The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1883-01-19
THRILLING EXPERIENCE.
A Guests Story of His Remarkable Es-
cape from the Newhan House.

n Guests Story or His Remarkable Es-
cape from the Newhan House.
Perhaps the man who had the most ex-
citing experience in the Newhall House fire.
at Milwaukee, is Mr.. T. j. Anderson, sales
man in the employ of George H. Taylor 4
Co, wholesale paper dealers, Chicago. Il
sat on the window sill of my room" said he,
sand l saw the flames take my bed, my
clothes, the floor sink i'm the mass of flame
before / escaped by sliding down the
rain-spout which ran along my win
dow had room on the corner
of Michigan street and Broadway, on the
fourth floor had played pool with Mr.. l.
A. Brown, OF Philadelphia until nearly
o'clock In the morning, when went TO bed
And, poor fellow L saw him afterwards go
down To his death in the mass of flame with
out being able TO help him. 1t was awful!
l walked up stairs TO my room, as the eleya-
tor stopped running at 1890. On my way up
/ met the only Waterman the house EN-
| ployed, and asked him how / could escape
In case of fire. He said easy enough. There
were two ways-one by the back stairway,
and the other by going through a labyrinth
of hall TO the front. Browns room was OPP
posite TO mine / went to bed after that,
and was awakened by the horrible shrieks
of burning women and the groans of burn
ing men 1t was hell itself, so terrible
seemed the sounds The flames were
cracking all around, and opened the
door. A great mass of smoke and flame
rushed in, and l became stitied was UNI
able to again shut it and the smoke almost
killed me. i had nothing on but a gauze
undershirt. felt my strength leaving me
| / was choking L sank to the floor. /
thought was gone. But my senses had not
altogether left me. / gathered myself up as
! best could and made toward the window.
! BY desperate effort l succeeded in getting
there L sank again TO the floor But raj
| lied and attempted to raise the window 1t
was so well balanced that it yielded at once
to my puny effort and went up | leaned
out and the fresh air revived me- L
was strengthened and consciousness re-
turned. looked down below and saw the
firemen and police holding the canvas They
shouted for me TO jump on the telegraph
wires, but refused l saw the ladders up
against the building. l sat down on the
window-sill and | saw everything go down,
my clothes valise, everything, unable TO
save q thing. / shouted, | begged, / i'm
plored for those below to save me. They
saw me, but gave me no help. saw my
friend come from his room and attempt TO
come to me through the mass of flame, but
/ saw him go down in the vortex of flame TO
his death. oh, such a sight 1t was
too horrible TO imagine. / saw the tin
spout. 1t was in part covered with ice.
! Three women and one man had tried TO de-
scend it, and they landed in the Valley of
Death. They lost their hold and fell to the
street below. 1t was the only means of es-
cape left | seized it with the frantic effort
of despair. Everything inside of my room
was gone / caught it in viSe-like grasp
and / commenced TO slide. Sometimes | slid
six to twelve feet and at others a few inches.
But | kept going down, using the ice made
by the hose as a f0othold and catch for my
hands, which are terribly bliStered | went
clean down to the cellar, fifteen feet below
the street, but | was alive and clad in only
my gau2e undershirt On my way down
saw two little girls standing in the window
OF the third story, and they asked me TO save
them, but | was powerleSs TO give them aid,
and | had TO see those innocents not over d
years old swallowed up by the heartleSs
! flames. | saw Kelsey, Tom Thumbs col
ored servant go down with the walls. He
was clinging to a w-indow-sill in the fifth
story walked out to the front and went
upstairs TO the office, where | found a wom-
an who was tearing her hair. ] could not
see her face and did not know who she was.
! spoke to her. but she took no notice of me.
/ seized her by the ankles and dragged her
down bodily, thus saving her life. | went
across to the express office where l saw An
! tisdel, who was leaning over Mrs
! Johnson He said: L am crazy. You
rub this woman L want To GO and save my
children. was IN a position to be rubbed
myself, being naked and chilly. ] said TO Il
! fireman standing by: Il have lost everything. '
He said You're alive Pointing to n man
who was clingng from ffth-stOry window,
| he said Hoy would you like to change
places with Nm Somebody gave me a
coat, and / walked in my bare feet four
| blocks 10 the Planknton House / was
! beside myself On the way | met woman
who threw a shawl over me- and said, Here,
poor boy, take that | got clothing, such as
1t was. from strangers at the Plankinton. l
never want TO 60 through such an experience
aE-ain.