The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-12-27
BURNING OF MRS.
HUGHES AND BABY
THE TRAGEDY A MYSTERY.
THEORIES THAT MITIGATE A.
THIRD PARTY.

An Examinations OF the hughes
Home Indicates That some one
Was There when Mrs. Hughes ana
Her Child Were Burned or soon
Afterwnrd-The Coroner's Jury
Unable 40 solve the Mystery.
Every Clue Being Followed.
Sylvania, Ga, Dec. 26.-The death
OF Mrs. Ben Hughes and her little
baby, who were burned to death in
their home about ten miles from here
last week. is still wrapped In mys-
terry. The tragedy has been widely
discussed in this part of the county,
and, as yet, no definite conclusion has
been reached as to how 1t happened.
II there Is a living witness of the
burning, as is generally believed. no
clue has yet been found. The coroner
who held an inquest over the two
bodies, after getting all the facts, was
left at sea, and could arrive at no
satisfactory decision as to the cause
of their death.
Finding of the Bodies.
Mr.. Hughes house is on the public
road. and his nearest neighbor is about
half a mile away. on the morning OF
the tragedy he left home early, after
having eaten breakfast and kissed his
wife and baby goodbye, and worked
all day at a neighboring farm, two
miles away. Upon returning at dark,
he saw that there was no light In the
house ana orau, anuratapgfx,o xxyt,o,.
he went in and struck light In the
bed room, he was met by the hor-
rible sight Of his wife lying dead
across the bed. where she had perish
ed In the flames, and his little baby
burned to death on a pallet before
the hearth. Mrs. Hughes was badly
burned about the body. all Of her cloth
ing having been burned of. but.
strange to say. the bed clothes were
burned very little.
The little fellow on the pallet by
the fire was also terribly burned. The
tragedy must have occurred early In
the morning. not long after the hus-
band left, for Mrs. Hughes was to
have cooked some corn for the hogs,
which she usually did Just after break
fast; and there were no signs that she
had started the work.
First Theory Set Aside.
The first natural supposition was
that Mrs. Hughes, having placed her
baby on a pallet before the fire. to
keep II warm, went into another part
OF the house 10 perform some house.
hold duties; and upon returning found
the baby In flames. and in the attempt
20 rescue Il herself was burned, and
thus both persisted In the room. This
theory, however, Is held TO be unten-
able from the fact that the baby was
found still lying before the fireplace.
and II the mother mad attempted to
rescue II, her first impulse would have
been TO carry II away from the Are.
Then, too, on the bed where the wife
was lying there were unmistakable
signs that water had been poured up0n
the bed clothing 70 put out the IRE.
Ran Burning Through the House.
Signs Of her having run into the han
and kitchen after she WAS on fire. were
evident-particles OF burnt clothing
having been found IN both places, and
the floor III the hall had caught and
a small hole had been burned This.
too, seemed 40 have been cxtlnRulshed
with water the charred edges around
the burnt place Having the appear
ance of burning wood that had been
put out with water iiut strange 10
Say, the bucket was fun N water In
the kitchen. JUST ~ the husband had
left a when be went away, and there
was no disorder ln the nrfnnnnment
N things about fho house. 0f around
tbe bed, such az d ~ supposed would
naturally have occurred fa1 the W.
man run into different parie ~ fhe
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