Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-01-30
FRIGHTFUL TRAGEDY.
The Dangers of GasOline-A Woman
Literally Burned Alive.

The Dangers of HasOline-A Woman
Literally Burmed Alive.
From the Omaha Republican. Jan %
We are called upon to record, in this
mornings paper, one of the saddest
accidents that has happened in our
city for long time. We shall pro-
coed to give the facts in the case
just as they were given to US, in as
briefa manner as possible.
Capt. Howard, we believe a de-
tective in the employ of the Pacific
Railroad, has a residence on
Eleventh streets, between Jackson
and Marcy streets. We heard it
stated that the Captain is absent
from his home just at this time.
But to the facts. There is a gaso-i
line stove in use in the house, and
it was while in the act of preparing
a fire in said stove, yesterday afters
noon, that the wife fCapt Howard
was made the victim of the terrible
accident we have to relate. We
confess to knowing but little about
the construction of these gasoline
stoves, but we know this much, that
there is an upright tube extending
some feet above the main body of
the stove, on top of which is
placed a can of sufficient size to
accommodate several gallons of oil
at time, and by means of a regu-
lating screw a small stream of oil
thus contained may be lowered
through the tube into a certain part
of the stove, where some sort of
process is introduced by which the
supply of gas is generated. The
burning of the gas thus produced af-
fords the only heat derived from the
use of thes stoves. 1t is not
definitely known whether Mrs. How
ard, at the time of the accident, was
engaged in filling up the can with
new supply of oil or whether she
was only lowering a quantity into
the receptacle below, ner does it APP
pear to be positively known the
exact manner in which the flames
communicated to the oil, but certain
it is that an explosion took place,
followed by an instantaneous rush of
flames through the apartment, com
municating with the clothes of Mrs.
Howard, whose baby was in much
less time than is required to tell it,
completely eEVeloped by the deyour-
ing element. The mother of Mrs.
Howard, who was present in the
room, seeing the danger her daughter
was being subjected to, rush to her
assistance, but was soon rendered
powerless by having her hand most
shockingly burned. The flames had
by this time caught to some small
articles of clothing, and the room
had become suffocatingly filled with
smoke.
just at this moment several of the
neighbors, who had been attracted
by the issuing of smoke from the
room in which the accident occurred,
made their appearance on the spot,
and by almost superhuman exertions
soon succeeded in extinguishing the
fire and rescuing the mother and
daughter from the fiery clutches of
immediate death.
1t is terrible to think Of the man
ner in which Mrs. Howard was made
to suffer in the brief space of time
intervening the explosion and mo
ment of exciting rescue. The upper
portion of the body, from the waist
to the crown of her head-except-
ing a small spot between and behind
the shoulders-was literally burned
to q crisp. The hair was all burned
from her head, and her face was
swollen and distorted beyond recog-
milton. The poor woman seems also
to have inhaled a quantity of the
flame, which fact of itself is proba-
bly, sufficient to render recovery inn
possible. The kind neighbors, along
with the attending physicians, have
been doing everything that skill and
humanity could suggest, but with ali
their efforts to alleviate her suffer
ings and save her from such horri-
BILE death, the injuries inflicted are
surely of so severe a nature as to
render her recovery utterly hope