The following letter from Charlotte Hayden of Charleston to her sister vividly recounts what many local people, including those connected with the medical profession, went through during the earthquake shock and on the day following.
Mrs. Hayden was married to Augustus Hayden, an insurance agent who served on the board of the Training School for Nurses. Their son, Augustus Jr., here called Gussie, was a student at the Medical College of the State of South Carolina. They lived at 24 Rutledge, on one of the filled-in lots beside the newly built Colonial Lake (which she calls “the pond”).
Renting a cottage behind the Haydens’ house was a family of expatriate Cubans. The patriarch of that family was Dr. Juan Guitéras, a renowned pathologist who had just discovered the cause of elephantiasis. Guitéras was on the staff of the U.S. Marine Hospital Service on Franklin Street and taught at the medical college. After the Spanish-American War he returned to Cuba, where he worked with Dr. Walter Reed, Dr. William Gorgas, and Dr. Carlos Finlay to confirm the vector of yellow fever.
A photocopy of the handwritten letter, dated September 2, 1886, is among the collections of the South Carolina Historical Society (30/29/1). Some of the spelling and punctuation have been changed for readability.
Dear Sidney,
Knowing that you will feel anxious to hear about us all, after the terrible ordeal we have passed through . . . I will try and give you some of the particulars. . . . My head does not feel very steady after the shaking up and nervous strain that we have been, and are still going through, so you must make allowances for all mistakes that I may make. Augustus, Julie and I were all alone in the house, as the Guiteras family were . . . in the cottages in the yard. It was about half past nine. Augustus and I were sitting in the piazza and Julie was reading in the sitting room. Gussie had left us a few moments before to go round to the Hospital to get something.
Dear Sidney,
Knowing that you will feel anxious to hear about us all, after the terrible ordeal we have passed through . . . I will try and give you some of the particulars. . . . My head does not feel very steady after the shaking up and nervous strain that we have been, and are still going through, so you must make allowances for all mistakes that I may make. Augustus, Julie and I were all alone in the house, as the Guiteras family were . . . in the cottages in the yard. It was about half past nine. Augustus and I were sitting in the piazza and Julie was reading in the sitting room. Gussie had left us a few moments before to go round to the Hospital to get something.
Augustus found he had lost his eyeglasses and said he would go in the yard and look for them, as he thought he must have dropped them there. I went into the sitting room to speak to Julie and we heard a strange noise as we thought in the room overhead. Julie remarked, what on earth are the Guiterases doing, not knowing they were in the cottage. I saw the pictures were moving and I realized our danger. I said it is an earthquake and we started to the piazza. Julie wished me to go out of the house and I wished to remain until I heard from Augustus. I called and he answered. In the meantime Julie had almost dragged me into the yard. By the time we got there Augustus joined us and when I found he was safe I was calm and ready to help and comfort others.
The Guiterases rushed into the yard as soon as we did and were the most terrified people I ever saw. Their moans were piteous to be heard. Mrs. Horlbeck and a young widow with two children live next door. I called to her when I heard her children’s screams, to come to us. In a few moments Miss Jule Richmond and her two boys rushed in and caught hold of me and were so frightened and nervous that I had to quiet them. We all repaired to the pond and remained there all night. Hundreds of persons were in groups at the pond and the negroes were in squads singing and praying and calling on Jesus to save them. They thought it was the Day of Judgment, and rushed to their churches, praying and singing. They could be heard squares off.
Gussie joined us at the pond in a few moments. Part of the Hospital was destroyed and several of the inmates buried under the ruins. Gussie helped drag them out and rushed for home to see what our fate had been. . . .
We remained at the Pond most of the night. Gussie returned to the Hospital to help the Doctors care for the wounded who were being brought in with injuries received. He came home and asked me for humanity sake to furnish coffee for the wounded. I went back to our kitchen to see what I could do and found it such a mess of plastering and brick he could not light the fire in the stove, so he built a fire in the yard and by placing a pot on some bricks I succeeded in making coffee. . . One of the servants came when the shock was over to see if we were safe, her and I made coffee and sent to the Hospital several times during the night—doing for others helped me to be calm. . . . We had five shocks before daylight, the first the most severe. It was certainly a night of terror. I could only say “Be still and know that I am God.” I have never realized his power and our utter helplessness to such a degree before.
At daylight we went home and looked over the house. What a wreck met our eyes. The papering and plastering in the dining room was literally torn in shreds, only one side of the room had a particle of papering left. . . . Marble mantelpiece broken in half. . . . Our parlor plastering torn down in spots. The large picture, Franklin at the Court of Versailles, thrown down but not broken. . . . I cannot tell you the destruction. . . . We have a large tent pitched at the pond in front of our house and mattresses spread and we will probably remain here until the shocks are over. Dr. Guiteras got the tent from government and Augustus had it put up. Twenty-seven slept in it last night. . . . Most families have no homes. Three or four delicate refined ladies were confined in cob-wagons—no place to go. One of our neighbors was moved out with an infant—twelve hours old and laid on a sofa all night with an awning over her. . . . Hope for bright weather.
With love to all from all.
Your sister,
C.E. Hayden
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