OTIS, James Cox

The Morning Journal, Prescott, Arizona Territory Friday, February 21, 1908 Burned To Death In Bed Old Pioneer of Yavapai County Perishes in Conflagration Which Destroys Hi Home in Prescott James C. Otis, aged 80 years, a pioneer of Yavapai county and on of the first settlers to locate in Prescott was burned to death early Friday morning in a fire which destroyed his home on North McCormick street. When the fire was discovered it had gained too great headway to make it possible to rescue the old man. When it was at last possible to get to his body, it had burned beyond recognition and the legs and lower part of the body were burned to a crisp. The position of the body indicated that the partially suffocated man had made a desperate struggle to escape from the house. ------------------------------------- Arizona Journal-Miner, Prescott, Arizona Territory Saturday, February 22,1908 Aged Pioneer is Burned to Death James C. Otis, Aged 80, Dies in Fire Which Destroys His Home on North McCormick Street His Burned Body Found Lying in Bed. Burned to death in a fire which destroyed his home, at No. 124 North McCormick street, yesterday morning, at 5:10 o'clock, was the awful fate which befell James C. Otis, aged 80, a pioneer of Yavapai county, and the first photographer to locate in Prescott. As Fred Madrid, foreman of the composing rooms at the Journal-Miner office, was on his way home, early yesterday morning, he discovered smoke issuing in dense volume from Otis' house, two doors from his own home. He immediately rushed to the building knowing that the occupant of the house was in grave danger, and attempted to rouse the old gentleman, who probably even then was unconscious as a result of suffocation. Failing in this, Madrid awakened neighbors who sounded the alarm by firing off pistols, the department responding soon after. Madrid then kicked in the door of the burning building and attempted to enter, but was driven back by the smoke and flames. After the arrival of the fire apparatus water was turned on and the flames were soon under control. With the roof still on fire Assistant Fire Chief Kearley and John Robinson, foreman of the Dude hose company, entered the building. The floor of one of the rooms gave way under Kearley's weight, and as one of his legs descended through the broken floor he threw himself on his side, and reaching out, grasped the hand of the unfortunate Otis while it was yet sizzling from the bums. Thus the gruesome discovery was made that the aged pioneer had died in the flames. Kearley called for assistance and the body was removed from the still smouldering bed on which it lay to the outside, where, by the aid of a lantern, it was found that the face, head and upper portion of the body were burned beyond recognition, and the legs, from the knees down, burned almost to a crisp. The position of the body when found indicated that Otis had struggled, while partially suffocated, in a vain endeavor to arise from the bed and escape from the burning building. A blanket wrapped around the lower portion of his body partially protected that part of his anatomy from the ravages of the flames. Tom Morrill, a member of the volunteer fire department who lives a block from the scene of the conflagration was aroused by the blowing of the whistle on the engine of freight train No. 33 then coming into the city, and, discovering the fire, turned in an alarm to central. ------------------------------------ Prescott Morning Courier, Prescott, Arizona Territory Saturday, February 22, 1908, page 1, column 2 Funeral Notice - The funeral of the late James Otis will be held at G. C. Ruffner's funeral chapel Saturday, Feb. 22 at 9:30 a.m. All friends and acquaintances are invited. Interment at Citizens' cemetery.