Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1868-01-22
TERRIBLE ACCIDENT.
Explosion of a Can Of Oil-TwO YOung
Ladies' Fatally Burned.


From the Chattanooga Union, Jan. q.
On Saturday night, about half pas
eleven o'clock, fatal accident occurred a
the house of Thos. Daily, Esq, a wei
known resident of this city, which resulted
in the death of two estimable young ladies
Miss Mary Daily and Miss Kate Harring
ton.
The young ladies had been spending tht
afternoon at Miss Daily's residence. They
had gone out about SP. NJ. TO Miss Harring-
toms house, about two hundred yards dis,
tant, returning about eleven O'clock.
The firein the sitting room had apparent.
ly died out, and the weather being very
cold, the young ladies concluded to burn a
little wood in the stove to warm thene-
selves. The wood was procured and placed
inthe stove over the dead Goals, and to make
it burn better, they concluded, in an evil
moment, TO pour some oil on the wood,
before the wood was lighted. Miss Daily
went into the kitchen and came back with
large can of aurora Oip' containing
about one gallon Of the oil. The can had
no spont, the means Of poaring il being a
hole about an inch and a half in diameter,
in the top of the can. Miss Daily took the
cork out of the can and held il over thetop
of the stove and commenced pouring the
oil. Unfortunately, the apparently dead
Goals were merely blaclzened on the sur.
face; below the red fire felt the touch of the
oil, and in an instant leaped out to meet it.
In moment of time the stream of fame
had reached the can of oil, and the latter
exploded, dashing the fiery liquid all over
the room, enveloping the ladies in flames,
and setting fire to the carpets tapestry and
everything in the room.
The ladies, frightened and amazed,
rushed into each others arms, then broke
away for safety. Miss Daily rushed into
an adjoining bedroom, and threw herself
on the bed in a vain attempt 10 put oat the
flames, but only succeeded in setting FIRE
TO the bed clothes. She then rushed out
again into the blazing room, was suffocated
with the flames and smoke, and fell on the
floor, from which she was rescued by the
negro man attached 70 the house, who,
alarmed by the explosion, had four suc-
eesiye times vainly attempted to enter the
room, but was each time driven back by
the smoke and FIRE. He finally succeeded
in dashing in, and stumbling over the now
insensible girl, raised her up, and in one
desperate leap, was out of the apartment.
Miss Harrington, on breaking away from
her companion, had blindly endeayored to
esoape from the room, and after several in-
e1ectual attempts at madIy creeping for the
door, had ran out into the street, all ablaze.
A negro man, attracted ts the scene by the
noise, arrived at this moment, and sue
ceeded in tearing the clothes from the poor
girl.
Miss Daily was Immediately carried to
the house of neighbor, and Miss Har-
Eington taken 10 her fathers residence.
Medical aid was at once summoned, and
every attention that love and skill could
render, was used to save the lives of the
ladies. But their fate was sealed; the
dread inhalation Of the flames had num-
bered their days Affer al hours time,
they both became conscious, and continued
30 during the night They were terribly
burned, but their last hours were quiet and
peaceful. Between six and seven o'clock,
their spirits passed from earth 20 their
Heavenly home
II is needless for us TO depict the terrible
condition Of she bodies Of the dead. In
agination can scarcely conceive a more
narrowing scene. We win not shock our
readers By attempting the description.
The IRE in the house was extiDguished
with but little difficulty, excepting the
many inefiectual attempts 10 enter the room.
A dozen buckets Of water thrown in from
the door, sztingnished what little FIRE rea
manned after the oil had burnt itself cat.
On entering il the appearance Of its con-
tents sas curious The walls we're COM
pletely blackened, the carpet burned up,
The oil lamp, which had stood on the CEN
trs table, had evidently been burst By the
intense hest, and lay scattered around. The