The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1915-08-31
Great Sorrow for
Brig. Gen. PeTs1ing
His Wife and Three Of His Four
Children suffocated to Death
At the Preside

were suffocated to death in their quar-
co early today. Their bodies were
badly burned. Mrs. Walter o. Bos-
well, a relative and her two children
escaped as did Warren Pershing 5
years old and three servants. The
dead children are Helene, s.; Anne, 4;
and Mary Margaret, 6. Mrs. Perish.
ing is a daughter of Senator Warren
of Wyoming Her husband, COM
handing the eighth Brigade, United
States infantry is at Eel Paso, Texas
in charge of the border troops.
The fire is believed to have been
caused by night lamp, although this
was said to be only conjecture.
Mrs. Boswell was the first of the
people in the house to discover the
fire. She was aroused by the smoke
and awakened her children and call
ed to Mrs. Pershing Then she
opened the door from her room to the
hall A gush of smoke drove her
back and she saw flames in the hall
way. She took her children to the
stairway but found it cut off by fire
and retreated through her room to
| the roof of the front porch.
The noise of the flames by this
time had aroused Lieut.. Eugene
Santschi, Twenty-first infantry, Priv.
ate c. j. Haslitt, and another soldi-
er who broke in doors in the house
but were forced back by the flames.
Then Mrs. Boswell from the porch
roof threw her two children, Phillip
and James and 6 years old, 10 the
men below still calling to Mrs. Per.
shing and jumped herself Her maid
previously had jumped and been
caught. Mrs. Boswell fell in flower
bed, wrenching her back. She was
taken to the Preside hospital.
Warren Pershing was found uncon.
soious on the floor of his room by
Johnson, the Per2hings, aged negro
servant, who led Rescue party into
the house. He had revived at the
Preside hospital.
Finding the Victims
In the corner of the house most
burned the rescuers found Mrs. Per.
shing dead on the floor with her arms
across one of the children. who was
on the bed. On another bed was
another child; the third lay on the
floor. The bodies of all were consil.
eraby burned.
The house occupied by the Perish.
inss was perhaps the best Of 4 col,
lection of old frame buildings scat.
tered about the main post and canton
ments of the Preside. Many of these
were built as temporary barracks at
the time of the Spanish Amerl Al
war and still are occupied. Their shed
like appearance was renovated some
what at the opening of the Panama
Pacific exposition by a coat Of oa'nt
but they remained devoid of ordinary
; comforts, and utterly inadequpts tc
, accommodate the troops stationed
: here. Only those on the main pos
| Lad electric lights. Efforts to hav'
/ them replaced by modern lirepiuo
buildings have met with small sue
cess, although the new artillery post
, Fort Winfield Scott, at the western
edge of the Preside and some othe
buildings, and the cavalry stables
} are so constructed.
' General and Mrs. Pershing wer,
: married at Washington, January 26
1905. The generals career was amonl
] the most remarkable in the army rec
r ords. Graduated from West Point II
h 1856 he fought in the Indian wars o
those days, but the outbreak OF tn,
Spanish American war found him still
"A captain. He was promoted from
captaincy TO brigadier general will
the support of President Roosevelt
In 1906, and has since conducted sew
eral campaigns, including one agains
the Moros in 1913 which won hin
considerable recognition.
Mrs. Pershing was devoted TO hel
home and children and also took an
active interest in suffrage and Other
woman's movements.
Board of Inquiry
Major Henry II. Whitney. com
manding the Preside Immediately ap
pointed a board of inquiry to report
on the fire, He named on It Major
James G. Hartford, First cavalry;
Mai. w. F. Lewis, medical corps
and Lieut., Rutherford s. Hartz
Twenty-frst infantry.
The business mems camp, recently
opened at the Preside, was close L
the Pershing quarters. Members o.
the camp rallied TO the call for alc
and took part in the fighting Of the