A NARROW ESCAPE-Viola Rastatter 1893

RASTATTER

Posted By: Cheryl Locher Moonen (email)
Date: 2/1/2017 at 18:06:15

Dubuque Daily Herald, September 30, 1893

A NARROW ESCAPE
~
A Child's Close Call from Being Burned
to Death While Playing
With Matches
~
Viola, the three year old child of Prof. and Mrs. C. A. Rastatter, had a narrow escape from being burned to death yesterday morning, the timely arrival and the presence of mind of her mother saving the child’s life. While Prof. Rastatter was engaged in his music room teaching his pupils, Mrs. Rastatter being in the parlor dusting the furniture, the little girl wandered into the kitchen, closing the door, and procuring a chair and placed it under the matchsafe and getting onto the chair helped herself to matches. In some unaccountable way her clothes on her right side were ignited, and the child in a frightened tone cried “Mama, Mama.” The door being closed Mrs. Rastatter could not tell where the child was, but ran at once to the kitchen and upon opening the door beheld the child in flames. With great presence of mind she caught the burning part of the clothing with one hand, thus keeping the flames from the child’s body, and reaching for a bucket of water dashed it over the flames, extinguishing them almost immediately. the child had on heavy winter clothes which undoubtedly saved her from being burned worse than she was. Her right side was well scorched, but on one spot the flames reached the body, making a large blister under her right arm. Mrs. Rastatter had her right hand burned in several places, but the burns are not painful.