What Was the San Francisco Earthquake? by Dorothy Hoobler & Thomas Hoobler & Who HQ

Author:Dorothy Hoobler & Thomas Hoobler & Who HQ [Hoobler, Dorothy & Hoobler, Thomas & Who HQ]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2016-10-25T00:00:00+00:00

By Thursday afternoon, much of the eastern half of the city lay in ruins. General Funston advised Mayor Schmitz to make a stand against the fire at Van Ness Avenue. That was the city’s main north-south street. Many of the city’s finest homes were located there. But Funston said that destroying them to make a fire wall was the only way to save the western part of the city. Finally, the mayor agreed.

Funston’s men drove people from houses on the east side of Van Ness. Then the soldiers began to destroy the homes. This time, they used not only dynamite but also cannons. All over the city, people were jolted by the noise. It sounded like a war.

Soldiers even set fires on purpose. James Stetson, who lived west of Van Ness, watched through a telescope. He saw soldiers entering houses with containers of kerosene. They climbed to an upper floor, opened the windows, and set fire to the curtains. The plan was to get rid of everything in the fire’s path. Stetson doubted the plan would work.

A soldier forced Stetson out of his own home at the point of a bayonet. The soldier insisted the house was in danger from the fire. Stetson was sure he was wrong. When no one was watching, he sneaked back in. But the fire drew nearer, and Stetson began to worry. After he saw a small fire on the roof next door, he offered ten dollars to anyone who would help put it out. Someone did. Only one house around Stetson’s burned. His house remained safe, too.

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