San Francisco During the Eventful Days of April 1906
- Pages
- about 39
- Category
- History
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 43 min at 250 wpm
From the opening
These recollections were written in June, 1906, but the first edition
being exhausted and a new one being required, I have included some
events that occurred later, without changing the original date.
As the earthquake and the great fire in San Francisco in the year 1906
were events of such unusual interest, and realizing how faulty is man's
memory after time passes, I have here jotted down a few incidents which
I personally observed, and shall lay them away, so that if in the future
I should desire I can refer to these notes, made while the events were
new and fresh in my mind, with some assurance of their accuracy.
On the morning of April 18, 1906, at 5:13, in my residence, 1801 Van
Ness Avenue, I was awakened by a very severe shock of earthquake. The
shaking was so violent that it nearly threw me out of bed. It threw down
a large bookcase in my chamber, broke the glass front, and smashed two
chairs; another bookcase fell across the floor; the chandelier was so
violently shaken that I thought it would be broken into pieces. The
bric-a-brac was thrown from the mantel and tables, and strewed the floor
with broken china and glass. It is said to have lasted fifty-eight
seconds, but as nearly as I can estimate the violent part was only about
twelve seconds.
As soon as it was over I got up and went to the window, and saw the air
in the street filled with a white dust, which was caused by the falling
of masonry from St. Luke's Church on the diagonal corner from my room. I
waited for the dust to settle, and I then saw the damage which had been
done to Claus Spreckels's house and the church. The chimneys of the
Spreckels mansion were gone, the stone balustrade and carved work
wrecked.
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