DREADFUL DEATH BY BURNING.

Evening Star, Issue 3982, 29 November 1875, Page 3

DREADFUL DEATH BY BURNING.

The Queensland ‘Border Post’ chronicles a fatal accident from fire of the most heart rending description, which occurred on the 26 th ultimo, <o the wife of Mr J. B, ’i hompson, baker, of atantborpe. It appears the unfortunate young woman was enga. Ed in cooking dinner at a fire outside, at the rear of the shop, and was just in the act of taking off a saucepan when the blaze caught the skirt of the light muslin dress she wore, and, finding herself unable to extinguish it, she rushed to a large tank a few yards distant, with the intention of plunging into the water, but, from the height of the tank, was unable to do so, and imme iately rushed back again to ihebakehoue. enveloped in fianns. and screaming in a distressing manner for her husband, who was at the time engaged inside, and throwing her arms around him, in her agony, rendered him almost powerless for a few seconds. He attempted to extin guish thefbmes. but his own clothes had also become ignited, he having on only a white linen shirt and drill trousers, and, the sleeves being lucked above the elbow, his arms were very severely burned. In the meantime other assistance, attracted by the screams, arrived, and a blanket waa procured and thrown around her, but by this time nearly every vestige of clothes was burnt off the poor creature, and she stood writhing in mortal agony. Strange to say, however, although not two square inches of her body from the feet to the head remained unburnt, she walked without assistance from the shop into her bedroom

Immediately the flames were extinguished. The appearance of the body is stated as horrifying in the extieme, the whole of the skin peeling off, and the dreadful agony of the poor woman previous to the application of the nodical remedies will be more easily imagined than described. After all pain had left, the sufferer discoursed in the moat sensible manner, and received the intelligence of her approaching death as complacently as possible. In this conscious state she con tinned during the night and following day, gradually sinking all the time. Deceased hj »d only been married about four months, and was but seventeen years of age.