The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1894-03-05
THE CORNELL HAZING
Graphic Story as Told by .
Freshman From Seattle.
NO INTENTIONS or SERIOUS HARM
=. ,. Grsvss Espiatns - Cause Of The
Cssk.s ss4sessssn wish Gss-Ns
Brutal Fight Occurred.

The following extract from . letter
written by Edward B.rtram Graves. .
freshman At Cornell university, to his
father. z. o. Graves. Of this city. contains
graphic account OF the recent fatal hsz-
ing scene At the university:
And nov for the mos, important piece
OF news have, the freshman banquet.
The truth in brief Is that ~ the 81 c ass
banquet the sophs succeeded in sending
hydrochioric acid gas into the kitchen OF
the ball with the simple intention Of driv-
ing ont the cooks and thus breaking up
the adair, A coiored woman. ignorant OF
Its fatal properties, Inhaled il and died.
and number OF students. nos knowing
that il came up through the floor, bat
thinking they could find the generator in
tho room. were overcome in attempting TO
and the source.
THE rush wu q rough one, brs no one
was injured and 40 one vas compelled ID
De IN II against his will The worst IN
jury was done by town tonghs who took
the opportunity 20 sent their hatred OF the
college boys fhs caae Of the banquet
known 20 outsiders the day of the affair.
The freshmen met at building 10 dark
corner Of the campua and about O'Clock
in . line Of DO men. four abreast. with an
escort Of about leo juniors, they started
for the hall All went sell, as the sophs
were entirely ignorant of our meeting
place and had gathered IN front OF the
hall TO await Us. The juniors. who are
the freshmen's upper Glass friends. we're
holding the hall against them, and 1t was
not until We swung into the street on
which the hall fronts that 'W knew any
thing OF ua.
"On We came, q solid mass of men. and
there STOOD the sophs lined up and deter
mined TO stop Us. not. - the papers would
stones ready to bat our brains out, but
SIMPLY by pushing and pulling TO break up
oar line and then haul out freshmen one
at time and keep them from going TO the
hail. No weapons at all were used except
by the police and no stones were thrown.
though l must confess that eggs, potatoes
and ike missiles were thrown and were
expected, and every freshman was dressed
TO suit the occasion. There was sudden
shock Al our lines struck. Men pushed
and struggled and were caught by the
arms and legs and pulled out, but
broke away and joined the line again.
Now and then man would lmsgine he
had been 'siugged' and would begin to
fight, bat would be stopped by both sides.
Well. the line held aud We walked on and
were soon surrounded by our friends. the 50
men, who took up the contest, and the mo-
ment Q soph was found he was simply
Tired out OF the crowd.
IL was right in the thick Of Ii, and was
dragged out several times. and would
take oath that there was not half tho dan
ger that there Is in . large crowd at gate
or box Office; and then, too, every man
there was in IL by his own will, and had he
not been he could have gotten out OF IL in
less than Q minute. The brutal work, II
there was any. WAS on the part OF the town
'muckers,' aud not that OF students. who
are always ready to see fair play. and who
look upon the Whole affair q do the kids
in the street at game of tag. This news
paper talk Of the brutality Bavageness'
and horrible danger il oil sensational
trash and lies. have been in every rush
here but one, and know what ! am talk
ing about The dirt that has bean dung
on Cornell has raised my back, and want
my folks to know that college makes
man and not . brute.
"Well, to go on. We got into the hall at
last and the feast began. There were four
tables running the length Of the hall, each
table seating tfiy men and across the end
was table ~ which sat our class presi-
dent, with ass class president and the
speakers of ths evening. We began about
10 and all went well until about IL. when
the odor of hy trochloric acid gas was
noticed and it was found to come from the
kitchen, where the cooks were at work.
And now a word about the hall etc.: It
occupied the whole fourth floor and con-
sisted Of the main hall, number Of small
rooms and large kitchen whore the han
auet Was prepared. Lew and l had gone
on the roof just over the hall the night
before and, 10 prevent any attack from
that quarter. had screwed down all the
skyligh.s on the roofs Of the buildings on
a level with that of the hall. Thus We
made sure Of our heads. For q week be-
~ fsA
slept in the hall every night TO see that
no breaches were made in the wall or floor,
and so on the night of the affair We
thought We we're all right. Now | reaiiZs
the truth Of the saying, If you want
thing done well do IL Yourself We left it
TO rs 10 see that no one entered the vacant
rooms below Us.
''At the first Whit Of the gas men began
to hunt for the generator in the buckets,
etc, IN the room, and whole pans of dishes
and articles In which the gas could TO
made were thrown out of the window,
bat with no iessening in the dow OF gas.
BY this time the odor was terrible and
colored woman ~ work aas overcome and
had TO be carried out. The gas tHCLl is
very irritating, and how any one could
stand IL long enough to be overcome Is
more than | can see. have made IL in
the laboratory, and I know that could
never STAY IN a room in which il was long
enough 10 be injured By it even II !
wished 20.
However, II acts even after you escape
from it, and the woman, not sf>. ing the
fatal character Of The gas and working
right over the spos where 10 entered, in
haled fatal quantity before she realized
it. She VAS carried out of the room and q
few minutes after was dead. Men rushed
into the roam to find the soGres and were
overcome and il was at least ten or fifteen
minutes before the General tmy room
mate Levi broke Ill the door oil q room
down stairs and found an innocen.-look-
ing lug connected by tao rubber tubes
to glass tubes stuck IN holes in
the csiiiux through hieh the deadly gas
was pouring into the room above. In 3
moment he had grabbed the jug and.
pinehlng the tubes IN his hand 10 cut of
the siox, had tern the thing away and
had rushed down stairs and thrown the
whole APPARATUS IN at alley way. Mean
while tile gas vas working its way into
the hall and many began 10 cough and
snerEs and wondeg here il came from, for
ximos. no one Ia the main hal kaes of
| the trouble in the kiteaea G,ta after i.
sas all over. Windows were thrown up
and the room cleared Of the gas and with
almost no trouble the fun wens on, though
a few men who knew of the death Of the
woman were very qules aud sober. AM
mon.a was thrown into the room and soon
cleared IL Of the gas II com hines with
tue gas and forms white powder whlc 4
falls 10 the floor. ASoai twenty men were
overcome by the gas n attempting ~ ind
| the source. bat they soon recovered and