San Francisco - A History of the Pacific Coast Metropolis, Vol. 1 by John Philip Young

Author:John Philip Young [Young, John Philip]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Geschichte
Publisher: Jazzybee Verlag
Published: 2017-11-22T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER XXX. SOCIAL AND OTHER DIVERSIONS OF PIONEER DAYS

IT IS not difficult to invest with singularity customs which were prevalent in the early days of San Francisco, but which, upon investigation turn out to have been nothing of the sort, but were merely imitations and sometimes exaggerations of practices common in other cities of the period. San Francisco in a way epitomized all the vices and follies as well as many of the virtues of the times in which it had its commercial beginnings. During many years, it was conspicuously devoted to militarism and to firefighting, but it was not peculiar in this regard. Throughout the Fifties military companies were common in all the cities of the East. Volunteer fire fighting organizations were relatively as numerous as in the City by the Golden Gate, although the people of the latter were perhaps more disposed to appreciate the importance of a good fire department because of the disasters through which the town had passed than those of some other more fortunate cities. The enthusiastic praise of the writer of the "Annals" was doubtless deserved by the fire brigade which, he informs us, was regarded as "the right arm of San Francisco." He tells us the members of the various organizations were as proud of the leathern caps they wore as if they were bedecked with finery. They were the elite of the City and considered it an honor to belong to a company. The first fire company was organized Christmas day, 1849, and in its membership roll we discover several names of men who afterward became prominent, among them that of David C. Broderick. In the beginning of 1850 the number of engines had increased to three which, after the fashion of the times, were given names. They were the San Francisco, Empire and Protection. They were not well provided with hose and this drawback was held responsible for the ineffective work of the department in the fire of September 1850. The trouble was remedied by the council, which made appropriations for additional equipment and for cisterns, also some new apparatus. At the close of the year there were in addition to the companies named the Eureka, Howard, Monumental and California engine companies. There were also three hook and ladder companies: the St. Francis, Howard and Sansome.

This equipment was increased from year to year and in 1854, in summing up the firefighting resources of the City, the annalist tells us there were fifty cisterns already constructed and others in course of construction. It is a curious commentary on the inadequacy of human foresight that in 1912 the City has provided itself anew with cisterns to replace those abandoned when the introduction of a water system was supposed to have rendered them unnecessary. The most of the cisterns constructed in the Fifties had fallen into disuse and their existence was almost unknown to the firemen in April, 1906. In one or two places the oldest inhabitant knew where they were and their almost forgotten stores of water were drawn upon to check the flames.

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