Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1898-11-04
TOM THUMB BURNED.
He Won the 2.2O Race at West
field Yesterday

but Perished In n Fire which Destroye,
the Sheds There In the Evening---W
II. Minors Belle NJ. Was Also Bad,
Burned.
Tom Thumb, the bay geding owned b,
Minor N Ellis won the 2.20 class for 1
purse of $3.50 at Westfeld, Mass, yester
day. There were four starters. Tom
Thumb was fourth in the first heat, seconC
in the second, and won the last tire,
heats. The time was 2.20 Ia, 221 l 2
Il Ia, 2.20 IA, 2.20 IA Several Brat
tleboro horsemen were at Westfield and it /.
understood that they secured 500 from the
pool box by backing Tom Thumb.
About O'Clock last night fire broke out
in the stalls at Woronoco Park, Westfeld.
The fire spread with great rapdity and
four valuable horses were burned: Mag.
gle and Lucille b., owned by G. d. Darcy
of East Boston; Tom Thumb, owned by
Minor & Ellis of Brattleboro, and John,
owned by Messrs. Kendrick and Moulton of
Worcester and Aldrich of Fitchburg.
Tom Thumb was formerly owned by Mr..
Wheeler of White River Junction. He
was bought during the past summer and
brought to Bratteboro. He was regarded
as the most promising of the several trot-
ting horses owned in Brattleboro and had
made practice mile in PIP. Lucille b.
was five-year-old with mark of PIT ii.
She won second in the II race at West
field. She was bought in Nova Scotia re-
Gently and was valued at $1,000 Maggie
was 10 years old and had mark of 2. II 1-2.
John was horse handled by Eddie Bass
OF Springfield. He won the 2.17 race at
Westtield yesterday, in PA IA, 2 - and
2.15
The fire started about the middle of the
building near the stall occupied by Belle
NJ, another trotter owned by w. H. Minor.
1t spread with wonderful rapdity, and as
the men employed to care for the four
horses burned we're in the center of the
town, the unfortunate beasts we're not re-
leased from their stalls. The men in the
other stalls did what they could to get out
all the horses, but the fire had gained such
Roadway that the four horses in the south
east corner of the building could not be
released. Belle NJ, the horse tina. was
burned, rushed about the park with her
blanket on fire, finally turning out at the
entrance and running over mile into the
Highland section, where she was stopped
and taken into the barn OF r. d. Gillett.
Her head, legs, tail and back were terribly
burned.
For a time all was confusion, with
the "rubbers" and other attendants trying
to rescue property. Several of the men
were too venturesome, and had their
hands, feet and faces burned. How the
fire started is not known, although some
believe that it was carelessness on the
part of some of the employees, who had been
drinking hard during the evening Sew
prQl about tho nf Ho 1, 4
ly intoxicated. 1t is barely possible that
lantern tipped over, or the bottom fell
out, but the drivers and owners of the
horses rather incline to the theory of reck-
lessness on the part of some one. At first
it was supposed that one or two nen had
persisted with the horses, but at late hour
last night practically all of the men had
been accounted for. The horses that were
burned struggled hard to gain their free
dom, and it was pitiful to hear the cries of
the helpless creatures.