The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-06-22
Others Who Went Down With
Him Escape Almost
MiraCulOuSly.
THE WALLS BULGED OUTWARD
Two Men In the Building Attempt
to Get Out by Jumping From
the Windows.

men narrowly escaped 4 similar fate by
the sudden collapse of the roof of the old
City Hall about 1890 O'Clock yesterday
morning. James Wilkinson, better known
as yankee Jim," met his death after
being hurled headlong through mass of
falling timbers, flying bricks, laths and
plaster, TO be buried sixty feet below in
the debris. Death was not instantaneous,
the luckless man living long enough to
recognize one of his companions, who had
FASTENED to dig him out, before he breathed
his last
Six men were on the roof at the time
it gave way They were J. j. Gumper, the
foreman; Wilkinson, John Casey of %
Trenton street, William Hebron of 305
Filbert street and n. Nelson. On the
fourth floor, almost Immediately below
them, was Tom Dewitt another workman.
On the same floor with the latter was Will
liam Winters, who was gathering laths for
his own use. Gumper and his men were
engaged in tearing down the brick walls
on that portion of the building which was
once the Ell Dorado gambling hall, late the
Hall of Records and lastly the old Re-
ceiving Hospital.
Just a moment prior to the accident
Wilkinson was at the corner of the wing
on the Kearny-street side, nearest Mer-
chant. He was picking away at the bricks
and mortar when his companions heard
him cry out suddenly, 'She's going, boys,
save yourselves" making jump inward,
himself. Casey and Hebron ran as fast as
they could, barely reaching the rear roof,
as the forward half fell in amid cloud of
dust, carrying Wilkinson, Gumper and
Nelson with it.
Down through the feeble floors below,
crushing them to splinters and tearing the
iron anchors out as though they were but
pieces of string, the heavy mass crashed to
the solid foundation and the three men
with it.
With report like great cannon the
flying mass piled together, great volumes
OF dust arising, while the brick walls
swayed and tottered in and out with the
shock. For block either way people
were brought to sudden stand by the
tremendous noise, only to hurry the next
instant in dense throngs to the scene of
the accident.
In less than five minutes the streets sur
rounding the building and the plaza in
front of it were jammed with people,
hundreds coming in steady streams from
all directions. By this time the rumor had
gained ground that half dozen men were
killed, and the excitement raised was
largely intensified by the arrival of truck
No. from the O'Farrell-street station.
Sergeant Esola had detailed squad to
keep order, and these were REINFORCED by
number of bluecoats from the new City
Hall under command of Captain Douglass.
The moment the crash from the falling
timbers sounded, dozens of men rushed
into the tottering building to lend what
assistance they could to the uufortunates
who were supposed to be wounded and
dying beneath the weight of bricks and
timbers. While they were thus engaged,
those on the outside had their attention
attracted by a dust-begrimed man, bloody
and tattered, who was climbing through
one of the second-story windows on the
kearny-street side with the evident inten-
ton of jumping to the ground for safety.
He was greatly, almost wildly excited, and
did not realize that the worst had hap
pened.
The man was \. Nelson, who was on the
roof when it caved it and who had fallen
on top of the flying timbers to the second
story, where he was thrown off in some
manner and lodged in a corner in the
second story, from which he made break
for liberty at once. Fearing the coming of
the second crash, he CROPPED his way
through the binding dust, reaching one of
the windows. TIE crash of the glass at
tracted the crowd below and, but for their
warning shouts, Nelson would have
jumped. The warnings reached him in
time, however, and, after gazing around
for few moments he backed out of the
window and reached the first floor by the
stairs, when he was Immediately taken to
the Office of DR.. G. W. O'Donnell.
A similar spectacle was passing before
the eyes OF those on the Washington street
side almost at the same time William
Winters, who was on the third floor
gathering lath at the time the roof fell in,
became seized with panic at the terrific
noise and the ominous shaking of the
building and made up his mind that his time
was up If he did not get quick move on
himself Through the binding dust he
made rush for what he supposed was the
stairway, but could not reach it. He
turned in his desperation and catching a