The Corvallis times. (Corvallis, Or.) 1888-1909, 1903-06-03
SPOKE NO WORD.
WHILE FLAMES LICKED. AWAY
HER SKIN AND BURNED
FLESH FROM BONES.
Stood in Center of Room With
Hands Uplifted. a Veritable
Pillar. of Fire--Terrible
Act of Insane Woman
Other News. j

Act OF Insane, woman
Other News
Salem, May 30.-With fames
which she had started with suicid.
al intent, burning her body to 9
crisp, Mrs. S. P. Towle, a patient al
the state insane asylum, failed tc
give tongue to the awful agony she
must have felt, and calmly permit.
ted the fire to do its work of death.
This>phass of tragedy enacted
at the asylum this morning reminds
one of the early Christian martyrs,
who endured the most terrible pain
without a murmur. i
Mrs. Tonle, woman of Al years,
was an inmate of what is known as
the restraint ward. This morning,
despite the precautions of the at.
tendants, she managed in some way
to procure some matches. This
find evidently aroused to full ac,
tivity the suicidal mania charac-
teristic of the woman's, complaint,
and with extraordinary cunning
she set about preparing to end her
life.
Adjoining the ward where Mrs.
Towle was confined was linen
room. Ordinarily no one goes in.
to this apartment and the insane
woman evidently calculated on be.
ing unobserved for q sufficient
length of time to accomplish her
purpose of suicide.
Carefully closing the door, she
ignited the matches and deliberate
ly set FIRE to ber clothing, beginning
at the hem of the skirt, and start
ed blaze at several other parts of
her dress. Within few seconds
the flames were leaping about her,
licking the skin from her body and
scorching the flesh to the bone.
But from the room where this
scene was enacted there came no
cry of pain or of terror. The
crazed woman bore the agony with
the silence of stole.
One Of the attendants came into
the ward. She was. at once sur
rounded bya frightened mob of
patients.
"Smoke! Smoke! Fire! Fire!"
they yelled, while CONS, seizsd
with greater panic clambered for
egress at the iron bars over the win.
dow.
The attendants quickly glanced
around and saw smoke issuing from
the linen room. It was but the
work of a moment to open the door.
Therein perfectmass of flames COM
pletely' hiding her from sight, they
found Mrs. Towle. She was stand
ing upright in the center of the
room, her hands raised high above
her head, a veritable pillar of fire.
At great risk to themselves, the at
tendents grasped the burning wo-.
man, and with blankets smothered
the Flames, which by this time had
burned almost all the clothing from
the unfortunate woman's body.
While the attendants were working
to- save her life, and while the has
tily summoned physicians were
over her, not sound es-
capped the lips of the woman, save
that of labored breathing.
Surgical skill was of no avail.
The woman had inhaled the flames
and she died a few minutes after
The doctors reached her side.
In the meantime a hard fight
was being made to avert disas-,
,reus fire that threatened the entire
Institution. The mass of clothing
n the linen room had taken fire
md was burning fercely, and SO
'oon as the flames, surrounding
Mrs. Towle had been extinguished,
he attendants turned their atten-
ion to saving the asylum from de-
This they did by mar
'ow margin, succeeding in putting |
,ut the fire only after hard work.
/. Supt. Galbraith reported the facts
# the suicide to the coroner and an
inquest over Mrs. Towle will be
leld this afternoon. The dead wo-
nan was committed to the asylum
rom Marion county.
New York, May 29.-Marguerite
3oyenval, of Thelles, near San
[uan, who had been in cataleptic
condition since May, 1883, has
awakened, cables the Herald's COR
espondent. For some time past
he has suffered from phthisis, and
is believed that the effect of this |