Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-10-16
FIRE AND
SMALLPOX
AN EARLY MORNING BLAZE OF
ALLEGED SUSPICIOUS
ORIGIN.
STRONG SMELL OF
COAL OIL IN ROOMS.
One Of the Lodgers Had Smallpox
Alleged Remarks Made by
Landlady.


Seattle house, at 119 West Broadway. The
building was rented by Miss Jessie Hill
| and her dodgers consisted of J. Nash and
his daughter. Owing to recent cir
cumstances there was no friendly. feeling
between the landlady and her dodgers.
Fire Chief Peter Sanger says that the
smell Of coal oil was very strong when
he arrived upon the scene and he is i'm
pressed with the belief that the fire was
of incendiary origin.
The cause of the trouble between Nash
and Miss Hill is that the formers daugh-
ter, Miss Belle Nash, has the smallpox
and AIS the father would not permit her
removal to the pest house, the house con-
Quoted by Miss Hill was placed under
quara ntine.
During the past week nearly all the
furniture was removed from the house
and in the language of Mr.. Sanger 'tbhe
old place was in good shape to make a
good fire."
Whether Miss Hill meant to carry out
a threat alleged to have been made by
her is a matter of conjecture, but at 3
o'clock this morning an alarm was
rung in from box AZ for a fire at 119 West
Broadway. The department responded
promptly and found a fire in nearly every
IOOIH III TIE OuSt lIlc department SOoIl
had control of the flames but it was an
hou before they were finally extin-
guished. The building is a very old frame
structure and the partitions are boards
covered with cloth and paper. Had the
alarm been turned in 10 minutes later the
entire structure would rave been reduced
to ashes.
AS soon as the fire was discovered Mr..
Nash wrapned his sick daughter up in
blankets and quilts and carried her into
the alley where the unfortunate girl, who
dis only II years of age, was compelled to
remain until the fire was extinguished.
None of the neighbours would a a
smallpox patient in their houses, and
owing to the excitement and the expos
ure the girl lost consciousness and re-
manned in that condition for eight hours.
None of the .~bystanders would render
him any assistance as they were afraid
of exposing themselves to the disease.
The father inploreu some one 10 go for a
doctor and finally a boy, in consideration
of 81 undertook to find one. Miss Hill ap
peared to be very much excited and at
her request one of the firemen rescued
her purse from the burning building. One
of the bremen said that he witnessed a
meeting between Miss Hill and Mrs.
Mash and that the latter told the land
lady THAT she would have her in jail
before night.
Miss Loa Nash, who resides at 304 East
Broadway, and who is a sister of the af-
ficted girl, said to an Inter Mountain
reporter today:
I'VE occupied those rooms in the rear
part and on the lower floor of the house..
about two weeks ago my sister Belle
was taken sick and it was a week before
the doctor said that it was small pox.
1t was in p very mild form and my father
would not have her taken to the pest
house.
"On Sunday, a week ago the house was
placed under quarantine and on the next
day, Monday, Miss Jessie Hill, who was
the landlady, demanded of my parents
that Belle be taken to the pest house.
AS it was only a mild case, my father
refused to have her taken away and
then Miss Hill talked awfully to him.
She called hin a name and said:
eff you dom get that girl out of the
house I'll burn you out
after that she commenced to remove
the furniture from the house and at the
time of the fire there was no n on the
lower floor except my parents and my
sister. I do not know if there was any
one up stairs or not, but believed that
one or two staid. The fire started in the
room adjoining those we occupied, but it
went the other way and burned every
room except those we occupied. Our
rooms We're damaged by water n
smoke but not by fire. 1t was my father
who carried my sister out of the house
and he got no assistance. When any
body would &c to assist him they would
cry small pox' and the men would hurry
away. Ny sister was laid down in the
alley as there was no place to which h
could be taken. She became uncon-
scious and remained that way until II
o'clock this morning.
my father asked the quarantine
guard who is al old man, to go for a
doctor, but he refused to do so. My
father pleaded with him but he would
not move. Finally my father got a boy
to come to me and he gave him 81 for
doing so. After the fire we took my sis
ter back into the rooms. 1t vas very
damp n uncomfortable but there a
no other place to take her."
Fire Chief p. Sanger when asked what
he thought of the fire said:
II could smell coal oil before I got to
the house. The rooms, except those &C.
cupied by the small pox patient were all
empty. I had been watching the place
for a week for I knew that they were
removing the furniture. We generally
keep an eye on such places. I detected
coal oil in the kitchen and a lamp had
been dumped over in the room south of
it. 1t was in pretty good shape to make
a good fire.
There were only one or two rooms
where they had a few pieces of furni-
ture. The carpets had been all pulled up
n there was a little fire in nearly
every room up stairs and downstairs.
The burner in the overturned lamp I
spoke of had ben unscrewed.
George Haldorn owns the building,
but his loss will be small as the build
ing was very old and did not possess
much value"
u , Yes" have a look at our