They
went into the house with a can of water, climbed the stairs and opened a
window, and in a few minutes put it out. Two of the men would accept
nothing; the soldier, the next day, accepted ten dollars. I later
presented Ferguson with a gold matchbox as a reminder of that eventful
night. Had Mrs. Schwabacher's house gone, all in the block would have
gone; the fire would have crossed to the north, up Pacific, Broadway,
and Vallejo, and probably over to Fillmore, when very little would have
been left of the residence portion of the city.
Now again another danger came. Another tier of blocks, from Leavenworth
to Van Ness, between Jackson and Pacific, had taken fire. This was about
10:15 P. M.. At 11:15 it had got to Van Ness, and Bothin's house, which
was at the corner of Van Ness and Jackson, was fully on fire, but
although it was entirely consumed, the fire did not cross to the west
side of Van Ness. The wind during all the day and evening was steady
from the northwest, - not a very strong wind, but it helped protect the
west side of Van Ness. At 12 o'clock on the beginning of the 20th I saw
smoke coming out of the chimney of the Spreckels mansion. I went out and
spoke to a fireman, and he said he had been into the house and that it
was full of smoke and on fire. At 1 o'clock the house was on fire in the
upper rooms, at 1:30 it was blazing out of the upper windows, and in a
short time afterwards was wholly on fire.
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