The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1878-03-14
SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION.
How Human Beings Are Inwardiy Burnc
TO Death.

70 Denth.
Gases of human beings who have sud-
denly died from the effects of internal
combustion are very singular. The fol-
lowing case is q very remarkable one.
It is that of Grace Pitt, the wife of
fishmonger in the parish of st. Clement,
Ipswich. She was aged about sixty,
and had contracted habit of coming
down from her bedroom every night,
half dressed, to smoke q pipe. On the
night of the 9th of April, l744, she got
up from bed as usual, and her daughter,
who slept with her, did not notice her
absence until next morning, when on
goiug down into the kitchen, she found
her stretched out on her right side, with
her head toward the CRATE the body
extended on the hearth, with the legs on
the floor, which was of deal, and it had
the appearance of log of wood which
had been consumed by a fire without
apparent flame. The girl, on noticing
her mothers body, ran and got couple
of vessels Of water which she poured
upon the body, and immediately..a fetid
odor and smoke was given off which
very nearly smothered the neighbors
who had come to the girls assistance
ated and resembled a heap of Goals cov-
cred with white ashes. The head, the
arms, and lower portions of the body
had also been partially burned. The
woman it was said had drank large
quantity of spirituous liquor the night
before in consequence of being overjoyed
at hearing of the return of one of her
daughters from Gibralter. There was
no fire in the CRATE from which the cot
ton gown she wore could have been ig-
nited and the candle had been burned
entirely out in the socket, while near
the consumed body were found several
articles of clothing and a paper screen,
which had sustained no injury by the
fire.
And still another case is found in that
of Madam Millet, who kept a lodging
house at Rheims, France, and who got
intoxicated very nearly every day. This
woman was found consumed at q dis
tance of foot and half from hel
hearth, on the morning of the Goth oi
February, 1725. Only a part of the
head, little of the extremities and three
or four vertebre were left of the body
The flooring under the body was con-
sumed, but articles of clothing and wood
near the body were still intact. Jear
Millet, the husband of the deceased,
stated that his wife had been unable to
sleep the preceding night, and had gone
into the kitchen to warm herself a
about two o'clock in the morning he wa.
awakened by a strong and infectious
odor, and having run to the place found
the remains of his wife in the condition
described. Inquiry into the cause o
Madam Millet's death was prosecuted
with the most untiring diligence. 1
was unfortunate for NJ. Millet that h,
had a handsome servant girl in the es
tablishment, for he was charged by hi
prosecutors with having concerted will
the girl to put Madam Millet out of tn
way, and had studiously arranged th
above details to avert suspicion from tn
real cause of his lady's death. He wa
convicted, but superior court, to whicl
he appealed, declared the combustion t
have been the result of natural causes
and to have been spontaneous, so ths
the male Millet came off victorious.
1t is notable fact that in nearly a
cases of spontaneous combustion men q
victims are conspicuous by their absence
case, however, is given by DIR. Mac
: Nish.- st. Louis Post.