The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-02-24


had no time to escape by the stairway.
In their extremity they leaned far out
at the rear window and screamed for
help. A neighbor came to their aid,
and under his cool-headed directions,
Miss Virginia lowered her younger sis
ter with a sheet and throwing out a
mattress through the window,
LEAPED TO THE YARD BELOW.
She alighted in safety and beyond the
shock and slight sprain to her ankle,
escaped unhurt.
BY this time the firemen had reached
the scene and in a twinkling had
reared long ladders UP to the windows,
both front and rear. Up these they
swarmed and in a few minutes the re-
| naming inmates of the doomed house
were carried out. On the stairway
leading from the second to the third
floor was found the body of Mr. Arml-
ger with that of his little grandson.
Richard Riley, clasped tightly in his
arms, showing that the old man had
made a gallant attempt to rescue the
boy at the cost of his own life. In the
! front room on the third floor was found
| the corpse of Mr.. Manuel. He, too,
| had the body of a child in his arms.
| telling another story of
UNREQUITED HEROISM.
In the rear room, on the third floor,
| lying on the bed the f1remen found the
! dead body of Mr.. Riley. By his side
lay his wife, breathing family. She
was hurried into the open air in time
| to save her life, and though she is bad
| ly burned about the face and arms,
! and half crazed by the terrible loss,
| she will recover In another room were
| the bodies of Mrs. Chaplin and her
! three-year old son, while upon the up
per floor the firemen found Ida Whit
! ing, the colored servant, unconscious
but not seriously hurt.
! The injured were taken to the homes
of neighbors with the exception of the
servants, who were conveyed to the
! city hospital. The dead were carried
across the street to the residence of
DR.. K. B. Bachelor, where every effort
was made to resuscitate them, but to
no avail
Nothing further could be done for
them; they were covered with sheets
and
LAID OUT ON THE FLOOR
OF the physicians parlor to await the
coming of the undertaken
The fire, although a fierce one. was
confined to the Armiger. residence,
which was completely Quilted No es-
innate has as yet been made of the
loss, but it is thought the contents
were worth at least $1O,O0O.s The house
is insured for So, 500, which will fully
cover the damage.
The news of the disaster spread with
Wonderful rapidity all over the city,
and in an hour a tremendous crowd
had gathered in front of the house.
Prayers for the dead and afflicted were
lifted up i'm almost every church in the
city and expressions of sincere sympa-
thy and regret were uttered from every
pulpit and repeated in the households
of the many friends and acquaintance
of the unfortunate family.
NARROWING SCENES.
The scenes in the parIor of DR..
Bachelors residence where the bodies
were carried were narrowing. Even
the undertakers and their assistants
used to scenes of death, turned away
at this, half sickened.
Mr.. Arn1iger was burned to a crisp
around the upper part of his body.
The white hair about his venerable
head was matted with blood and Gin
ders.
Mr.. Riley died from burns and suffo-
cation. He was rather stout and
muscular man. The burns were chiefly
about his face, neck and shoulders.
His face was terribly distorted and
wore an expression of awful agony.
I1lo lSll leS anu sue were SllGhtIY
burned and there was liVid fire mark
across his chest
Mr. Manuel was terribly burned and
his horribly SCARED face and body was
twisted to one side as though he had
died only after making a supreme
effort for life
Cleaning in startling contrast with
the burned and blackened fingers of
Mr.. Manuels left hand, glistened
handsome diamond ring shaped like "a
serpent with the glittering gem in the
centre of the head.
STR@NG MEN WEPT.
Strong men who were standing in
the parlor turned their heads away
when the undertakers brought in the
body of little James Chaplin, grandson
of Mr.. Armiger. A woman standing
near the parlor door in the hall tainted.
The child was blackened cinder.
Smoke and fire had done their fearful
work. Even the throat and nostrils
were burned inside. His little white
night gown was dabbled and spattered
with cinders and dark stains from the
burned body. The two Riley children
were killed by the suffocating smoke |
They were not as badly burned as the |
others but their faces were blackened |
from the bursting of blood vessels and |
the crimson fluid stained their
blackened night gowns.
Mrs. Letitia Riley, who is SO cruelty |
bereaved, is lying at the home of DR.. |
Bachelor in a semi-stupor, seemingly
unconscious of her irreparable loss and |
suffering great physical agony. The |
physician says. however, that her
wounds are more painful than serious, !
and that the only obstacle to her com t
plete and speedy recovery will be the |
awful shock she has sustained and !
will again experience when the full |
knowledge of the dreadful thing which |
has come to her makes itself clear to !
her mind
THE THIRD.
Today's tragedy is the third of a |
similar character which have visited |
this city during the past year. The
first was that in which Mr.. and Mrs. !
Thomas Whiteridge were killed by |
falling from ladder down which Mr..
Whiteridge was endeavoring to carry
his wife after having refused the ser
vices of the firemen. This fire oc-
Cured on January IT, 1895, at 19 West
Biddle street
The other resulted in the death of
Mrs. Roscoe B. Heath, a daughter of
the late Commodore Kittson of st. |
Paul, and occurred at 20 West Mount
Royal avenue on March "a, 1896. Dep
uty Fire Chief McAfee, today's hero.
was presented a medal at that time
for heroism in endeavoring to rescue
Mrs. Heath u
"A more recent disaster was that at
the old Front street theatre on No