Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1895-02-28
A FIERY VISITATION.

Twenty Eight Buildings Burned in Hot
Springs, Ark.-Three Women Perish In
the Flames-Hundreds of Visiting Board
ers Driven from Their HOmes--Lost Her
Life in Trying to Save Her Jewels-The
Losses.
o clock yesterday morning a fire broke
out in the Ledgerwood bakery on Qua
chita avenue, in the southern part of
the city, where boarding houses
abound, and in an hour three women
had been burned to death, six board
| ing houses, several store houses and
fifteen cottages, all worth S10O, 900, had
been swept away. The dead are:
Mrs. Laura Scammon.
Mrs. Henry J. Mcleod.
Austine Stivette, colored woman.
Mr.. and Mrs. G. H. Brownson, of Ma
con, Mo-; Mrs. Peacock and others
were injured, though none danger
| ously.
There was a strong wind from the
north which famed the flames, but
prevented them from moving in the di-
rection of the principal business part
of the city, where the big hotels and
bath-hou ses are located. The streets
covered by the fire are Ouachita, where
it originated; Sealey, Malvern, Wood
| bine and Orange.
The Ledgerwood bakery was frame
building, in the second story of which
Mrs. Scammon had furnished apart
rnents to let.
Charles Ledgerwood first saw the
flames and in his efforts to extinguish
them neglected to warn people in the
neig hborhood.
Nothing was heard of Mrs. Scammon
until the fire was over, when her bones
were found in the ashes of her house.
Mrs. Mcleod was a guest of the La
clede boarding house. She was
aroused and with her husband started
out of the house, but before reaching
the door, remembered some jewelry
she had failed to save, and returned
for it, against the advise of her hus-
band. Her husband tried to reach her
and almost lost his life in the unsuc-
cessful effort. She endeavored to rush
through the flames, but fell down in
their midst and persisted.
The body of the colored woman was
found in a partIy-saved room in the
same house.
Mr.. and Mrs. Bronson, of Missouri,
had thrilling escape. They lived on
the third floor of the Ouachita board
ing house, and when aroused found the
house wrapped in fire and all prospect
of escaping by the stairway cut off.
They rushed to the widows and cried
to the people below for help, but
none could be given them. She
tied several sheets and blankets
together making a rome lone enOuph
to reach down to the window below.
She went down first, entered the sec
ond-fOor window and escaped by
back stairway. When her husband
reached the second floor the stairway
was blocked by the fire, and he had to
jump. He received severe bruises, and
the woman was badly lacerated in
sliding down the rope.
The buildings burned are twenty
eight in number. There are fifteen
cottages of an aggregate value of $685.
900. The boarding houses destroyed
are the Ouachita, Illinois, Laclede,
Missouri and Bloomington. Each
of these was worth about $1,000,
with the contents. The other
losses are the E. Randolph residence,
worth Sc, 900; the Tennessee stables at
the West house, the latter worth S., 900;
E. Joplin's grocery, $1,000; R. L. Will
liams' store and building, $4,000; P.
NJ. Hudgins' residence, $4,000.
There are at least 300 men, women
and children driven to other quarters
for lodging by the destruction of the
boarding houses, and most of them
lost all their clothing.