The Savannah morning news., 1902-06-10

come by smoke, not serious: ]. r. Suit.
jumped from third floor into net, in
Jured internally, will probably die.
Patients Awful Plight.
A scene that wrought to the pitch
of madness the great crowd that had
gathered around the building was en-
acted at fourth story window on the
north side. Across this window was a
heaVy wire screen, and on the outside
or the screen were iron
hars. Behind them were
gathered crowd of men whose
number was afterward learned to be
between 25 and 80. Escape in other di-
rections was impossible, for the fire
was steadily eating it's way toward the
window. The one chance for life for
that crowd of men lay through that
screened and barred window. So
merely did the prisoners pull at the
screen that from the street below were
plainly visible tiny streams of blood
that tricllled from lacerated fingers and
hands and flowed over the window sill
A number of men at the window were
IN straight jackets and manacles.
The crowd in the street watching the
desperate situation of the men behind
the screen was simply an insane mob
and directions at the men, and gave or
ders to the firemen, who were doing
all that men could to get through the
bars from the outside. AS the flames
came steadily toward the men, the peo-
pie in the street jumped up and down
and screamed in helpless rage. 1t
seemed as though nothing could be
done, and that all of the men would
die within six inches of freedom.
II -
That any of the men escaped at all
is owing to the work of w. E. Davis
of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a patient in the
institution. He induced the men to
cease their disconnected pulling at the
screen and to unite their efforts Four
men took hold of the screen, and after
a few desperate pulls, managed to tear
down a portion of it. Nerved to the
work by their success the bodies of the
men swayed back and forth as they
put all their strength into one last eff
fort. Finally, down it came, the men
in their desperation pulling with it
large pieces of the mortar in which its
sides had been encased.
Their Efforts Successful.
The screen was gone, but the bars
remained. AS many men as could
place their hands on the lower bar
took hold. 1t bent almost double, and
six men went to the floor with a crash
holding on to the iron bar which they
had torn from its fastenings. So
quickly did the men behind them
spring to grasp the second bar that
those who had torn down the first
were badly trampled on before they
could rise. Another bar was soon torn
away, and the path to safety was
opened. The first man through was
DR.. c. A. Anderson of Chicago. No
ladders were in front of the window,
and Anderson's one hope was to reach
the platform of a fire escape in front
of a window just west of where he
was. He hesitated for an instant, then
sprang for the fire escape, clutched it,
and was saved. The next man through
the window was G. S. Colt of Lavergne,
Ill. Anderson was so much exhausted
that he was not able to drag Colt af-
ter him and Colt was so badly burned
that he was not able to
make the leap himself. He
crouched on the window sill while
the men on the inside clamored for
him to jump. Clinton Osborne, real
estate dealer of New York city, was
Colt and told the men inside to grasp
his feet. This they did, and telling
Colt to take hold of his wrists and
drop over the window sill, Osborne,
hanging head downward, swung Colt
| to and fro. until he had acquired suf-
! ficient momentum, and then swung
| him up and onto the landing of the
| fire escape, where DR.. Anderson seized
| and held him. and he and
| Gott then formed chain, Colt
holding to the fire escape, and
| Anderson, tightly held by Colt with
one hand, reaching out toward the win
| dow. so that the men one by one as
| they crawled through were able to take
! one step on a ledge, and make a short
| leap to the platform of the fire escape,
down which they made their way to
! the ground.
Twenty-Five men made their escape
| in this manner and when the last one
| passed under the iron bar the building
was furnace close behind him. 1t was
| said there were several men lying on
the floor overcome by smoke when he
left and they all persisted.
DIR. G. Milford Silvers, chief of the
medical staff at the hospital, was alb
sent when the fire broke out. When
word reached him of the disaster, he
hurried to the hospital. DR.. Silvers
| said that in the institution were sixty
| patients, of whom fifteen were women.
Thrilling Scenes of Rescue.
Thrilling scenes of rescue were en-
acted in front of the building on Wa
bash avenue, and in the alley at the
rear. The firemen ran into the build
| ing and dragged out a score of men
and women, who had been slightly
! overcome by smoke, and were unable
to find the doorways. The majority of
these were able to walk away within
| a few minutes.
| After the fire was over the police ar
rested William Lanahan. the engineer
| Lee Seymour the fireman of the build
ing, and J. P. Nagel, the inventor Of
a gasoline plant in use in the base
ment of the institution. There are
no direct charges against the men,
but the police have the idea that the
fire may have originated from the mis-
management of the gasolene plant, and
took the men into custody.
Seven inmates of the sanitarium are
missing.
FATAL BLAZE AT SARATOGA.