The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-01-03


tacle for the dead.
The woman had history. and her terrible
death was fit ending to the life she led.
''Here wa are" hiccoughed Mrs. Johanna
Hayes. the divorced wife of Policeman
Hayes, as she reeIed into little GROCERY
on Natoma street Sunday morning in COM
pany with Mrs. Maggie Murphy. with whom
she lived in few miserably furnished
rooms over stable at $50 Natoma street.
AS the women staggered into the saloon
they deposited two bundles on the card
table, near at hand, and then reeled TO the
bar demanding their New Years drink.
They got the drink, although they were
hardly able to stand, and swallowed 1t with
apparent relish.
whats in your bundles2" said the bar
keeper.
Toys. Toys for the orphans" answered
Mrs. Hayes, as she staggered to the table
and grabbed her bundle, tucking it under
her arm. "We're goin' out to the st. VIM
cent Orphan Asylum. we are. and we've
put all our money into dolls. hain't we, old
woman?" turning to Mrs. Murphy.
THAT we have" answered Mrs. Murphy.
and seizing her bundle the two staggered
into the street.
Both women were far past middle life.
Their hair was silvered by age and their
faces scanned and lined by dissipation. Mrs.
Hayes, the younger woman OF the two, was
once the wife of an officer who is still on the
police force, and for years was devoted
mother to her children and faithful help
mate to her husband. She began drinking.
however, and soon her appetite for liquor
made her common drunkard in her own
house. Her husband tried TO reform his
wife again and again. but every time she
reformed ii was only TO do worse afterward,
ana finally he got divorce from her. Then
the woman went to the bad entirely. and
drifting around from place to place in the
city she finally met and formed copartner-
ship with Mrs. Maggie Murphy. woman
older than herself but equally dissipated.
The two hired the rooms above the stable
rented by A. Mckay and W. Ii. LEIGH. two
transfers, who filed the loft just in the
rear of the rooms occupied by the women
with hay and feed, stabing their horses
below. Tue two women were drunk almost
every day of their lives, and Mrs. Murphy
was constantly In trouble with the neigh
bOrs and her landlords. Only few weeks
ago she was. arrested for threatening the
life of a woman living on the street and
was fined $50 in the Police Court, although
no one but the arresting officers prosecuted
her, the people In the neighborhood fearing
to appear against her because of her threats
to burn their houses if they did. She paid
the fine ana returned to Mrs. Hayes. the
two going on the prolonged debauch which
ended IN the death OF the latter.
After taking the toys to the st. Vincent
Orphan Asylum Sunday Mrs. Hayes and
Mrs. Murphy returned home and proceeded
to make the neigh borhood aware of their
presence by bowling about the streets all
night, not going to their rooms until early
yesterday morning When the women went
upstairs to the loft they were quarreling
and Mrs. Murphy was heard to say to Mrs.
Hayes:
I'm fix you, I'll fix you"
No attention was paid to the drunken
women or their quarrel beyond the hearty
thanks sent heayenward by the neighhors
when the two disappeared from the street.
Quiet reigned all the morning until sud-
denly, about o'clock. a dense volume of
smoke suddenly burst through the roof Of
the stable and the cry of fire" was heard
A dozen people tried to get up the narrow
stairway and into the rooms occupied by the
two women. bur were driven back by the
smoke and flames.
The hay stored in the rear part Of the loft
was ablaze. and it burned as only dry straw
can burn.
Some one threw a stone through one Of
the front windows, hoping to awaken the
women who were sleeping in a drunken
stupor. Others ran for ladders to reach the
windows, and some one turned in an alarm
from the box at Howard and Fifth streets,
block away.
Before the fire apparatus or the men with
the ladders arrived on the scene. one of the
front windows was suddenly opened and
Mrs Murphy climbed out on the window
sill preparatory to jumping TO the street
below. She was still drunk. only half
dressed and badly frightened.
The scores of people who had gathered
around the burning barn yelled TO the
woman not to jump, and she took their
advice.
Bestriding the window ledge, she sat there
awaiting the arrival of a ladder, with the
smoke and flames curling out of the opened
window just few inches above her head.
Finally the ladder came. and it was found
too Short but wagon WIS run on the side
walk under the window, the ladder placed
in it and the woman taken down in safety.
She had no sooner reached the ground
than she taggered across the street toward
the saloon saying, II want a drink"
where is Mrs. Hayes? Is she up there %
yelled the excited men clustered about her.
"Oh, yes She's up there, guess. guess
she'll stay there" And Mrs. Murphy
chucsled and reeIed into the saloon for her
drink.
She was right Mrs. Hayes was up there
and she did stay there until the fremen had
partly extinguished the flames. when they
found her dead npon her bed, sntfocated by
the dense smoke from the burning hay. The
woman probably never awakened from her
drunken ylumber and smothered In her
sleep. She was partly dressed. having only
taken off her shoes and stockings.
When the body was laid out In the Morgue
| there was yet 10 be seen upon the face from
which death had wiped many Of the marks
| of dissipation, the traces Of former beauty.
! 1t was not hard face, albeit weak one.
While the body Of the dead woman was
being taken TO the Morgue the fremen ex-
| tingGIshed the fire, the loss being less than
| $1,000.
Concerning the origin Of the fire there Is
much speculation. Mrs Murphy was too
| drunk to give any connected account of the
movements of herself and companion after
they left the street quarreling. At first
| she mumbled something about a can
die being upset; then about lamp explod-
! ing, and then saiG size knew nothing about it.
There is some suspicion that the place
was set on fire. At first Mrs. Murphy
denied that her furniture was insured, but
| when pressed admitted that such was the
| case. Just how much insurance she and
Mrs. Hayes were carrying could not be
| learned.
1t would seem that the drunken women
went to bed leaving lamp burning and
that it exploded, setting fire to the place.