The San Francisco call., 1909-04-17
FLAMES TO
SAVE LITTLE GIRL
Mrs. w. j. Leary 10th to Talk
of Her Heroic Work
During Fire

Cut out that hero business. Don't
mention it, please"
After this modestly abrupt fashion
Mrs. w. J. Leary of Tehama street
tried to dismiss yesterday her heroic
participation in the rescue of the
Briggs children from the burning st.
George hotel.
Her own home gutted, her. household
effects entirely destroyed, and her two
little girls routed from their slumber
by the cracking of the flames and the
shrieks of fire victims, Mrs. Leary
nevertheless had sufficient time and
presence of mind to brave the inferno
of fire and smoke for the sake of an
other woman's child.
And when she was asked to recount
her share in the saving of tender
lives she foreclosed- discussion with
decisive:
Cut out that hero business. Don't
mention it, please.
In all the poignant swiftness of this
tragedy of fire and awful death the
Briggs children play a beautiful and
soothing part.
The thought that one of the Briggs
children was still within the burning
building tugged at the heartstrings of
Mrs. Leary and led her to risk her
life.
And as though to complete the chain
of heroic self-sacrifice circling about
these seven youngsters, the strong
pull of mother love did not prevent
Mrs Briggs from rousing lodgers and
seeking out the fire alarm while her
BARNS were still within the zone of
danger.
Mrs W. ]. Briggs is the sister of
John w. Shanahan, the proprietor of
the St George hotel. With her hus-
band and her children she came to
tbs city from Sheridan in Placer county
and recently the couple took charge
of the st. George laundry The laun-
dry is located in the rear of the st.
George hotel on the Tehama street
side; so the Briggs family moved into
the hotel, occupying a suite of seven
rooms. including four sleeping apart
ments, considerably separated in the
rear on the ground floor.
When the fire started vesferdav
morning there were in the hotel. be-
sides Mr.. and Mrs. Briggs, the follow
ing seven children:
Flora, aged Is; Stella, aged 70. Kitty
aged s; Bessie, aged 6; Hughie. aged :.
johnnie 1called Donnie), aged 3; Law
renee, dSGQ Z.
Mr. and Mrs. Briggs occun;ed ona
apartment; Flora and the baby slept in
another; Stella. Kitty and Bessie oecu-
pied third, some distance away. and
Hughie and Donnie" were in the
fourth.
Flora Briggs was one of the first to
discover the fire. 1t was her scream
which aroused Howard Coryell. Fear
ing for her mothers safety, the girl
Gfn in ha
the baby, Lawrence, in her arms and
Hughie and Donnie" terrified and
crying, tugging at her. nightgown. If
Coryell had not forcibly driven the
four children out of the room and down
the hallway to the street their exit
would have been cut off by the swift
outreaching of the flames
While these four children were being
rescued Mrs. Briggs had awakened.
reused her husband, implored him to
look to the children and had rushed
down the hallway toward Howard
street, shouting sire" and beating on
the doors as she went. Mrs Briggs
knew where to find the auxiliary fire
box near the office, and before she re-
treated through the flames to her own
apartments she had smashed the glass
and turned in one Of the alarms
Her hand bleeding from the broken
glass. she regained her husband, who
was conducting Stella and Kitty to the
street. Unaware that Coryell had al
ready rescued four of the children, the
parents made a heartrending search of
the other apartments
Meanwhile the alarm of fire had,
spread and the flames were roaring up
through the building and spreading
to the neighboring structures.
Mrs. Leary learned that little Bessie
Briggs was still within the hotel.
to nh 81. II fto
little girl would most probably be
lying, Mrs. Leary reached the room at
last to find Bessie crying for her
mother.
When Mrs. Leary reached the street
with the child she was on the verge of
Mysteries.
rTnr HncE nnEMCuEC