Des Arc weekly citizen., 1869-02-09
wcman Burned Alive.

From the Omaha Republican, Jan. 70.
 We are called upon to record, in this
 mornings paper, one of the saddest ac-
 cidents that has happened in our city for a long time. We shall proceed to give the facts in the case, just as they were given to us, in as brief Il manner as possible.
 Capt. Howard, we believea detective in the employ of the Union Pacific railroad, has residence on Eleventh street. We heard it stated that the captain is absent from bis home just
 at this time. But to the facts. There | is gasoline stove in use in the house and it was while in the act of prepar-
 tuSs ,i nrc III sand stove, yesterday alter
 noon, that the wife of Captain Howard was made the victim of the terrible accident we have to relate. We con fess 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 sufii- cient size to accommodate several gallons ofoil at a time, and by means of a regulating screw a small stream oi the oil thus contained may be lowered through the tube into certain part oi the stove, where some sort of process is introduced by which the supply of gas thus produced affords the only heat derived from the use of these stoves. It is not definitely known whether
 Mrs. Howard, at the time of the acci-
 dent, was engaged in filling up the can
 with new supply of oil or whether she
 was only lowering a quantity into the
 receptacle below, nor does it apper to
 be positively known the exact man.
 ner in which the flame communicated
 to the oil, but certain it is that an ex-
 plosion took place followed by an
 instantaneous rush of flame throughout
 the apartment, communicating with clothes of Mrs. Howard. whose body
 was in much less time than is requied
 to tell it completely enveloped by the devouring element. The mother of
 Mrs. Howard, who was present in the room, seeing the danger her daughter was being subjected to rushed to her assistance, but was soon rendered pow erless by having her hand most shock ingly burned. The flames had by this caught to some small articles of cloth ing, and the room had become sutfoca- tingly filled with smoke.
 Just at this moment several of the neighbors, who had been attracted by the issue of smoke from the room in which the accident occurred, made their appearance on the spot, and by almost superhuman exerlions soon sue ceeded in extinguising the fire and rescuing the mother and daughter from the fiery clutches of immediate death.
 It is terrible to think of the manner in which Mrs. Howard was made to suffer in the brief space of time inter- vening the explosion and moment of exciting rescue. The upper portion of the body. from the waist to the crown of her head excepting a small spot be- tween and behind the shoulders-was literally burned, to crisp. The hair was all burned her head. and the face was swollen and distorted beyond re- cogni,ion. The poor woman seems al- so to have inhaled a quantity of the flame, which fact of itself is probably sufficient to render recovery impossi- ble. The kind neighbors, along with the attending physicians, have been doing everything that skill and human ity could suggest, but with all their efforts Co alleviate Ter suilerings and save her from such a horrible death, the injuries inflicted are surely of so severe anature as to render her recove- ry utterly hopeless.