The Kootenai herald. [volume] (Kootenai, Idaho) 1891-1904, 1894-01-13
Nebraska Inebriate Deliberately De-
stroys His House.
THE FIEND UPSET A LAMP
Imprisons His victims While They Roast
and Father, Mother, Grandmother
and Babe Die Together.

that ever occurred on Nebraska soil are
coming to light as the coroner's inquest
progresses. Thousands of people have
gathered about the morgue out of NOR
bid curiosity to view the charred re-
mains of the victims, John Cummings
and family. Cummings had been
in i'll health for some time, and,
according to 12-year-old Tommy Fox,
who was present, he deliberately set
fire to his own house and caused the
death of his mother-in-law, his wife and
his 1-year-old baby in the flames. The
little boy tells Straightforward story,
and when asked how the fire originated
he said:
"Cummings was sitting on the edge
of the bed in rear room, where Mrs.
Cummings also was with the baby. An
other person in the room was Mrs. Fox,
the mother of Mrs Cummings, my aunt.
There was fuss about something, and
Cummings upset the lamp and closed
the door, compelling all the inmates to
stay there. They cried, but he refused
to let any of them out"
Philip Nathan, next door neig hoor,
saws that when he first saw the flames
he noticed Mrs. Cummings trying to
open the shutters to the window of the
bedroom. He heard her cry out and
say: 'My baby is already afire" Soon
thereafter he saw the woman enveloped
in flames. Miss Nellie Fox, who is a
was frequent visitor TO the house {;
that Cummings had been sick for quite
long time. She disputed her brothers
statement about Cummings having pur-
posely knocked down the lamp to burn
the entire family, but the boy rejoined
that he saw him do u. He also added
that vvha;zs hue FIRST took notice he saw
Cummings sitting on the bed crying.
The basement of the house was occu-
pied by John Stuart, who has a contract
for feeding the city Jail prisoners.
Stuart and his assistant, Dennis Sexton,
were in that part of the basement di-
rectly beneath the room in which the
bodies were found up to the time the
fire broke out. Sexton gave a vivid
description of the scuffie in the room
above Immediately before the flames
were detected, and confirms in many
respects the story of the boy who wit
messed the dreadful tragedy.
ffrI,e Nlx
ton as he stood in the wreck of his
quarters, a few minutes after the fire
was extinguished, "the folks in the
room above have been carousing.
About midnight they would begin to
quarrel, and sometimes would fight
among themselves for an hour, and
quiet would be restored gradually as
if they were exhausted. l knew they
had great deal of whisky up there
several nights. Sometimes both of the
men, Fox and Cummings, would be
quarreling and fighting among them
selves, and then they would turn or
the women. The trouble that resulted
in the fire up there began early Satur-
day night. | heard them swear
ing up there all the evening
The disturbance increased toward:
midnight, and frequently oaths were
heard.
81 distinguished the voice of boy, Z
woman and two men. Finally, some
time about o'clock, a terrible scufft
commenced. From the noise made
by the heavy shoes of the men as they
pushed each other across the floor, ant
from the manner in whiSn they cursed
knew they were having a desperat,
fight. Suddenly there was a thud oveI
in the little room to the north, in which
the bodies were found, as if one of tn,
men had fallen. He did not attempt Il
rise, and l heard the other man tax,
several steps, and then heard a woman
scream. She yelled My Godp ant
then gurgled as if being choked. 4
moment later another body fell on thu
floor. This was followed almost in
stantly by the crash of heav,
glass, and 1 saw the flames break on
through the small window in the room
where the bodies were found. For
few minutes a confusion of oaths ant
screams were heard in the little room
and then all was STILL"
The police are working on the cas-
yet, but having developed nothing I
IL 49,