Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-07

opened their doors only to discover that
the front and rear stairways were lanes
of living fire. To attempt escape In that
direction would have meant instant death.
In this crisis c. ]. Bamberger of Salt Lake
City. was one man who kept cool.
Bamberger shared quarters with Robert
Turner of Pittsburg. Bamberger's nrst
thought on awakening and discovering the
conditions of things, was to try the starr
way. He ran to the front and saw that 1t
would be impossible to get down that way,
then he hurried to the rear and there
saw that matters were no better.
When others thought Of jumping to save
their lives. Bamberger collected his wits,
and Selling the blankets and sheets from
the bed in his room tore them into strips,
which he knotted together, and made rope
long enough and strong enough to reach
the ground, when it was extended from a
window. One end of the makeshift rope he
tied around Turner'S waist, and, finding
that it would stand the strain. lowered him
to the surface of the campus. Having res
cued his friend. Bamberger then turned his
attention to his own safety. He tied his
blanket rope to post of the bed and swung
out of the window. Neither he nor Turner
were injured, although they had no time to
save any of their belongings. On the floor
above H. M. Curry of Pittsburg, Clarence
Pope of East Orange, N. j., and James Nc
Cutcheon, also of Pittsburg, had their
rooms, and they likewise found it impos-
sible to get down by the stairway. Nc
Cutcheon wandered around looking for a
method of escape and in doing was
overcome.
Curry and Pope remained with McCutch-
con while the flames gained rapidly on him
and finally burst through the room. AT
this juncture Curry and Pope were driven
from their posts and jumped. Both Of them
were burned and injured in their fall.
Rescued Fellow Student.
By this time scores of half-clad students
from the other fraternity houses had flock
ed to the spot and they cared for Pope and
Curry. One of them, a man named Good
speed, learning that McCutcheon was I'M
conscious on the third floor, climbed up the
front of the building and finding him there
at great risk of his own life managed to
rescue him.
The Ithaca firemen who were killed were
all members of the Automobile Company
No. 6. They were playing stream on the
flames and were doing what they could to
check the progress of the fire, when sud
denly before they had any warning of the
danger the north wall fell with crash,
burying the men who are dead.
Fraternity.
The fraternity hall was totally destroyed.
The students lost all their belongings.
The Chi Psi college fraternity was found
ed at Union College. Schenectady, N. Y, in
1871.
Chapters were established in fourteen
other colleges before the civil war. and
about dozen more have been founded
since. 1t is considered one of the most con-
sentative of college fraternities. Its badge
or pin" is monogram formed by plac-
ing the Greek letter Chi over the Greek let
ter Psi. Its total membership An 1900 was
3, 500. Some of the most prominent MEM
bers of the Chi Psi, Speaker Thomas B.
Reed Chief Justice Fuller of the United
States Supreme Court. United States Sena-
tor Thomas NJ. Palmer. former Postmaster
General Don NJ. Dickinson. Stephen H.
Tying, jr.; Eldridge T. Gerry and William
Aston.
The building which was destroyed was
formerly known as the Fiske mansion. 1t
was built about twenty years ago by Prof.
Willard Fiske and his wife. Jamie McGraw
Fiske, and cost over 100000. It was never
occupied by the Fishes and about fifteen
years ago. after the death of Mrs. Fiske, 1t
was bought the Chi Psi fraternity. 1t
was situated on the Cornell campus and
was one of the most beautiful buildings In
the country.