The Leon Reporter, Leon, Iowa
Thursday, July 21, 1904

A frightful accident occurred at Lamoni shortly after noon on Tuesday at the home of THOMAS SALSBURY, one of the rural mail carriers who has a route running from Lamoni. His fifteen year old daughter, LENORE, had gone to the kitchen to start up the fire in the cook stove, and as the fire was nearly out she picked up a three gallon can of coal oil and started to pour oil on the wood. It seems there was some smouldering fire in the stove and while she was pouring the oil it ignited and the flames ran up the stream to the spout of the can and the oil exploded, throwing the burning fluid all over the girl's clothing, and instantly she was a mass of fiery flames. She ran screaming from the house to the nearest neighbor, MR. DICKSON's where kind hands wrapped her in rugs and extinguished the flames, but she was horribly burned, her clothing being almost entirely burned from her body. Three doctors were hastily summoned and within a few minutes Drs. Horner, Greer and Wright were at the scene and did everything in their power to alleviate the suffering of the unfortunate girl. It was found that she was burned in a most terrible manner, the only part of her body from which the skin was not burned being a part of her face and a small place on her breast, and it is stated by the medical profession that when three-fourths of the skin of the human body is burned it is impossible to save the life of the victim.

MISS SALSBURY lingered in terrible agony until 7:40 that evening when her spirit took its flight. The girl was a bright and popular young lady who was fifteen years old on March 24, and her death is deeply deplored by her schoolmates and friends. The funeral services were held Wednesday morning at the Brick Church in Lamoni, the services being conducted by Elder Stoddard of the L.D.S. Church, the interment being in the Lamoni Cemetery.

Copied by Nancee(McMurtrey)Seifert
June 17, 2003