The San Francisco call., 1898-03-23
Horrible Fate of Jam eS Thompson and Wife,
 of Fresno.
Their Charred Bodies Found in the Remains of Their
 Dw cling.
Neighbor Arrives Before the Woman Is Dead but, Is Driven Back
 by Flames.
Special Dispatch to The Call.

FRESNO, March 22.-Mr. and Mrs James Thompson, an aged couple, were burned to death tonight in their home, rough, board shanty on Kern and B streets. When the fire was finally ex- tinguished the remains of the old peo- pie were founu on the charred floor of the dwelling. The woman lay in cor ner of the house, beside the front door, through which she had evidently tried to get out of the burning building. Her husband lay a few feet from her, stretched on his back All flesh was burned from the head, leaving only the charred, crumbling skull.
 Coroner Long was summoned and ar rived after the fire had been extin- guished. The bodies were buried be- heath the debris of burned timbers and furniture and were with great diff culty removed from the house.
 The fire started shortly after 10:30 o'clock and the flames shot up through the roof of the shanty which burned like finder. Paul Giannoni, who lives about block away was the first to see the blaze. He ran to the burning building and fired his pistol twice to attract the attention of the people of the neighborhood The reports of the
 
 on Inyo street, and Fred Brown, a colored boy, to the house. It did not occur to him at first that any one was in the building and his first thought was to save a buggy which was close to the house. They wheeled that away, and then one of them suggested that there might possibly be some children in the house and concluded to knock in the door. Barnett kicked it in and the 1Uiney In the door She might have become suffocated by smoke and fallen there, but Barnett afterWard said that he did not think she was dead at that time. He took hold of her by the feet and tried to pull her from the building. Just then a volume of flames rushed through the opening, and Barnett had to flee to save his life, leaving the unfortunate woman to her terrible fate. He saw the old man lying on the floor also, but 1t was impossible to rescue him.
 It is impossible to say how the fire started, but it is believed that the couple were in helpless condition from liquor and on that account could not escape from the building. The neigh bors say that at 10 o'clock lamp was seen burning dmly in the front part of the house, and 1t is possible that the fire resulted from an explosion.
 Thompson was a United States pen sioner and got his money several days ago. Since then he had been drinking heavily, and his wife also had been drinking. She was seen to bring a bots tie of wine to the house this afternoon, and nothing more was seen of either herself or her husband.
 The old couple went about gathering rags, and often were so much under the influence of liquor that they could hardly maintain their seat on the wa gon. It is evident that they had been sitting around a stove, and it is thought the woman's dress might have caught fire from the stove while she was in stupor.
 After the fire a number of trunks, valises and boxes which were saved were searched and were found to be filled with sacks containing all sorts of wearing apparel Lace curtains, shirts and underwear were stuffed together in sacks, which were placed in trunks or valises. The old couple evidently made business of robbing clothes lines. For some time the officers have been receiving complaints of clothes lines being robbed, but have been un- nl fn fn1,