What to see in America . ast occa-sion the property loss con-stituted one of the greatcatastrophes of shock occurred atabout five in the morningof April 18 and lastedscarcely a minute. Streetscracked, chimneys fell,and the city hall becamea mass of ruins. But thedamage would have beencomparatively slight hadnot the water mains beenbroken, so that the fireswhich immediately started could not be checked. The flamesraged for three days, and a large part of the city, includingmost of the business section, was destroyed. About fivehundred persons lost their lives, and the property damag
What to see in America . ast occa-sion the property loss con-stituted one of the greatcatastrophes of shock occurred atabout five in the morningof April 18 and lastedscarcely a minute. Streetscracked, chimneys fell,and the city hall becamea mass of ruins. But thedamage would have beencomparatively slight hadnot the water mains beenbroken, so that the fireswhich immediately started could not be checked. The flamesraged for three days, and a large part of the city, includingmost of the business section, was destroyed. About fivehundred persons lost their lives, and the property damagewas nearly half a billion dollars. Yet within three yearsthe city was practically rebuilt. As it is now it is unrivaledin its modernity, and it continues to be the largest place onthe Pacific Coast. The city is beautifully situated at the north end of apeninsula with the oceaji on one side and on the other theBay of San Francisco, one of the most magnificent land-locked harbors in the world. The bay is about fifty miles. Mt. Lassen Volcano California 465 long. Its entrance is through the Golden Gate, a straitwhich is a mile wide at its narrowest point. On TelegraphHill in the northerly part of the city stood the semaphorewhich signaled the arrival of ships in the days of the goldseekers. Most of the level land in the business section hasbeen made by filling in the bay. Some of the streets areamazingly steep, and the cable-propelled street cars thatclimb and descend them are a distinctive feature of the citylocomotion. Fantastic old Chinatown was utterly effacedby the great fire, and San Francisco said the yellow menshould never reestablish themselves. But Oriental tenacitywon, and the new Chinese city of 1 (),()()() inhabitants hasfeatures of considerable interest. The junction of Marketwith Kearny and Geary streets used to be called. Cape Horn,because it was so windy. Some of the literary notables whohave been associated with San Francisco for varying periodsare INIark Twain,
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