The Tabor independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1913-19??, 1914-03-12

the work OF the firemen until 8driven
away by the police.
Judge C. Corrick Bishop, assistant
circuit attorney, roomed on the sixth
floor. THE roa OF the flames crack
ling like giant fire crackers awoke me-"
said Judge Bishop after his escape
from the burning building.
THANH God, there was a fire escape
In front of my window" he said. Il
ran down the six flights. I saw sew
eral men jump and bounce off the side
walk like rubber balls. / vas slightly
bruised coming down the escape"
The directors of the Missouri Ath-
letic club appointed a committee of
four to get a complete list of the miss
ing and OF those who escaped. This
committee established headquarters at
the Press club and requested all those
who were registered at the Missouri
Athletic club to notify them at once.
The committee is headed by Walter
Frftsch, q stockhosder of the local Fed
eral league baseball club.
Two Remarkable Escapes.
Stories OF the fire were told at the
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 awakened by smoke.
He ran out into the corridor. but found
the fire escape cut Off by flames. He
~ DoN ~ AAAo " LII ODGHGu III
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. s...
William Koerner, head louise man of
the club. was awakened by the shout
ing Of the firemen. 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 iercely that he was forced back.
He ran to tho window from which
Leonard was hanging and finally the
heat became 80 intense that he, too,
was compelled to drop to the roof of
the building two stories below.
Slide Down Sheet Ropes.
About IL 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
man Of New York. Gaylord, vas in q
room on the west side OF the fifth floor.
When he took the room he examined
the escapes and noticed that the roof
Of the building occupied by a seed COM
pany was only 10 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 filled with smoke. and rushed to
the stairway The carpet on h stairs
was ablaze, making escape by that
method impossible. The elevator shaft
was q furnace from ton 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 q
roomroom occupied by Henry Baker.
Gaylord thought the man was blinded
only temporarily by smoke.
In Bakers Gaylord and the I'M
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 q 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 IL or 13 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 roof 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 IN the roof drew up the ladder
and resting 1t on the seed store roof
they sought to rescue those at the win
dows above. The ladder vas 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 OIL the upper floors
were saved. They expressed the belief,
however, that those who crowded the
windows were rescued.
Before leaving the roof Gaylord and
another nan picked up the man whose
leg was injured and dropped him
through the trap door to firemen.
The death Of Charles Chasnoff, Of
st, Joseph, Mo-, advertising manager
for the st. Louis Republic, virtually
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. I looked for him for a few min
utes n then a to run to save my
own life. Outside I waited q few min
utes, but he did not come out. 1 fear
he was burned to death"
The Missouri Athletic club occupied
all but a part of the first floor OF Q
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 night
under the auspices of the Missouri Ath-
letic club was called off by officials of
A. oI,,h, chic nffarnnpn Tho uuyfE ~ V,u