Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1908-01-02
RARE PRESENCE
or MIND

Ellen RYAN - M COG Pine street, bv
remarkable presence of mind saved
her life, although she was most shock
inglv burue
II wa ahuut q O'Clock In the morn
ing, Miss Ryan keeps house for her
brother, Michael RYAN. A niece, al.
so lives in the family but the latter
was not at home. Michael was up
stairs in his room. Miss Ryan was IN
1 the act of removing the ashes from
the stove. While in STOPPING posi-
/ tion as she withdrew the ash pan ii
would seem that n red hot coal un.
detected rolled into her lap. where it
iRnited.Ler'nl ron.
/ Miss Ryan detected the odor of burn
ing cloth. but she attributed 1t TO the
busting rag, which she had thrown in
/ to the stove. Unconscious that her
clothing was on fire she went TO the
door with the ashes but no sooner had
she stepped outside than tile flames
burst out and rapidly enveloping her
person bazed up around her face.
/ Quickly turning she ran in through
the kitchen and sitting room to the
stairway, where in tones that betray
ed her deep peril she. called up to
Michael imploring him to quickly
bring down a blanket. as she was on
/ fire. Meanwhile she-made her way up
stairs to meet her brother.
Realizing his sisters peril. michael
grasped a blanket from the bed and
ran to her rescue. Miss Ryan by that
time was literally n pillar of flame.
He met her on the stairway and throw
| ing the blanket around her endeavored
to smother.out the.fiames. The blank
ct, however, being half-cotton, proved
poorly adapted to extinguishing fire
and itself was soon in flames.
Throwing aside the tiimsy fabric
Michael dashed into bedroom and
grasped an all-woolen blanket, which
he wrapped around the burning wo-
man. Struggling.hard to smother the
flames he brought his sister down
stairs. BY this timesJohn Pegg, driver
for ]. H. Goeser, who heard the calls
for help. arrivedFonFthe scene. He at
once lent a hand and with Michael
Ryan succeeded in extinguishing the
! flames.
By this sstime the greater part of the
I clothing was burned eff the unfortun-
! are woman Her dress and skirts were
4 practically consumed and only her ~
/ derclothing remained.
Is Almost before the flames were eX-
( tingutshed DR.. Cameron Shult2 III Ie.
/ sponse to hurry call arrived at the
+ house and proceeded to apply the pro
per remedies. Miss RYAN was found
IN he shock inglv burued The worst
/ injury was inflicted Oh her arms he
4 low the elbows. where the flesh was
4 literally burned raw. She is also very
/ seriously burned OH the limbs, on leT
4 back and breast as we'll as under her
chin aud the lower part of the face
4 fortunate circumstance lies in the
/ fact that she does not seem to have in
/ haIed any of the fire DR., Shultz Friday
evening stated that, while the burns
are serious, he does not consider them
necessarily fatal and he enteltai NC
/ doubt but that ;he woman will recov-
eT.
Had Miss Ryan run :intoTthe yard
| she wouid no doubt have burned to
death before efficient help arrived. Ry
retraeing her way into the house and
calling her brother blanket was pro.
cured with the least possible loss OF
time and the flames were smothered
/ before injuries of fatal nature were
/ inflicted. The woman deserves great
credit for the presence of minu ~ G
DISPLAYED IN her awful ordeal.