Chapter II: Preface

In presenting this history of the San Francisco Earthquake Horror and Conflagration to the public, the publishers can assure the reader that it is the most complete and authentic history of the great disaster published.

The publishers set out with the determination to produce a work that would leave no room for any other history on this subject, a task for which they had the best facilities and the most perfect equipment.

The question of cost was not taken into consideration. The publishers wanted the best writers, the best illustrations, the best paper, printing and binding and proceeded immediately to get them. The services of the two best historical writers in the United States were secured within an hour after the first news of the catastrophe was received. The names and historical works of Richard Linthicum and Trumbull White are known in every household in the United States where current history is read. They are the authors of many standard works, including histories of recent wars and books of permanent reference, and rank among the world's greatest descriptive writers.

A large staff of photographers have supplied illustrations for this great historical work depicting every phase of the catastrophe from the first shock of earthquake to the final work of relief. These illustrations have special interest and value because they are made from actual photographs taken by trained and skilled photographers. This history of the most recent of the world's great disasters is beyond all comparison the most sumptuously and completely illustrated of any publication on this subject. So numerous are the illustrations and so accurately do they portray every detail of the quake and fire that they constitute in themselves a complete, graphic and comprehensive pictorial history of the great catastrophe.

The story as told by the authors, however, is one of absorbing interest that thrills the reader with emotion and depicts the scenes of terror, destruction, misery and suffering as vividly as if the reader were an eye-witness to all the details of the stupendous disaster.

The history of the Earthquake and Fire Horror is told consecutively and systematically from beginning to end.

"The Doomed City" is a pen picture of San Francisco while its destruction was impending.

The four days of the conflagration are described each in separate chapters in such a way that the reader can follow the progress of the fire from the time of the first alarm until it was conquered by the dynamite squad of heroes.

A great amount of space has been devoted to "Thrilling Personal Experiences" and "Scenes of Death and Terror," so that the reader has a thousand and one phases of the horror as witnessed by those who passed through the awful experience of the earthquake shock and the ordeal of the conflagration.

For purposes of comparison a chapter has been devoted to a magnificent description of San Francisco before the fire, "The City of a Hundred Hills," the Mecca of sight-seers and pleasure loving travelers.

The descriptions of the Refuge Camps established in Golden Gate Park, the Presidio and other open spaces depict the sorrow and the suffering of the stricken people in words that appeal to the heart.

The magnificent manner in which the whole nation responded with aid and the conduct of the relief work are told in a way that brings a thrill of pride to every American heart.

"Fighting the Fire with Dynamite" is a thrilling chapter of personal bravery and heroism, and the work of the "Boys in Blue" who patrolled the city and guarded life and property is adequately narrated.

Chinatown in San Francisco was one of the sights of the world and was visited by practically every tourist that passed through the Golden Gate. That odd corner of Cathay which was converted into a roaring furnace and completely consumed is described with breathless interest.

The "Ruin and Havoc in Other Coast Cities" describes the destruction of the great Leland Stanford, Jr., University, the scenes of horror and death at the State Asylum which collapsed, and in other ruined cities of the Pacific coast.

"The Earthquake as Viewed by Scientists" is a valuable addition to the seismology of the world--a science that is too little known, but which possesses tremendous interest for everyone.

The threatened destruction of Naples by the volcano of Vesuvius preceding the San Francisco disaster is fully described. The chapters on Vesuvius are especially valuable and interesting, by reason of the scientific belief that the two disasters are intimately related.

Altogether this volume is the best and most complete history of all the great disasters of the world and one that should be in the hands of every intelligent citizen, both as a historical and reference volume.

THE PUBLISHERS.

CONTENTS

Preface 7

Introduction 21

CHAPTER I.

THE DOOMED CITY.

Earthquake Begins the Wreck of San Francisco
and a Conflagration without Parallel Completes
the Work of Destruction--Tremendous Loss of
Life in Quake and Fire--Property Loss
$200,000,000 33

CHAPTER II.

SAN FRANCISCO A ROARING FURNACE.

Flames Spread in a Hundred Directions and the
Fire Becomes the Greatest Conflagration of
Modern Times--Entire Business Section and
Fairest Part of Residence District Wiped Off
the Map--Palaces of Millionaires Vanish in
Flames or are Blown Up by Dynamite--The Worst
Day of the Catastrophe 46

CHAPTER III.

THIRD DAY ADDS TO HORROR.

Fire Spreads North and South Attended by Many
Spectacular Features--Heroic Work of Soldiers
Under General Funston--Explosions of Gas Add
to General Terror 57

CHAPTER IV.

TWENTY SQUARE MILES OF WRECK AND RUIN.

Fierce Battle to Save the Famous Ferry
Station, the Chief Inlet to and Egress from
San Francisco--Fire Tugs and Vessels in the
Bay Aid in Heroic Fight--Fort Mason, General
Funston's Temporary Headquarters, has Narrow
Escape--A Survey of the Scene of Desolation 69

CHAPTER V.

THE CITY OF A HUNDRED HILLS.

A Description of San Francisco, the Metropolis
of the Pacific Coast, Before the Fire--One of
the Most Beautiful and Picturesque Cities in
America--Home of the California Bonanza Kings 78

Former Mayor of San Francisco, and who gave $1,000,000 for the
relief of the sufferers. Largest sum given by an individual.]

Mayor of San Francisco and who rendered great assistance in bringing
order out of chaos.]

CHAPTER VI.

SCENES OF TERROR, DEATH AND HEROISM.

Thrilling Escapes and Deeds of Daring--Sublime
Bravery and Self-Sacrifice by Men and
Women--How the United States Mint and the
Treasuries Were Saved and Protected by Devoted
Employes and Soldiers--Pathetic Street
Incidents--Soldiers and Police Compel
Fashionably Attired to Assist in Cleaning
Streets--Italians Drench Homes with Wine 103

CHAPTER VII.

THRILLING PERSONAL EXPERIENCES.

Scenes of Horror and Panic Described by
Victims of the Quake Who Escaped--How Helpless
People Were Crushed to Death by Falling
Buildings and Debris--Some Marvelous Escapes 119

CHAPTER VIII.

THRILLING PERSONAL EXPERIENCES--CONTINUED.

Hairbreadth Escapes from the Hotels Whose
Walls Crumbled--Frantic Mothers Seek Children
from Whom They Were Torn by the
Quake--Reckless Use of Firearms by Cadet
Militia--Tales of Heroism and Suffering 132

CHAPTER IX.

THROUGH LANES OF MISERY.

A Graphic Pen Picture of San Francisco in
Flames and in Ruins--Scenes and Stories of
Human Interest where Millionaires and Paupers
Mingled in a Common Brotherhood--A Harrowing
Trip in an Automobile 141

CHAPTER X.

WHOLE NATION RESPONDS WITH AID.

Government Appropriates Millions and Chicago
Leads All Other Cities with a Round Million
of Dollars--People in All Ranks of Life from
President Roosevelt to the Humblest Wage
Earner Give Promptly and Freely 157

CHAPTER XI.

ALL CO-OPERATE IN RELIEF WORK.

Citizens' Committee Takes Charge of the
Distribution of Supplies, Aided by the Red
Cross Society and the Army--Nearly
Three-Fourths of the Entire Population Fed
and Sheltered in Refuge Camps 162

CHAPTER XII.

OUR BOYS IN BLUE PROVE HEROISM.

United States Troops at the Presidio and Fort
Mason Under Command of General Funston Bring
Order Out of Chaos and Save City from
Pestilence--San Francisco Said "Thank God
for the Boys in Blue"--Stricken City
Patrolled by Soldiers 171

CHAPTER XIII.

IN THE REFUGE CAMPS.

Scenes of Destitution in the Parks Where the
Homeless Were Gathered--Rich and Poor Share
Food and Bed Alike--All Distinctions of Wealth
and Social Position Wiped Out by the Great
Calamity 178

CHAPTER XIV.

RUINS AND HAVOC IN COAST CITIES.

San Jose, the Prettiest Place in the State,
Wrecked by Quake--State Insane Asylum
Collapsed and Buried Many Patients Beneath
the Crumbled Walls--Enormous Damage at Santa
Rosa 189

CHAPTER XV.

DESTRUCTION OF GREAT STANFORD UNIVERSITY.

California's Magnificent Educational
Institution, the Pride of the State, Wrecked
by Quake--Founded by the Late Senator Leland
Stanford as a Memorial to His Son and
Namesake--Loss $3,000,000 198

CHAPTER XVI.

FIGHTING FIRE WITH DYNAMITE.

San Francisco Conflagration Eventually Checked
by the Use of Explosives--Lesson of Baltimore
Needed in Coast City--Western Remnant of City
in Residence Section Saved by Blowing Up
Beautiful Homes of the Rich 208

CHAPTER XVII.

MISCELLANEOUS FACTS AND INCIDENTS.

Many Babies Born in Refuge Camps--Expressions
of Sympathy from Foreign Nations--San
Francisco's Famous Restaurants--Plight of
Newspaper and Telegraph Offices 214

CHAPTER XVIII.

DISASTER AS VIEWED BY SCIENTISTS.

Scientists are Divided Upon the Theories
Concerning the Shock That Wrought Havoc in the
Golden Gate City--May Have Originated Miles
Under the Ocean--Growth of the Sierra Madre
Mountains May Have Been the Cause 230

CHAPTER XIX.

CHINATOWN, A PLAGUE SPOT BLOTTED OUT.

An Oriental Hell within an American City--Foreign
in Its Stores, Gambling Dens and Inhabitants--The
Mecca of All San Francisco Sight Seers--Secret
Passages, Opium Joints and Slave Trade Its Chief
Features 246

CHAPTER XX.

THE NEW SAN FRANCISCO.

A Modern City of Steel on the Ruins of the City
that Was--A Beautiful Vista of Boulevards, Parks
and Open Spaces Flanked by the Massive Structures
of Commerce and the Palaces of Wealth and Fashion 255

CHAPTER XXI.

VESUVIUS THREATENS NAPLES.

Beautiful Italian City on the Mediterranean
Almost Engulfed in Ashes and Lava from the
Terrible Volcano--Worst Eruption Since the
Days of Pompeii and Herculaneum--Buildings
Crushed and Thousands Rendered Homeless 267

CHAPTER XXII.

SCENES IN FRIGHTENED NAPLES.

Blistering Showers of Hot Ashes--The People
Frantic--Cry Everywhere "When Will It
End?"--Atmosphere Charged with Electricity
and Poisonous Fumes 279

CHAPTER XXIII.

VOLCANOES AND EARTHQUAKES EXPLAINED.

BY TRUMBULL WHITE.

The Theories of Science on Seismic
Convulsions--Volcanoes Likened to Boils on
the Human Body, Through Which the Fires
and Impurities of the Blood Manifest
Themselves--Seepage of Ocean Waters Through
Crevices in the Rocks Reaches the Internal
Fires of the Earth--Steam Is Generated and
an Explosion Follows--Geysers and Steam Boilers
as Illustrations--Views of the World's Most
Eminent Scientists Concerning the Causes of
the Eruptions of Mount Pelee and La Soufriere 285

CHAPTER XXIV.

TERRIBLE VOLCANIC DISASTERS OF THE PAST.

BY TRUMBULL WHITE.

Destruction of Sodom, Gomorrah and the Other
Cities of the Plain--The Bible Account a
Graphic Description of the Event--Ancient
Writers Tell of Earthquakes and Volcanoes of
Antiquity--Discovery of Buried Cities of
Which No Records Remain--Formation of the
Dead Sea--The Valley of the Jordan and Its
Physical Characteristics 303

CHAPTER XXV.

VESUVIUS AND THE DESTRUCTION OF POMPEII.

BY TRUMBULL WHITE.

Most Famous Volcanic Eruption in History--Roman
Cities Overwhelmed--Scenes of Horror Described by
Pliny, the Great Classic Writer, an Eye-Witness
of the Disaster--Buried in Ashes and Lava--The
Stricken Towns Preserved for Centuries Excavated
in Modern Times as a Wonderful Museum of the Life
of 1,800 Years Ago 309

CHAPTER XXVI.

MOUNT AETNA AND THE SICILIAN HORRORS.

BY TRUMBULL WHITE.

A Volcano with a Record of Twenty-five
Centuries--Seventy-eight Recorded
Eruptions--Three Hundred Thousand Inhabitants
Dwelling on the Slopes of the Mountain and in the
Valleys at Its Base--Stories of Earthquake Shocks
and Lava Flows--Tales of Destruction--Described
by Ancient and Modern Writers and Eye-Witnesses 321

CHAPTER XXVII.

LISBON EARTHQUAKE SCOURGED.

BY TRUMBULL WHITE.

Sixty Thousand Lives Lost in a Few Moments--An
Opulent and Populous Capital Destroyed--Graphic
Account by an English Merchant Who Resided in
the Stricken City--Tidal Waves Drown Thousands
in the City Streets--Ships Engulfed in the
Harbor--Criminals Rob and Burn--Terrible
Desolation and Suffering 334

CHAPTER XXVIII.

JAPAN AND ITS DISASTROUS EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES.

BY TRUMBULL WHITE.

The Island Empire Subject to Convulsions of
Nature--Legends of Ancient Disturbances--Famous
Volcano of Fuji-yama Formed in One Night--More
Than One Hundred Volcanoes in Japan--Two Hundred
and Thirty-two Eruptions Recorded--Devastation of
Thriving Towns and Busy Cities--The Capital a
Sufferer--Scenes of Desolation after the Most
Recent Great Earthquakes 344

CHAPTER XXIX.

KRAKATOA, THE GREATEST OF VOLCANIC EXPLOSIONS.

BY TRUMBULL WHITE.

East Indian Catastrophes--The Volcano that Blew
Its Own Head Off--The Terrific Crash Heard Three
Thousand Miles--Atmospheric Waves Travel Seven
Times Around the Earth--A Pillar of Dust
Seventeen Miles High--Islands of the Malay
Archipelago Blotted Out of Existence--Native
Villages Annihilated--Other Disastrous Upheavals
in the East Indies 353

CHAPTER XXX.

OUR GREAT HAWAIIAN AND ALASKAN VOLCANOES.

BY TRUMBULL WHITE.

Greatest Volcanoes in the World Are Under the
American Flag--Huge Craters in Our Pacific
Islands--Native Worship of the Gods of the
Flaming Mountains--Eruptions of the Past--Heroic
Defiance of Pele, the Goddess of Volcanoes by a
Brave Hawaiian Queen--The Spell of Superstition
Broken--Volcanic Peaks in Alaska, Our Northern
Territory--Aleutian Islands Report Eruptions 363

CHAPTER XXXI.

SOUTH AMERICAN CITIES DESTROYED.

BY TRUMBULL WHITE.

Earthquakes Ravage the Coast Cities of Peru and
the Neighboring Countries--Spanish Capitals in
the New World Frequent Sufferers--Lima, Callao
and Caracas Devastated--Tidal Waves Accompany
the Earthquakes--Juan Fernandez Island
Shaken--Fissures Engulf Men and Animals--Peculiar
Effects Observed 373

CHAPTER XXXII.

EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES IN CENTRAL AMERICA AND MEXICO.

BY TRUMBULL WHITE.

A Region Frequently Disturbed by Subterranean
Forces--Guatemala a Fated City--A Lake Eruption
in Honduras Described by a Great Painter--City of
San Jose Destroyed--Inhabitants Leave the
Vicinity to Wander as Beggars--Disturbances on
the Route of the Proposed Nicaragua Canal--San
Salvador Is Shaken--Mexican Cities Suffer 382

CHAPTER XXXIII.

CHARLESTON, GALVESTON, JOHNSTOWN--OUR AMERICAN DISASTERS.

BY TRUMBULL WHITE.

Earthquake Shock in South Carolina--Many Lives
Lost in the Riven City--Galveston Smitten by
Tidal Wave and Hurricane--Thousands Die in
Flood and Shattered Buildings--The Gulf Coast
Desolated--Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Swept by
Water from a Bursting Reservoir--Scenes of
Horror 389