cely any water to
relieve the thirst of the suffering. Water became the incessant cry
of firemen and people alike, the one wanting it to fight the fire, the
other to drink, but even for the latter the supply was very scant.
There was water in plenty in the reservoirs, but they were distant and
difficult to reach, and all night of the day succeeding the earth shock
wagons mounted with barrels and guarded by soldiers drove through the
park doling out water. There was a steady crush around these wagons, but
only one drink was allowed to a person.

Toward midnight a black, staggering body of men began to weave through
the entrance. They were volunteer fire-fighters, looking for a place
to throw themselves down and sleep. These men dropped out all along the
line, and were rolled out of the driveways by the troops. There was much
splendid unselfishness here. Women gave up their blankets and sat up or
walked about all night to cover the exhausted men who had fought fire
until there was no more fight in them.

The common destitution and suffering had, as we have said, wiped out all
social, financial and racial distinctions. The man who last Tuesday was
a prosperous merchant was obliged to occupy with his family a little
plot of ground that adjoined the open-air home of a laborer. The
white man of California forgot his antipathy to the Asiatic race,
and maintained friendly relations with his new Chinese and Japanese
neighbors. The society belle who Tuesday night was a butterfly of
fashion at the grand opera performance now assisted some factory girl
in the preparation of humble daily meals. Money had little value. The
family that had had foresight to lay in the largest stock of foodstuffs
on the first day of disaster was rated highest in the scale of wealth.

A few of the families that could secure wagons were possessors of cook
stoves, but over 95 per cent. of the refugees did their cooking on
little campfires made of brick or stone. Battered kitchen utensils that
the week before would have been regarded as useless had become articles
of high value. In fact, man had come back to nature and all lines
of caste had been obliterated, while the very thought of luxury had
disappeared. It was, in the exigency of the moment, considered good
fortune to have a scant supply of the barest necessaries of life.

As for clothing, it was in many cases of the scantiest, while numbers of
the people had brought comfortable clothing and bedding