SUFFOCATION OF A FAMILY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 6966, 15 March 1884, Page 10 (Supplement)

SUFFOCATION OF A FAMILY.

o>~Saturday morning four personswere:Suffocated by an /escape of gasat Glossop; Occurring within, a few months of the terrible, calamity at Littlemoor. Manse, when two of the Rov. George Sadler's servants were killed' by the deadly- fumes from a heating apparatus .escaping into their bed-room,,the news fell, with a startling shock upon the inhabitants. In a. t\vp-roomed cottage at Milltown, iu closa contiguity to the extensive cottonmillsof Messrs;. Wood Brotherß& Go., resided a man named Townend, aged 4S, a woman, with whom he lived, narrted Dorothy, Stafford, and two. daughters of the latter, aged respectively, fifteen and ten .years..' The family were last /seen olive on Thursday evening, when they were Observed getting in a load of coals. Friday passed without, the next-door neighbour, a,, widow named Emma Hadfiehi, seeing thenij although, as was her custom', she had knocked at au early hour in' the morning to wake the. eldeet daughter in. time for her work.. Her astonishment was. increased v. - hen the house remained closed, and the girl did .not come to her work, during the. day.. The .person for whom the girl ,vas working also sent to the house during the day, hut could g'-t no response; On Saturday morning, when', the. girl failed to put in/an appearance at her work,, suspicions were arOused. that something' Was. wrong'. It/ was ascertained l from the time-keeper at. th'.eniiH. that the girl had not drawn her wages on Friday night: Between. 10 and 11 o'clock the overlooker and a number of operatives went to the premises where the family resided, and the house door wis. forced. A choking sensation as of coming into contract with foul .aii-. .greeted the group. A man named Broadbent and; several others went into the bedroom, 16ft. in length, Sjft. in breadth, and 7 ft. in height. It was but dimly lighted, owing to the blind beir.g drawn across the window, but. the noxious fumes and the appearance of the room wan sufficient to convince the exfjorers that they were in the presence pf de.aT/.'i, One of the party exclaimed, "They f.re dead," and called, for a light. The centre of the room was occupied by two bedsteads, whicliallowed hut bare room for passage, and stretched upon them were what at first sight appeared, to be four dead bodies. The bed. next the. window were.occupied.by the two adults, and it was at. once seen that Townend was lifeless, but the. woman showed some , slight signs pf animation. The two girls slept in the other bed feet to feet, and both were perfectly cold. As /quickly as possible the woman. Stafford was removed from. the Vitiated atmosphere into the next, house, where she was. placed-on a sofa, and attempts made to revive her: Information was sent to the police station, and several medical men \vere summoned. Drs. Mackenzie, Rhodes, Andrew, and. Hunt were, quickly on thg. spot, and applied the usual remedies.to the uticouacious woman, but she expired about .an hour afterwards. The eldest daughter was found to have been dead for some time, and the .d'iscolOuratiph :of her face showed that, she had been the first victim. The father sppfiai/ed to have succumbed next, but the vitality of the youngest girl: was such that: she must have lingered till within a /short tim/e of' the house beiug broken into. The cause of the sad fatality it would be difficult/ to state definitely. The. first supposition was. that there had been an escape noiu the. gas main which leads up to. the d'iSuEed factory, and that it. had found-its. way into the house lip an untrapped. slopestone pipe:. It ha 3 sir.ee been ascertained that there is a culvert in close proximity to the pr-ihiises, and a, .siiggee'ti'pu has been raised that probably .some animoniacal liquor ■has been turned into the cul vert,, .and. the fu.mes have, found their way /into the house: through, tome leakage, but there is no precise information as to what caused' the calamity., This- will form the subject ■'Of a searching, inquiry, tbeCoronpr tortile division having, beeri cohi'muhicated. With, -No...gas was burned in the. house; and signs .of: a. leakage had been reported, at the gas offices the: same morning;—/Manchester Guardian.