St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1888-05-12
a NEBRASKA HORROR.
Seven Persons Burned In . Barn-Eisher
Terrible Crime or an Inexplicable Acci-

s Seven Persons Burned I'm @ Barn-EIsher
Terrible Crime or an Inexplicable Acci-
dent.
ARLINGTON, Neb., May 5.-A large barn on
the farm Of Mrs. Freese, living about mile
from here, burned between six and eight
o'clock yesterday morning and the dead
bodies of Mrs. Freese, Fred Grateluschen,
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.
Shortly after six o'clock smoke was seen
rising from the Freese farm, but as old
straw and haystacks were being burned
quite extensively in the surrounding coun-
try, no attention was paid to it at first.
After the ire had burned for some time,
however, the color of the smoke changed
from grayish shade, such as CONS from
burning hay or straw, to a dark blue, and
large sparks were carried to town and fell
In the streets, and these were found to be
charred wood. There was now no room
for doubt that either the Freese dwelling,
the barn or some of the outhouses on the
place were burning, and loading wagon
with buckets, axes and ladders number
of citizens FASTENED toward the farm.
When within a short distance OF the
place which was partially hidden from the
view of one looking from Arlington, the
rescuers saw that the barn was burning
but so far gone that it was useless to at
tempt to save it, the south end Of the
building, large two story structure, hav-
ing already fallen in and the rest OF it
falling shortly before the men arrived.
When the men reached the fire neither
Fred Grateluschen, the hired man, nor
| any one of the family was in sight. Two
| men went to the house and found all 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 force of a suggestion of some
| OF the men, that the family might have
gone to some neigh boring farm house the
night before and not yet returned.
| Ali doubt as to this supposition 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 a rake he caught one OF the
| teeth in mans boot and gave 1t hard
| pull, when to his horror he dragged out
the dead body of a man, all the clothing
burned off and only shred OF blackeneo
flesh clinglng to the skeleton here and
| there.
| From the size OF the remains, uOWeVef
they were recognized as those of Fred
Grateluschen, who, together with his wife
and three children and his brother LOUIS,
lived with Mrs. Freese, who was widow,
| and managed the farm for her.
After the discovery of Fred Grateluschen
all the men got rakes, hoes, poles ane
whatever else they could find and con
tinued the search. They were soon re
warded by finding the bodies Of Mrs. Crate
luschen, her three children, Louis Gratelu
schen and the old lady Freese. Boil
women seem to have been only partly
dressed. Nearly all the flesh was burnec
off the bodies.
| A farm hand who hau been employed OF
the place was nowhere to be found, and
after thorough search had been made, j
| was thought hardly possible that his bod,
could have been among the ruins.
One theory is that the fire having beel
discovered too late to save the barn tn
whole family went inside to get out thu
cows and horses, of which there were SOM
fifteen or twenty, and having some troubl
in getting them out, stayed too long ant
| were SuffOcated.