The Untimely Death of Bridget Morris

Bridget Morris was born November 13, 1907, to Irish immigrants, James Morris and Winifred Scanlon. She was born and raised in Deer Lodge, Montana. Bridget was the oldest of twelve children, not all of whom made it to adulthood. In 1911, at the tender age of 3, Bridget was playing in the family kitchen with a neighbor's boy when her mother, Winifred, heard her baby scream. As she turned to find out why her daughter was yelling, she saw her daughter running towards her in flames. She and the neighbor had been playing and had thrown kerosene into the fire to see the flame. Winifred met her daughter at their foot bridge, where she picked up her burnt child and took her to the creek that ran near the house. Winifred suffered her own burns by making sure her daughter was placed in the creek. The little boy who had been playing with Bridget had run home, despite calls from Winifred to come back. With her husband in St. Ann's Hospital due to erysipelas, Winifred hooked up their rig and rushed her daughter to the hospital where the doctor was immediately summoned. Bridget was placed in a room within the same hospital as her father. Despite the immense pain she must have been in, she seemed rather pleasant when asked how she was feeling. The doctor did warn that internal complications could arise, though. Bridget passed away from seared lungs, which occurred due to inhaling smoke. Her father was never aware that she had been hurt or in the same hospital as his own health was critical. He was heartbroken to learn of his daughter's death. Little Bridget's funeral was attended by hundreds in the area and the casket was covered in flowers.

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