The soldiers lacked good sense and judgment, or perhaps it may have been that some incompetent officers gave senseless orders,—for instance, the people occupying the stores on Polk Street, between Clay and Pacific, and the apartments above, were driven out at 8 A. M. of Thursday, and not permitted to re-enter. As the fire did not reach this locality until about 4 P. M., there was abundant time to save many valuable articles which were by this imbecile order lost. Why this was done, I did not at the time, nor have I since been able to understand.
Being busy in the work of restoration, I forget what a terrible calamity has befallen the city and the people, but I sometimes realize it, and it comes like a shock. It is estimated that 28,000 buildings were destroyed. I find that people lost the power of keeping time and dates, and if I had not made notes at the time I would be unable to recollect the events of these three days with any degree of accuracy in point of time.
I have felt that it was fortunate that this calamity did not happen on a Friday, or on the 13th of the month. Had it occurred on either of those days, superstitious people would have had much to aid them in their belief.
The feeding of 300,000 people suddenly made destitute is a matter of great difficulty, but it has been done. It rained two nights,—one night quite hard,—but the health of the people has been remarkably good.
We had water in the house on the 1st of May, glass in the windows on the 16th of May, gas on the 5th of June, electric light on the 7th of June, and cooked on the street until the 8th of May.
June, 1906