Chariton courier. (Keytesville, Chariton County, Mo.) 1878-current, 1898-09-09
EeytesviIIe Depot Burned.

the residence property just northwest
OF tie depot, last Friday afternoon II
abo5.t 5:I5 O'Clock. When the fire
wa discovered by Mrs. Taylor the
far es were bursting through the
nor:h side of the building and also the
cave of the roof, She ran 20 notify
Station Agent w. H. Carson and
foasd him on the outside platform at
the east end of the depot. Mr.. Car,
SOL rushed into the ticket Office to
saw what he could, but as the flames
were then leaping higher than his
head through the inside door that
leao from the ticket Office to the
fre'sat room, he only succeeded in
saving the ticket case, seven or eight
doisrs from the money drawer, a few
packages of express and some freight
bills hat he had made out and laid
in IS dinner basket, None of the
booas or other papers were saved.
TIE fire demon did its work quick
ly o ing to the dry condition of the
tin3bers on account of the protracted
dry ateather. Then, toe, the ferceness
of t.e flames was also augmented by
some oil that was kept in cans in the
freight room for the use of the railroad
company in furnishing lights for the
depot and the switch lamps.
Among those who lost freight that
had been stored in the freight room
wef-: NJ. H. Holcomb and Herbert
Whte of Keytesville, F. J. Ellis of
Cur ridge Mills, A. S. WiIks of Snapp,
and 3. F. Ford and T. B. Wilson of
Pee Dee, while a lot of school desks
were destroyed that had been shipped
to 2. II. Tisdale of four miles west Of
KeY.esyille which were to have been
pla, sdsin the Jordan school-house.
soft tEne before the fire broke
out Ed. Lewis, negro boy who
served in the capacity oe general
roust-about about the depot, went III
to the freight room to light the switch
lamps, but Ed. says that he threw the
match he used, after blowing it out,
down in the middle of the floor and
then put his foot on it, and if this is
true the theory that the fire originated
through the boys carelessness would
be exploded.
Station Agent Carson informs us
that there were several cases of parlor
matches in the freight room that be-
longed to F. J. Ellis of Guthridge
Mills, and it may be that the fire was
the result of spontaneous combustion,
in one of the match boxes, or 1t may
have been the work of a mischievous
mouse among the matches At all
events, the fire occurred, ,and Keytesville
station is now without a depot, except
in the nature of small hoYel that was
shipped up from Moberly last Saturday
on flat car and will be used as a de-
pot until new one can be built.
The railroad auditor and the express
auditor came to KeytesviIIe last Satur-
day for the purpose of Strengthening
out the tangle in business matters,
which the fire had caused-at least, to
do as far as possible. They had to go
to Mr.. Carson's house to see him as
he was sick in bed.
The Pacific Express company's safe,
which was in the depot at the time of
the fire, was opened by the auditor late
Saturday afternoon and was found to
contain $I94, but nothing else of value
was IN it.
Station Agent Carson had either be-
come tired of his Job or else the railroad
company had been finding his services
unsatisfactory of late, and on account
of one or the other or both OF these
reasons Mr.. Carson rendered his resig-
nation about month ago. He was
to have been "Checked out" last Tues
day but, owing to the muddIe the fire
caused he was superseded by d. c
Sewers of CarrolltOn last Saturday, who
takes permanent charge as agent. Mr..
Sewers is nice gentleman IN appear
ance, and has wife and two children
whom he will move to Keytesville as
soon as practicable.
Mr.. Carson has been in the employ
of the Wabash railroad for about 20
years and has been the agent at Keytes-
vile for nearly seven years. He has
two or three other jobs in view, and
the COURIER hopes that he may be
successful in securing desirable posi-
ton at q lucrative salary