The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1902-04-10
The Alarm Made Bill Get a Move On
Him.
CHIMNEY SCOT CAUGHT ON FIRE
Water Poured on Soon Put Out Blaze
in Kitchen-Arp Gives Some Fire
Statistics.


things that cost the least and are the
most necessary to our existence are the
most dangerous when unrestrained.
Last Sabbath evening my wife and ]
walked down to Jessie's house to COM
fort her in her sick bed, ana play with
:he little girls and help nurse the little
oaby boy. Suddenly the fire bell gave an
alarm and my wife walked out on the
yeranda to find out where the fire was.
In a moment she came hurrying back
and almost screamed, SITS our house
it's our house; run quick. Oh! mercy"
[ threw the baby down on the floor
40, didn't either-and departed those
coasts with salacrity. Firemen and
people were hurrying that way. /
struck fox trot for awhile, but soon
relaxed into a fast walk. and then a
slow pull up the hill, for felt my pal
pitation coming on. Before reached
The mansion l met some of the advance
guard returning who said the fire was
out. So sat down on the front steps
10 blow for minute. When l went
through the hall to the kitchen where
the commotion was, found our daugh-
ters and some good friends still
drenching the smoking walls and
pouring water down the flue up in the
garret. The accumulated SCOT of twen-
" years had caught on fire and some
how got TO the lathiag and then to the
ceiling and dropped down to the floor.
Nobody was at home. Tho cook was in
her cabin asleep. Her little boy was sit
Ting on the back steps and when our
girls arrived he very quietly pointed to
the kitchen and said: Oars fire in
lar." Then thoy heard the cracking
flames and saw smoke pouring through
q broken pane. On opening the door
they were astounded, for the whole
room seemed ablaZe. One ran to the
front door and screamed Fire, fire,
fire." and the other went to the telc-
phone and then they flew to the water
faucet and good neighbors gathered in
and filled the buckets and went to
work. They were just in time, for a
delay of ten minutes would have caus-
I'd the loss of the house and all of orr
furniture and pictures
a4d books and my wife's fine clothes
and golden wedding presents. When /
left Jessie's house my wife hailed me
on the run and said save something,
but | am not certain whether it was
her fine dresses in the wardrobe or her
silverware in the dark closet or he.
Bible. | reckon it was the Bible that
she has read chapter in every night
For all these long years. | had good
old Baptist aunt in Rome and when
her house caught on fire away in TIE
night and the firemen came running
she ran out in her night clothes and
begged them to save her Christian In
deX. She had a stock Of them and treas
ured them more than anything else.
Our good old professor. Charles F.
F. Mccoy. of Franklin college, used to
lecture to us students. ana his favor
ite subject was The Regularity OF r.
regular things" and he satisfied me
that the longer my house escaped a fire
the more | was liable to have one. The
chances against me increased as the
years rolled on, and so have been eX-
pecting a fire. The insurance compa-
nies understand this and base all their
calculations and rates upon 1t. They
will tell you what is the average life OF
a dewlling. store. gin. planning
mil or a church. The professor Illus
trated with a dice box and said If you
cast the dice a dozen times the six
spot might come up three or four times
in succession and the ace several
times, but if you caset the dice thous-
and times, each number from one to
six would show up about an equal num-
Der of times. That is according to the
calculation of chances and proves the
regularity of irregular things. So 1t is
with the rainfall which, however un-
certain in its coming, amounts to
about the same every year. Since 1889
the losses by fire in the United States
have averaged $105. 100000 year, the
lowest being s10O,000,000 and the high
est S110,000 900, and yet in 1871 the loss
in Chicago alone was $200,000,0OO.
But where did fire come from and
who gave it and when. There is no
mention of fire in the Mosaic account
of the creation nor for two thousand
years after it. Until after the flood
there was not much need of fire. for
the people were not permitted to eat
meat. Their food was the fruit OF the
earth. But I reckon they did have fire
and blacksmith shops and made ham,
mers and hoes and nails, etc. Noah
could not have built the ark without
tools and nails. The presumption is
that the Creator supplied Adam with
tools to dress the garden and Abel
with knives to sacrifice the firstlinSs
Of his flock, but there are Indian tribes
In our day and negroes in Africa and
Esquimaux in the Arctic regions who
have no knowledge of iron or its uses.
A thousand years before Christ, Homer
wrote that Jupiter only possessed the
element that we call fire and wher
man was created man he refused tc
give him fire. But Prometheus stole