Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1885-07-24

three months after Mr.. Wilson had
come to live with US, that we began
tc have fires in the house, the nights
especially being little chilly. Bert
and / slept in little room in the
back of the house next TO the kitchen.
and adjoining that of mother in the
front. We had gone to bed early,
and it must have been about midnight
when ] awoke with a horrible sense of
suffocation. Instantly / realized that
the room was full of smoke. Blinded
and scarcely conscious of what was
doing, l managed to get into mothers
room and waken her. Her first
thought was of Bert, and she made a
swift rush for the room had just
left, put was driven back by the dense
volumes of smoke that wero pouring
through the room. Again she made
the attempt, this time more frantlcally
than before, but fell unconscious on
the threshold. Instantly, however,
strong arms lifted her and bore her to
the open ar. By the light of the
flames, which now illuminated every
portion of the house, sa " it was Mr..
Wilson, who, tying handkerchief
over his mouth,
DASHED INTO THE ROOM
and emerged almost instantly with
the senseless form of Bert wrapped in
a coat which he had seized. Just as
he was leaving the room, however,
a sheet of fame burst through the
partition and shot across the passa ge
as if to bar his egress. Oh, what
terrible moment that was. Terrified
| stood at the door of his room as
he came out with his precious bur-
den unframed, but he seemed to my
excited imagination n scorched and
blackened man. We were taken into
a neighbours house where mother and
Bert soon recovered. Mr.. Wilson
was found to have been terribly burn
ed, both in his face and hands, and
for a tine it was feared that he had
lost his eyesight entirely. By care
full nursing, however, he recovered
after weeks of terrible suffering, but
his poor face and hands were horribly
SCARED. During all this time he pre-.
served his invariable good nature and
never seemed satisfied when Bert was
out of his sight. One day, when he
rad
BECOME SUFFICIENTLY CONVALESCENT
to 90 out for a walk he asked mother
TO accompany HIM. Just exactly what
took place or how it came about l
never knew, but upon their return
mother told me a strange piece OF
news. Mr.. Wilson was her own
brother and our uncle. 1T seemed
that some years before, during one of
the early gold excitements, he had
left his home while yet a very young
man and came west to seek the for
tune of which everyone was talking.
For time he wrote regularly, but
afterward becoming discouraged by
bad luck, he had wandered to the Pa
cific coast, ceased writing home, and
after years of weary waiting was
given up as dead by his friends. 1t
seems, however, that fortune finally
smiled upon him, ana he becam the
possessor of some rich mining proper
ty which was yielding him a hand
some income. and he had come to
Denver to enjoy period of quiet and
rest, and in seeking the home he
wanted, found ours. He said he rec
ognzed mothers face almost from the
first, and intended to surprise us some
day, but kept putting it off until the
accident of the fire occurred.
We are still living on Champa
street, but in a much finer house, and
Bert has grown to be great big boy,
who will graduate from school next
year. His uncle has thousand plans
for his future, but am afraid he will
spoil him entirely.