Table of Contents
Title Page | ||
Preface | ||
Introduction | ||
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 |
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 |
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 |
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 Destruction |
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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
Chapter X | Whole Nation Responds with Aid | Government Appropirates 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 |
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 |
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 |
Chapter XIII | In the Refuge Camps | Scenes of Destruction 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 |
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 |
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 |
Chapter XVI | Fighting Fire With Dynamite | San Francisco Conflagration Eventually Checked by the Use of Explosives--Lesson of Baltimore Heeded in Coast City--Western Remnant of City in Residence Section Saved by Blowing Up Beautiful Homes of the Rich |
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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
Chapter XXII | Scenes in Frightened Naples | Blistering Showers of Hot Ashes--The People Frantic--Cry Everywhere "When Will It End?"--Atomosphere Charted with Electricity and Poisonous Fumes |
Chapter XXIII | Volcanoes and Earthquakes Explained | 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 Interanl 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 |
Chapter XXIV | Terrible Volcanic Disasters of the Past | Destruction of Sodom, Gemorrah 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 |
Chapter XXV | Vesuvius and the Destruction of Pompeii | 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 |
Chapter XXVI | Mount Etna and the Sicilian Horrors | 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 |
Chapter XXVII | Lisbon Earthquake Scourged | 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 |
Chapter XXVIII | Japan and Its Disastrous Earthquakes and Volcanoes | 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 Suffered--Scenes of Desolation after the Most Recent Great Earthquakes |
Chapter XXIX | Krakatoa, The Greatest of Volcanic Explosions | 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 |
Chapter XXX | Our Great Hawaiian and Alaskan Volcanoes | Greatest Volcanoes in the World Are Under the American Flag--Huge Craters in Our Pacific Islands--Native Warship 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 |
Chapter XXXI | Earthquakes and Volcanoes in Central America and Mexico | 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 |
Chapter XXXII | South American Cities Destroyed | 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 |
Chapter XXXIII | Charleston, Galveston, Johnstown--Our American Disasters | 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 Gult Coast Desolated--Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Swept by Water from a Bursting Reservoir--Scenes of Horror |
Chapter XXXIV | St. Pierre, Martinique, Annihilated by a Volcano | Fifty Thousand Men, Women and Children Slain in an Instant--Molten Fire and Suffocating Gases Rob Multitudes of Life--Death Reigns in the Streets of the Stricken City--The Governor and Foreign Consuls Die at Their Posts of Duty--No Escape for the Hapless Residents in the Fated Town--Scenes of Suffering Described--Desolation Over All--Few Left to Tell the Tale of the Morning of Disaster |
Illustrations |
A Note to Researchers
Copyright © 2000-2005 Jacque Rogers
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