ECHOES OF THE SAN FRANCISCO EARTH- 

 QUAKE 



By Robert E. C. Stearns, of Los Angeles 



DURING the excitement incident 

 to the San Francisco earth- 

 quake various rumors were in 

 the air fcir several days, some without the 

 slightest foundation, others exaggerations 

 of some comparatively trifling fact, re- 

 peated from mouth to mouth, magnified 

 and distorted with each repetition. As an 

 illustration, it was stated that the well- 

 known ClitT House "was thrown into the 

 sea and not a vestige left," when in fact it 

 was damaged to the extent of a few hun- 

 dred dollars. In the following October 

 we read of the April quake that observers 

 in many places on the coast "noticed 

 geysers of heated liquids ejected high out 

 of the horizon line." It is not altogether 

 improbable that oceanic or suboceanic 

 disturbances caused by seismic or vol- 

 canic action may have occurred, but my 

 efforts to -trace to a definite source the 

 staten-.ent referred to have been unsuc- 

 cessful This, like the Clifif House rumor, 

 may be due to an overheated imagina- 

 tion. 



The keeper of the Point Pinos Light- 

 house Station, near Alonterey, writes : 

 "I did net see or hear of any disturbance 

 of the sea at the time of the earthquake 

 of April 1 8, other than that persons on 

 board a ship entering the harbor sup- 

 posed they had struck a rock." 



Captain AlcCollough, bar pilot, who 

 was bringing the collier Wellington in 

 from the sea on the morning of April i8, 

 is quoted as follows by a San Francisco 

 paper: "We were off Diablo,* in about 



* Point Diablo is on the northerly side of the 

 entrance to San Francisco Bay, between Point 

 Bonita (westward) and Lime Point (eastward) , 

 and just a trifle more than one statute mile 

 from Fort Point, on the opposite shore. It 

 rises sharply to goo feet in about three-quar- 

 ters of a mile ; has strong current rips close 

 around it, and is the bcto noire to all naviga- 

 tors. — Davidson. 



hft}' fathoms of water, when the earth- 

 quake shock shook us up. The Welling- 

 ton shivered and shook like a springless 

 wagon on a corduroy road. The sensa- 

 tion at first was as if the big steamer was 

 jumping from one gravel bed to another, 

 and it seemed as if she would jar her in- 

 sides out. As the shaking gained in in- 

 tensity, it seemed as if she was blowing 

 out boiler tubes, an explosion everv sec- 

 ond. It was a terrifying experience, and 

 none of the uncanniness was taken off by 

 the fact that the sea was as smooth as 

 glass and showed not a ripple when the 

 shaking was at its worst." 



Since the earthquake the pilots have 

 made extensive soundings on the bar 

 and so far have found no changes in the 

 depths. No sweeping" or unusual wave 

 (iccurred along the coast, at least none 

 was mentioned in the papers at the time, 

 though possibly there may have been 

 some quite local movement of the sea at 

 places along the shore of Mendocino 

 and Humboldt counties. 



A high wave, it is stated, washed out 

 two buildings at Moss Landing, in Mon- 

 terey Bay, and the shore at that point 

 ^\■as reported to have sunk six feet. If 

 so. it cannot properly be attributed, di- 

 rectly- or indirectly, to oceanic disturb- 

 ance, but to limited local movement, 

 being in line with the general north- 

 westerly and southwesterly trend, which 

 included Llollister, Castroville, Salinas, 

 and other near-by towns and villages in 

 Montere}' County, and southward to San 

 Juan, in San Benito County, where the 

 old adobe mission church of San Juan 

 Bautista was seriously damaged. 



Of the effects of the earthquake on 

 marine life, we have barel}' a scrap of 

 information. The following is not with- 

 otit interest: There are several parties of 

 Japanese engaged in the Abalene ( Hali- 



