Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1890-02-07
TERRIBLE TRAGEDY.
Secretary Tracy's Home Burns and
Three out of SIX Inmates
Lose Their Lives.
Wifa 40 Daughter Dc.

Wife and Daughter Dead.
WAsH1NercH, D. c.. Feb. IA ter T
rible calamity visited the household .
of Secretary Tracy this morning, /
whereby three persons lost their lives I
and three others were badly injured |
1t is impossible at this writing to /.
state the exact details. The house is /
a three story and basement brick.
Persons passing the house at seven /
o'clock this morning saw smoke IssU- |
ing from the front windows, and at
once raised the alarm of ire. The
fire and police departments respond |
ed promptly. The premises were al /
most concealed by a dense smoke /
which was thickened by a heavy fog.
It was soon discovered that the house +
was ali ablaze inside and the main
stairway was burned, thus cutting off
communication with the sleeping
apartments on the second and third
floors. Several streams of water were
played on the flames and every effort
was made to check the fire and rescue
the inmates.
A scene of the widest confusion en-
sued when it was known that ali the
members of the family were in the
house. The fremen behaved like
! heroes snd went through fire and
smoke in search of the inmates.
Secretary and Mrs. Tracy occupied
the back room in the second story.
/ Mrs. Tracy, it is thought, was first
awakened by the suffocating smoke.
| Secretary Tracy was at the time IN
/ conscious, and Mrs. Tracy, IN her de
! vOtiOn, tried to drag the body of the
/ Secretary to the window, and just as
! the firemen were putting up the lad
/ der to rescue her she leaped to the
sidewalk Her body was picked up
with severe internal injuries and
j broken leg. She was taken to a neigh
/ boring house and without recovering
consciousness died within an hour.
/ The ladder which would have saved
/ Mrs Tracy's life had she waited but
a moment before leaping to the side
walk, was soon placed under the win
dow and strong hands lifted the body
of Secretary Tracy and carried him to
/ the sidewalk. The Secretary was at
first thought to be dead, but it was
discovered that a small spark of life
remained. He was removed to the
residence of Mr.. Bancroft DAVIS, near
by, and at II o'clock he was reported
! improved, though at that time he had
not gained consciousness, and was, of
! course, unaware of the death Of his
wife and daughter.
Miss Tracy, the Secretary's unmar-
ried daughter, occupied the third
story front room, and met a fate that
was terrible to behold. The young
lady could be seen at the window IN
IL I Al -,
binding smoke and flames, clad IN a
white robe, her hands in an attitude
Of prayer and her face uplifted to
! Heaven. Flames gradually hemmed
her in and she finally sank to the
floor. to be recognized again only by
her charred remains.
The French maid, Josephine met a
similar fate in the adjoining room,
where her charred and blackened re-
} mains were found.
Mrs. Wjlmerding, the Secretary
/; married daughter, and her daughter,
Miss Alice, occupied the second story
/; front room on the same floor with the
{ Secretary and Mrs Tracy. Both she
) and her daughter jumped from the
window to the grass below, and while
z the shock was severe, neither received,
so far as S now apparent, any SERIOUS
/ injury Mrs. WilmerdiDg had her
5 right wrist sprained. She is lying
5 historical and in half dazed COndI-
) tion, but rapidly improving under
. treatment. Miss Alice is suffering
? from the shock.
? The house was completely gutteC
by the fire. The walls are standing
? but the interior presents a picture Of
. ruin and devastation.
= There are several stories as to the
cause of the fire but the most plaus
Ible one seems to be that it was the
result of a defective Hue.
WASHINGTON, Feb. f. - Secretary
Tracy. seems to be considerably i'm
= proved this morning and is rapidly
S recovering from the effects Of suffO
?. cation. As the effects of the Opiate
f. wear off he begins to realize NOR
y keenly the loss Of his wife anC
b daughter. The reaction from tn
S OBiates administered yesterday natur
s ally leaves him physically weaker.
r The funeral Of Mrs. and Miss Ira
n cy will take place from the president
u mansion at II o'clock tomorrow
S morning. Services will be held il
Y the east room. The remains will b
% placed temporarily In vaults IN Roc
! Greek cemetery. Complete arrange
= ments for the funeral Will not be pei
d fected until late this afternoon.
Ia
G. a r. Of6cers