The morning call., 1895-01-22
HE COULD NOT STOP.
Accident TO the Grand Hotel
Elevator.
CAUGHT IN A FLYING CAGE.
Thrilling Experience Of a Lady and
a Boy.
CRASHED INTO THE HOTEL ROOF.
The Rope Shutting Off the Steam Broke,
but the Safety Catches Held.
The Boys Story.
CAUGHT IN A FLYING CAGE.
CRASHED INTO THE HOTEL ROOF.

A lady and an elevator-boy had vision
of death at the Grand Hotel last evening,
and though neither was injured both re-
ceived shaking-up and fright that they
viii remember for years.
The elevator at the Grand is one Of those
modern, rapid-transit thirty miles an
hour affairs, and goes flying roofward or
cellarWard at the touch of lever in the
hands of the boy in charge, instead of at
the pull of rope, as in the older patterns.
About o'clock last night the guests and
employees of the house were startled by a
roaring, grinding sound, accompanied by
d scream of fear from the direction of the
elevator shaft, and guests on the top story,
where the commotion was most violent,
rushed from their rooms thinking that an
earthquake had come or the roof had fallen
in. Porters rushed upstairs. four steps at
Jump, to ascertain the cause of the dis
turbance, and soon came back with the
news that the elevator cable had broken,
and the elevator had crashed into the roof.
1t was at first thought that the cage had
fallen, but this proved not to be the case,
as the safety catches did their work as
soon as it began to descend.
A lady was in the cage and Night Clerk
Frye ran upstairs to her rescue, but she had
left the elevator unassisted and gone to
her room before he could reach the top
landing.
The elevator boy. who is known to guests
in the hotel as Jim, was as white as the
proYerbial sheet when he appeared at the
Office to report the accident.
81 took III a lady passenger at the ground
foor," he said, "and started the cage. She
wanted to get out at the second story, and
as the elevator neared the landing pulled
the lever to stop. 1t did not work, and I
pulled again with the same result. Then I
knew that it was out OF order and nv heart
went into my mouth. Of course the ele-
Yator would only run at the ordinary speed
to the roof bat fully expected that the
crash that I knew must come would break
the rope and [ expected that we would be
dashed to the basement and both killed.
The lady did not realize that we were in a
runaway cage and kept telling me to stop,
but I was too frightened to answer her,
ana in a moment we went smash up
against the roof. waited for the fall, but
it didn't come, and tell you was never
SO thankful IN my life as when I found
that the safety-clutches held Us hard and
fast.
1.-The elevator surged and hanged a great
deal, because the steam was not shut off,
but as long as we did not fall did not
mind that"
An effort was made to locate the lady
who shared the perilous flying trip sky
ward, but the hotel employees protested
ignorance as TO her identity, and she re-
manned in seclusion.
After a mechanic had examined the
broken elevator and announced that it
could not be repaired for the night traffic,
4 card announcing that fact was posted on
the door, and the hotel relapsed into its
usual quiet state.
s. T. Thorn, manager of the hotel, stated
that new rope was recently put in, and
that the accident was probably due to defec-
tive splicing. He was very thankful that
no one was hurt, and viii have the cables
and other apparatus inspected more fire.
quently In the future.