The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1877-09-14

fire Kramer asked him if he had seen any
thing of Mr.. Millers trunk containing 5000,
that must be saved, and told him it was of
no use to waste time in fighting the fire.
James @. Brown, recalled, testified to
finding the two coal-oil barrels after the fire,
the one with the hole smoked and charred
but the hole fresh and untouched by flame.
indicating that it had been bored since the
fire. He also found cotton-waste wet with
oil lying in the neighborhood of this bar.
rel, which was eighteen feet from the other,
after the fire, and north of it, the oil from
that barrel had been pumped into another
lying right beside it. The cotton waste
looked fresh and unsmoked. The outer door
had been boarded up and "nailed shut"
ever since the fire. The center of the fire
had been apparently Immediately under
meath the water-closets in very close prox-
unity to the bored barrel and north.ward of
it.
"On the evening of the 25th, about nine
o'clock, | went to my room, No. 46, on the
third floor of the west wing. The hall was
entirely dark; the hanging lamp at the angle
not lighted. When passed the corner and
entered the wing hall l saw light shining
through the transom of room forty-nine. /
took a couple of steps, and then the light
disappeared. | went toward my room, and
as | approached my door heard person
come out of forty.nne, close the door and
come toward me in the hall 1t was so dark
that | could recognize no one, but as was
getting out my key to open my door he got
to me and | spoke to him, and after little
hesitation he answered me, made a remark
and l recognized the voice as Harmon A.
Kramer's. By that time | had opened my
door, He passed me step or two, struck a
match on the wall lighted candle that he
had in his hand, and then came back to the
door and waited till l lighted my lamp. /
found there was very little oil in it, and re-
marked the fact to him, he then volunteered
to get some oil for me. | gave him the
lamp, took a candle, and went out into the
hall, locking my door after me, and then
took couple of steps toward the south end
of the wing. He asked me where was go-
ing. | told him l thought would go down
the back stairway. He then said l should
take his candle to light me down, it was
dark. took it of him. He passed on with
the lamp, and after he turned the angle of
the hall (got out of sight went to room
torty-nine and opened the door, went in ,and
found quite a large quantity of matches ly-
ing upon the table, and one box with the
ends broken down, from which some match
es had rolled out picked up the box, and
found it hot, so hot that l was obliged to
drop it. The other matches out on the small
table had been stacked up there loosely with
considerable air-passages left apparently by
design. | went out, called in two insurance
adjusters, and then called NJ. G. Woodward
and Sheriff John w. Hoffman, who came up
and looked at the room. | went down, laid
information before Justice J. j. Brewer, who
issued warrant that placed in Mr.. Wood
wards hands, and Kramer was arrested
taken to the Justices office, and committed
to jail"
Morris G. Sloan, sworn, said he was at
Brower's office after the arrest, and, in con-
versation with Kramer, the latter, in reply
to his questions, said he got the matches in
his store-room in the Opera House, and that
they had caught fire from his stumbling OF
rubbing against something as he opened the
door.
j. j. Brewer, recalled, said that Kramer
had told the same story in Il confused way
to him, showing his torn pocket where the
matches had been.
VIM. ii. Butler, sworn, said he was ad
juster for one of the insurance companies
that the matches on the table in room forty
nine had never beeu ignited and were syste-
uatically piled up "in gobular form, "and
that several times that evening he had left
his room and gone out into the hall, think.
ing he smelled apeculiar odor of something
he could not tell what, burning.
Freas Brown, sworn, said he was an In,
surance Agent, carrying insurance, in var
ious companies of 500, 100000 on the Ex
change property real, about 100000 Of
which was now his own, that Kramer OF
Friday at the stable had commiserated Mr.
|
that he had been ordered to leave and didn
like to go, but wished to stay one more night
He also heard Mr.. Kramer say, after hi
arrest, that he had seen the matches in No
10, in the afternoon, as he passed, the dool
standing open, and went back that evening
to pick them up.
William Krickbaum, sworn, said he wa
acting as deputy sheriff on Friday when thu
levy was made, and told Harmon Kreamer
among some others, to leave the premises
and that if he did not the goods would be re
moved that evening; that he went through
the building closing doors and window shut
tiers of the rooms in both wings; that he wa
in room forty-nine three times that afternoon
} and saw no matches there that he locket
the unoccupied rooms on that floor.
Miss Alice Smith, sworn, said that she wa
in forty-nine about fifteen minutes between
half-past five and six o'clock that Afternoon
of Friday that there were in it then,
sewing-machine, work-stand, brackets
: frames, cigar-boxes, and pieces of cigar
boxes, but no shelf although Mr.. Brow
had thought there was shelf there.
A. Noble, sworn, said that he had tai
= with Kramer in the bar-room, where Kram
er was jingling bunch of keys. He said t
Kramer, you have more keys than l have
"yes," said Kramer" "none but what
of use" "Then he went on to tell me whi
the keys were for, one was tor the bar on
7 for the baggage-room one, for the front-doC
and another one, he said, was a master
) key.
Thomas E. Geddes, sworn, said he was i
( the alleyway leading towards the liquor ce
9 lar, and saw the brace and bit lying on ii
= head of the barrel bored, saw cotton vast
}, &c.