The Winslow mail., 1924-11-14
ROSS LAWS
AND INF ANT SON
MEET DEATH IN
FIRE SATURDAY

Ross McLaws, 26 years old, and his
19-months old baby, Daniel, of Joseph
City, were burned to death Saturday,
and Mrs. McLaws and another child,
baby of five months, were burned,
but will recover. Mr.. McLaws died
Saturday, afternoon at GAS p. m. and
the baby Sunday morning.
The McLaws family had but a few
days before moved into the Arthur
Jarvis home between Holbrook and
Joseph City. The Jarvis family re-
Gently left for Phoenix, and left their
home, furnished, in the protection of
Mr.. and Mrs. McLaws. 1t is said that
among other things left at the Jarvis
home, were two drums, or barrels,
supposedly containing kerosene, and
labeled kerosene.
Friday evening Mrs. McLaws asked
her husband to bring into the house
some of the oil from the drums, for
the purpose of filling the kerosene
| lamps of the house. Mr.. McLaws, so
it is said, on returning with canteen
of the fluid, told his wife not to use
it, because it smelled like gasoline,
and that he was afraid of it, The
canteen, which had no top, was set
| in a far corner of the kitchen, and
no more thought was given to it.
Early Saturday morning on arising,
| Mr.. McLaws laid a fire in the kitchen
stove, and struck match. Immedi-
ately the kitchen burst into flames,
the fumes from the evaporating gaso-
/ line having reached to the stove. 1t
| is said that not until the entire house
was in flames did the canteen con-
tanning the remainder of the gasoline
explode.
| McLaws at the time was only parti-
ally dressed He was enveloped in
the fire, and what clothes he had on
burst into flames. However, with
thought only of his wife and babies
in the other part of the house, he
rushed to their aid. The flames had
already reached them and by the
time he reached their bedside the fire
was all about the older of the two
babies, burning the bed clothes at its
| head and shoulder, and the little one
| had already inhaled the consuming
flames, burning it's lungs.
Mrs. McLaws, herself badly burned,
! turned to the assistance of the five
months old baby, and brought 1t to
safety, not, however, until it too, had
received injuries.
/ TOT o1f hU
time having the flesh almost wholly
burned from his hands and feet.
every part of his body burned to char
except small portion under his right
arm, ran with the older child, which
was in stupor, to the horse trough
in the barn yard, broke the ice with
his bleeding hands to shower the lit
/ tie one with cold water to revive 1T.
! Not until his three loved ones were
out of the inferno did the heroic Ross
/ McLaws give thought to his own awful
condition. With no one near, no one
! to call on for help, McLaws, at that
/ time in a condition worse than death,
/ to take his family to the aid which
! he could not summon to them, at
! tempted to crank a Ford touring car,
to drive to his parents home at
Joseph City, seven miles away. The
morning was the coldest of the year,
and the car wouldn't start. He had,
| despite the agony of hands burned to
| the bone, and feet with flesh even
then dropping away, to stop to JACK
I'D the chilled car to get 1t started.
! Then followed a drive probably un-
eoualled in all of humanity's long
history.
Hudling his wife and children into
the car, one in a faint, the others
almost dying from their burns, With
out covering against the bitter cold
morning, gripping frozen steering
wheel. and with bare, burned feet
manipulating ice cold pedals, 10 which
the cooked flesh 1clung when he re-
leased his hold, Ross McLaws drove
the distance to Joseph City to lay be-
fore his mother all that was left or
what an hour before had been his
all in all.
The spirit of Ross McLaws remain
ed with his tortured body until the
middle of the afternoon, when kind
lv unconsciousness came to relieve
him. From this he did not rally, and
at GAS he died The death Of his
son followed Sunday morning, pneu-
monia resulting from inhalation OF
flames.
Mrs. McLaws will recover, although
burned over her face. back, right arm
and shoulder Her eyes were scorch-
ed, but it is not believed now that
her vision will be more greatly in
iured than somewhat weakened
The funeral of father and son was
held Monday at Joseph City, one
casket carrying the two in companion
ship into the grave.