"There was one woman in the crowd who had been separated from her
husband in a rush of the smoke and did not know whether he was living.
The women attended to her all night and in the morning the soldiers
passed her through the lines in her search. A few Chinese made their
way into the crowd. They were trembling, pitifully scared and willing
to stop wherever the soldiers placed them. This is only a glimpse of the
horrible night in the parks and open places.
"We learn here that many of the well-to-do people in the upper residence
district have gathered in the strangers from the highways and byways and
given them shelter and comfort for the night in their living rooms and
drawing rooms. Shelter seems to have come more easily than food. Not an
ounce of supplies, of course, has come in for two days, and most of the
permanent stores are in the hands of the soldiers, who dole them out to
all comers alike. But the hungry cannot always find the military stores
and the news has not gotten about, since there are no newspapers and no
regular means of communication.
"An Italian tells me that he was taken in by a family living in a
three-story house in the fashionable Pacific Avenue. There were twenty
refugees who passed the night in the drawing room of that house, whose
mistress took down hangings to make them comfortable. In the morning all
the food that was left over in that home of wealth was enough flour and
baking powder to shake together a breakfast for the refugees.
Pages:
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80