The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1897-05-24
FATAL NEW YORK FIRE.
Mother and Child Lose Their Lives
in q Furnished Room House.
ANOTHER WOMAN FATALLY HURT
She Jumped From the Third Floor to
the Ground, and VIII Probably Die.
Escape of tho Dwellers in the House
Cut on by Flames.


the Ground, and VIII Probably Die.
Escape of tho Dwellers in the House
Cut or by Flames.
New York, May 24-Two persons
were killed and three seriously injured
in fire which started shortly after
o'clock yesterday morning In the
four story and basement brown stone
building at 149 West Twenty-third
street. Several persons narrowly es-
capped death. The dead are: Mrs.
Katherine Mossway, aged 80 years.
died at hospital from suffocation and
burns; Beatrice Mossway, 4 years old,
daughter of the former. suffocated In
her room.
The injured are: Mrs Mary c., or
Carrie, BoYles, clearinghouse keeper
2S Hollis street. Boston, dangerously
hurt by jumping from window on the
third floor: Miss Macdonald. slightly
burned on face.
The building was occupied for both
business and dwelling purposes. In the
basement is an all night eatinghouse.
The Wesner Piano company occupy the
first floor. and the upper part of the
building Is a furnished room establish
ment, conducted by Mrs. Minnie Cur
tbs.
Before the firemen reached the scene
the entire building was filled with
flames. The Railways from the first
floor to the roof were in flames, and
escape by the front door was cut off.
Panic seized the inmates of the house.
While a. tenant named Lamont was
crawling along the narrow sill to reach
the adjoining house the body of a
woman struck large sign which hung
on the outside of the building and to
which he clung for support. The sign
was torn from its fastenings, and fell
with crash to the street. The woman
was Mrs. Bowles, who roomeI on the
third floor, and had precipitated her
self TO the street below when she
found that egress from the house by
way Of the stairs was checked by the
flames. She was picked up and taken
to a hospital Lamont did not fall to
the street. Several other tenants had
escaped in the same way.
On the top floor the widest sort of
panic had seized the tenants among
whom we're Mrs. Mossway and her
daughter. Most of the tenants, in
cluding Miss Macdonald and Mr..
Phelps, had escaped to the roof.
Mrs. Mossway. who lost her life, was
sleeping with her little daughter when
she was aroused by the smoke. She
ran into the hall and gave the alarm.
and then went back after her daugh-
ter When she started to return the
smoke and flames drove her again to
her room She attempted to open the
window. but it did not yield readily,
and she broke the glass with her hands.
The window would not open, and even
il 1t had there would have been little
chance for her as 1t is protected on
the outside by iron bars. When the
flremen searched the house they found
the littel girl dead in bed, the mother
lying on the floor blistered by the heat
and almost dead from suffocation. She
died three hours later.
Late In the afternoon Mrs. Bowles
recovered consciousness at the hos
pital, but no hopes are entertained of
her ultimate recovery. She arrived in
the city three days ago from Boston
on a shopping tour. She is about IS
years old
The origin of the fire Is not known,
but II Is believed that a belated tenant
lit match in the hallway to see his
way and Careessly tossed the still
burning match away. The damage
was about $1,000.