Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1869-01-30
A Woman Literally Burned Alive.

| From the Omaha Repubncan, JAM 10
We are called upon to record, in this
morning paper, one of the saddest acci
dents that has happened in our city
for long time. We shall proceed to
give the facts in the case, just as they
were given to us, in as brief manner az
possible:
Captain Howard, we believe detec-
tive in the employ Of the Union Pacific
railroad, has a residence on Eleventh
street We heard it stated that the Cap
tain is absent from his home just at this
time. But to the facts. There is a gas
oline stove in use in the house, and IT
was while in the act of preparing q fire
| in said stove, yesterday afternoon, that
the wife of Captain 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 regulating screw small
stream of the oil TINS contained may be
lowered through the tube into a certain
mart Of the stove, where some sort OF q
process is introduced by which the sup
DIV of gas thus produced affords the only
heat derived from the use of these stoves
Il is not definitely known whether Mrs.
Howard, 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; nor does it appear to be
positively known the exact man
ner in which the fame communi-
Gated to the oil, but certain it is
that an explosion took place, followed by
an instantan eous rush of flames through
ont the apartment, communicating with
the clothes Of Mrs. Howard, whose body
was in much less time than is required to
tell it completely enveloped by the de-
vouring element The mother OF Mrs.
Howard, who was in the room, seeing the
danger her daughter was being subjected
to. rushed 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 filed 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 appear
ance on the spot, ard by almost super
human exertions soon succeeded in ex.
tinguishing the fire and rescuing the
mother and daughter from the fiery
clutches Of immediate death.
1t is terrible to think of the manner in
which Mrs. Howard was made to suffer in
the brief space of time intervening the
explosion aud the moment of exciting
rescue. The upper portion of the body,
from the waist TO the crown Of her head,
excepting a small spot between and
behind the shoulders, was literally burned
to a crisp. The hair was all burned from
her head, and the face was swollen and
distorted beyond recognition. The poor
woman seems also to have inhaled q
quantity of the fame, which fact of itself
is probably sufficient to render recovery
impossible. The kind neighbors, along
with the attending physicians, have been
doing everything that skill and humanity
could suggest, but with all their efforts to
alleviate her suffsrings and save her from
such o horrible death, the injuries in
fiicted are of so severe q nature as to
render her recovery utterly hopeless