. The Exempt firemen of San Francisco; their unique and gallant record. ngineer of the electriclight on the Oakland pier, with entiresatisfaction to the company. He severedhis connection with the Southern PacificCompany only to take charge of the im-portant office he now fills. For over tenyears he has been engineer of the FloodBuilding, and enjoys the confidence andperfect trust of his employers. P. WILKINS. Mr. Wilkins hails from New a young man he was imbued with astrong spirit of adventure, and yearnedto visit distant parts of the world. In1858 he set out from New York
. The Exempt firemen of San Francisco; their unique and gallant record. ngineer of the electriclight on the Oakland pier, with entiresatisfaction to the company. He severedhis connection with the Southern PacificCompany only to take charge of the im-portant office he now fills. For over tenyears he has been engineer of the FloodBuilding, and enjoys the confidence andperfect trust of his employers. P. WILKINS. Mr. Wilkins hails from New a young man he was imbued with astrong spirit of adventure, and yearnedto visit distant parts of the world. In1858 he set out from New York for Aus-tralia, and reached Melbourne, the capi-tal of the Colony of Victoria, after a pas-sage of eighty-four days, via the Cape ofGood Hope. An evil genius directed hissteps to the diggings, where for about ayear he put in his time in the precariouspursuit of the yellow metal, and in thattime acquired a somewhat painful famil- SAN FRANCISCO FIREMEN 93 iarity with the rougher elements of Aus-tralian life of forty years ago. As aminer Mr. Wilkins met with little suc-. BENJAMIN P. WILKINS cess, and in i860 said good bye foreverto that distant quarter of the globe, andcame to California. He started in busi-ness in mens furnishing goods and hada store on the site of the present Chron-icle Building. Here he was doing well,and had established a fine business, whenthe promptings of his restless spirit urgedhim to move on to White Pine, Nevada,where he invested his savings in miningstock, and came out of his speculationsmuch lighter in pocket. After two yearsat White Pine he returned to San Fran-cisco and again started in business. In1863 Mr, Wilkins joined the Independ-ence Hook and Ladder Company, No. 3,and stood loyally and nobly by his com-pany until it went out of existence at theend of the year 1866. On every occa-sion on which the services of his com-pany were called into requisition Mr. Wilkins was at his post, and renderedeffective aid in subduing the conflagra-tions so commo
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