The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 25, 1897, Page 1

The Call ENWRAPPED IN SHEETS OF BLAZING OIL Brave lJerry O’Brien’s Aw- ful Death by Fire at San Jose. A Christmas Eve Tragedy at the Burning of the Standard 0] i\ road comy e southern end of the il SAN FRANCISCO, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 25, 1897 PRICE FIVE CENTS. Company’s and the Jerty that was le corral to the | It is esti- | il be be- that the ex- ulted in In company ating feet | Works. E | | Tobey tells the story | llows 1 the hose from . whose name I be- | had a stiff hat | with s I h he could pull | We traded as he | tching the burn- the flami w w and saw Just as I shot into the aw it go by. The tank it was the oil overcoat | 1 in a wagon and ng Hospital.” v of the Santa Clara nt was also at e when this explosion oe- s story is short and Mooney’s right nd and burned, his leg s badly d and he rendered uncon- f an hour by the explo- pout an hour and Just as mouth, bang, t th float that yn,sur.si d and doze injured, but stated, with the ad veral had been kill the facts a tion that close to wh ceived sl of the Standard cated just to the f the Southern and two where the Wh the benzine a monster cloud of 1d smoke separated from the ain fire rose several hun- dred feet in the air and traveled with L t for about half out. The nse t ooms of tt W felt in tk dome through little noise accom the concussion of the atmosphere was felt in buildings nearly a mile away. n was 38 years of age and un- Hotel d windows. \PARAPWE RN FoR MARD\ GRES employ of J. P. Jarman as a hostler. He lived at 333 West San Fernando street. BATTLE-SHIP OREGON | GOING ON THE DRYDOCK. Through the Carelessness of a Gunner a Whitehead Torpedo Is Lost—Court- ! Martial Probable. | SEATTLE, Dec. 24.—The battle ship Oregon, which is now at Port Orchard, will go on the drydock January 7 at high tide. | To-day, while the crew on the Ore- gon were engaged in torpedo practice, and by reason of the carelessness of | ner’s mate, a Whitehead tor- >nt to the bottom of the Sound. This loss means that the Gov- ernment is out $2500. An investiga- tion will follow, and in all probability | the man at fault will be court-mar- | tialed. It appe: that the arrange- nt of the « d air mechan- | m was remiss. When the torpedo ft the tube z entered the water the motive compressed air, failed to propel the torpedo to the tar- get, and the vent being open the air chamber filled with water, causing it to sink. Divers have since been un- | successfully at work in the effort to recover the torpedo. | i | i r i | - Aoy ron THE BLAZING OIL TANKS. Photodraphed by a Call Artist. GOLDEN NUGGETS THICK UPON HIS CHRISTMAS TREE| Klondike King Clements Displays His Hard-Earned Wealth to Some Relatives and Friends. NEW YORK, Dec. 24—A $70,000 Christmas tree glistened in a room at the Lafayette Hotel to-night. $20 gold pieces encircled its base. Nearly $40,000 worth of virgin nuggets were tied to tips of bending branches. James Clements, back from the Kilon- dike, sat with his family and friends around the treasure of a year's gath- ering and thus celebrated the yuletide and his transformation from a brake- man on the Southern Pacific Railroad to a Klondike prince. Mrs. Clements rubbed her eyes as | she =at in the room and wondered if | it was all a dream. She toyed with a bracelet of gold nuggets that encircled her wrist, and gazed at $70,000 worth of dull hued lumps and shimmering yellow coin, fresh from the mint, that weighted the tree on the center table. “There is a vast difference between this Christmas and the one a year ago,” said Clements, meditatively. “Oh, yes, I had a good dinner; but 1 thought of my wife and little ones far away in Los Angeles, who had scarcely enough to eat, while I had gold in abundance but could not provide for them. I had a good dinner, though, | which I cooked myself, and invited ten other miners to help me eat. The food cost me $135, and the service at that was not the most fashionable.” “Yes,” said Mrs. Clements, “and the same day I was ill in bed and for din- ner we had fried potatoes and bread and butter. We didn’t have any pres- ents at all.”, “This year,” continued Clements, “we thought we would come East and see the country. My wife was raised in California, and I had never been East. We have friends here, and I guess they will be glad to see us. I have brought along nuggets and coin made from gold I brought back amounting to from $60,000 to $70,000, to show my friends here. Some of the nuggets are worth $500 apiece. To- night I thought it would be a pleasant thing to have a Christmas-tree for the children—the first one they have ever had—and let our friends have a glimpse of Klondike riches. Piles of | “I do not mind saying I was poor. | When I left the summit a little over a | vear ago I didn’t have a nickel to my 1 had hard luck around Dawson | name. a man’s saloon. That gave me a little money and I started out to prospect on El Dorado creek and luck was with me. We took $150,000 out of eighty square feet, the gold running frem $25 to $750 to the pan, I guess we've got enough so that we won’t have to go without Christmas dinners in the future.” Clements sailed for.the Klondike on | March 13, 1896, arriving at Dawson Dawson City on the return June 19, 1897, on the Portland, the steamship that brought the first load of wealth that started a Klondike craze all over the world. He will go back as soon as he has visited friends in New England and elsewhere, to add to his store of riches. All the friends gathered around | Clements’ Christmas tree took away with them nuggets of pure gold in the form of scarf pins as souvenirs of the occasion. After the gifts had been dis- tributed the $60,000 or $70,000 treasure was locked up in the hotel safe and then the evening was given up to stories of Klondike adventure told by Mz. Clements, interspersed with music. WHERE IS PANDO'S FORCE? Spanish General E His Column Not Heard From for Days. HAVANA, Dec. 24.—Captain-General Blanco has cabled to the Spanish Min- ister at Washington, Senor Dupuy de Lome, that Americans have authority to send supplies to the recontentrados of the island without paying customs duties. General Pando, the Spanish Com- mander-in-Chief in the. field, who, with an escort, recently landed on the south coast of Santiago de Cuba in order, according to the official report, | to reconnoiter that part of the island, | has not been heard from for five days. | It was announced to-day that he had | arrived safely at the City of Santiago de Cuba, but the report was subse- quently officiglly denied, and it was said that the General had attacked the insurgentsinthat province with strong City until finally I got a job papering | City on June 13 following. He left trip on | columns of troops, the enemy accept- ing battle. | that General Pando has arrived at | Baire, in the province of Santiago de | Cuba. In that vicinity and in the | Bayamo Department the insurgents | are said to be in force, well armed and well supplied with ammunition. They are under the command of Garcia and Rabi. o SRS The Santa Cruz at Seattle. SEATTLE, Dec. 24—The steamer Santa Cruz which on her downward trip from Alaska ran aground on Dahl- patch Reef, arrived here to-day. The vessel has a large hole in her hull. She Will be taken to Tacoma and placed on for repair: i NEWS OF THE DAY. Weather forecast for San Fran- cisco:* Fair Saturday; continued ccol weatker; light northerly | winds. | Maximum temperature for the past 24 hours: San Francisco Portland . Los Angeles San Diego FIRST PAGE. Boiled Alive in Blazing Ofl. A Golden Christmas Tree. Starving in Cuba Need Help. SECOND PAGE. San Jose’s Peculiar Officials. Auburn Soclety Event. Omgha Welcomes San Francisco. The Stomath Not Essential. THIRD PAGE. Fngland Strong in the East. Wages Are Going Up. Altgeld Not Beaten Yet. Dawsonites to Be Aided. FOURTH PAGE. Chicago Coliseum Burned. Bikers Ready to Race. Bought ‘a Golden Turkey. Californian Dies From Exposure. Stabs a Foe to the Death. FIFTH PAGE. Christmas Among the Churches. SIXTH PAGE. Editorial. Farmers Oppose Annexation. Demagogues and the Charter. Christmas Aspirations. The Golden Jubiiee. Personals and Queries. SEVENTH PAGE. Ladies in Anclent Costumes. Hoft Before the Court EIGHTH PAGE. Sports by Flood and Field. NINTH PAGE. Vessels Wanted for the Klondike. A Tout Shot by a Saloon Man. TENTH PAGE. Commercial News. ELEVENTH PAGE. News From Across the Bay. War Among the Doctors. TWELFTH PAGE. Races at Oakland. Developments in the Keefe Case, THIRTEENTH PAGE. Births, Marriages, Deaths. FOURTEENTH PAGE. Welburn Among the Missing. Invasion of Korea by Russia. Durrant Tries a New Tack. 0000000000000 0000000000000 00000001 0000004000000 00020060004 000000060060003000060000004 PP P0 0000000000000 0000 0000000000000 00000000000000600000000000000000000 to000s400000 3 Still another report has it | Calixto | the drydock at Quartermaster Harbor | {ELIEF FOR THE CUBAN SUFFERERS Sherman Addresses an Appeal to the Country. Asks for Contributions for the Stricken Island’s People. All Donations to Be Distributed by the American Consul- General. NO DUTIES NEED BE PAID. Spanish Government Willing to Co- operate in Providing Supplies | for the Needy. | Spectal Dispatch to The Call. , 555500808 T |®FOR FREEDOM B OR DEATH. B HAVANA, Dec. 24 — Iy .‘ have received this letter from | Maximo Gomez, commander B in chief of the insurgent army in Cuba: | | | @, Headquarters of the Gen- ‘ " eral of the Cuban Army, | Las Delicias, Dec. 5, 1897. “l am in possession of vour letter of the 6th ult.,m mand I will answer it briefly. g = ““All 1 have to say regard i | ing this great and heroic war | | ®in Cuba is a complete _ratifi cation of our manifesto issued at Monte Christi. You may ‘ make it known to the Ameri | Tcan people through the col ‘\ W mns of the renowned news | mpaper of which you are cor- | mrespondent that it is the firm | resolution of the army and | people of Cuba, who have Wshed so much blood in order to conquer their independ- g ence, not to falter in their | | just cause until triumph or | L | ® death crowns their efforts. B ‘“Yours respectfully, 5 “M. GOMEZ.” & 5 =550 EE0BEEEE Call Office, Riggs House, ‘Washington, Dec. 24. The following appeal to the Amer- ican people has been issued: Department of State, Washington, D. C., Dec. 24, 1597. By direction of the President the pub- lic is informed that in deference to the carnest desire of the Government to con- tribute by effective action toward the relief of the suffering people in the isl- Jand of Cuba arrangements have been perfected by which charitable contribu- tions, in money or in kind, can be sent to the island by the benevolently dis- posed people of the United States. clothing, medicines of prime n can Lee, the Cc States at Havana, ul-General of and all articles now dutiable by law so consi; d will be admitted to Cuba free of duty. The Con- sul-General has been instructed to re- ceive the same and to co-operate with the local authorities and the charitable boards for the distribution of such relief among the destitute and needy people of Cuba. The President is confident that the peo- ple of the United States, who have om many occasions in the past responded most generously to the cry for bread from peoples stricken by famine or dirs calamity, and who have beheld no less generous action on the part of foreign communities when their own country- men have suffered from disastrous floods, will heed the appeal for aid that comes from those at their ownthreshoid, and, especially at this season of good will and rejoicing, give of their abund- ance to this humane end. [ © JOHN SHERMAN. The appeal was issued after consul- | tation with Minister Dupuy de Lome. The Spanish minister. called at the State Department about noon to-day | and conferred with Judge Day con- cerning the reiief of the reconcentrados on the island. He made it clear that the Spanish Government would co- opérate in any relief measures, and that there was entire willingness that the supplies go direct to Consul-Gen- eral Lee, instead of through the Span- ish relief channels. The negotiations have been proceed- ing for some time. The first acuve step | in this ~direction was taken by the President on December 1, and was in | the form of a request that the minister learn from his Government whether the regular tariff duties would de remitied | on relief supplies sent to Cuba. Min- | ister de Lome soon afterward answered ;mat Spain had consented to grant even | more than had been requested, and | that the duties would be remitted not | only on articles which the President | had referred to, but on all medicines, | soap, sait and similar articles of prime *| necessity, which might enter into the plan of relief. The only condition at- tached was that the supplies should go through the regular relief com-