Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1891-11-21
HORRIBLE.
A Family of Five Perish in a Ten
2ment Fire,
Having Been Overlooked by the Fire.
men and Others.
Discovered In the Rlackened Ruins Twelve
hours Later Through the Anxiety of
aFriend-A Horrible Sight In
the Chamber of Death,

COLUMBUS O., Nov. 1.-THE remark.
able condition of the Columbus Fire
department was illustrated in tragic
way Friday afternoon, when it was dis.
covered that the ruins of burned ten
ement house, which had been let earlv
IN the morning by the tiremen. con.
tanned the bIackened and charred
corpscs OF a family of five persons,
father, mother and three little ones.
At 4 o'clock Friday morning fire was
discovered in the Hunt building, on
High street, a few doors north of Flow
ers engne-housc and square and a
hall north OF the Union depot The
building was two-story frame, the
hrst story occupied by four stores, and
the upper story by several families.
The building and most of the goods
and merchandise were DESTROYED. en-.
failing a loss of about $4,000. MANY
of the occupants escaped in their nipbt
clothes and lost all their personal prop.
erty.
The firemen turned their attention to
room occupied with store of cloth.
ing, but the building was made of the
most inilammablc material, and the
water made very little impression on
the flames, which had soon licked IN
the wooden structure and done much
damage to adjoining buildings
In the rooms over the south half of
j. |. Wallocli's china store lived the
family of Charles Bethcard A report
was in circulation Friday morning that
some Of the children had been scorchcd,
hut none Of them were found, and the
fireman seem to have made no search
for them. The family removed
to Columbus from Gcorgevillc
this county, only short
time since, and was not well
known. The father obtained employ
ment as n teamstcr for John Minton,
South Side coal dealer 1t was noticed
yesterday that he was not at work,
but the fire explained that, and had it
not been for the soicitude of Mrs Gar.
rison, a friend, the corpses of the un-
fortunate man and his family would
probably have remained undiscovered
Intil the stencil from their decomposing
bodies should attract attention to the
awful tragedy.
Mrs. Garrison went to the scene of
the fire in the morning and insisted that
an entrance should be effected to the
room where the family lived, but was
told that the place had been searched
and that no one was there. Learning
at Minton's place of business that
Betheard had not reported for
work, she returned at O'clock
yesterday afternoon to the fire
and induced small boy by the name
of Fiddler to break into the half
destroyed apartment The boy pushed
his way over charrcd ruins into the
room, peeped under section Of fallen
roof and there witnessed sight that
sent him white and staggering to the
Flowers engine-housc to whisper to
the tiremen of the tragedy Of which he
had obtained but a glimpse. The fire
laddics rushed with axes to the ruin,
tore their way into the room, and them
selves looked upon the last scene of the
agonizing affair
Five burned and charred bodies, all
that was left of the family of Charles
Betheard, lay or knelt about the room
in positions that but too plainly por-
trayed the dreadful agony of that last
short struggle for life. The father,
powerful man in life, lay stretched
upon the floor His body covered that
of his oldest child, as if it. nm at
tempt to shield her from the passion
of the fire demon. The mother was
kneeling at the bedside, as if she
had been overcome just as she sprang
from sleep. Her body was wholly nude
the flames having devoured her night
clothes and scorchcd and cooked her
flesh into a horrible condition. Tho
two younger children had met death in
the bed. The little things, for they were
but babies, had not the strength to at
tempt an escape, but had with the
natural instinct of self-preservatlon,
buried their faces in the bed clothes
and tried in that way to get away from
the suifocating smoke and blisterlng
heat. IN fA Y