency. Can’t Save Residence District. There seems little hope of saving the choicest residence section, lying west and north of Van Ness avenue The men of the fire department, who have done splendid work, are making strenuous efforts to check the devour ing flames, but without avail. Owing to the tremendous heat structures for some distance from the fire are as dry as tinder and they seem to disappear like a flash the minute the flames reach them. The hills and beaches of San Fran cisco look like an immense tented city. For miles through the park and along the beaches from Ingleslde to the sea wall at North Beach the homeless art camped in tents, makeshifts rigged up from a few sticks of wood and a blanket or a sheet. A few of the more fortunate, with better transportation facilities than were afforded the ma jority of the victims of the catas trophe, managed to pile tents on vehi ries and are therefore more comforta bly housed. Looks Like Camp Ground. Golden Gate Park and the Pan handle look like one vast camping ground. It is said that fully 100,000 persons, rich and poor, sought refuge in Golden Gate park alone. Fully 200,000 more homeless ones located at the other places of refuge. Portsmouth square has served many notable and some sensational uses, but none more so, probably, than that I to which it was put when It became for the time being a public morgue. Lea Mint. into a temporary hospital, the harbor hospital being unable to accommodate all the injured who were broughl there. About 100 patients were stretched on the dock at one time. Thursday evening tugs conveyed them to Goat island, where they were lodged in the hospital. The docks from Howard street to Folsom street have beeD saved, and the fire at this point was not permitted to creep farther east than Main street. To add to the horrot-3 of the situa tion and the general alarm explosions of sewer gas shook many streets. A Vesuvius in minature was created by such an upheaval at Bryant and eighth streets. Cobblestones were hurled 20 feet upward and.dirt blew out of the ground. The only bank in the huge ruined district that escaped destruction was the Market Street bank, at the cornet of Seventh and Market streets. It is in the gutted Grand building, but the firemen saved the ground floor. 1? will pay out money just as socn as it hears from the Clearing house offi cials. A corner of the city near the Pa cific mail wharves at Second and Bran nan streets, was not ruined, and the sailors’ home is intact. The Postal Telegraph company has restored its cable connection with the orient by es tablishing a station at Ocean Beach but there is no service yet for deliver ing messages there. Many Killed by Crazed Cattle. A series of fatalities took place Thursday as the result of the stamped ing of a herd of cattle at Sixth and Folsom streets. Thre hundred of the panic-stricken animals ran when they saw and felt the flames and charged wildly- down the street, trampling un der foot all who were in the way. One man was gored through and through by a maddened bull. At least a dozen persons, it is said, were killed. Shock Empties Wells. A feature of San Francisco was the many wells and cisterns upon which thousands of residents depended for water for drinking and cooking. Every earthquake has affected these cisterns and wells. Water in many of them disappeared and did not return for months. The earthquake of Wednes day had the same effect, and this ae Hopkins Art Institute. Between 20 and 20 corpses were laid •Ide by side upon the trodden grass for lack of a more suitable place. It is said that when the flames threatened to reach the square the dead, mostly unknown, were removed to Columbia square, where they were buried when danger threatened that quarter. Forced to Bury Dead. Out at the Presidio soldiers pressed counts. In part at least, for the scarc ity of water after the shocks. While the city pipe system suplied a large number of office buildings and dwell ings, thousands of poopie were depend, ent upon wells, and these may Dot be full of water again for several months. Reports of babes being born in the refuge camps were frequently received. Five women became mothers in Gold en Gate park. Would Put Red Cross in Charge. Washington, April 21.—In order that the work of relieving the suffering at San Francisco may be well systema tized, that every dollar contributed may be made to do the most effective serv ice, the president asks the people of the United States, those in all cities, chamber* of commerce, boards of trade, relief committees and individu als, to express their sympathy in the most practical way by sending their contributions to the American Red Cross association. Absentees Fear for Families. Paris, April 21.—Many San Francis cans in this city are hastily returning to the United States. J. D. Grant. Wiliam Irwin, George Newhall and George Lent will sail to-day, owing to the magnitude of their property losses and fears for the safety of relatives. Fred Sbaron, owner of the Palace and Grand hotels, has spent a large sum in vainly cabling inquiries concerning his losses. Women are In a state of agony con cerning the fate of their children who remained In San Francisco. President Contributes $1,000. Washington, April 21—The check of Theodore Roosevelt for $1,000 has gone to Charles Hallam Keep, assistant sec retary of the treasury department and treasurer of the National Red Cross association. Senator Knox’s check for $500 followed closely. The president believes that as far as possible the outpouring of the na tion’s aid should go to the Amercan Red Cross as the organization best fit ted to undertake the needed relief work in San Francisco. Santa Cruz Loses $200,000. Oakland, Cal., April 21.—A corre spondent arrived here from Santa Cruz, having come over the Santa Cruz mountains by horse. The dam age to buildings in Santa Cruz is es timated at $200,000. A terrible landslide occurred on Loma Prieta mountain. Nine men were buried at the Hinckley Creek mill, Loma Prieta Lumber company. | Watsonville sustained heavy damage ! to buildings, the Pajaro Valley bank, the Por-.er building and the high I school being damaged. To Replace Federal Buildings. Washington, April 21.—When the senate met Friday Mr. Scott present ed and asked immediate attention for i resolution cailng upon the secretary jf the treasury to prepare for the sen ate an estimate of the cost of replacing the ruined federal buildings in San Francisco. The resolution was adopt ed. It suggests that the estimate be tor steel frames. Mr. Hepburn sug gested the necessity of making imme diate provision for the United States 20urt in San Francisco. Blow to Fruit Markets. Chicago, April 21.—Chicago fruit markets will feel in the immediate fu ture the effects of the earthquake in California. The loss is expected to reach huge figures. Millions of cans of those California products are believed to have been in the Immense warehouses which have been destroyed by the flames. Several Chicago merchants are said to have had on the docks of San Fran cisco at the time of the earthquake large quantities of goods for shipment to tbe far east. Fifty-Five Insane Killed. San Francisco, April 21.—Dr. Clark, superintendent of the San Franhisco county hospital, telephoned concerning the situation at the Agnews insane asylum near San Jose, and said that 11 employes and officers of the insti tution were killed and 20 injured. Among the patients 55 were killed and 120 injured. All the buildings were demolished. Tents have been set up in the grounds, and the Injured, as well as the uninjured, are being cared for. Massachusetts Raises $100,000. Boston, April 21.—The advices from San Francisco showing the great lass | in life and property resul ed in an im mediate Increase of the amount of the contributions of Massachusetts from • I $25,000 to $100,000. Kidder, I'e badv & Co., the treasurers of the fund, wired their representatives in San Francisco, authorizing them to place the ei ire amount at the disposal of Gov. Par iee and Mayor Schmitz. Another me-ting 1 of citizens was heiu Friday at the ci y 1 hall for the purpose of raising addi | tional funds. O ' FOURTH OF CITY LEFT APPETITE OF THE PIRE DEMON HAS BEEN APPEASED. Strenuous Efforts Being Made to Pro vide Pood and Shelter for Frisco Homeless. San Francisco—The fire is under control, with the probability that one quarter of the city lying we3t of Frank lin street and known as the western addition, northward to the Presidio, will be saved. The stand made at Vanness avenue was generally suc cessful, the flames crossing that ave nue to the west in but few places. The three-story lodging house at Fifth and Minna streets collapsed and over 75 dead bodies have been taken out. There are at least 50 other bodies exposed. This buildiug was one of the first to take fire on Fifth street. At least 100 people were lost In the Cos mopolitan on Fourth street. The oaly building standing between Mission, Howard, East and Stewart streets is the San Pablo hotel, which is occupied and running. The shot tower at First and Howard streets is gone. This landmark was built 40 years ago. \ The RIsdon Iron works is partially destroyed. The Great Western Smelting and Re fining works escaped damage, also the Mutual Electric Light works with slight damage to the American Rub ber company and the Vietagas Engine company. rolger Bros, coffee and spice house is also uninjured and the firm is giv ing away large quantities of bread and milk. Many are dropping dead from the heat and from suffocation. Over 150 people are reported lost in the Bruns wick hotel, Seventh and Mission streets. The people of the city, homeless and starving, are facing the awful ca lamity which has iiterallv swept t^e great city, of which all were so proud, out of existence w'th a spirit cf re signed fortitude which must command the admiration of the world. There are no evidences of wtrltnecs to be seen among the crowds op stricken people moving back reluc tantly upon each advance of the d= stroving flames, wh!ch continue to sweep toward the oc°an. They have the erim dogged manner of those who go down in defeat hefor-> an irr-siV Ible force with whi: h it Is hopeless to contend. Conquered for thp monten*, hot un daunted, the braverv exhibitei by men. women and children in tbe face of overwhelming disaster, is that op peonie destined to arise stronger th. n ever out of the ruins of shattered hones and denlet°d fortunes. There is litt'e left of th° great Amer ican metropolis bv the Go’den Ga'e ,n city of magnificent splendor, wealthier and more prosperous than Tyre and Sidon of the o'd°n time, enriched by the mines of Oohir. Shorn of its manv gloria, its p~la"°« and vast commercial emporiums lev eled to the earth: its wi-*e area rf homes, where dwelt a happy a-d ffrosnerous peop’e. prostrate in ashes, it will rise again in still greater mag nificence—a monument to the cour age and indomitable sp’rit shown bv its inhabitants during the present aw ful emergency. They are smitten, but not crushed. The care of the 300.000 homeles5', starving refugees now gathered in the city’s public squares and parks is n< w the main proo.em the local authori ties have to solve. They mu3t be fed and bread, meat and drink are lack ing. All the leading cities and towns throughout the country are now ex erting themselves to alleviate the suf ferings of the unfortunate victims cf the fire, and provisions are now headed for them from many point. Bread has already sold as high rs one dollar a loaf in the stricken city, and two loa’.es and a can of sardines brought in one instance ?'i.50. Bu’ this condition of affairs will not be permitted to last long. In tow s across the bay the mas er bakers have met and fixed the price of bread at five cents a loaf, with the unde-st’n ’ ing that they will repuse to sell f> retailers who attempt to charge fami-e prices. The committee of citizens now in charge of the situation in the strick en city wi!l also U3e every effor. to keep the rrire of food down to the ordinary figure. The commi tee of sa'ety. composed of 50 of the leading citizens of San Francisco, with Mayor Schmi.ltz at its head, met Friday and took all neces sary steps for the protection an ! as sistance of the victims of the fir-. Three relief stations for the h me le3S have already been established by the general committee. These sta tions are the teraoor’ry homes or the homeless. Th’ stations are at Golien Gate park, Presidio and San Bruno road. By order or tne gcn’rni fnmm tlfe all remaining s’ores wore entered b" the police and their eoods conascife1. Caravans of provisions a-e mw cn their way to the three rel'ef stations. In the meantime the bills and beaches of Sin Francisco look l k’ an immense tented city. Visible Supply of Cotton. New Orleans.—Secretary H 'stet’s statement of the world’s > isible su in y of cotton shows a total of 4.416,071. against 4,5-6,025 last week. Of this t te total of American cotton is 2,85^, 71, against 2,926,025 lact week. Suicide Due to Illness. Mobile, Ala.—William Eeeker, aged 67, a wealthy citizen of Milwaukee, who was visiting his nephew, James Hagan, of Mobile, shot himself thiough the head Friday, dying instantly. Mr. Becker had teen ill. Pistol Battle with Bobbers. Lima, O.— A posse of citizens at De Graff, in Logan county, Friday had a pistol and shotgun battle wi h five bandits who had dynamited the pcs: office at that place. Most of the rob bers were younued. Hang Negro for Murder. Fort Madison, la.,—Jcsiph C. Smith, colored, was hanged Friday for th murder of Mrs. Ida Cannady at Bux ton, la., on Octooer 16, 19)3. He met his fate calmly alter a restful sleep and a hearty breakfast. ( END OF DEVASTATION IS NOT YET IN SIGHT Flames in San Francisco Start with Renewed Strength and Make Their way to the Water Front—Refugees Said to Be Penned In. San Francisco, April 21.—The Are has doubled back on its tracks and is sweeping with renewed strength along the water front, eating Its way to the ferry depot and threatening to cut off the only remaining means of escape from the city. An easterly wind, which early Fri day checked the flames on the edge of the rich residential district in the western addition, arousing the hope that the worst was over and the de struction at an end, switched to the northwest late at night and, blowing a gale, drove the fire before it. The end of the devastation Is not yet in sight. This new blow has stunned both civil and military au thorities. Gale Sweeping Down Ruins. The city is in absolute darkness save for the glare of the flames driv ing on toward the immense ferry build ing. Over all the gale is howling. It is sweeping down the hulks of the big buildings along Market street, gutted by the fires of Friday and the day before. Market street is simply a vast ridge of debris. It is Impassable, cutting off the retreat of the 300,000 persons crowded Into Golden Gate park and the Presidio. The wind veered around to the northwest late in the afternoon. By seven o’clock it had increased to a gale. It has been steadily growing j stronger and as it increased In veloc- j ity the fire increased in fury. It swept along the water front fed by immense warehouses and lumber: MAP OF SAN FRANCISCO—SHO\ city, from being destroyed. Hope Is Born and Killed. Early Friday morning it was thought that the city had passed the'crisis of its agony. The lire was checked while still a bare fourth of the city remained undestroyed. A providential veer In the wind after the sacrifice of a mile-long string of mansions by dynamite stopped the de struction on the edge of the western addition. The flames were oeaten back to wear out their fury on the ruins. Poor Suffer More Than Bich. It seems almost like a little sarcasm of the fate which has overwhelmed the town that the rich and prosperous have their homes and their goods spared to them while the poor have lost every thing except the little bundles they have carried with them to the parka or to Oakland, the city of refuge. Burying the Bead. The work of burying the dead was begun Friday for the first time. Out at the Presidio soldiers pressed into service all men who came near and forced them to labor at burying the dead. So thick were the corpses piled up that they were becoming a menace, and early in the day the order was is sued to bury them at any cost. The soldiers were ueeded for other work, so, at the point of rifles, the citizens were compelled to take the work of burying. Some objected at first, but the troops stood no trifling, and every man who came in reach was forced to work at least one hour. Rich men who had never done much work la HNG DESTRUCTION BY FIBE. The Black Lines Show Approximately the District Burned Over. It In cludes Practically All the Closely Settled Part of the City. yards that up till then had escaped. At midnight the vanguard of the dames was within a quarter of a mils of the ferry buildings, where are housed the starting place of every method of transportation from tne city. All Escape Kay Be Cut Off. It seems Impossible that the Ferry building can be saved. Whrn It goes he city with all its homeless thou ands will be cut off absolutely. Worse than this, every means of getting re lief stores into the city quickly will have been destroyed. At seven o'clock the fire wa3 raging over EO acres of the water front lying between Bay street and the end of Meiggs’ and Fisherman’s wharf. To the eastward it extended down to C sea wall, hut had not reached the Hers, which lie a quarter of a mile toward the east. Flee from Emergency Hospital. At ten o’clock the big emergency hospital on the water front was di rectly In the path of the flames and In dancer of destruction. The officials ’n charge commenced a desperate effort to move the patients. How well they succeeded It t3 impossible to tell. Since the fire start'd up afresh acres if wharve? and warehouses north of Market street have been "destroyed, and the fire had swept over the whole area of north b<--ach and laid in ruins the listrlct around the east side of Tele graph hill. Gen. Caster has ordered out a squad of men to endeavor to keep the flames, which threaten the Union ferry depot, the only means of egress from that | bored by the side of the workingmen ! digging trenches in the sand for the j sepulcher of those who fell in the l"vv ' ful calamity. At the present writing | many stiil remain unburied and the soldiers are still pressing men into service. Report Refugees Cut Off. San Francisco, April 21.—It 19 re ported that between 3,000 and 4,000 Italians, Portuguese and other resi dents cf the district now being devas tated, who fled to Meiggs' or Fisher man’s wharves as places of safety, have been cut off there by the flames Hundreds of others are known to have crowded to the wharves along the water front are in the gravest peril. Oakland, Cal.. April 21.—It is re ported here that the fire in the neighh borhood of the ferry had been checked. Buried Alive Three Days. San Francisco, April 21.—Eleven postal clerks were taken from the de bris of the post office Friday. All were thought to be dead, but it was found that, although they were buried in the ; stone, every one was alive. They had been for threp days without food 01 water. All the mail was saved. To add to the horrors of the general situation and the general alarm of many people who aserribed the cause of the subterranean trouble to another convulsion of nature, explosions oi sewer gas here lately ribobned and ribbed many streets. Thursday after noon a Vesuvius In min'ature was created by such au upheaval at Bryant and Eighth streets. Cobble stones were hurled 20 feet upward, and dirt vomited out of the ground. Danger at Various Points. San Jose, Cal., April 21.—Nineteen people were killed by thj q take in S n Jose and the entire bus ness section wrecked, the estimated damage being $5,000,003. One hundred and ten per sons were ki led and 70 injured, most ly patients at Agnew's asylum, and the bolding complete y ruined. The damage to the Pacific Mining company at Santa Clara Is $150 0 0, and the total loss there $5'0,oon. /1 Salinas the Spreckels sugar refinery, valued at $1,500,000, was destroyed. “Lucky” Baldwin Sends Food. Los Angeles, Cal., April 21.—Lucky Baldwin, the noted racing man and horse breeder, whose wife and daugh ter are at San Francisco, came to L03 Angeles from his ranch, Santa Anita, and at once gave orders for the send ing of a carload of provisions to the San Francisco sufferers. This will include dried fruits, flour and wine for the injur k . He endeavored to secure a carload of bread to send, but was un able to purchase that quantity because all of the available supply had been already sent north. Grand Opera Stars All Safe. Oakland, Cal., April 21.—The mem bers of the Metropolitan Opera com pany are safe and on their way to the east on a special train. Caruso, Campanari, Dlppel, Eames, Sembr.ch, Scotti, Plancon. Reiss, Miss Walker, Miss Abbott, and other 3tars passed through the earthquake and fire mingled In the crowds of refugees, ate bread and sardines purchased at su burban stores, and slept in the open air. Just as did 200,000 and more of the homeless ones. Stanford’s Loes Is $4,000,000. Berkeley, Cal., April 21.—President Jordan estimates the to'ai loss to the buildings of Stanford university at b - tween *4,000.000 and *5,000,000. Tne famous chapel which was erected two or three years ago and whose facadi was covered with mo aic pictures is a mere pile of stone3. The mositc Itse f was dashed Into fragm?nts. The mag nificent arch at the entrance of th’ outer quadrangle has been destroyed. The new library building was s rip ped of its stene facings.
