TERRIBLE CASE OF SUFFOCATION.

Southland Times, Issue 1081, 30 December 1868, Page 3

TERRIBLE CASE OF SUFFOCATION.

A sad case occurred at the Brooklyn Hotel, on Bush-street, San Francisco, which resulted in the death of Mrs Margaret Bowan, and the finding of her husband, Mr M. Bowan, in a state of asphyxia, from which he has not recovered consciousness. The terrible accident was caused by the gas being left turned on after the light was extinguished. The circumstances, as near as we could ascertain them, were as follows :— Mr Bowan and wife arrived in the city on the 25th October, on the steamer Golden Age, from Panama. They registered themselves as coming from Queenstown, New Zealand. Froth tho§e. who came with them from Panama we learn that they were recently married, and that they were probably on their wedding tour with the intention of making their home in this State. The clerk of the hotel asked them if they understood the gas-burner, and knew how to turn it off, and they replied smilingly that they believed" they did. Yesterday morning Mrs Wood, the wife of one of the proprietors, discovered that there was a leakage of gas in some portion of the bouse, and went into every room on the upper floors, except the one occupied by Mr Bowan and his wife. She tried this door several times with her pass key each time finding the of the lock on the inside of the door. This led her to suppose that the room was occupied and that the leak could not be there. There were somo plasterers engaged on that floor in replacing plastering that had been shaken off in several places by the earthquake. They were ordered to look in every room and find out if there were any repairs to be made, and when they arrived at this room they were told by a chamber maid that it was occupied. Getting no response to their raps on the door, Mr M'Cluskey, the chief plasterer, remarked that if they were any persons in that room they must be dead, and calling for a table and chair he looked into the room by forcing open the transom over the door. He saw Mr Bowen and his wife lying on the bed, the former breathing sterfcorously, and the latter apparently dead. An alarm was immediately given, and Mr Atkins Massey, a fellow passenger of Bowan. and his wife, and Mr M'Ciuskey, by a vigorous applicatiou of their boots, kicked a

panel out of the door and rushing into the room carried Bowan and his wife into an adjoining room. It was found by DrSatea, who was summoned that Mrs Bowan was dead, but her husband still breathed. It was about twenty minutes to twelve when they were brought out of the room. The gas was found to have been left partly turned on, and the window was closed, leaving no place for the gas to escape except through the cracks around the door and window. It is supposed that the gas was turned off properly, but that in taking the hand from the burner it was partially turned on again. This surely must have been th« case, for with the gas turned on sufficiently to make a good light, life could not exist long. A story was started that the gas was blown out, butthis probably was not so. Mr Bowaa lay in a state of insensibility during the whole of yesterday,. His breathing was ster- ] toreous, accompanied by spasms and continual rigidity of the muscles. Last evening the symptoms were much better, and some hopes were entertained of his ultimate recovery. The body of Mrs Bowan was taken in charge by the Coroner and carried to the dead house. Her underclothing is marked Margaret Burke. — San Francisco Paper.