The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, September 25, 1898, Page 22

EPTEMBER 25, 189S. EVER in the histor: the fury he has durl Ye ; came and [ . on any part of the Pacific arted on his mission of des d without a fire of any conse- damage $9000; no insurance. surance, st. The next day, however, the ruction. On that date a destruc- que fiend s The State Has Been Swept From End to End This Year by a Series of the Mo:t Disastrous Conflagras tions in Its History. OVER F.FTY BIG FIRES IN EIGHT MONTHS. Due Largely to the Unprecedented Dryness of Last Winter. Several Water;hcds Wer: Destroyed by For e:t Fires. The Loss Will Foot Up Into the Tens of Millions, While THE INSURANCE IS VERY LIGHT. of California has the fire filend raged with JANUARY 2—Fruitvale. Iraac Re- Two dwellings, store and hotel burned. MAY 12—Keswick. Town partially 1g the past eight months. qua’s old residence; cause unknown; cause lamp explosion; loss §8,000; no in- destroyed; loss about $25,000; insurance small; cause accidental. JANUARY 7-—Hemet, Riverside APRIL 12—San Jacinto. Hotel, hos- MAY 28—Los Angeles. Stores of County. Barns of Hemet Land Com- pital, store, three dwellings and nu- Crandall, Aylesworth pany; one hundred mules burned to merous small buildings burned; caus Haskell de- stroyed; cause accidental; loss $200,000; tive fire started in Fruitvale and then the smoke has hardly eVeT geafh; cause sald to be incendiary; accidental; loss $60,000; Insurance $15,- insurance small. cleared away from the face of the Siate of California. damage $5000. 000. JUNE 4—Salinas. Forest fires start All parts Coast suffered, but California was afflicted the JANUARY 20—San Francisco. Union Ventura, Ventura County. Several In the Santa Lucia Mountains. worst. The 1 lack of rainfall last winter left the in- Box Factory; damage $50,000; cause buildings -burned; cause accidental; JUNE 2{—Eureka. Lumber and The starting of a small fire spread like uUnknown; small insurance. loss $10,000; Insurance about $3000. planing mills destroyed; cause un- s wiped whole towns out of existence. JANUARY 6—San Francisco. Co- ~ APRIL 2i—Redding. Lumber yards known; loss $50,000; no insurance. RIDEE RO IW D lumbia Theater and lodging-housenext burned; loss $10,000; small insurance. Clovis, Fresno County. Box factory i wentiun ngsmoke. : door; caused by an electric light wire APRIL 19—Petaluma. Petaluma burned; loss $45,000; insurance $15,000. It is impo: exact amou the I but it runs coming in contact with woodwork; loss Woolen Mills destroyed; cause un- JUNE 18—Porterville. Stores burned; up into tens as been light so that the $25,000; insurance $12,000. known; loss $35,000; insurance $20,000. Jloss $6000; cause unknown; no insur- hg from the n m JANUARY 3—Stockton. Warehouse APRIL 1—St. Helena. Forest fires ance. s of the fire a few are unexplainable, but of Farmers' Union and Milling Com- destroy hundreds of acres of timber. JULY 1—Forest fires raging in Sac- pany; large piles of wheat and valu- APRIL 8§—S tel AR e .~ able machinery destroy. iberately started with intent to de- of fire was never ascer n to fear there was a conceried plot to be of incendiary origin, as all facts cause accidental. number have 1 by the = fieet oy it Randsburg. Thirty buildings de- APRIL 29—San ey spread t oss of lumber will m the to millions of dollars, nces the to the bu ortness of water allowed flames to wires. loss $50,000; insur- 00,000, ance $20,000; cause incendiary. buildings destroyed; cause accidental; Francisco. Fire in loss $60,000; insurance $8000. >, pointed to this, and no_ other clew APRIL 19—San jugh® the summer and thousands of could be obtained; ioss $500,000; insur- winery destroye ance due giroved; town almost wiped out; cause California Theater; cramento. Pattern ramento and Napa counties; brush fire i; real cause warehouse of Southern Pacific Com- at Lime Point. ned; believed pany destroyed; loss about $300,000; JULY 3—Loss of $10,000 by forest fire near Michigan Bar; cattle and horses sh in the flames. LY 5—Dunsmuir. Twenty-five Jose. Zicovitch loss $15,000; insur: JULY 6—Marysville. Livery stable ident to stove in rear of saloon; ance $3000; cause crossed electric light and three small buildings burned; twenty-six horses perished; loss about destruction nt water spread; loss $50,000; no insurance. MAY 2—Red Bluff. Several build- §30,000; insurance $20,000; cause of fire sheds. The valuable Sin Gabriel C: loss FEBRUARY 12 —San Francisco. . Ings burned; loss $30,000; insurafice $15,- unknown. that cannot be es ted in dollars ‘it is to be re. Phelan block damaged to the extent of 000; cause accidental. JULY 6 Large portion of o ey P AR $23,000; caused by crossed electric San Francisco. Union Hall destroyed; town destroyed; loss about $75,000; in- T e X : : g light wires; fully insured. cause unknown; loss §15,000; no insur- surance $30,000; cause incendiary; one Not a day has passed this year without its rec rious fire. TIn MARCH 20—Redding. Mount Shasta ance. man burned to death in stable. some of the interior cities fires of less than $1000 ¥ so common that nc Flour mill destroyed; loss $20,000; in- MAY 3—San Francisco. Call's for- JULY 11—Soledad. Town nearly on the id to ther ys few towns in the State notice wa MARCH 14—Ples caped fire fornia, the work vns have been wiped out. Tl ska, where the loss footed dropped into paraphernalia of Native cai whera the 1 was placed at , Sons’ Hall; loss $15,000; fully insured. M been most severe fires were at Fort Wran 000; New Wes Jerome, Ariz., where the worst of th se accidental. run and the surance $15,000; cause unknown. mer home on Clay street almost de- wiped out of existence; only two build- anton. Farmers' stroyed, as well as several adjoining ings left; cause unknown but believed Hotel destroyed; cause unknown; loss . buildings; loss about $30,000; fully in- to have been incendiary; loss $40,000; the fire flend has $10:000; well insured. sured; cause unknown. small insurance. a6, Fenenc Jas MARCH 4—Santa Cruz. Five bufld- MAY 6—Randsburg. Portion of town JULY 15—Dutch Flat. School house e ings burned; caused by lighted cigar destroyed; loss $100,000; no insurance; and church d stroyed; fire started by loss $10,000; insurance an insane boy AY $—Sacramento. New Metropol- $3000. it 00,000, ¥ MARCH 1—Tehachapl. Hotel and itan Theater destroyed; cause un- JULY 17—Grangeville, Tulare Coun- loss wa ’ =7 Rty eyl three buildings destroyed; caused by known; loss $70,000; insurance $28,000. ty. Several business blocks destroyed; The ,f”””“r””-‘ brief list :”” lea of the enormous extent of the plosion of lamp; loss $10,000; smaill MAY 9—Gridley. Hemp mill destroy- cause unknown. § fires. None of those rred to w 5000, but the ma- jnsurance. ed; loss $8000; cause hot journal In en- = JULY 26—San Francisco. Foundries jority run up into th of thous APRIL 6—Armond, Tulare County. gine. on Fremont street burned; loss $10,- House burned; five people burned to §10,000 death; cause unknown; loss $15,000. raging in the do to keep fire from burni n the atmosphere is full of smoke and $100,000. the sun nearly obscured. dental. around; Mix Canyon all burned out; flames spread, as far as Capay Valley, destroying bulldings and school houses; incendia cottages destroye ance light; fire declared to be of in- cendiary origin. ings destroyed; lo: unknow = g mansion burned; cause unknown; loss T 1 every business house reduced to ashes; loss $180,000; cause of fire believed to be incendiary for purposes of plunder; town was looted by hop-pickers in the vicinity. slumber of the inmates) out of the house trous fire in the h nearly four blocks swept by flam packing houses destroyed; Chinese fa- tally injured; loss $500,000; cause in- 000; small insurance. cendiary. JULY 29—San Francisco. Oregon Sacramento. Pavilion burned; loss T 22—Fires started in forests ibriel Canyon. Supposed to JULY 30—Beckwith. Town almost wiped out of existence; five hundred be by carelessness of campers. In a people rendered homeles dental; loss about $50,000; insurance AUGUST 24—Forest fires spread to small. the branches of San Gabriel Canyon. beyond control. ; cause acci- few hours wer: Forest fires raging all over the State; Men sent from Los Angeles and Pas- reports of great loss come in from San- adena to fight the flames. ta Cruz, Red Bluff, Salinas, Highland Springs, Stockton and Los Ang AUGUST 25—Entire water shed of San Gabriel Canyon destroyed. Loss about $1,000,000. CPTEMBER 12—Red Bluff. Entire center of town destroyed. Loss mall insurance. Canse acci- eles. akeport. Forest fir cinity; all citizens can S g the town; bu AUGUST 1— SEPTEMBER 19—Sacramento. Sev- eral buildings burned. Loss about $40,- 000. Hes Belleved to be Suisun. Fierce forest fires raging all r $200,000. —_— AUGUST 6—Sausalito. Stores and T T R uhE ailga ediin the loss $30,000; insur- occupation of stowing a good s in his bag, when he was touch upon his shoulder, g his head, he beheld a ven- ild-eyed clergyman gazing sadly AUGUST 7—Mod to. Several build- about $10,000; cause my brother!” groaned the reverend , “wouldst thou rob me? Turn, you; turn from your evil ways. AUGUST 8—Redwood City. Belmont $15,000. Return those stolen goods, and depart in AUGUST i0—Fresno. Several build- peace, for 1 am mercifui, and forgive. i s burned; loss $6000. Jegone!" RUGUST lgié-hw,a,,d‘ Nearly _And the burglar, only too thankful at not being given into custody of the police, ved and slunk swiftly off. 1en the good old man carefully and packed the swag into another bag, softly (so as not to disturb the Santa Cruz. William Maitland’s res- and away into the silent night, for he, too, idence destroyed; loss $15,000; forest Was a burglar. fires raging in the neighborhood. ———— AUGUST 13—Fresno. Most disas- . There are two great walls in China—one tory of Fresno; 5 forty feet thick and fifty feet high and STO: surrounds Peking. It is sixteen miles in circumference. The other—the great wall China—is nearly 130 miles long, and s built 2115 years ago—2I7 B. C. COC0000N000000000000C0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000C0000000000000000000000000000000000000D0T0000C00OD000000000 SLVENTY. THOUSAND RAT> - ISITE (O GERiEW € S s WAS A CEMETERY THIRTY YEARS AGO. the greatest bottl rec rat-killing dog that ever struck and when he an instantaneous San Francisco, is He S e passed away quietly days St But when a trap full of ago In Wheland & Colling’ cel- | dents was brought to him lar, the place that has been his| killing—that was a diff i 10, s 1117/ /// home for nearly twenty years. In & 1t the little Sc 1, For the last two or thre ars Bob | P I ears. He was all ready | |/ ///{4 has not been young as he used to | [or business and jumped about the trap iy wi A / be. His eyes have been dim and his 117 /4 teeth nearly all gone, but up to the ' (no rats in ¢ v ? last few hours before his passing over | (o kill them. was usually into the happy hunting grou red from the bottom and the ro- good dogs he was able to 1ts dumped out in a bunch. Then When he refused to tackle a rodent his Cungipesnn F Tie Sono iy iue 1 shoo 2o eclared t Sor =0 ';'3‘4“{)‘,‘;"(;”"‘] r']‘m'q l{"‘;{;rrd declared that | g rore the first rat had a chance to £ £ 7 touch the ground Bob had his teeth For nearly a fifth of a century Bob's | into its back. One crunch and the rat rat-killing performances have been was finished. This performance he to all who saw him at that | kept up for only a second or two and The little Scotch gerrier 2 then tched into the ri conceded by dog fanciers to be a won- “";‘k“'; “d:‘l'l.‘l“"l"“”"_‘l him. der in his way. 3 the nearest and giving it one grip over Tim had two ways of killing rats. | the spinal column. No second bite was Those that he caught himself and | ever needed. those that had been caught in tr: The rat-killing record of this little and brought to him for extermin s most surprising. Ten rats a each requir:d different modes of treat- L Jow record for Bob, but even | ment. in one vear he killed 3650 B 77x The rats that Bob caught himself | by act ff [: S é.m on a tab. In ffsime oF THE ¥ ars 0, and in twenty years | TR A N 186 =i He simply chased his game among the | 73,000. j cimaat e 1 for holding back > Bob a ch & ¥/ were killed in rather a tame manner. | ten LMOST half a century ago San Francisco thought she was growing and was destined to take a po- sition in the worid for herself so she determined to improve herself for her forthcoming station. At that time her limits were house-tents and sheet- jron structures lining the waters of the bay, which came up to Montgomery street. One of her first moves toward self-improvement was to move her cemetery further out into the country. At that time the city was growing toward North Beach, so the territory bounded by Powell, Stockton, Lombard and Chestnut streets was ordered leveled and all the bodies in graves therein were ordered removed to the new citv cemetery. The site for the new cemetery, which was officiall;- called the Yerba Buena Cemetery, was where the new City Hall now stands. The city fathers thought it would be many a year before the city would reach that then d.;tant place. "that was in the early fifties. At once the work began of movinggthe bodies to Yuerba Buena Cemetery. Al- though many of the bodies of these pioneers were un- identified the City Counsel determined to keep a record of all interments in t he new cemetery. This was done. From the 7th Day of After the bodies were moved from the old Yerba Buena Cemetery grading of the sand hills was commenced on the site for the erection of the new City Hall July 26, 1870, and was completed in the following year. The work of lay- ing the concrete bed for the fouadation wall of the new City Hall was commenced September 18, 1871. It has just been discovered that through the usual offi- cial carelessness and negligence the records have been al- most destroyed. The documents coveriag the period from the opening of the cemetery until the date of its condemnation were stored away in the basement of the City Hall. Laborers raked them together, tossed them _.ato garbage wagons arrd the fires of the crematory left not a trace behind. In 1854 Lone Mountain Cemetery was opened and su- perceded Yerba Buena Cemetery for general use, but many were interred in the Yerba Buena ground for years after- ward. At last it was decided for a second time to disturb the bones of .those who were first carried to the old grave yard out toward North Beach. The work of removfag the remains from Yerba Buena began. It was probably a con- tract job, as when preparations f-r the laying of the new City Hall corner-stone were being made groups of hoys who came to watch the work remained to uncover scat- tered bones of pioneers left by the body removers. Many bones were found while the ground was being broken for the site of the new City Hall. Now its massive founda- tions stand as tombstones over the bits of skeletons that were left there in the early seventies. List of Interments Made in the Yerba Buena Burial Ground, November to the 14th Day of November, 1857. Data Name | Age. of Ds- of e Native of |Diua!e, or Cansu[Oertifiu;fio of Dead Place of Death. Remarks, H. M. Gray ocease.| Deceased. | Years. of Death. | B Nov. 910, Hirbert.... No Pasa | Britings 7. 8. M. Hospital. H. Wingate, Undertakor. Nov.13 E. 8. Camp. .|James S. Whitney. Mansion House- H. Wingate, Undertaker. |Mason St,, Between Jack-|..................... | son and W_u_hinston.u-{!{._ Qf;y_.'flndertu.kar. I hereby certify the above to be correct. HALLETT SWIFT, Superintendent of Yerba Buena Burial Ground. Return to be made to the City Sexton on Saturday of each week, between the hours of 10 a. m. and 4 p. m. Bob in His Element Killing Rats by the Score. the Offices. Copy of One of the Lists of Interments in Yerba Buena Cemetery, Which Formerly Occupied the Site of the New City Hall. The List Was Picked Up While Cleaning Up Rubbish Last Week in One of BUILDING BIG CITY SKYSCRAPLRS HE high buildings of our great cities, and particularly of New York, are constantly giving more and more justification to the term “sky- scraper.” The structures which were marvels for their skyward reach ten, or even five, years ago, now stand dwarfed, mere pigmies in comparison to their gigantic neighbors. Year by year the buildings have grown until we see stories ranging commonly in the twenties, and reaching as high as twenty-five. The highest building in the world is on the corner of -Ann street and Park Row, and is called the St. Paul building. ts height is 337 feet, and the top story is the twenty-fifth. A fine balcony surrounds it near the roof, and from it and from the great windows ,of the offices on the upper floors a most impressive panoramic view of the city and its environments is presented to the eye. Far to the south, beyond the bay, and be miles of ocean, loom up the heights of Nave jestic Hudson, a broad highway that disappears among the hills in the north, lies at your feet, and across it in the tance the eye rests upon the blue outlines of the Orange Mountains. To the north, Broadway, filled with seething life and movement, stretches away into the heart of the city, untl the view is cut off by Grace Church, which seems te stand at the head of the street. On either hand, and over the East River, spanned by the noble Brooklyn Briige, is a sea of roofs, and almost directly at your feet you look far down upon the Astor House and the postoffice; even the spire of old Trinity does not reach your altitude. But the surprising part of it all not in the height of the buiidings themselves so much as in the possibility of constructing them by human hands. In the modern methods of building construction, the huge frame- work rises in its skeleton formation to the vast height before any sup= port is afforded the busy workmen other than the narrow girders. yond the Narrows, and over nk. Looking.west, the ma« i T