Something very important happened. The property holders11 of Nevada voted against the State Constitution; but the folks who had nothing to lose were in the majority, and carried the measure over their heads. But after all it did not immediately look like a disaster, though unquestionably it was one I hesitated, calculated the chances, and then concluded not to sell. Stocks went on rising; speculation12 went mad; bankers, merchants, lawyers, doctors, mechanics, laborers13, even the very washerwomen and servant girls, were putting up their earnings14 on silver stocks, and every sun that rose in the morning went down on paupers15 enriched and rich men beggared. What a gambling16 carnival17 it was! Gould and Curry18 soared to six thousand three hundred dollars a foot! And then—all of a sudden, out went the bottom and everything and everybody went to ruin and destruction! The wreck19 was complete.
The bubble scarcely left a microscopic20 moisture behind it. I was an early beggar and a thorough one. My hoarded21 stocks were not worth the paper they were printed on. I threw them all away. I, the cheerful idiot that had been squandering22 money like water, and thought myself beyond the reach of misfortune, had not now as much as fifty dollars when I gathered together my various debts and paid them. I removed from the hotel to a very private boarding house. I took a reporter’s berth23 and went to work. I was not entirely broken in spirit, for I was building confidently on the sale of the silver mine in the east. But I could not hear from Dan. My letters miscarried or were not answered.
One day I did not feel vigorous and remained away from the office. The next day I went down toward noon as usual, and found a note on my desk which had been there twenty-four hours. It was signed “Marshall”—the Virginia reporter—and contained a request that I should call at the hotel and see him and a friend or two that night, as they would sail for the east in the morning. A postscript24 added that their errand was a big mining speculation! I was hardly ever so sick in my life. I abused myself for leaving Virginia and entrusting25 to another man a matter I ought to have attended to myself; I abused myself for remaining away from the office on the one day of all the year that I should have been there. And thus berating26 myself I trotted27 a mile to the steamer wharf28 and arrived just in time to be too late. The ship was in the stream and under way.
I comforted myself with the thought that may be the speculation would amount to nothing—poor comfort at best—and then went back to my slavery, resolved to put up with my thirty-five dollars a week and forget all about it.
A month afterward29 I enjoyed my first earthquake. It was one which was long called the “great” earthquake, and is doubtless so distinguished30 till this day. It was just after noon, on a bright October day. I was coming down Third street. The only objects in motion anywhere in sight in that thickly built and populous31 quarter, were a man in a buggy behind me, and a street car wending slowly up the cross street. Otherwise, all was solitude32 and a Sabbath stillness. As I turned the corner, around a frame house, there was a great rattle33 and jar, and it occurred to me that here was an item!—no doubt a fight in that house. Before I could turn and seek the door, there came a really terrific shock; the ground seemed to roll under me in waves, interrupted by a violent joggling up and down, and there was a heavy grinding noise as of brick houses rubbing together. I fell up against the frame house and hurt my elbow. I knew what it was, now, and from mere34 reportorial instinct, nothing else, took out my watch and noted35 the time of day; at that moment a third and still severer shock came, and as I reeled about on the pavement trying to keep my footing, I saw a sight! The entire front of a tall four-story brick building in Third street sprung outward like a door and fell sprawling36 across the street, raising a dust like a great volume of smoke! And here came the buggy—overboard went the man, and in less time than I can tell it the vehicle was distributed in small fragments along three hundred yards of street.
One could have fancied that somebody had fired a charge of chair-rounds and rags down the thoroughfare. The street car had stopped, the horses were rearing and plunging37, the passengers were pouring out at both ends, and one fat man had crashed half way through a glass window on one side of the car, got wedged fast and was squirming and screaming like an impaled38 madman. Every door, of every house, as far as the eye could reach, was vomiting39 a stream of human beings; and almost before one could execute a wink40 and begin another, there was a massed multitude of people stretching in endless procession down every street my position commanded. Never was solemn solitude turned into teeming41 life quicker.
Of the wonders wrought42 by “the great earthquake,” these were all that came under my eye; but the tricks it did, elsewhere, and far and wide over the town, made toothsome gossip for nine days.
The destruction of property was trifling—the injury to it was wide- spread and somewhat serious.
The “curiosities” of the earthquake were simply endless. Gentlemen and ladies who were sick, or were taking a siesta43, or had dissipated till a late hour and were making up lost sleep, thronged44 into the public streets in all sorts of queer apparel, and some without any at all. One woman who had been washing a naked child, ran down the street holding it by the ankles as if it were a dressed turkey. Prominent citizens who were supposed to keep the Sabbath strictly45, rushed out of saloons in their shirt-sleeves, with billiard cues in their hands. Dozens of men with necks swathed in napkins, rushed from barber-shops, lathered46 to the eyes or with one cheek clean shaved and the other still bearing a hairy stubble. Horses broke from stables, and a frightened dog rushed up a short attic47 ladder and out on to a roof, and when his scare was over had not the nerve to go down again the same way he had gone up.
A prominent editor flew down stairs, in the principal hotel, with nothing on but one brief undergarment—met a chambermaid, and exclaimed:
“Oh, what shall I do! Where shall I go!”
“If you have no choice, you might try a clothing-store!”
A certain foreign consul’s lady was the acknowledged leader of fashion, and every time she appeared in anything new or extraordinary, the ladies in the vicinity made a raid on their husbands’ purses and arrayed themselves similarly. One man who had suffered considerably50 and growled51 accordingly, was standing52 at the window when the shocks came, and the next instant the consul’s wife, just out of the bath, fled by with no other apology for clothing than—a bath-towel! The sufferer rose superior to the terrors of the earthquake, and said to his wife:
“Now that is something like! Get out your towel my dear!”
The plastering that fell from ceilings in San Francisco that day, would have covered several acres of ground. For some days afterward, groups of eyeing and pointing men stood about many a building, looking at long zig- zag cracks that extended from the eaves to the ground. Four feet of the tops of three chimneys on one house were broken square off and turned around in such a way as to completely stop the draft.
A crack a hundred feet long gaped53 open six inches wide in the middle of one street and then shut together again with such force, as to ridge54 up the meeting earth like a slender grave. A lady sitting in her rocking and quaking parlor55, saw the wall part at the ceiling, open and shut twice, like a mouth, and then drop the end of a brick on the floor like a tooth. She was a woman easily disgusted with foolishness, and she arose and went out of there. One lady who was coming down stairs was astonished to see a bronze Hercules lean forward on its pedestal as if to strike her with its club. They both reached the bottom of the flight at the same time,—the woman insensible from the fright. Her child, born some little time afterward, was club-footed. However—on second thought,—if the reader sees any coincidence in this, he must do it at his own risk.
The first shock brought down two or three huge organ-pipes in one of the churches. The minister, with uplifted hands, was just closing the services. He glanced up, hesitated, and said:
“However, we will omit the benediction56!”—and the next instant there was a vacancy57 in the atmosphere where he had stood.
After the first shock, an Oakland minister said:
“Keep your seats! There is no better place to die than this”—
And added, after the third:
“But outside is good enough!” He then skipped out at the back door.
Such another destruction of mantel ornaments58 and toilet bottles as the earthquake created, San Francisco never saw before. There was hardly a girl or a matron in the city but suffered losses of this kind. Suspended pictures were thrown down, but oftener still, by a curious freak of the earthquake’s humor, they were whirled completely around with their faces to the wall! There was great difference of opinion, at first, as to the course or direction the earthquake traveled, but water that splashed out of various tanks and buckets settled that. Thousands of people were made so sea-sick by the rolling and pitching of floors and streets that they were weak and bed-ridden for hours, and some few for even days afterward.—Hardly an individual escaped nausea59 entirely.
The queer earthquake—episodes that formed the staple60 of San Francisco gossip for the next week would fill a much larger book than this, and so I will diverge61 from the subject.
By and by, in the due course of things, I picked up a copy of the Enterprise one day, and fell under this cruel blow:
NEVADA MINES IN NEW YORK.—G. M. Marshall, Sheba Hurs and Amos H. Rose, who left San Francisco last July for New York City, with ores from mines in Pine Wood District, Humboldt County, and on the Reese River range, have disposed of a mine containing six thousand feet and called the Pine Mountains Consolidated62, for the sum of $3,000,000. The stamps on the deed, which is now on its way to Humboldt County, from New York, for record, amounted to $3,000, which is said to be the largest amount of stamps ever placed on one document. A working capital of $1,000,000 has been paid into the treasury63, and machinery64 has already been purchased for a large quartz65 mill, which will be put up as soon as possible. The stock in this company is all full paid and entirely unassessable. The ores of the mines in this district somewhat resemble those of the Sheba mine in Humboldt. Sheba Hurst, the discoverer of the mines, with his friends corralled all the best leads and all the land and timber they desired before making public their whereabouts. Ores from there, assayed in this city, showed them to be exceedingly rich in silver and gold—silver predominating. There is an abundance of wood and water in the District. We are glad to know that New York capital has been enlisted66 in the development of the mines of this region. Having seen the ores and assays67, we are satisfied that the mines of the District are very valuable—anything but wild-cat.
Once more native imbecility had carried the day, and I had lost a million! It was the “blind lead” over again.
Let us not dwell on this miserable68 matter. If I were inventing these things, I could be wonderfully humorous over them; but they are too true to be talked of with hearty69 levity70, even at this distant day. [True, and yet not exactly as given in the above figures, possibly. I saw Marshall, months afterward, and although he had plenty of money he did not claim to have captured an entire million. In fact I gathered that he had not then received $50,000. Beyond that figure his fortune appeared to consist of uncertain vast expectations rather than prodigious71 certainties. However, when the above item appeared in print I put full faith in it, and incontinently wilted72 and went to seed under it.] Suffice it that I so lost heart, and so yielded myself up to repinings and sighings and foolish regrets, that I neglected my duties and became about worthless, as a reporter for a brisk newspaper. And at last one of the proprietors73 took me aside, with a charity I still remember with considerable respect, and gave me an opportunity to resign my berth and so save myself the disgrace of a dismissal.
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1
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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sociable
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| adj.好交际的，友好的，合群的 | |
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conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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infested
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| adj.为患的，大批滋生的（常与with搭配）v.害虫、野兽大批出没于( infest的过去式和过去分词 )；遍布于 | |
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enraptured
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| v.使狂喜( enrapture的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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afflicted
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| 使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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enchanted
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| adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词 | |
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sumptuous
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| adj.豪华的，奢侈的，华丽的 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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affluence
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| n.充裕，富足 | |
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holders
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| 支持物( holder的名词复数 )； 持有者； （支票等）持有人； 支托（或握持）…之物 | |
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speculation
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| n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机 | |
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laborers
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| n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工 | |
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earnings
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| n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得 | |
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paupers
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| n.穷人( pauper的名词复数 )；贫民；贫穷 | |
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gambling
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| n.赌博；投机 | |
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carnival
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| n.嘉年华会，狂欢，狂欢节，巡回表演 | |
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curry
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| n.咖哩粉，咖哩饭菜；v.用咖哩粉调味，用马栉梳，制革 | |
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wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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microscopic
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| adj.微小的，细微的，极小的，显微的 | |
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hoarded
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| v.积蓄并储藏（某物）( hoard的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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squandering
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| v.（指钱，财产等）浪费，乱花( squander的现在分词 ) | |
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berth
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| n.卧铺，停泊地，锚位；v.使停泊 | |
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postscript
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| n.附言，又及；(正文后的)补充说明 | |
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entrusting
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| v.委托，托付( entrust的现在分词 ) | |
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berating
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| v.严厉责备，痛斥( berate的现在分词 ) | |
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trotted
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| 小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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wharf
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| n.码头，停泊处 | |
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afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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populous
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| adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的 | |
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solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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sprawling
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| adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着） | |
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plunging
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| adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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impaled
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| 钉在尖桩上( impale的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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vomiting
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| 吐 | |
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wink
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| n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁 | |
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teeming
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| adj.丰富的v.充满( teem的现在分词 )；到处都是；（指水、雨等）暴降；倾注 | |
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wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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siesta
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| n.午睡 | |
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thronged
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| v.成群，挤满( throng的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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46
lathered
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| v.（指肥皂）形成泡沫( lather的过去式和过去分词 )；用皂沫覆盖；狠狠地打 | |
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attic
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| n.顶楼，屋顶室 | |
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naive
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| adj.幼稚的，轻信的；天真的 | |
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serenity
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| n.宁静，沉着，晴朗 | |
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considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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51
growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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gaped
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| v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的过去式和过去分词 )；张开，张大 | |
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ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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parlor
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| n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅 | |
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benediction
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| n.祝福；恩赐 | |
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vacancy
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| n.（旅馆的）空位，空房，（职务的）空缺 | |
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ornaments
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| n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 ) | |
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nausea
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| n.作呕，恶心；极端的憎恶(或厌恶) | |
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staple
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| n.主要产物，常用品，主要要素，原料，订书钉，钩环；adj.主要的，重要的；vt.分类 | |
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61
diverge
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| v.分叉，分歧，离题，使...岔开，使转向 | |
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consolidated
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| a.联合的 | |
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treasury
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| n.宝库；国库，金库；文库 | |
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machinery
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| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
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quartz
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| n.石英 | |
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enlisted
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| adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持） | |
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assays
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| n.化验( assay的名词复数 )；试验；尝试；试金 | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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levity
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| n.轻率，轻浮，不稳定，多变 | |
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prodigious
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| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
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wilted
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| （使）凋谢，枯萎( wilt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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proprietors
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| n.所有人，业主( proprietor的名词复数 ) | |
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