The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-07-07

Her name is Maggie Montgomery;
she is known as Mulberry Mag" and
the soubriquet defaces the police rec
ords on hundreds of pages.
She lived with equally famous Mrs.
Moran in a black frame building on
Oak street near Feltz patch, Taylor,
and since they began their residence
in the house the. neighborhood has
been continually annoyed by the dis
orderly antics of the two women.
One year ago last month Mulberry
Mag" was particularly boisterous with
the result that she was arrested as a
scold on u warrant sworn to
by Nappe Thornton, one of the neigh
bors, who was disturbed The case
went to court, and at the last term was
continued until September
The house where the two women
lived on Oak street, Taylor, was set
aflre by some one at 1.30 o'clock yes
terday morning and today only it's
blackened ruins remain. Mrs. Moran
and Mulberry Mag" are forced to
leave the place!
The real story is between paragraphs.
The people on Oak street were driven
W any tAlAtillt NY lut ullCltdH CdTOuS-
ais of the two women and it is an open
secret that after Mulberry Mag's"
outburst year ago which led to her
arrest a misunderstanding was ser
iously discussed. They wanted to rid
the neighborhood of the women. One
man at that time said "The law is no
good; it seldom punishes," and that
was the general sentiment.
THEY WE'RE PLEASED.
When at 1.3O o'clock yesterday morn
ing when the whole neighborhood
rushed : to the scene of the fire
such remarks as: ITS a good
job" Good riddance;" that's bet
ter than the COURTS" Mature
is kind" Let it burn" were
heard. No one sent in an alarm for
the fire for twenty minutes after it
had started and there was no hope of
saving the building. The alarm box
was not 200 yards away yet no one
cared to he the one to turn the key.
The building was a small ramshac-
kled two-story affair on the southerly
side of Oak street. the extreme north
ern street in Taylor borough.
On one side Mrs Moran lived and up
to few months ago Mulberry Mag"
and her dissipated husband lived on
the other side. Mrs. Moran owned the
building. She is a widow and made her
house refuge for all kinds of degen-
crate men.
The neighbors are all respectable peo-
pie, most of them owning their own
homes, and they had the two women
time and time again, but with
out any good results.
A year ago an escapade Of Mulberry
Mag" clinched the determination to get
rid of her. The woman had her chill
dren taken from her by Mrs. Duggan,
agent for the Board of Associated
Charities. One of the children-a little
girl, Lenora by name-a few months
afterward died at the House of the
Good Shepherd, where the child was
TAKEN.
SHE CURSED EVERYBODY.
This seemed to craze Mrs. Montgom-
cry and one day while intoxicated she
went out in the street and grovelled
about in the dust, calling down the
curses of the Almighty upon every one.
Three constables tried to arrest Mag"
but she escaped.
Nappe Thornton, whose house is next
to the Moran nest" on the westerly
side of Oak street, the next day sWore
out a warrant for "Mag's" arrest. The
case was passed by the grand jury and
went to court with the result stated
above.
For the past week a company that in
cluded the two women and also "Cy-
clone Kate" with a dozen men, made
things disagreeable on Oak street. Yes
terday morning the residents of the
street for two blocks were awakened
by the cries of Mrs. Moran. She had
been awakened by the smoke and when
she got outside the building was half
burned. So she screamed. She was
barefooted and only scantily clothed.
Then the neighbors began to arrive
and they stood around watching the
flames eat up the Getested shanty. The
fire seemed to have been started in the
vacant part of the house where Null
berry Mag" formerly lived. After a
time, when there was no hope of saw
ing the house, an alarm was sent in.
The Taylor fire company responded
and two streams were used in saving
the adjoining property of Thomas
Moran.
WHAT MRS. MORAN SAID.
A Tribune reporter saw Mrs. Moran
last evening at the place where her
house stood. She was down where the
cellar once was, with her arms sunk in
a pool of dirty water, trying to turn off
the force of water which was running
from a pipe. A Hungarian was help
ing her.
Yes" she said, II lost everything.
1 got an old bureau out, but the crowd
broke that"
"How do you think the fire started?"
81 don't know, / head that some
people saw two men leaving the other
side of the house just before the blaze
burst out. They won't tell me who
the men were, though. l think they
amt charitable"
Some one had circulated the rumor
that the house was insured and that
Mrs. Moran herself had set it afire.
Mrs. Moran stated positively to Tri-
bune reporter that the house was not
insured for one cent. II was in bed at
the time and was most smothere' by
the smoke" said Mrs. Moran. She will
move from the patch.
Yesterday Mag went to Mrs. Dug
gan and told her of the fire. She said
that she lost 800 in the fire. This is
doubted. She was presented with a
hat by Miss Keisel, nurse for the
charity board. She was scantily at
tired and explained that all of her
clothes had been burned in the fire.
Hotel Elmhurst.
viii open to the public today for the
season, Meals will be served at all