The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-03-16


A little girl ls7aet sob6ing and terrified.
Down in the valley south of the post a
broad glare was already shooting up
ward and Illuminating the sky. One
among dozen little shanties and log
houses, the homes of the laundresses of
the garrison and collectively known as
budsville, was mass of flames. There
was rush of officers across the parade,
and the men, answering the alarum of
the trumpet and the shots and shouts of
the sentries, came tearing from their
quarters and plunging down the hill.
Among the first on the spot came the
young men who were of the party at
Capt. Rayner's, and Mr.. Graham was
ahead of them all. 1t was plain to the
most inexperienced eye that there was
hardly anything left to save in or about
the burning shanty. All efforts must be
directed towards preventing the spread
of the flames to those adjoining. Half
clad women and children were rushing
about, shrieking with fright and excite
ment, and few men were engaged in
dragging household goods and furniture
from those tenements not yet reached by
the flames. Fire apparatus there seemed
to be none, though squads of men speed
lily appeared with ladders, axes and
buckets, brought from the different COM
pany quarters, and the arriving officers
quickly formed the bucket lines, and
water dipped from the icy creek began
to fly from hand to hand. Before any
thing like this was fairly under way, a
scene of semi-tragic, semi-comic inten-
sity had been enacted in the presence of
q rapidly gathering audience sit was
worth more than the price of admission
to hear Blake tell it afterwards" said
the officers, later.
A tail. angular woman, frantic with
excitement and terror, was dancing about
In the broad glare of the burning hut,
tearing her hair, making wild rushes at
the flames from time to time as though
intent on dragging out some priced OBJ
Jet that was being consumed before her
eyes, and all the time keeping up vol
ley of malediotions and abuse in lavish
Hibernian, apparently directed at a cow
ering object who sat in limp helplessness
upon a little heap of firewood, swaying
from side to side and moaning stupidity
through the scorched and grimy hands
in which his face was hidden. His cloth
ing was still smoking in places; his hair
and beard were singed to the roots; he
was evidently seriously injured, and the
sympathizing soldiers who had gathered
around him after deluging him with
snow and water were striving to get him
to arise and go with them to the hospital
! a little girl, not ten years old, knelt Sob
Thing and terrified by his side She, too,
was scorched and singed, and the sol
diers had thrown rough blankets about
her; but it was for her father, not her
self, she seemed worried to distraction.
Some of the women were striving to re-
assure and comfort her in their homely
fashion, bidding her cheer up-the father
was only stupid from drink, and would
be all right as soon as ''the liquor was
off of him." But the little one was be-
yond consolation so long as he could nos
or would not speak in answer to her en-
treaties.
All this time, never pausing for breath,
shrieking anathemas on her drunken
spouse, reproaches on her frightened
child, and invocations to all the blessed
saints In heaven to reward the gintleman
who had saved her boarded monev-a
smoking packet that she Rugged TO her
breast-Mrs. Clancy, ''the saynior laun-
dress of Company B." as she had long
styled herself. was prancing up and
down through the gathering crowd, her
shrill voice overmastering all other
clamor. The vigorous efforts of the men.
directed by cool headed officers, soon
beat back the flames that were threaten
ing the neighboring shanties, and leveled
10 the ground what remained of Private
Clancy's home The fire was extinguished
almost as rapidly as it began, but the
torrent of Mrs. Clancy's eloquence was
still unstemmed- The adjurations of
Y7mpathetic sisters to How'd yer
Whist" the authoritative admonition of
some old sergeant to ''Stop your internal
noise" and the half maudlin yet appeal
ing glances of her suffering lord were all
insufficient to check her.
II was not until the quiet tones of the
colonel were beard that she began tc
cool down: "We've had enough of this,
Mrs. Clancy; be still, now, or we'll have
TO send you to the hospital in the coal
cart. I" Mrs. Clancy knew that the colonel
was man of few words, and believed
him to be one of less sentiment. She was
afraid of him, and concluded it time to
cease threats and abuse and come down
to the more effective role of wronged and
suffering womanhocd-a feat which she
accomplished with the consummate ease
Of long practice. for the rows in the