The Brookhaven leader., 1888-05-10
A NEBRASKA HORROR.
Seven Persons Burned in n BarD-EIther n
Terrible Crime or an IneIpIicsbIe Acct
dent.

seven Persons Burned in n BarD-EIther
Terrible Crime an IneIplicsble Acci-
dent.
ARLlxttoS, fch., MAJ 5 a large barn on
the farm Of Mrs Frecse, living ajcut 8 milo
from here, burned between six and eight
o'clock yesterday morning and the dead
bodies of Mrs. Freese, Fred Grateluschcn,
his wife and three children, and his brother
Louis, were found among the ruins. SO
far as known there is no person now living
who was present when these seven human
beings lost their lives.
SEcrtlF after six O'Clock smoke was seea
rising ffom The T teefo faFw, but .as old
straw and haystaCks were Being btrnFd
quite excessively in the sutroundtng coun-
try, no attention was paid TO it at first.
After the trc had burned for some time,
however the color of the smoke changed
from grarish shade. such ne CONS from
burning hay or straw, 10 dark blue ana
large sparks were carried to town and fell
in the streets, and these were found TO be
ch AIRED wood. There was now no room
for doubt that either the Freesc dwelling,
the barn or some of the outhouses on the
place were burning, and loading a wagon
with buckets, axes and addcrs a number
OF eli iScns hnstensd toward the farm.
when within short distance OF the
place which was partially hidden from the
vieN of Die looking from Arlington, the
restuhrS saw that the HIru was burning
but so far gone that it was Useless TO at
tempt to save it, the south end OF the
building q large two story structure, hav-
ing already fallen in and the rest OF 1t
falling shortly before the men arrived.
WHEN the men reached the fire neither
Fred Grateluschcn, the hired man, nor
any one Ct tie family was in sight Two
men went to the house aud 1ounc al the
doors wide open and every thing in dis
order, as if the occupants had left in
very great hurry. THIS fact seemed to
destroy the fOr1t c. suggestion OF some
of the mcn, that the fam ~ hight have
gone to some neigh boring farm house the
night before and not yet returned.
All doubt as to this suppositOn was soon
set at rest, however, by horrible discov-
cry made by one of the men. While stir
ring the debris in the south end OF the
barn with rake he caught one OF the
teeth III a inaii's hoot and gave IT hard
pull, when to his horror he dragged out
the dead body of man, all the clothing
burned off and only q shred OF blackened
flesh c!inglng TO the skeleton here and
there.
FROM lno size OF Ine GCHdlHSi uCNC'CI'
they were recognized as those of Fred
GrateusChen, who; together with his wife
and three children and his brother Louis,
lived with Mrs Frecse, who was q widow,
and managed the farm for her.
After the discovery of Fred Grateluschen
all the men got raKes, hoes, poles and
whatever else they could find and con-
tinued the search. They were soon re-
wartled hy finding the bodies OF Mrs Crate
luscken, her three children, Louis Gratelu.
sGhen ana the cid lady Fteese. Both
women seem to have been only partly
dressed. Nearly all the flesh was burned
off the bodies.
A farm hand who hau been employed on
the place was nowhere to be found, and,
after a thorough search had besn made, il
was thought hardly possible that his boIy
could have been among the ruins.
One theory is that the fire having been
discovered too late 10 save the barn the
whole family went inside to get out the
cows and horses, of which there were some
fifteen or twenty, and having some trouble
in getting them out stayed too long and
were suffccated,