Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1903-02-27

cuH Into the street DeIow ana JnuS
make his whereabouts know, saved his
life. After a hard rehearsal Jones
went to the Pike building about mid
night to get his valise which he had
left in studio of an artist friend ON
the fourth floor. After entering he
was so tired out he fell asleep in
chair. When he awoke, suddenly, he
was blinded and suffocating, and he
saw outside the glare of the flames.
He crawled to the door. Outside in
the great airshaft the flames were
shooting up. How he made his way
he does not know, but some instinct
found for him the stairway leading to
the top. He went to the roof and
In some manner got through skylight
He fell over something and was
stunned. When he recovered the
flames were shooting through the roof
He crawled to the edge, but the fire.
men in the street did not notice him.
He shouted himself hoarse. He took
his cuff and wrote on it;
Il am on the roof; nearly dead from
gas. Jones'"
He threw it to the ground and a re-
porter picked 1T up, and located the
figure of man standing outlined in
the sparks. Jones 0erept along the
edge of the rear of the building and
there waited for the f1remen who plac-
ed ladder across the alley from the
Telephone exchange building. Jones
was CARRIED down and taken to the
hospital.
The girls in the Telephone exchange
building across an alley from the
burning Pike building were badly
frightened, as the dense clouds of
smoke rolled about the building. The
exchange rooms are on the top floor
of the 6-story building and the night
force consists of eight exchange girls
and the night manager, George Cappes.
The girls pluckily stuck to their posts
from 1880 to $3.50 a. M, when the
flames were blazing in their windows
SO that all were ordered out Of the
building. Lately they returned to
their calls" and when the large day
force OF girls came ON duty they fear
lessly went to the sixth floor for duty.
although the fire waged all around
them.
Destroyed Once Before.
The Pike theater building was total.
1y destroyed by fire in 1866 and it
luckily escaped total destruction on
March 80, 1902, when there was a Sun.
day matinee in progress, but no lives
were lost in any of the fires.
After the fire of last year the interi-
or Of the Pike was remodeled and the
theater redecorated and refurnished at
the expense of several thousand dol
lars, over $1,000 worth of gold lace
alone being used in the decorations.
The scenery and costumes used by
the Pike Stock company during the
season which closed last Saturday
night, valued at about $4,000, were
stored in the opera house. Included
in this was a good portion of the ex.
pensive costumes used in the presen.
tation Of Cinderella" during Christ.
mas week
The loss of the Henrietta Crossman
company. which has been at Pixies this
week, Is over double that of the Pike
Stock company. Henrietta Crossman
was called UP with other guests at
the Burnet house and witnessed the
burning of her company's effects. She
went into the crowd on the street in
the night and offered her assistance.
Belonged to Pike Estate.
The Pike building belongs to the
Pike estate and Powell Crossley is
the general lessee, sub-letting 1t to
over 200 tenants. The building aa-
Joining the Pike, west, fine 6-story
structure, was supposed to be fire.
proof but the enormous heat from
the Pike fire and the falling walls dam.
| aged it very much. 1t is owned by
Louis Seasongood, and is occupied by
the Baltimore and Ohio Southwestern
railroad on the first floor and by nu.
merous tenants IN the easements and
by Richter and Phillips. wholesale Jew.
eler on the second floor and others on
the upper floors. The loss of Rich
ter and Phillips is large, although there
was considerable salvage and the Sea-
songood building withstood the flames
e..