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Katz Home Fire Submitted and Transcribed by Veneta (Aldridge) McKinney ALMOST BURNED ALIVE from West Point (Miss.) News The saddest
and most horrible scenes we ever witnessed occurred last night
at the residence of our next door neighbor, MR. KATZ. About seven
oclock we started down to the News office, and when a little
way beyond Mr. KATZS residence, we noticed a sudden flash in
the western room of his house, and immediately his children began
screaming "Fire! Fire!" Rushing back to the gate and
to the house almost in a moments time, the front door was tried
and found to be locked. We were just in the act of kicking in
one of the front windows when the children unlocked the door.
A lamp was sitting on a little work table, and what seemed to
be some clothing lying on the table, was in a fierce blaze as
well as some other goods or clothing on the floor. We were just
in the act of snatching the burning clothing from the table,
when MRS. KATZ, whom we had concluded was away from home, on
entering the house ran out of a back room completely enveloped
in flames. She had probably gone into the back room in search
of water. Seizing a pillow we tried to beat out the flames, but
her entire clothing seemed saturated with oil, and the flames
leaped at least two feet above her head. Even her hair was in
a lurid flame. Finding that we could not extinguish the flames,
we cried to her to jump in bed, thinking to smother the flames
with the bedclothes. We asked the children several times where
the water was kept but the little fellows were so terrible frightened
that they only continued to scream. When Mrs. Katz had knelt
down on the floor with her face on the bed, Mr. ONEAL ran in
with a bucket of water, and by throwing it on her succeeded so
far in smothering the flames that he was enabled to extinguish
them a moment later with bed-clothing. The stifling smoke from
the burning oil and clothing in the close room made it almost
suffocating. It was the most heart-rending, soul-sickening scene
we ever beheld, and we hope that it will never fall our lot to
look upon the like again. MRS. KATZ is quite low, and her recovery
is almost despaired of. May God pity the helpless sufferer.
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Clay County, Mississippi USGenWeb Site
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