The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-10-06
HOW HE FAILED
MA. DUDLEY w. PUcKETT'S BRIEF
BUT BRILLIANT CAREER.

He Sighed For IN Opportunity to Displa!
tho STUFF He Was Made of, and 1t Came
Graphic Account Of the Fire It Widow
Beazeleys-A Personal.
The Tompkinsville Enterprise of recent
date contained the following double lead
ed paragraph:
1--WE have just had the editorial staff Of
our paper augmented by the addition Of
Mr.. Dudley W. Pickett, who will fill the
responsible position Of city editor Mr.
Pickett had for some time been our valued
correspondent at North Vaudeville Cen
ter and has exhibited much enterprise as a
uewsgatherer The position he now &C.
rupies is In line with his journalistic in
stincts, and our readers may expect TO see
the local columns of The Enterprise scin-
sillate under Mr.. Puckett's trenchant
touch
The editor of the Tompkinsville Enter
prise superintendod with a great deal of
care the ''copy" that Mr.. Puckett turned
in for the next paper. There was gen
eral crossroads flavor about it all, but the
editor did not despair-he had seen mighty
Journalists evolve from the place where
the roads cross.
''This is all very commonplace news, "
sighed young Mr.. Pickett as he handed
In his last batch Of copy. Il wish there
might be something exciting-something
that would give me chance to show what
I am made of. "
The opportunity came sooner than he
had expected. That night there was an
aiar1n of fire. The editor was called ont
of town early next morning, before the pa
per went to press, and Mr.. Pickett had
the pleasure of writing up the fire alone
and untrammeled. He saw his opportu-
nifty and profited by it. The first column
OF The Enterprise that afternoon corus-
Gated with the editors masterpieces:
ALMOST A HOLOCAUST
FLAMES ATTACK WIDOW BEAZELEY's HOUSED
THE FIRE tIEND FELICIToUsLY Fooled!
sICKENISG HORRORS AvERTED!
GAS the city editor of The Enterprise
was vending his way homeward late last
evening, the pale moon anon ilecking the
earth with its yellow radiance and then
burying from sight beneath huge banks Of
superimpending clouds, his attention was
suddenly arrested by a long drawn note OF
silence that seemed TO exude from the
story and O half residence of the Widow
Beazeley, relict of the late well known
Jasper p. BeaZeley, who we are Informed
was the superintendent of the West End
hotel stables and was fatally injured by
being stepped upon by large sorrel horse
which caused Inflammation, and erysipelas
setting in, he passed away, beloved by a
wide circle of friends and relatives who
mourn his loss, realizing that an honest
man is the noblest legacy that can be left
to posterity, and being succeeded by Mr..
James #. Baker under whose efficient
charge the interests of the West End are
admirably subserved. There are no flies
On Jimmy.
I'VE had Just time to look over the high
board fence that separates Mrs. Beazeley's
house from the circumambient sidewalk
when our vision was froZe by beholding
flames and smoke issuing from above the
piece of stovepipe that pierceS the north
side of the shed attached to the rear of
Mrs. Beazeley's, employed, we under
stand, es a summer kitchen. A gale Of
wind was blowing at the time, and mo-
mentarily increasing in violence. Quicker
than It takes to pen the transaction we
Saulted over the fence shrieking Fire"
and dashing through the garden we seized
q pail of water that stood near at hand.
The flames were now reaching their snake
like fsngs aloft and reveling in Unsuitable
glee as they licked up the dried boards.
The wind, now increased to a gale,
was sweeping directly toward the widows
house. Those familiar with the circum-
stances can picture our horror when we
realized that the Widow Beazeley was very
lame of both legs ever since her lamented
husband passed TO his reward also hard of
hearing and sleeping in feather bed, and
one of the heaviest ladies in town, but
Etalwart Presbyterian and active in all
good works. In the next room and sepa-
rated by a thin board partition, of which
the hungry flames would soon make short
work, lay wrapped in innocent slumber
she two Maxtield twins from Coal Greek,
here on q visit to their Aunt Beazeley.
In the next house, separated by only
six feet of alley, was the large and bcauti-
full family of our honored fellow citizen,
j.. AlOnZo Bean, Esq, seven children, all
under the tender age of 10 years, and both
Mr.. and Mrs. Bean absent at the second
annual reunion of the B. V. T. of :. ID.
y. p, leaving the house in charge of the
hired girl, who, falsely recreant to her
trust, had gone to walk with dark com
plexioned young man who works in the
lanyard. This house, with its precious
wealth of human life, once fallen a sacri-
fee to the Unsuitable fire fiend, what could
stay its mad career? The whole town Law
ut its mercy. The cooper shop with cords
of infammable material stood next: then
comes the lumber yard Of Tank * Stevens,
who are among the towns most public
spirited citizens, and the destruction Of
the Second Baptist church beyond must
necessarily have followed, and with this
must have gone the entire line Of business
blocks, that pride Of our town, together
with the opera house, and with such de-
Etruction to the beautiful shade trees as
must make every citizen weep
1t is small wonder, then, that, realizing,
so far as one who is somewhat stranger
sn Tompkinsville but whom we trust will
not long remain so, could realize, what "a
scene of horror lay before him, We sum
JIioned up oil our resolution, and with one
herculean bound broke open the shed door
with our right foot and dashed the pail of
water full upon the incipient blaze. For
tunately our cry as we vaulted the fence
had been heard, and neiEhbors came pour
ing upon the scene. When they saw how
effectually we had extinguished the flames
and averted disaster, their congratulations
knew no bounds and we were promptly
utN II "a tttNNN : SthAbtu, NAttt q
bountiful collation. of ice cream was served
The recent drought has rendered water
in the river low. and both hand engines,
we are informed. are sadly IN need Of re-
pairs. Would it not be we'll 10 take cog
nizance of this fact and lock the stable door
before another contlagraUion lays our fair
town again in ashess''
Tho editor of The Enterprise did net re-
turn until the whole edition Of the paper