The Canton mail. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 18??-1882, 1876-05-06
HEARTRENDINa CALAMITY.
A Lady Burned 10 Death.

Ono of these accidents, the baro
mention Of which causes the blood 10
run cold; occurred near Richland, last
Saturday afternoon, resulting in the
terrible doath of q most estimalIo
lady. From the best information
We can get, it appears that Mr.. James
H johnson and his wife, who resided
1t Durant, had taken their Two
youngest children TO Goodman, ON
the cars, and were proceeding with
the children in = buggy from Good
man to Richland to visits the family
OF Mr.. John Morrow, Mr.. johnson
stepfather. When within . mile
and a half of their destination, and
while totally unconscious OF any
danger whatever, they suddenly
discovered that flames were bursl ing
from beneath Mrs. JOhnson's cloth.
ing and that the danger 10 herself
and . two children was feartully
imminent. By the time the mother
could be relieved of the two children
one babe of a few months and the
other but two or three years OF age,
Mrs. Johnson was completely Gu
velopsd in flames, aud before shc
could be relieved, although he. hus-
band made most heroic efforts to dis.
iucumber her of her clothing, she
was almost literally roasted alive.
Every stitch of clothing, rs we under
stand, was burned irOm her porson,
leaving her quiverins mass Of
burnt and blistcrod flesh from hor
ankles to the crown Of her head
Her cries and those of her compnn-
ions brought others to the sceno,
some in time to take part in the
futile efforts to extinguish the fire,
while others arrived only in time /"
aid in carrying the suffsr,p. lady,
upon q hastily improvised litter, to
MIR. Morrow's residence, whe re- n Or
such suffering as no human being
can survive she was relieved by death
1t about 1l:2O at night.
Mr.. JOhnsoH's hands arc fearfuliy
burned, we learn, so mnch 80 that
there ID Apprehension that he will
lose several fingers. The babe was
slightly burned, we hear. but the
other child, '.Mattis Lon," sustained
no bodily injury. Matte ran away
during the excitement, and was
found, afterwards, more than . mile
from the scene Of the awful tragedy,
in fearful state Of wildness She
was 30 fearfully bewildered that it
was several hours afterwards before
she could recognise her own father.
The vehicle was entirely consum-
ed, excepting the wheels and irons,
| while the preservation of the horse
is attributabls>to the fact that u col
orcd man in the, height:of excitement,
loosed him from tbs buggy.
Mrs. Johnson's maiden name was
Matte Powell, a daughter of Col.
onel William Powell, of Madison
county, and by hor death eight chill
dren, all girls but ono, ranging from,
10 years down to few months, have
been bereft of . mother vsre. Her
remains were inferred at Richlsnd,
her former residence, the next day,
amid tho borrowings Of = large cSsss-
course of friends.
The only theory that we have
heard BY which to sccSunt for tho
sudden calamity that has bsfallen
this family, is to tho effect that Mr..
Johnson had, after smoking, placed
bis Pipe between the cushion, and
that eome fire Inadvertently left in
the bowl of the pipe, coming in con-
tact with some inflamIuAble. material,
after smoul.lering awhile uno,iccd,
had suddenly burst out with such
fury As to bcwilder the whole party
and render their efferts at relief en-
tirely unavailing.
Expression ofsympatl,y in = case
like this would fall SO utterly short
Of comforting the bereavcd husband
and father, that We will not attempt
their utterance, but leave it to time,
which alone can axsuage tie grief
occasioned by such al unlocked for
and terrible calamity, TO reconcile
the widowed heart to the dispen-
sation of an inscrutiblc Providence.
Harrington Adrertiser.