Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1891-06-04
TOPEKA's HORROR.

A Mother and Three Children Burned in
eide or Accfdent9
TOPEKA. Kan, May 2S-At 10 o'clock
yesterday morning one of the most
awful crimes known to this community
was committed-a probable triple
murder and suicide.
The charred and blackened remains
of three little children and that of their
mother lie on the grass in front of the
half burned dwelling of w. A. Upde-
graft in North Topeka The father and
only remaining member of the family
is driving about the streets distracted
The only theory tenable now is that
Mrs Updegraf murdered her three chill
dren and then committed suicide.
Fire was discovered in the four room
frame building at the corner of Gordon
and Buchanan streets in the outskirts
of North Topeka at 10 o'clock in the
morning. The building is occupied by
w. A. Updegraff. teamster employed
by the city on street work. The dis
covery was made by neighbors- The
alarm was turned in and while the fire
department was on the way to the scene
neighboring housewives and children
fastened to the house and began tax
ing the furniture from the building.
All of the contents except those of
small bedroom at the north sid, of the
building where the fire had originated
was saved.
Mrs NJ. II. Hall, who was ut work
| with the others, opened the door lead
ing to the room and began taking out
| the furniture. She had removed a
chair and trunk when some one or
4 h., - Il - H.
| flames in that part of the house from
spreading. This she did. but before
| doing SO took a careful survey of the
| room.
In one corner was bed burning
briskly but it was' apparently made up
| carefully. The bed was unrumpled
and bore no signs Of occupancy,
| Soon after this the fire depart
ment arrived and directed it's atten-
ton to smothering. the fire in this room,
water was not available and men
forced open a window and proceeded to
take from it the bed and Other furni-
ture, when the bed was brought from
smoke and flame almost completely de-
| Stroyed. There was seen in it the
charred and almost unrecognizable re-
mains of Mrs. Luella UpdegraH and
! three little children, Hattie, aged s;
Gertie, aged 8, and Sarah, AGED Is
months. They were burned to a crisp.
No signs of life were visible in any of
them. AS the body of little Hattie was
being carried away from the burning
house by two fremen, her brains
poured upon the ground through a
large hole burned in the top of the head
short time after the bodies had
been laid out upon the grass and care
fully covered the husband and father
drove up to the spot in his work wagon
| with his horses on a dead run, covered
with foam. He walked hastily to the
| four still forms which he had left three
hours before full of life, took one
look at the blackened faces, and with
out uttering word turned away
and drove slowly from the ruins of his
home. There seems to be but one
tenable theory for the awful tragedy
and that is murder and suicide. AL
though no marks have been discovered
upon any of the bodies, that is not
strange, for they were SO badly burned
that any wound made before the fire
could not be readily seen.
The fact that the mother and chill
dren were all in bed at this time of day;
that all the doors of the house and OF
this room in particular where the fire
originated, were closed, coupled with
the fact that before the fire had gained
much Roadway several people were in
the house and heard no outcries will
permit of no other inference being
drawn as to the cause of the tragedy.
Updegraff has lived in this neighbor-
hood for about one month and little
was known of the family by the neigh
| borS.
Mrs. Updegraf told an acquaintance
yesterday that she was greatly discour-
aged because her husband had been
without work for a long time and her
family was SO large that it was almost
impossible to gain livelihood