Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1886-08-29
THU DEADLY BUSTLE
A Woman Burns to Death in the Streets Of
New York.
THE ACCIDENT A PECULIAR ONE.
The Fire Originates from Lighted Cigar in
"a Street Car.
DIES In MOST HORRIBLE AGONY.

to the causes OF the fatal burning OF Mrs.
Kate Desmond, i'll the public street, facts
of peculiar interests to women will be dis
closed. The unfortunate woman died in
the belief that her clothes had taken fire
through the carelessness of u smoker who
sat next to her in Second Avenue Surface
ear, but it is by no means certain that the
fire originated in that way. The strangest
part of the affair is that Mrs. Desmond
could have been literally roasted in pub
he thOroughfare in broad daylight, when
surrounded by 4 crowd of men and women
trying to put out the blaze which enyelOped
her.
Mrs Desmond resided with her husband,
Thomas Desmond, in the apartment house
No. 400 East Seventy eighth street. Her
husband is employed by the Borden Con-
densed Milk Company at their works in
East Thirty-fourth street, and Mrs. Des-
mOnd went down with her baby, not quite
a year old, to meet him. After dining to-
gether Mr.. Desmond escorted his wife to
an open car hOmeward bound. As she re-
lated to Rev Father McGrath of the par
ish of St. Monica, who was called when
her condition was
DECLARED HOPELESS,
Her nearest neighbor in the car was an ell
derby man, who was smoking cigar.
After riding q short distance she noticed
that the seat she occupied was unusually
warm, but thought it had been heated by
the sun. The baby absorbed her atten-
ton. When the car stopped ut the corner
of Seventy-eighth street she got off and
was surprised at sort of blistering SEN
SatiOn on the sOles of both feet, but at
tributed it to the heated pavement. She
had barely stepped on the sidewalk before
some one called to her, YOU'RE atiren'
She caught up her skirts behind and
shaking them out saw they were ablaze.
|. Much frightened she ran down Seventy
eighth street towards home, carrying her
child in her arms. She tried to get into q
house where she saw some one at the Win
dow, but, rs she told the priest, admit
lance was inhumanly refused when her
plight was discovered. Her running and
strong current of air through the street
famed the fire into blaze which COM
pletely envelOped her. There were quite
a number of people passing at the time, and
Others were attracted by the cries that
\ WOMAN WAS BURNED UP.
One of her sex leaped through basement
window and caught up dOOrmat, with
which an attempt was made to smother the
blaze. That was of no avail, and another
woman had little better success by wrap
ping a shawl about Mrs. Desmond. The
latter called to some one to save her child.
He was taken from her arms by 4 woman.
Mrs. Desmond, enveloped in sheet of
flame, started to run to the corner to enter
liquor store.
Anton Malkmus, of No. BOG Seventy
eighth street, picked up piece Of carpet
ing and FASTENED to Mrs. DeSmOnd's assist
ance He threw the strip around her and
then tried to tear off some of her clothing.
Catching hold Of her hustle not too gently,
he was astOunded to see that it perceptibly
raised up ana there was something not
unlike an explosion of gas that followed.
After that the clothing burned more
rapidly. Inspector Roman, Of the Second
avenue line jumped from passing car and
pulling off his coat, wrapped 1t about her.
4 pail of water was thrown over her and
the flames eXtinguished. She was nearly
nude, her skirts and apparel having been
burned through to the corset, which was
also badly burned up the back and on the
LETT side. \ blanket was procured and
wrapped about the victim.
When Inspector Roman and another man
tenderly raised Mrs Desmond in
their arms to carry her to drug store, she
commenced to cry for her child. "Where
is Eddie?" ''Give me my baby" she
called out in agonizing tones. She seemed
obliviOuS to her own hopeless condition
and apparently suffered little pain. But
she kept calling for her little one, and
struggled hard to free herself. Strange to
say
THE BABY WAS UNsCATHED.
His clothes were not even sin.ed. 1t is
wonderful that the little fellow was not
burned, for the mother had hugged him
closely to her breast when she first realized
her condition.
Druggist John NJ. Fisher, a tenant of
Mrs. Desmond, applied such remedies aS
are usually employed in eases Of burning
rs soon rs she WAS brought in and her hus-
band and other relatives were notified OF
what had belallen her. Several physicians
were called and an ambulance summoned.
Mrs. Desmond refused to be taken to the
hospital and declined to he treated by the
ambulance surgeon. After remaining in
the drug store half an hour she was carried
TO her room upstairs, and DIR. Laban l..
Bradshaw. OF No. $50 East Seventy-tOurth
street, and DR.. Robert FAIRIES, of No. llO5
Lexington avenue, who has had considera-
bic experience with such cases, were sum-
moned to attend her. They speedily real
lied that death must come IN few hours.
DIR. Bradshaw told reporter yesterday
that it was one of the worst cases that he
had ever seen, and neither he nor Dr. Far
ries could account for such burns being
caused by the blaze of her wearing apparel
alone From her toes to her neck she was
burned, even the Soles of her feet being
blistered and her hair slightly singed.
Both thighs and her legs were baked, one
of them almost to a crisp. Her right arm
was badly disfgQred, and also her right
shoulder where the fire had Crept up under
the corset and burned through it and deep
into the flesh.
At no time did Mrs. Desmond appear to
be suffering from physical pain, but
HER MENTAL DISTRESS
that the baby would be left motherlesS was
very acute. She knew that she could live
only a short time, and was conscious until
inst before her death, which occurred ut
$50 o'clockWednesday night. The funeral
will take place at st. Monica's Church, in
East Seventy-ninth street, tomorrow fore
noon at 10 o'clock, and interment will be
made in Calvary Cemetery.
Although the accident happened only a
few minutes after noon the report which
was sent to Police Headquarters from the
Fifty-ninth street Precinct late in the even
inc stated that Mrs. pesmond's injuries
we're confined to slight burns about the
Ie0s, Only q short time elapsed after that
reSort was made public before her death
was announced. Roadmaster Thornton said
he saw the burning and thought the wo-
man stepped on parlOr match, which set