The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1899-05-19
TALES Oh PLUCK
AND ADVENTURE.
sseeooeaeee sseoooesos
a Hero Of the L(Id.or Hotel Fire.


Auoro Of the Slea.or uo,e, Fire.
During tho terrible fire which de-
stroyed the Windsor Hotel, in New
York City, on March II, there were
performed number Of heroic deeds
as splendid as any ever done i'll war.
All these can not even be mentioned;
but what was perhaps the very bravest
deed Of all should be recorded.
Edward Ford, fireman of Exten
sion Truck No. 20, has the honor of !
having been the last fireman to leave |
the hotel, bringing down the last per-
son rescued alive. The brave man
would not talk for publication himself,
but comrade who witnessed the res
cue told the story partly as he saw 1t,
and partly in FS,6wn words.
1t appears tNford was going
home on the elevated railroad, when
he saw the smoke oi the fire. At the
Fifticth street station, he broke from
the train and rushed to the scene of
tho confagration.: When he arrived
the smoke was pouring out of every win
dow, and the building apparently about
to fall 81 pushed my way through the
crowd" he sSS~''aud had begun
WOGh WIFI tue IloSo "hcu
some one shouted that there was an
old woman i'll n room on the sixth
| story on the Fifth avenue side.
could not see any one at the window.
1 saw one fireman up there, but he
was in the room to the north of where
the woman was said to be, and he
could not see her, or know that she
was there. I determined to so up my
self There was n scaling ladder
from the second floor up to the room
where the fireman WAS, and took 4
thirty five foot ladder and paced it
inside the hotel railing, and started
up"
In few minutes he had reached
the top, and found n comrade there
named Bill Clarke. The room was
full of smok~, -.,.l the men could hear
the fire roaring anu erackling outside.
Thinking to get into the next rnom by
means of the hall, Ford threw bimscli
against the hall door and forced il
open, but n storm of flames aud smoke
busrt into the room, almost sutfocatin2
him. He tried to force the dool
} closed again, bu5 the hinges We're
broken. aud it fell outward into the
: flames. Then he tried the windows
J "I stood on the stone Intel of the
window below" he said, "and graspet
} the woodwork with my left hand
Then / reached for the next window
but it was too far off, ] stood my fee
firmly on the Intel on which L wa
standing and made jump for tn
other one. Fortunately | caught th'
floor on her knees. AS sprang in sh
turned AMI CRASHED me convuisively
!. ''-ave NE. for Gods saker she cried.
The brave fellow took her up aut
dragged her to the window, calling t
Clarke for help. He grasped he,
firmly around the waist and climbed
out on to the Intel Of the window be
low, holding himself close to the build
ing. Clarke was already outside O
the window, and tried to reach, bu
tho distance was too great. Th,
woman was afraid that she was goinc
to fall, and kept praying and shrek
ing to be saved, at the same time grasp
ing at everything within reach, aut
greatly haMpering the movements o
the men, "At last" said Ford, 81
shook her free from her hold on the
window-Sill. She then became un.
conscious, and was n dead weight on
my arm. All this time the fire YVES
eating on the woodwork of the room
toward the window, and the part TO
which Ford was holding began to
scorch. 81 shifted my hold, he said,
for another on tho top of the sill,
and bent my head and shoulders be.
low to get out Of the range Of the
iames, which We're already sweeping
out OF the window. j called to Clark q
TO reacn over to me, rs / could not
hold any more. Ho leaned as far a.
he could hold on with his left hand,
and reached ont with his right. |
lifted the woman toward him with all
the strength hal left, and ho seized
her around the waist. Clarke lsa big,
powerful man, and succeeded in get
ting her to the top Of the ladder. -
Clarke then took the woman down to
the sidewalk and brnn"h, = =, "
=" =, gray haircd lady of fifty
or sixty years. This was the last rer-
son taken from the building, and three
! or four minutes later the walls fell !,
Helped Out by IL Fear.
/ An odd although rather brutal story
OF mans adventure with a bear is
told IN the "History of Williams
County, Ohio" John Gillct had made
up his mind, from various signs, that
mere was q nest OF bear cubs some.
where III his neighborhood One dav.
when he was out hunting for them. he
grew tired, aud rs his good luck had
H. SAT down to rest beside the very
stump in which the nest was bidden