− | the house was burning; I heard that there was a woman in the house. I went in the back door as quick as the fire would let me, and tried to get to the bed but broke through the floor. After I got up I got to the bed, I got to the bed, and the bed was on fire. I saw the woman on the bed and got hold of the mattress and pulled it out on to the floor of the room Someone shoved in a board and we put the mattress and body on the board and took it out into the garden. There was quite a strong smell of coal oil about the bed.
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− | At this time the fire was pretty well under control. I returned later in the day and made a further search, and found the head of a hatchet on the floor in front of the middle of the bed. There was no handle to said hatchet, and my impression was that I pulled the head off the handle from under the debris. The hatchet head produced is the one I found in the room.
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