The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1914-03-12
Two Remarkable Escapes.

Two Remarkable Escapes.
city hospital by persons who were in
jured. l.. l.. Leonard said he was
asleep on the sixth floor of the build
ing when he was weakened by smoke.
He ran out into the corridor. but found
the fire escape cut off by flames. He
rushed back to his room and opened a
window overlooking a store building on
the west. Crawling out on the window
sill, he hung by his fingers on the
ledge until the intense heat forced him
to drop to the roof of the store build
ing two stories below. There he was
picked up unsconsciouS.
William Koerner, head house man Of
the club, was awakened by the shout
ing of the tiremen. He ran into the
corridor of the sixth floor and there
saw a man directing guests to the fire
escape. When he reached the fire es-
cape the flames were playing about it
so fiercely that he was forced back.
He ran to thu window from which
Leonard was hanging n finally the
heat became so intense tina he, too.
was compelled to drop to the roof of
the building W. stories below.
Slide Down Sheet Ropes.
About - men escaped from the fifth
floor of the building by sliding down a
rope made out of two sheets tied to-
gether. The story of the escape was
told by Lewis Gaylord. an advertising
nan of New York. Gaylord, was in a
room on the west side of the fifth floor.
When he took the room he examined
of the building occupied by a seed COM
pany was only Is feet below his
window. Gaylord was asleep when the
fire. broke out, but he was awakened
by screams. Throwing on a bath robe
he ran into the corridor which then
| was filed with TSnNka and rIlShaH Tn
the stairway. The carpet on the stairs
was ablaZe, making escape by that
method impossible. The elevator shaft
was a furnace from TOD to bottom. He
then started for a window opening on
the roof of the seed store.
In the corridor he heard someone cry,
I'm blind. Don't leave me here to
die" Mr.. Crawford made out in the
smoke the figure of a man cropping his
way along the wall. The man did not
give his name. Gaylord led him to a
roomroom occupied by Henry Baker.
Gaylord thought the man was blinded
only temporarily by smoke.
In Bakers room Gaylord n the un-
identified blind man were Joined by
nine others. A young man took COM
mand of the situation and tying two
sheets together fastened one end of
the improvised rope to a radiator. The
other end hung over the roof of the
store.
While the men were escaping another
man leaped into the room through the
door and fell unconscious to the floor.
He recovered quickly and escaped
down the rope ladder. While the
smoke began pouring into the room
forcing the men still waiting to use
tue rope ladder to close the door and
cease calling others to join them. J.
r. Stevens was the last man to go
down the improvised rope.
AS the 10 or II men stood on the
roof of the seed store they saw about
20 persons at the windows of the sixth
and seventh floors Of the club house.
One of them jumped to the seed store
roof and suffered a broken leg.
Gaylord and others went to the edge
Of the root and shouted for help. Fire
men ran into the building and going
to the upper floor raised a ladder
through a trap door to the roof. The
men on the roof drew up the adder
and resting it on the seed store root
they sought to rescue those at the win
dows above. The ladder was too short
and Gaylord called for another ladder.
This was sent up and Gaylord and the
men with him on the roof descended to
the floor below without waiting to see
whether the men on the upper floors
were saved. They expressed the belief,
however, that those who crowded the
windows We're rescued.
Before leaving the roof Gaylord and
dilOlLiSi iIidu plCkeu up TIE man whose
leg was injured and dropped him
through the trap door to firemen.
The death of Charles Chasnoff, OF
ST. Joseph, Mo-. advertising manage1
for the st. Louis Republic. virtually
was confirmed by Ernest Evans, who
roomed at the club with Chasnoff.
"Chasnoff aroused me when the
alarm was given and we started out OF
the room, hand in hand" Evans said
In the corridors Chasnoff was over
come by smoke and dropped away from
me. [ looked for him for Il few min
utes and hen had to run to save my
own life. outside l waited a few min
utes, but he did not come out. l fea1
he was burned to death"
The Missouri Athletic club occupied
l all but a part of the first floor of 6
| seven-story building at the corner OF
Washington avenue and Fourth street
The remaining part of the floor was
occupied by the Boatmen's bank
The building stood at the end of the
st. Louis approach to the Eads bridge
, and at the head of the principal re-
; tail street of the city.
, ~
MEETS CALLED OFF.
ST. Louis, March 9.-The intercol.
legiate track meet which was to haVe
, been held here next Saturday nigh
) under the auspices of the Missouri Ath-
letic club was called off by officials o.
, the club his afternoon. The swimming
l meet between the Chicago Athletic as
I ISOLATION and the Missouri Athletic cluE
scheduled for Chicago, March 10, alsc