STATISTICS AND GENERAL INFORMATION. 61 
most of the inhabitants were in houses, 90 per cent of which were of 
frame. Structures of this type withstood the earthquake shock par- 
ticularly well, which accounts for the minimum loss of life. Had 
the earthquake occurred four or five hours later, when the people 
were performing their daily tasks, in offices, schools, etc., or on the 
streets, the loss of life must have been very great. The writer saw 
a view of a drove of cattle buried under the ruins of a fallen wall 
while passing through Mission street, which graphically told the 
story of what might have occurred had the shock come later in the 
day. Although the loss of life was small, more than 200,000 people 
were rendered homeless and dependent on the authorities for even 
the necessaries of life. 
In three days the tremendous area of more than 2,593 acres was 
burned, destroying entirely 490 city blocks and in part 32 blocks. 
(See Pis. LIV-LVII.) Of this area, 314 acres constituted the con- 
gested district, on which there was $250,000,000 insurance, probably 
representing a value of at least $500,000,000. 
In the Baltimore fire (February, 1904) 1,343 buildings were de- 
stroyed, having an assessed value of $12,908,300. In two years these 
burned buildings were replaced by 570 buildings, whose assessed 
value is $20,000,000. These new buildings are larger than the old, 
and the widening of the streets has eliminated 700 building lots. It 
is expected that when the reconstruction within the burned district 
is complete there will be fewer than 800 buildings, of which the 
assessed value will be fully $25,000,000. It is therefore quite reason- 
able to suppose that the assessed value of the reconstructed San 
Francisco will be at least double that at the time of* the catastrophe. 
