orking in harmony together, passed the word that the
dead and injured should be brought there, the hospitals and morgue
having become choked, and the order was quickly obeyed, until about
400 of the hurt, many of them terribly mangled, were laid in improvised
cots, attended by all the physicians and trained nurses who could be
obtained.

The corpses were much fewer, the workers being too busy in fighting the
fire and caring for the wounded to give time and attention as yet to
the dead. But one of the first wagons to arrive brought a whole
family--father, mother and three children--all dead except the baby,
which had a broken arm and a terrible cut across the forehead. They had
been dragged from the ruins of their house on the water front. A large
consignment of bodies, mostly of workingmen, came from a small hotel on
Eddy Street, through the roof of which the upper part of a tall building
next door had fallen, crushing all below.

FIRE ATTACKS THE MINT.

To return to the story of the conflagration, the escape of the United
States Mint was one of the most remarkable incidents. Within the vaults
of this fine structure was the vast sum of $300,000,000 in gold and
silver coin and a value of $8,000,000 in bullion, and toward this mighty
sum of wealth the flames swept on all sides, as if eager to add the
reservoir of the precious metals to their spoils. The Mint building
passed through the earthquake with little damage, though its big
smokestacks were badly shaken. The fire seemed bent on making it its
prey, every building around it being burned to the ground, and it
remaining the only building for blocks that escaped destruction.

Its safety was due to the energy and activity of its employees.
Superintendent Leach reached it shortly after the shock and found a
number of men already there, whom he stationed at points of vantage
from roof to basement. The fire apparatus of the Mint was brought into
service and help given by the fire department, and after a period of
strenuous labor the flames were driven back. The peril for a time was
critical, the windows on Mint Avenue taking fire and also those on the
rear three stories, and the flames for a time pouring in and driving
back the workers. The roof also caught fire, but the men within fought
like Titans, and efficient aid was given by a squad of soldiers sent
to them. In the end the fire fiend was vanquished, though considerable
damage was done to the adjusting rooms a