USA > California > History of California, Volume V > Part 31
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Worthy of a place beside Mark Twain and Bret Harte is Joaquin Miller, whose poems, when they shall have been edited by a competent hand and reduced to a single volume, will stand as one of the finest expres- sions of the singing faculty. Miller had far fewer natural advantages than Clemens or Harte. He crossed the plains when a youth, and he was thrown into the wild life of early California with practically no educa- tion or training. He lived for months with the Indians of northern California, and much of the simplicity and poetry of the Indian's outlook on life remained with him to the end. Burdened with the absurd name of Cincinnatus Heine, he early showed his appreciation of the value of romance by changing this name to that of Joaquin, which had a mingled flavor of Spanish life
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and dare-devil outlawry. Miller found his first appre- ciation in London, where he helped his fame by wearing his hair long like an Indian and dressing in flannel shirt, with corduroy trousers tucked in his boots. The Eng- lish public then as today, dearly loved a spectacular literary hero who flouts all conventions, and Miller was Byronic enough to suit the most romantic girl. His early work like "Songs of the Sierras," "The Arizo- nian," "With Walker in Nicaragua" he never sur- passed. They have the fire of Byron's narrative poems with splendid pictures of the western prairies and the tropical jungles of Central America. His later work revealed more maturity, but even to the last, Miller strung pinchbeck ornaments with his pearls of song. He had no more real literary taste than a Piute Indian. He sang because he felt the impulse of song; he was often coarse in his talk, but never in his verse. He produced several fine short poems worthy to stand with the best work of the greatest English poets-"Colum- bus," "The Passing of Tennyson" and "Missouri." But in my judgment, some of his noblest verses have never been recognized. These are poetical paraphrases of Biblical stories, set as introductions to chapters of "The City Beautiful." They should be taken out of this book and printed alone, as they have the genuine spirit of the old Hebrew poets from whom Miller derived his best inspiration.
When one has passed beyond these three worthies of California literature, standing out like three great mountain peaks, the field widens, but it may be likened to an elevated tableland, with no more splendid moun- tains. In the life of a generation, although California
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has seen stirring deeds, it has recorded no great writer worthy to be classed with this triumvirate. All that can be done in this brief review is to touch upon the chief authors whose work makes them noteworthy. Omissions are inevitable, for even a bare list would fill all my available space. Many California authors would have had a far wider circle of readers had their work been published by one of the great Eastern book houses. Their books were issued here by firms that had no adequate means of circulation; so they missed that wide publicity which means so much to the author.
Of these minor writers a foremost place must be given to Charles Warren Stoddard, whose "South Sea Idyls" alone, should have given him immortality. This book reflects more perfectly than any other the curious lotus-eating life of the South Seas, before the various islands were spoiled by the missionary and civilization. Stoddard was a true poet, and his prose sketches are shot through and through with the irides- cent gleams of poetry. Ina Coolbrith in many verses has given pictures of California scenes whose truth and beauty are best appreciated by those who have lived here for years. Closely akin to her work is that of Edward Rowland Sill, whose early death was a distinct loss to California poetry.
A man who would have deserved a place among the leaders of California literature, had he taken a whole- some, normal view of life, is Ambrose Bierce, note- worthy for his brilliant verse as well as for his short stories, which are as highly finished as those of Poe. But most of Bierce's work is devoted to subjects that are repellant to all healthy-minded readers; hence
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despite his literary genius, he is little read. His place in California literature is really that of the trainer of scores of young writers. His personal influence has been greater than that of any other Californian, for he has always insisted upon the best work and the highest ideals.
"The Man With the Hoe" gave Edwin Markham national reputation in a single day, but bitter and most powerful as is this arraignment of the rule of kings, Markham has done better work in such sonnets as "Semiramis." Much of Markham's recent work has been devoted to Socialism, of which he is an ardent advocate. His latest verse shows more maturity, but less fire than his early poems.
Fiction very naturally has attracted many California writers, who have tried to put into their mimic roman- ces something of the same spirit of adventurous daring which marked the early pioneers of the coast. Of these novelists, the first place must be given to Frank Norris, for a certain largeness of view and mastery of a great theme. The trilogy of "Wheat," which he devised, may have received its inspiration from Zola, but in spirit and essence it was genuinely original, with all the strength of the San Joaquin soil from which it sprang. "The Octupus" and "The Pit" have many faults, but they are the greatest California romances that have yet been written. The scenes and the characters of the first story are distinctively Californian, but though the second is laid in Chicago, the strong wind of destiny that blows through it comes from the desolate cañons of the Far West, and there is something of the Califor- nian spirit in the characters who work out their salva-
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tion in the storm and stress of the Chicago wheat pit. Norris showed more real art in his earlier work; his "Blix" and "McTeague," widely different as they are, reveal the same sure grip on character and incident and the same brilliant style. The early death of Norris was a heavy blow to California literature.
Two other novelists are naturally bracketed with Norris-Gertrude Atherton and Jack London. Mrs. Atherton's romances of early California days are re- markable for their dramatic force, their vivid portrai- ture, and their power of making us realize the pastoral life before the Gringo came, as well as the crowded life of the gold hunter and his successors. She spares no ugly features; she writes like a man who is endowed with a woman's intuition. Her later work shows rare maturity and power. Her "Tower of Ivory" is a great novel, with two fine characters-a typical Eng- lishman of good family and a prima donna who has found herself in the realms of song, after being dragged through the gutter of shame and misery.
As for Jack London, he is in a class by himself. Self-educated, with a life that surpasses in romance that of any of his heroes, London, above all the writers of our day, has the power of visualizing his experiences, so that the man or woman of small imagination and narrow, circumscribed life, may see the wild, free places and enjoy to the full the strenuous life of adventure. This is a rare power which was exhibited at its best in "The White Silence" and other Klondike stories, and mingled with high poetic imagery, in "The Call of the Wild." That unique romance is enough to establish any author's fame, but London in the first half of "The
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Sea Wolf" did equally good work. Into everything that he writes, he seems to crowd a certain dynamic force that thrills the reader. This is true whether he is describing his own terrible labors to get an education in "Martin Eden," or giving pictures of his battles with the present-day Apollyon, the actual, living Devil of Drink. If London had a finer nature, if his imagi- nation could free itself from the physical, he would write novels for all time. As it is, he is far and away the most powerful writer that California has produced.
Notable work has been done in historical writing by several Californians. Of course, H. H. Bancroft stands at the head, not so much for his thirty-nine volumes of the "Native Races" and of the "History of the Pacific Coast States," as for his notes and the library of 50,000 volumes and manuscripts which he gathered for this monumental work. Much of his history was done by trained associates, but Bancroft mapped out the plan, wrote the introductions and gave life and spirit to the greatest literary enterprise this country has ever seen. The Bancroft library has now passed into the possession of the University of California, and its value increases with the years. Other historians whose work is note- worthy are Theodore H. Hittell, who has written one of the best histories of California in four volumes; Zoeth S. Eldredge, who, in "The Beginnings of San Francisco," has made a valuable contribution to the early history of the city up to 1850, and, as far as research goes, has left nothing for any successor to do; and John P. Young, for thirty-five years managing editor of the "San Francisco Chronicle," who in his
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"History of San Francisco" has really written a com- prehensive sketch of the development of the whole state as well as a readable story of the city by the Golden Gate.
A paragraph must be given to Geraldine Bonner, who has shown exceptional skill in reproducing the scenes and incidents of the overland trail as well as the gambler's passion, that is a legacy so many of us have inherited from our pioneer fathers. Her "Hard Pan" is one of the very best studies of the inevitable ruin that comes to one who is consumed by the thirst of speculation in mining stocks.
A dozen or more short story writers who flourished during the last thirty years must be grouped in a sin- gle paragraph. Among these may be named, W. C. Morrow, Arthur McEwen, Bailey Millard, Peter Robertson, Madge Morris Wagner, Dr. J. W. Galley, Charles Howard Shinn, John Hamilton Gilmour, Charles F. Lummis and George Wharton James. All these have written not only good short stories of Cali- fornia life, but they have painted the beauties of the scenery of the state in imperishable style.
More recent writers, whose work in prose and verse is seen in the magazines are, Theodore Dreiser, Will and Wallace Irwin, James Hopper, Eleanor Gates, Hermann Scheffauer and George Sterling. Of these, Dreiser seems to have the greatest originality and force. If he continues to develop, his should be the great name in the next five years. Wallace Irwin has an extraor- dinary command of the most difficult metres, as wit- ness his "Sonnets of a Street Car Conductor," but it
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has always been my belief that were he to devote him- self to it, he could produce poetry as fine as that of Hovey or Lanier. It is a great pity that Irwin is spending his force on humorous verse and pot-boilers. Will Irwin is one of the most versatile of California authors. He has to his credit one original character in fiction-a professional female spiritual medium, who is endowed with real humor and a warm heart.
Scores of California women have shown their skill in prose and verse. Their record may be found in "The Story of the Files," an invaluable work by Ella Sterling Cummins, which preserves much that is best in Cali- fornia literature, with interesting sketches and rare portraits. This was a labor of love by a Nevada woman, who has written many fine short stories of Far Western life, and who has the distinction of being the first to suggest the erection of a statue to the Pioneer Mother. She deserves some substantial recognition by the Native Sons and other California organizations for her unselfish labor in reclaiming from oblivion the work of so many California writers.
Junge Hamlin Fitch
SAN FRANCISCO: THE EARTHQUAKE AND FIRE OF 1906
T HE foundation of San Francisco has been treated in the earlier chapters of this work and the matter need not be repeated here. At the time of the American occupation the future possibilities of the Bay of San Francisco were, to an extent, realized, but the little village was so small and unimportant that in the contract with the Pacific Mail Company in 1848 San Francisco was not even named, but the steamers were to call at San Diego and Monterey and proceed with their mails to Astoria, in Oregon. The great immigration following the gold discovery changed all this, and from the Mexican village of 1846, San Francisco had become, in 1906, a city of the first class, and sixth in commercial importance in the United States.
A few minutes after five o'clock on the morning of the 18th of April, 1906, the people of the city were aroused from their slumbers by a shock of earthquake so violent that the most hardened and earthquake- proof among them realized that this time, at least, the "temblor" was something out of the ordinary. The main shock lasted about a minute and was followed by a number of minor shocks during the next two hours.
This earthquake had its origin in an ancient fault extending from Point Arenas, some ninety miles north of San Francisco, and running thence in a southeasterly direction to San Juan Bautista about eighty-five miles south of the city. This fault or earthquake crack had been known for many years to the leading geologists of California and had doubtless been, in the remote past, the scene of many earthquake disturbances. A surface expression of this fault may be seen in Tomales
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bay, a shallow inlet about twenty miles long and from half a mile to a mile and a half wide. From Bolinas lagoon the fault trace enters the sea, passing about three miles west of the Seal Rocks (San Francisco) and again returns to the land at Mussel Rock, about four miles below the city line, thence through the Cañada de Andrés and the Spring Valley lakes, another surface expression. The disturbance was caused by a rupture and horizontal slip along this fault, the offset ranging from two to sixteen feet, though in one place, affected by abnormal conditions, it reached twenty feet-the earth-block on the southwest side having apparently moved towards the northwest and that on the north- east side toward the southeast. This was accompanied in some places by a slight vertical displacement, the ground on one side being lifted one or two feet. In San Francisco on made or filled land there was in places a settlement of four or five feet, and an earth-flow of several feet carrying streets and buildings with it, causing great disaster. Buildings of poor construction standing on soft ground were badly damaged while those on firm ground with rock formation suffered but little when properly constructed. The estimate of the engineers who investigated the San Francisco earth- quake and fire was that the damage done by earthquake was from three to ten per cent of the whole loss. Had the fire not followed the earthquake the latter had ere this passed into the limbo of forgotten things. Imme- diately after the first shock, fires started at hundreds of places and quickly converged into a general con- flagration. By half past six in the morning all that
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part of the city east of Fremont and Front streets was burning fiercely and the fire was rapidly spreading through the manufacturing district. So great was the extent of the conflagration that it was a physical impossibility for the fire department, recognized as one of the most efficient in the world, to cope with it. The breaking of the distributing mains rendered unavailable the 80,000,000 gallons of water stored within the city, and the death of Chief Sullivan, who had been fatally injured by the earthquake, deprived the force of his guiding hand and to a certain extent demoralized it. Crowds of the roughest looking men from the dens of the city thronged the streets, but presently from the presidio and the military posts around the bay came the United States troops, in light marching equipment, to the aid of the police; while the governor sent a brigade of the national guard into the city. The military now patrolled all districts, and the roughs, overawed by the troops, made no attempt to plunder the banks and rich stores of jewelry and other things.
An attempt was made to check the progress of the fire by blowing up buildings in its path-first with black powder and later with dynamite-but little, if anything, was accomplished. There was no water at hand to extinguish the flames caused by the explosions, and as a rule, the buildings blown up were already on fire. The day was calm, without wind, and the prog- ress of the fire was slow. By noon the fire had passed Kearny street in the neighborhood of Jackson; Cali- fornia street was beginning to burn west of Sansome, while the south side of Market street east of Fourth street, with the exception of the space occupied by
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the Palace hotel, was ablaze. A fight was made by the Palace hotel people, but at 4:30 P. M. the hostelry was abandoned by its defenders. Everywhere the people stood without the fire lines and looked upon the destruc- tion of their property. There was no excitement, no terror, no hysteria, notwithstanding the wild press dis- patches sent out and the wonderful tales of travelers. The citizens were not permitted to pass through the lines to fight the fire, or for any purpose whatever. All, soldiers and citizens, looked on quietly while the fire burned and no one tried to stop it. The soldiers marched up and down with their muskets within the ropes and every one must keep hands off. It was the fire's day. All through the 18th, 19th, and 20th of April I watched the fire and at one time only did I see any person engaged in putting out the fire, though I saw a number setting fire to buildings. Those were soldiers and were back-firing on Van Ness avenue. The commanding officer (Funston) says in his report that the citizens seemed too dazed to act intelligently in their efforts to save their own property. This was not true. They were abundantly able to act intelli- gently but soldiers with guns in their hands prevented them from acting at all. In the few instances where they were enabled to evade the soldiers, they not only acted intelligently but they saved their property-as will be seen presently.
By the morning of the 19th the fire had destroyed the main portion of the wholesale and retail section of the city, and was actively burning on an irregular line from about the corner of Montgomery avenue (now Columbus avenue) and Montgomery street to Van
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Ness avenue at Golden Gate avenue. To the south of this point it had crossed Van Ness avenue and had worked its way up Market street to Valencia. Every- thing south and east of these points was burning. A little after noon on Thursday, April 19th, the soldiers began back-firing on Van Ness avenue. South of Geary or O'Farrell streets the fire had reached the east- ern side of Van Ness avenue and from here north to Vallejo street all the buildings on the eastern side of the street were fired by the soldiers during the afternoon and evening. The soldiers would enter a building, set fire to it and leave in it a stick of dynamite to be exploded by the fire, and pass on to the next. What possible good this system of dynamiting buildings could do to arrest the progress of a conflagration none but a soldier could explain. On the southeast corner of Van Ness avenue and Washington street was the First Presbyterian church, a large wooden building with a high steeple. When this building was fired an extra amount of dynamite was left in it and when it exploded blazing brands were thrown across the avenue which set fire to a large dwelling on the west side. The fire thus started burned five blocks (from Sutter to Clay streets) when the citizens of the Western Addition, whose homes were threatened, rallied and forcing their way through the line of soldiers stopped the further spread of the flames in that direction. This was done by citizens and not by soldiers as was stated in the report of the commanding general. I did not see this action but know a number of the residents of the district who took part in it. The one time I saw persons engaged in fighting the fire, already referred to, was at
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2:30 of the morning of April 20th, when some firemen (not soldiers) having gotten water sufficient to supply one engine stationed at Gough and Vallejo streets, were engaged in wetting down the fronts of the houses on the west side of Van Ness avenue between Broadway and Vallejo which were beginning to smoke from the fire across the street, and doing the same for houses on the north side of Vallejo street between Van Ness avenue and Polk street. Satisfied that the westward progress of the fire was stayed I left the fire line at three o'clock on the morning of Friday, April 20th, and turned my steps towards my home on Divisadero street, one mile west, carrying the glad news to the anxious watchers on the line of way.
At one o'clock on Friday afternoon I was again on Van Ness avenue; now on my way down town. Up to this time I had remained between the fire line and my home. Before crossing this line into the burnt district I took a careful survey of the situation as it appeared from the corner of Pacific and Van Ness avenues. The entire easterly line of Van Ness avenue from Vallejo street south was blackened ruins. There was no fire to threaten further danger to the Western Addition. Satisfied, I passed down to the junction of Kearny and Market streets. Half an hour after I crossed Van Ness avenue, the Viavi building, a large manufactory of patent medicine on Van Ness avenue between Vallejo and Green streets, filled with inflammable material, was dynamited by the soldiers and burned. The explosion scattered the burning matter over the adjacent build- ings and in an inconceivable short period the flames, fanned by a strong wind, which had come up from the
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west, swept with amazing rapidity east and north carry- ing all before them. The conflagration thus started burned fifty city blocks. The commanding officer in his report says: "That part of the city west of Van Ness avenue was considered safe except from the danger arising from a very threatening conflagration working along the slopes of Russian Hill towards that part of Van Ness avenue lying north of Broadway. All day of the 20th an heroic fight was made by soldiers, sailors, firemen, and citizens to stop this fire which * was working its way slowly against the wind. A number of buildings were here destroyed by high explosives, and back-firing was resorted to." This statement is untrue. We have the testimony of property owners of this section who were fighting to save their homes. They were not assisted by soldiers, sailors, or firemen; but with their own hands destroyed fences and small buildings that might afford a pathway to the fire which was working north; they wet blankets, rugs, and carpets with water that had been collected in pails and bath tubs, and as sparks fell or shingles caught they beat out the flames. The soldiers repeatedly interfered and ordered the citizens to leave, but on one pretext or another they persuaded the soldiers to allow them to remain. They succeeded in stopping the fire at Green street. A well known citizen says: "I was watching the fire, with special reference to a friend's house on the north side of Green street near Larkin and had con- cluded it was safe. No fire was visible north of Green street and on the south side of Green the flames appeared to have been completely extinguished. A few moments later I again looked from the window of a house in which
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I was on Pacific avenue-a house commanding an excel- lent view of the district in question-and was astounded to perceive several isolated fires in the district which a short time before had seemed to be free from danger. These blazes were quickly fanned by the wind into a roaring conflagration, and the house of my friend was within a short time burned to the ground."* I relate this because it corroborates my own testimony. The soldiers interfered time and again with citizens who were working to save their property. There is an abundance of testimony on this point. They repeat- edly drove the people living on Russian Hill out of their houses, presenting their guns and threatening to shoot. James B. Stetson, a prominent merchant, living in a handsome house on the northwest corner of Van Ness avenue and Clay street, says : "At 4:45 (Thursday afternoon) I was ordered out of my house by the soldiers -not in a quiet manner but with an order that there was no mistaking as to its terms and meaning-about like this: 'Get out of this house.' I replied: 'But this is my house and I have a right to stay here if I choose.' 'Get out d-n quick, and make no talk about it, either!' So a soldier with a bayonet on his gun marched me up Clay street to Gough amid flames, smoke, and explo- sions. I stayed at Gough street a while, looking down upon my house, expecting every minute to see the flames coming out of it." Stetson watched his chance and got back into his house and with the use of an impro- vised swab and buckets of water, saved it. Mr. W. E. Keller had a large warehouse filled with flour and wheat.
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