Garfield, L. W. – Died 1899

GARFIELD

Posted By: Joy Moore (email)
Date: 9/16/2020 at 08:32:12

Source: Decorah Republican Mar. 23, 1899 P 5 C 3

Burned to Death.
Mason City, March, 20.—L. W. Garfield, whose home is at Mason City, was fatally burned in the city calaboose at Elk Point, S. D. Garfield and W. G. Weiss were arrested for intoxication and put in the calaboose. There was a stove in the calaboose with a fire in it, but Garfield said he was cold and Weiss, in a sworn statement, says the drink-crazed man deliberately set fire to the excelsior mattress. The wooden building was soon in flames, and they were roasted like rats in a trap. Weiss was able to run out, but Garfield was behind the door when opened and was gotten out with difficulty. The hair was all burned from his head, the buttocks are perfectly raw and his legs and hands were so badly burned that the skin peeled off. Weiss was burned about the face and the skin has also peeled from his hands, but his injuries will not be fatal.