Sallie M. Perry

POLSON, John Mrs. - SERIOUSLY BURNED - Mrs. Polson, Near Viney Grove, Meets with Distressing Accident - (Special to the Daily) Prairie Grove, April 1 - News has been received here that Mrs. John Polson, near Viney Grove, was seriously and probably fatally burned just before noon today. She was cleaning up her yard and burning the trash when her dress caught fire and was practically burned off her body before put out. The report says she was "burned all over," and her condition is very critical. Mr. Polson is one of the most prominent and successful farmers in the Prairie Grove Valley. Mrs. Polson is held in the highest esteem, being a very intellectual woman.

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A Shocking Death - Mrs. John Polson died at her home near Viney Grove, ten miles west of Fayetteville, about 5 o'clock Saturday afternoon from the effect of burns she received earlier in the day. She was cleaning the yard and used coal oil in burning some brush and when the match was applied the flash caught her apron which had been accidentally slightly saturated with the coal oil. This caught her dress and in an instant she was covered in flames. Mr. Polson was in the house and her son was working in the field. She started to run into the house but on reaching the porch she stopped for fear of setting the house on fire.

It was some time before her screams attracted the attention of her husband, as he is very deaf. He finally heard her and rushed to her assistance but was too late. Her clothes had literally burned off her body and there was hardly a spot but what was a blister. She lingered for 5 or 6 hours and passed into rest.

The funeral took place from the Presbyterian Church at Prairie Grove on Sunday afternoon. Almost everybody in the community attended the services which were conducted by H.S. Mobley assisted by Rev. N.M. Ragland. The house was filled to overflowing and many stood in the yard. All shared the sorrow as well as the loss of a devoted friend and neighbor. Such a public expression of respect and sympathy is rarely seen. The services were simple and impressive. The choir sang "Nearer My God to Thee" and "Sometime We'll Understand." Rev. Mr. Mobley read the scripture lesson and offered prayer. Rev. N.M. Ragland made a brief address. He spoke in part as follows:

"Boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. What I do thou knowest not now, but shall know hereafter."

In this distressing experience there is consolation in the divine assurance that all things work together for good to those who love God. There is a divinity that shapes our ends rough hew them how we will. The ways of providence both with the evil and good are not always understood. The means are many but the end is one. It is the part of wisdom to defer criticism till the work is done. It is a teaching of the divine word to judge nothing before the time; until the Lord shall come, who will bring to light and make manifest the counsels of all hearts. God speaks to the soul. In many voices and in many ways. The tragedy of the cross has touched the heart of the world. This pathetic appeal found a ready response in the soul when all other means had failed. The whole creation groans in pain. Out of this experience the dross will consume and the gold will refine.

The suffering of our sister was briefer than a flash. God be praised, the end came swiftly. In death she had no fear for she felt no sin. Two score years she was a sincere and devoted Christian. Her life was devoted to her church, her good husband and her children. She was not old as age would have counted in this country. Three score and seven years measure the period of her earthly pilgrimage. The life is long which answers life's great end. One's days may be full of fruit though really they may not have been very many. [Fayetteville Democrat 4/6/1911]

(from The Prairie Grove Herald) One of the most distressing deaths that ever occurred in this section of the country was that of Mrs. John W. Poison at her home near Viney Grove last Satur¬day afternoon as the result of severe burns received that morning. Mrs. Poison had been cleaning the yard that morning and about 11 o'clock un¬dertook to burn a pile of trash. She went into the house for some kerosene to pour on the trash to make it burn readily and in carrying the oil in a shallow vessel a quantity of it was spilled on her apron and dress. When she poured the oil on the fire it flashed up and ignited her clothing and in a short time all of her clothing was in a blaze. Mrs. Poison started to go into the house but fearing that her burning clothing would set the house on fire she turned and went around the house, all the while fighting the fire with her hands as best she could. She attempted to untie the apron and throw it off but in doing so she tied the strings in a hard knot. She then tried to tear the garment from her body but the material was new and strong and she failed in this. There was no one in the house except her husband who is very deaf and her calls for help failed to attract his atten¬tion. The wind was blowing briskly and soon every stitch of clothing was burned from Mrs. Poison, leaving her entire body burned and blistered in a manner too horrible for description. She was, however, able to walk, and went into the house and lay down on the bed. Mr. Poison's attention was then attracted but on account of his deafness he could not use the tele¬phone to summon assistance and had to go into the field some distance for his son, Clarence. As soon as Clarence reached the house he called a physi¬cian and his sister, Mrs. S.R. Wilson, from Prairie Grove, who arrived in a short time. Everything possible was done for her relief and she remained in an apparently conscious condition until a short time before her death which occurred about 5 o'clock that afternoon. [Benton County Democrat 4/13/1911]