Red Lodge picket. [volume] (Red Lodge, Mont.) 1889-1907, 1902-01-31
AN EXCITING MOMENT
Alone at Home, Little Verne Potter
Awakens at Midnight to Find the
House on Fire.
HE SAVED HIS PET DOG
Little Fellow, With Rare Presence Of Mind,
Trundles OF to Neighbors and
Gives the Alarm.

|
But for the rare presence of mind of
Sheriff Potter's 5-year-old son Verne,
early Wednesday morning, the little fel
low would have been burned to death in
d fire which broke out in the diningroom
OF the family residence while the sheriff
and Mrs. Potter We're absent from the
house and the child was alone.
Mr.. and Mrs. Potter left home early in
the evening to attend the club dance at
the opera house. The little boy, WHEN II
was proposed to have someone come and
stay with him, said that he preferred
staying alone. The sheriff, who seemed
to have 4 premonition Of the event that
was to follow, took the little fellow on
his lap as he was going to bed and asked
him what he would do in case the house
caught tire.
Why, what a. YOU suppose l'd do."
was the reply. I'D go out in front OF
house and yell fire and go over to the
neighbors and tell them all about It.
| Little Verne kept his word few
hours later, for strangely enough, the
fire did come and he was called upon to
do exactly what he said he would doand
he did it with a promptness which NOT
only saved his own life but also the
complete destruction of the house. A
puppy. the boys favorite companion, was
in the kitchen and the barking Of the
dog awo|1e the child about one O'Clock.
The little fellow smelled the smoke and
found that it came from the diningruom.
The smoke cut off progress from hisro
through the front room to the door and
he had to take a circuitous route through
several rooms to the back door. We
reckoned that it would be cold oup in
the snow, so he grabbed a heavy quill. otf
his bed. When he arrived at the s.sor
leading into the kitchen he founsi an
obstacle which would have been insnr
mountable to most boys Of his age. In
order to keep the dog from entering the
sleeping room where he was during the
night the door leading into the kitchen
had been secured by tying the knob on
the kitchen side to the leg of table.
At first tug the door did not open enough
to admit the lads body, but he used all
his strength and succeeded in pulling
the table along far enough toward the
door 50 that there was room for him to
squeeze through. The opening proved
not to be wide enough to admit both the
boy and the quilt SO he gave UP thecovcr-
ing, and it was found later stuck in the
doorway.
In his night gown and crocheted slip
pers, which he wore in bed, Verne pro
ceeded to the house Of Job Jones, next
door, and succeeded in awakening the
household.
Mr.. Jones dressed hurriedly and ran
down town to give the alarm first pro
ceeding to the opera house, where he ex-
pected to find the sheriff. The sheriff
isn't long on dancing and had gone oyel
v to the Spotford Hotel. When Jones ia
auired for the sheriff Mrs. Potter was
Just in the act Of waltzing by the en-
trance door. She heard the hurriec
word that the Potter home was ablaz'
and supposing her child to be inside
Jones in the excitement forgetting tt
make that point clear she became hys
terical and tainted away. Another lad.
tainted also and several went into hys
terics in the excitement that followed.
/. To add to the confusion the electro
lights were turned off, as is always don
for safety in case Of fire, and the dancer
had to rush into their garments in dark
ness, in the little anteroom of the hal
Finally all got out and the distracte'
mother, fairly beside herself was hurrie'
to the scene Of the conhagration in
bus. Meanwhile Sheriff Potter receive
the alarm at the hotel and fairly flew 70
home, and when the fond parents foun
their darling, brave little son safe an
sound at the neighbor's house their 10
! knew no bounds.
While all this commotion and excite
ment was taking place the fire bell at tn