WERE SAVED BY THE DOG.

Narrow Escape of Seven People From Death by Fire.

The house and saloon of Martin Turck was literally wiped off the earth by fire early Wednesday morning. Nothing remains but a cellar filled with twisted iron and charred debris to show where the building formerly stood. It was only by the sagacity of a big black Newfoundland dog that seven people were saved from cremation.

Martin Turck is an Austrian who ran a saloon at No. 1 Lincoln avenue, which is a short and muddy thoroughfare running parallel with the Montana Union tracks, in Meaderville. The building, owned by Mr. Turck, consisted of five rooms, a bar room in front, a dance hall opening out of it, and three living rooms in the rear. The family consisted of the saloon keeper and his wife, their four children and a girl about fifteen years old, who assists Mrs. Turck in the housework.

On Tuesday evening the family retired as usual, Mr. Turck locking up his saloon after midnight. Between the mattrasses [sic] of the bed heth [sic] rust his pocked book, containing a check for $2,000 and about $400 in currency.

A little before 4 o'clock in the morning Turck was awakened by something tugging at the covers and the loud barking of his big dog. He sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes. The dog had his forefeet on the bed, from which he had pulled a blanket in his endeavor to arouse his master. Mr. Turck heard a noise in front, either from the saloon or the dance hall, and his first thoughts were of theives. He secured his revolver, and while his wife, who had also been awakened by the dog, was fumbling about in an effort to light a lamp, he opened the door to the ball room.

One side of the dance hall was in flames and the fire was making rapid headway.

"Fire!" shouted Turck, dropping his pistol. "The house is on fire - save the children."

It was not until the little ones had been dragged from the building by the hired girl that the pocket book between the mattrasses [sic] was thought of. Then Mrs. Turck dashed into the sleeping room and tried to find the money. In the hurry and excitement of the time she was unable to locate the pocket book, and as the partition between the bed room and the dance hall collapsed and the flames roared in through the aperture, she was driven back and the check and money were consumed.

From the double row of cabins which straggle along the unpaved street, a crowd of neighbors collected about the scene of the conflagration. These did what they could, but the building was old and dry, and the flames had gained a tremendous headway when first discovered. Within a few minutes the walls fell in with a dull crash, a shower of sparks flew upward, and nothing remained but the cellar and the blue glare of alcohol.

The Turck family found refuge in a cabin next door, where they are still living. Nothing was saved from the burning building, and Mrs. Turck is dependent upon the kindess of her neighbors to provide her children with clothes.

"The fire must have been set," said Mrs. Turck yesterday. "There was no stove or lamp in the dance hall, where it started, and its origin can only be attributed to malice. We lost over $3,000, as there was very little insurance. It is a hard blow, but I suppose we ought to be thankful for our escape. If it hadn't been for our dog we would all have been burned in our beds."

The check which was burned will not be lost as a duplicate will be issued, but all the household furniture, together with the saloon fixtures and a large stock of beer, wines, liquors and cigars were totally destroyed.

Mr. Turck does not know positively who set fire to his premises, but he has strong suspiciouns. He has had a good deal of trouble with one man. The man is a relavtive of the girl who does Turck's housework and who has gone so far as to attempt to get papers committing his daughter to a reform school.

"The trouble had its origin," said an attorney yesterday, "in the failure of the girl to turn her entire wages over to her father. Ofcourse he has a right to the entire amount under the law, but when I investigated the case I found that she had given her father $90 of her earnings, and used $50 herself for clothes. I am satisfied that the girl is industrious, and I would have nothing to do with the case."

The neighbors of the Turcks share the opinion that the fire was of incendiary origin, and though they are reticent in the matter of mentioning names they gave the reporter the impression that they could tell a good deal if they felt disposed.

The Butte Weekly Miner, Butte, MT 1 Apr 1897
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Transcribed by Tim Taugher. Thanks, Tim!