Disaster! : the Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
tJjra^'yy/r-^is DISASTER! Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from San Francisco Public Library http://www.archive.org/details/disastergreatsanOOkurz ALSO BY DAN KURZMAN 1922-1995 Soldier ofPeace: The Life of Yitzhak Rabin. Blood and Water. Sabotaging Hitler's Bomb Left to Die: The Tragedy of the USS Juneau Fatal Voyage: The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis Catastrophe A Killing Wind: Inside Union Carbide and the Bhopal Day of the Bomb: Countdown to Hiroshima Ben-Gurion: Prophet of Fire Miracle ofNovember: Madrid's Epic Stand. 1936 The Bravest Battle: The 28 Days of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising The Race for Rome Genesis 1948: The First Arab-Israeli War Santo Domingo: Revolt of the Damned Subversion of the Innocents Kishi and Japan: The Search for the Sun <<>5^ WILLIAM MORROW . 75 YEARS OF PUBLISHING An Imprint ofH^TperCoWmsPuhlishers y 'Vs3i^''" DISASTER! The Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906 DAN KURZMAN — disaster! Copyright € 2001 by Dan Kurzman. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information address HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022. HarperCollins books may be purchased for educational, business, or sales promotional use. For information please write: Special Markets Department. HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 10 East 53rd Street. New York. NY 10022. FIRST EDITION Designed by Kate Nichols Printed on acid-free paper Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kurzman. Dan. / Disaster! : the great San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906 by Dan Kurzman— 1st ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-06-105174-8 1. Earthquakes—California—San Francisco—History —20th century. 2. Fires—California—San Francisco History—20th century. 3. San Francisco (Calif) —History—20th century. I. Title. F869.S357K87 2001 979.4'61051—dc21 00-053321 01 02 03 04 05 QW 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 For my dear wife, Florence, who. like the San Franciscans, meets any challenge with grit and grace tonlents Acknowledgments xiii People in the Book xvii Map of San Francisco, 1906 xxi Preface xxiii Prologue 1 1 Carusoand the Odor of Roses 7 2 Barrymore Slept Here 12 3 Sullivan's Nightmare 14 4 The Nectar of Corruption 21 3 The Banker and the Boy 29 6 Cook'sTour of a Cataclysm 32 7 The End of the World 37 8 Birth and Death 44 9 The Miser and the Melting Pot 49 1 o The Accordion and the Cops 51 471 X CONTENTS 1 The Dishware and the Dragons 56 12 The Crackle of Terror 63 13 The Cruel Trap 69 1 Napoleon to the Rescue 72 15 Inoculating the Mayor 81 16 The Lord, the King, and the Executioners 89 1 Succumbing to Catastrophe 94 18 The Puny Millionaires 99 19 Not Even the Dead Were Safe 104 20 The Vengeful Demons 108 21 The Tongue of a Poisonous Snake 115 22 The Angel and the Newborn 120 23 Criminals in Uniform 124 24 Bringing Out the Best 136 25 The Case for the Fire 141 26 A Proud Ending 147 27 Ravagement, Racism, and Rats 151 2« The Persian Cat 160 29 Black News and White Tails 166 30 The Home Bank and the Burned Home 171 31 A Vow to Love and a Vow to Die 175 32 Misery, Murder, and Mastery 180 33 Running a Gauntlet 186 34 From Prayer to Action 190 35 Dynamite and Desperation 193 36 A Fruit Dish and a Cup of Tea 201 3 7 The Lure of Rare Wine 208 3s The Ghoulish Lion 212 39 The Deadline and the Doorknob 220 CONTENTS 40 A Last Stand 223 41 Rise from the Ruins 228 Epilogue 248 Notes 257 Bibliography 269 Index 287 Acknowledgments AM ESPECIALLY INDEBTED to my wife, Florence, for editing this book with great sensitivity, helping to bring alive the cold facts I of history. Her extensive research also contributed enormously to the human texture of this work. I also wish to warmly thank my editors, Tom Dupree and Kelly Notaras, for their excellent editorial suggestions, and my dear old friend, Gladys Justin Carr, who, as vice president of HarperCollins, encouraged me from the moment I started on this book. Julian Bach and Sofia Seidner of the International Management Group deserve my gratitude, too, for their efforts on my behalf I am grateful as well to the following people for agreeing to interviews or facilitating the research in various ways: Patricia Akre—photograph curator, San Francisco Public Library Robert O. Appleton—son of survivor Abraham Appleton Roger D. Borcherdt—scientist. United States Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California Walter Brem—assistant curator, Bancroft Library, University of Califor- nia, Berkeley, California Philip Choy—president, Chinese Historical Society, San Francisco xiv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Myrtis Cochran—librarian. Doe Library, University of California, Berke- ley, California Selby Collins—archivist, San Francisco Public Library Emmet Condon—former chief, San Francisco Fire Department Gerald C. Cullen—nephew of Fire Officer Charles Cullen Alice Dowd—librarian. New York Public Library Pat Dowling—United Irish Cultural Center, San Francisco Franz Enciso—archivist, Bancroft Library, Berkeley, California David Farrell—archivist, Bancroft Library, Berkeley, California Faulhaber, Charles B. —director, Bancroft Library, Berkeley, California Jeffrey M. Flannery—manuscript reference librarian. Library of Congress Thomas S. Fowler—archivist, San Francisco Public Library Calvin Fimg—official, Chinese Historical Society, San Francisco Herbert Garcia—archivist. Society of California Pioneers, San Francisco Susan H. Garcia—public information officer. United States Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California Susan Goldstein—city archivist, San Francisco Public Library Susan M. Haas—registrar. Society of California Pioneers, San Francisco Jean C. Han—assistant head. East Asian Library, University of California, Berkeley, California Gary Handman—head. Media Services Center, Moffitt Library, Berkeley, California Peter Hanff—director, Bancroft Library, Berkeley, California Gladys Hansen—director. Museum of the City of San Francisco Thomas Janora—official. Phoenix Society, San Francisco Patricia Keats—director, library, California Historical Society, San Fran- cisco Rosemary Kennedy—archivist. National Archives, San Bruno, California Kim KJausner—archivist, Judah L. Magnes Museum, Berkeley, California Claire Knopf—researcher Roberto Landazuri—librarian, San Francisco Public Library Michael McCone—director, California Historical Society Faun Minnis—official, San Francisco Public Library Ann Moen—supervisor, Moffitt Library, University of California, Berke- ley, California Neil Orlina—librarian, Ethnic Studies Library, Berkeley, California ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xv Edward J. Phipps—former chief, San Francisco Fire Department Carol S. Prentice—scientist, United States Geological Survey Ron Ross—founder, San Francisco History Association Jennifer Schaffher—assistant librarian, California Historical Society Rick Sherman—official, California Genealogical Society, Oakland, Cali- fornia Xiaohong Shi—translator from Chinese Susan Snyder—head. Access Services, Bancroft Library, Berkeley, Cali- fornia Sue Stacks—secretary. Phoenix Society, San Francisco Jim Stringer—clerk, San Francisco Superior Court Malcolm E. Walker—author, Three Fearful Days Wei Chi Poon—specialist. Ethnic Studies Library, Berkeley, California Catherine F. Woesthoff—librarian. New York Public Library People in the Book George C. Adams—pastor who performed the Emersons' marriage ceremony Dwight E. Aultman—army officer O. D. Baldwin—real estate magnate John Barrymore—actor William Barton—orphan in a whorehouse Jerome Bassity—king of the Barbary Coast Phil B. Bekeart—employer of Charles Dray, who saved his dog John Bermingham—intoxicated dynamiter Fulton G. Berry—survivor whose home was dynamited Gimpy Bill—legless survivor Gordon Blanding—survivor who saved his home with a bribe of liquor Thomas Bowes—boardinghouse owner who died in the fire Raymond W. Briggs—army officer, dynamiter Jack Brown—quadriplegic survivor William F. Burke—assistant postmaster Daniel H. Bumham—architect of San Francisco Enrico Caruso—Metropolitan Opera tenor George Chase—survivor who lost his candy box full ofjewels Feng Chong (Little Pete)—Chinese mobster xviii PEOPLE IN THE BOOK Bill Cofftnan—shanghaied sailor Le Vert Coleman—army officer, dynamiter William Collier—head of Barrymore's theatrical group Antonio Compania—fisherman trapped in reftigerator Jesse Cook—policeman who saw earthquake starting Charles Crocker—railroad magnate Aurelio Delbert (Del) Crespi—ten-year-old boy who loved his missing classmate Lillian Ernest Denicke—army officer who witnessed a shooting William Denman—lawyer who solved a logistical problem Guion H. Dewey—Grand Hotel guest who narrowly escaped death Jeremiah Dinan—police chief John Dougherty—acting fire chief Charles Nicholas Dray—boy who risked his life to save his boss's dog John Drew—Barrymore's uncle Bernard Dulberg—Rebecca's husband Etta Dulberg—daughter of Bernard and Rebecca Rebecca Dulberg—Bernard's wife, who gave birth during the earthquake Jeremiah M. Dwyer—policeman in City Hall George W. and Josephine Emerson—couple who married during the fire Max Fenner—policeman who was killed James Flood—tycoon Mary Leary Flood—wife of James Flood Frederick Newton Freeman—navy officer who pumped water ashore Olive Fremstad—opera singer Brigadier General Frederick Funston—army deputy commander. Pacific Division Arnold Genthe—famous photographer Amadeo Peter Giannini—founder. Bank of Italy (later. Bank of America) Cliff Graves—bar patron who observed murder Major General Adolphus Greely—army commander. Pacific Division George Harrington—survivor who saved Ida and then married her Ida Harrington (McMahon)—survivor who married George Gus Hartmann—city supervisor who gave away liquor Alfi-ed Hertz—Caruso's conductor Jimmy Ho—Hugh Kwong Liang's friend in a refugee camp PEOPLE IN THE BOOK Mark Hopkins—railroad magnate James Hopper—newspaper reporter George and Amelia Horton—newlyweds who searched for each other Collis P. Huntington—railroad magnate R. Leonard Ingham—police sergeant who predicted earthquake Rose Kane—matron, Emergency Hospital Edna Ketring—fiancee of fire victim Bowes J.