. and Mrs. Robert Coleman in a tent, and the next morning (Friday)
went to Mr. and Mrs. Will Tevis's. Their kitchen chimney had not fallen,
which made it possible to have cooking in the house, and as they had
wells, the men put the pumps in order; so they had the luxury of a bath.
When she left San Francisco she expected her own house and mine would
certainly be burned. So, with neither telephone, telegraph, nor mail,
she passed many anxious hours until Monday, the 23rd, when she heard
that both houses were saved.

At 11:30 A. M. of Thursday from my window I could see blazes on Jones
Street at Clay, and southerly as far as Sutter and Leavenworth. About
this hour, although the fire did not reach here until after 3 o'clock,
the soldiers and police drove the people from their stores and houses on
Polk Street. Johnson & Co. were ordered out and not permitted to return
to save books and papers, although they begged permission to do so. I
think the Pleasanton was on fire at about this time. At noon the flames
were continuous from Clay, on Jones, to California. At 1:30 it had
almost reached Hyde and Clay, and was continuous from that point to Polk
and Sutter, the blaze reaching from 50 to 75 feet high. At 2:30 it was
approaching Van Ness at Hyde and Washington, and reaching south as far
as Sutter and Van Ness. I was in my front room watching with my
field-glass, house after house take fire and the long line as I have
just described. I saw many pigeons flying wildly about, seeking some
place of safety. As it approached Van Ness it did not burn north of
Washington Street. The wind being northwest, and Van Ness Avenue 125
feet in width, I felt sure the fire would not cross. While the fire was
thus raging, the thought came to me, How fast in value is property being
consumed?--and as I looked at the line of flame, I remember I thought
it must be as much as a million dollars an hour. It shows how imperfect
in this matter was my estimate, when later the loss is estimated to be
four hundred millions, and the duration of the fire, from 5:15 A. M.,
the 18th to 3 P. M. of the 20th--say sixty hours, which would be at the
rate of about six million five hundred thousand per hour.

At 3 o'clock the soldiers drove the people north on Van Ness and west up
to Franklin Street, saying that they were going to dynamite the east
side of Van Ness. From my window I watched the movements of the
fire-fighters and dynamiters. They first set fire to every