over exposed portions of the cottages, while men on the roofs drenched
the shingles and sides of the houses with wine. The postscript to this
queer story is that the wine won and the firefighters saved their homes.
The story is worth retelling, though it may be added that wine, if
it contained much alcohol, would serve as a feeder rather than as an
extinguisher of flame.

A striking description of the aspect of the city on that terrible
Wednesday is told by Jerome B. Clark, whose home was in Berkeley, but
who did business in San Francisco. He left for the city early Wednesday
morning, after a minor shake-up at home, which he thus describes:


A VIVID FIRE PICTURE.


"I was asleep and was awakened by the house rocking. With the exception
of water in vases, and milk in pans being spilled, and one of our
chimneys badly cracked, we escaped with nothing but a bad scare, but I
can assure you it was a terrific and terrifying experience to feel that
old house rocking, jolting and jumping under us, with the most terrible
roar, dull, deep and nerve-racking. It calmed down after that and we
went back to bed, only to get up at six o'clock to find that neighbors
had suffered by having vases knocked from tables, bric-a-brac knocked
around, tiles knocked out of grates and scarcely a chimney left
standing. We thought that we had had the worst of it, so I started over
to the city as usual, reaching there about eight o'clock, and it is just
impossible to describe the scenes that met my eyes.

"In every direction from the ferry building flames were seething, and