The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1907-01-09
cornell BOYS DIE
IN CHAPTER HOUSE FIRE
Three Prominent Ithacans, Vol
unteer Firemea Also Perish
SEVEN STUDENTS WERE HURT
Members of Chi Psi Fraternity Sacri-
flee Their Own Lives to Rescue
Comrades Penned In Upper Sto-
ries-Victims Trapped Asleep. (

Ithaca, N. Y.-Four men students
of Cornell University and three menu
bers of the Volunteer Fire Depart
ment of Ithaca were killed and seven
students were injured in the burning
Of the Chi Psi Fraternity house on
Cornell campus. Two bodies remain
in the ruins.
Thirty students lodged in the
house, which originally was the Nc
Graw-Fiske mansion, and was the
most palatial fraternity lodge at any
college in the'United States. All ex-
cept three escaped when the, fire was
discovered roaring up both !stairways
at 4 o'clock a. M. Two Of the victims
died as heroes, returning to rescue
cor -ades, and the three firemen were
killed together under a,falling wall.
Students Dead.
Grelle, Ferdinand W. twenty,
South Orange, N. j., freshman in en-
cheering school; body missing.
McCutcheon, James, Jr., Pittsburg,
halfback on Cornell eleven, sopho-
more class; died in hospital
Nichols, William Holes, Chicago,
senior class; body not positively iden-
titled.
schmuck, Oliver Leroy, Hanover,
Pa, senior class; jumped from third
story after trying to rescue Nichols;
died in hospital.
V~oIuptaer Eiremep dead. q
Landon, 4. j., salesman, Ithaca.
Robinson, Alfred S., lawyer, Ith~
AGA, graduate Of Cornell.
Rumsey, John c., hardware mer.
chant, Ithaca.
Students Injured.
Pope, Clarence j., East Orange, N.
j., freshman; football eleven; went
back to rescue comrade; probably tt-
tally burned.
Curry, HenryM. ,Pittsburg; burned
attempting with Pope to rescue q
comrade.
DeCamp, II. S., New. York.
Goetz, W. w. Milwaukee. 80
Powers, r. r., Atlanta.
Sailor, G. r., Pittsburg.
Uiblein, H.. A., Milwaukee.
The fire started in the kitchen,
and when n. 8. DeCamp, a New York
student, who lodged on the third
floor. was awakened by smoke and
gave the alarm, the flames had
reached the hall.on the first floor and
started upaboth stairways, cutting OF
escape from the upper floors.
DeCamp shouted to awaken the
men on the third floor and ran
through the binding smoke to the
attic. From a window he slid down
the vines and ran to another chapter
house and a student there sent in an
alarm from the nearest box on the
campus.
Most OF the students roomed on the
third floor, and they were confronted
by injury if they jumped, death II
ley remained.
oliver Schmuck got safely out Of
the building before he, discovered
that his roommate, Nichols, had not
followed him. He dashed back
through the flames, but could not
find his gfriend. Driven. finally, to
save himself, he had to jump from q
third-story window. His charred
body was unconscious when carried
away and he died within a few hours.
McCutcheon gave his life, too, re-
naming too long to assist other boys
to escape. He roomed with Curry
and Pope. McCutcheon was made,
helpless before he would consent to
fee. Then his comrades Fut him
on the coping outside a window, and
having nothing with which to lower
him to the ground, had to leave him
there while to save their lives they
escaped from the flames that drove
them out Of q window. When men
from a neighboring fraternity house
got a ladder up to the window Nc
Cutcheon vas nearly dead.
Grelle and Nichols finally retreased
to the tower, where from a window
they called for help. The volunteer
fremen had arrived by this time. hay-
ing taken a half hour to get their
apparatus up the steep hills that are
everywhere in Ithaca. They were
stringing a hose alongside the tower
when the two students appeared
there. It was impossible to rescue
them, and they hesitated to jump.
Firenen' and students in horror
watched the fames,t famed by a for
ity-mile gale, lick up the structure be-
low the helpless boys. Suddenly the
tower crumbled, the two penned-in
victims fell with it, and underneath
were three of the iremen volunteers.
- ~ AtLLLL-'e q T.. p