The Story of an Eyewitness by Jack London

The Story of an Eyewitness¹ by Jack² London

The western American city of San Francisco, California suffered a huge earthquake on April 18th, 1906.

More than three thousand people are known to have died.  The true number of dead will never be known.  Two hundred fifty thousand people lost their homes. Just a few hours after the terrible earthquake, a magazine named Collier’s sent a telegraph message to the famous American writer Jack London.  They asked Mr. London to go to San Francisco and report about what he saw. 

He arrived in the city only a few hours after the earthquake.  The report he wrote is called, “The Story of an Eyewitness.” 

Not in history has a modern city been so completely destroyed.  San Francisco is gone.  Nothing remains³ of it but memories and a few homes that were near the edge of the city.  Its industrial area is gone.  Its business area is gone. Its social and living areas are gone.  The factories, great stores and newspaper buildings, the hotels and the huge homes of the very rich, are all gone. 

Within minutes of the earthquake the fires began.  Within an hour a huge tower of smoke caused by the fires could be seen a hundred miles away.  And for three days and nights this huge fire moved in the sky, reddening the sun, darkening the day and filling the land with smoke.

There was no opposing the flames.  There was no organization, no communication.  The earthquake had smashed⁵ all of the modern inventions of a twentieth century city.  The streets were broken and filled with pieces of fallen walls.  The telephone and telegraph systems were broken.  And the great water pipes had burst.  All inventions and safety plans of man had been destroyed by thirty seconds of movement by the earth.

By Wednesday afternoon, only twelve hours after the earthquake, half the heart of the city was gone. I watched the huge fire.  It was very calm.  There was no wind.  Yet from every side, wind was pouring in upon the city.  East, west, north and south, strong winds were blowing upon the dying city.

The heated air made a huge wind that pulled air into the fire, rising into the atmosphere.  Day and night the calm continued, and yet, near the flames, the wind was often as strong as a storm.

There was no water to fight the fire.  Fire fighters decided⁶ to use explosives to destroy buildings in its path.  They hoped this would create a block to slow or stop the fire.  Building after building was destroyed.  And still the great fires continued.  Jack London told how people tried to save some of their possessions from the fire.

Wednesday night the whole city crashed and roared into ruin, yet the city was quiet.  There were no crowds.  There was no shouting and yelling⁷.  There was no disorder⁸.  I passed Wednesday night in the path of the fire and in all those terrible hours I saw not one woman who cried, not one man who was excited, not one person who caused trouble.

Throughout the night, tens of thousands of homeless ones fled the fire.  Some were wrapped in blankets. Others carried bedding and dear household treasures.

Many of the poor left their homes with everything they could carry.  Many of their loads were extremely heavy.  Throughout the night they dropped items they could no longer hold.  They left on the street clothing and treasures they had carried for miles.

Many carried large boxes called trunks. They held onto these the longest.  It was a hard night and the hills of San Francisco are steep.  And up these hills, mile after mile, were the trunks dragged.  Many a strong man broke his heart that night.

Before the march of the fire were soldiers. Their job was to keep the people moving away from the fire.  The extremely tired people would arise and struggle up the steep hills, pausing from weakness every five or ten feet.  Often, after reaching the top of a heart-breaking hill, they would find the fire was moving at them from a different direction. 

After working hour after hour through the night to save part of their lives, thousands were forced to leave their trunks and flee.

At night I walked down through the very heart of the city.  I walked through mile after mile of beautiful buildings.  Here was no fire.  All was in perfect order.  The police patrolled⁹ the streets.  And yet it was all doomed¹⁰, all of it.  There was no water.  The explosives were almost used up.  And two huge fires were coming toward this part of the city from different directions. 

Four hours later I walked through this same part of the city.  Everything still stood as before.  And yet there was a change.  A rain of ashes was falling.  The police had been withdrawn¹¹.  There were no firemen, no fire engines, and no men using explosives.  I stood at the corner of Kearney and Market Streets in the very heart of San Francisco.   Nothing could be done. Nothing could be saved.  The surrender was complete. 

It was impossible to guess where the fire would move next.  In the early evening I passed through Union Square.  It was packed with refugees¹².  Thousands of them had gone to bed on the grass.  Government tents had been set up, food was being cooked and the refugees were lining¹³ up for free meals. 

Late that night I passed Union Square again.  Three sides of the Square were in flames.  The Square, with mountains of trunks, was deserted¹⁴.  The troops, refugees and all had retreated.

The next morning I sat in front of a home on San Francisco’s famous Nob Hill.  With me sat Japanese, Italians, Chinese and Negroes.  All about were the huge homes of the very rich.  To the east and south of us were advancing two huge walls of fire. 

I went inside one house and talked to the owner.  He smiled and said the earthquake had destroyed everything he owned.  All he had left was his beautiful house.  He looked at me and said, “The fire will be here in fifteen minutes.”

Outside the house the troops were falling back and forcing the refugees ahead of them.  From every side came the roaring of flames, the crashing of walls and the sound of explosives.

Day was trying to dawn through the heavy smoke.  A sickly light was creeping over the face of things.  When the sun broke through the smoke it was blood-red and small.  The smoke changed color from red to rose to purple. 

I walked past the broken dome¹⁵ of the City Hall building. This part of the city was already a waste of smoking ruins.  Here and there through the smoke came a few men and women.  It was like the meeting of a few survivors¹⁷ the day after the world ended.

The huge fires continued to burn on.  Nothing could stop them.  Mister London walked from place to place in the city, watching the huge fires destroy the city.  Nothing could be done to halt the firestorm.

In the end, the fire went out by itself because there was nothing left to burn.  Jack London finishes his story:

All day Thursday and all Thursday night, all day Friday and Friday night, the flames raged on.  Friday night saw the huge fires finally conquered, but not before the fires had swept three-quarters of a mile of docks¹⁸ and store houses at the waterfront.

San Francisco at the present time is like the center of a volcano.  Around this volcano are tens of thousands of refugees.  All the surrounding cities and towns are jammed with the homeless ones.  The refugees were carried free by the railroads to any place they wished to go.  It is said that more than one hundred thousand people have left the peninsula on which San Francisco stood. 

Providing for homeless thousands - delivering bread at Commissary tentProviding for homeless thousands - delivering bread at Commissary tent

The government has control of the situation, and thanks to the immediate¹⁹ relief given by the whole United States, there is no lack of food.  The bankers and businessmen have already begun making the necessary plans to rebuild this once beautiful city of San Francisco.

Words in This Story

smash⁴ - v. to break into many pieces; to shatter²⁰ or destroy

atmosphere - n. the whole mass of air that surrounds the Earth

surrender - v. to agree to stop fighting, hiding, resisting, etc., because you know that you will not win or succeed

retreat - v. to move or go away from a place or situation especially because it is dangerous, unpleasant, etc.

survivor¹⁶ - n. a member of a group who continues to live after other members have died

firestorm - n.  a very large fire that destroys everything in its path and produces powerful winds

jammed - v. to fill (a place) completely

1 eyewitness   

n.目击者，见证人

参考例句：

• The police questioned several eyewitness to the murder.警察询问了谋杀案的几位目击者。
• He was the only eyewitness of the robbery.他是那起抢劫案的唯一目击者。

2 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 smash   

v.粉碎，打碎；n.轰动的演出，巨大的成功

参考例句：

• We heard the smash of plates breaking in the kitchen.我们听到厨房里盘子破碎的声音。
• The gifted author wrote one smash after another.这个天才作家创作了一篇又一篇轰动一时的作品。

5 smashed   

adj.喝醉酒的v.打碎，捣烂( smash的过去式和过去分词 )；捣毁；重击；撞毁（车辆）

参考例句：

• Several windows had been smashed. 几扇窗户劈里啪啦打碎了。
• In time-honoured tradition, a bottle of champagne was smashed on the ship. 依照由来已久的传统，对着船摔了一瓶香槟。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 yelling   

v.叫喊，号叫，叫着说( yell的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The coach stood on the sidelines yelling instructions to the players. 教练站在场外，大声指挥运动员。
• He let off steam by yelling at a clerk. 他对一个职员大喊大叫，借以发泄怒气。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

9 patrolled   

vt.& vi.巡逻，巡查（patrol的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Troops patrolled the border day and night. 军队日夜在边境地区巡逻。
• Soldiers patrolled the castle ramparts. 士兵们在城堡城墙上巡逻。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

11 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

12 refugees   

n.避难者，难民( refugee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The UN has begun making airdrops of food to refugees. 联合国已开始向难民空投食物。
• They claimed they were political refugees and not economic migrants. 他们宣称自己是政治难民，不是经济移民。

13 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

14 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

15 dome   

n.圆屋顶，拱顶

参考例句：

• The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
• They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。

16 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

17 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

18 docks   

n.港区

参考例句：

• He was born in squalor next to London's docks. 他出生在伦敦码头附近肮脏的地区。
• The enemy raided the docks. 敌人突然袭击了码头。

19 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

20 shatter   

n.碎片，乱七八糟的状态；vt.打碎，破掉，散开；vi.打破，脱落

参考例句：

• I must shatter your hopes.我必须打破你的幻想。
• This power is strong enough to shatter complacency.这种力量足以打破自满情绪。