Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1882-02-02
THEIR DILEMMA.
Watkins and Ferguson
BURNING OE THEIR MILL
IN TOLEDO.
Their Arrest for Arson.

The Toledo Blade of the Goth of JAN
uary gives the following account of the
arrest of John II. Watkins and James
Ferguson, formerly of Bridgeport; it
will be interesting to many of our read
ers who are acquainted with these
parties:
| On the evening of Friday, January 6,
| it will be remembered the Toledo Flour
| ing Mills, situated at the corner of
Summit and Oak streets. were discover
| ed to be on fire, and it was only by the
most heroic and earnest work that the
! firemen prevented the building from be-
| ing totally destroyed. The mill had
been standing for many years, and the
wooden partitions and floor being as dry
as finder and more or less saturated with
oil, made excellent material for the
| flames to feed upon. IN this, as III many
other Instances. Chief Avery displayed
his ability as fire king, and after Wig
OrOus fight saved the mill from loss
that seemed inevitable. The Blade of
the following evening gave the particu-
| lars of the affair, which are still doubt
less fresh in the minds of the reader.
The erigin of the flames was at that
time assigned to friction made by large
wheel in the third story, but those who
examined the machinery the morning
following the blaze expressed their
doubts as to the vsracity of this story.
This was done in aquiet way, as at that
time there was no evidence at hand suf
! ficient to warrant any loud assertion be-
| ing made to the contrary. Since then
f., fF
light, which are given below, and now
many can be found who say that they
never for moment believed the friction
story. Chief Avery, in conversation
with a Blade reporter this morning
stated that when he first arrived at the
scene of the fire he hastily examined the
premises and at once concluded that the
seat of the blaze was on the second floor.
He noticed the flames were ascending
from that locality in manner that in
dicated and satisfied his mind that
whatever might have been the cause the
flames first started in that locality.
The following morning he made an
examination of the building and was
still further convinced that the fire
originated in the second floor. The ex
animation he made he says also con-
vinced him that there was som ething
wrong about it.
He was not prepared at that time,
however, to make his thoughts known.
Chief Avery was not the only one
whose suspicious we're aroused. Detect
i've McMahan, who has had something
to Edo with similar cases before and
proven his ability to handle them, saw
what-he believed to be "a Niger in the
wood pile" to use a common phrase, and
at once set about trying to solve the
mystery in which the affair was at that
time involved. The proprietOrs of the
mill expressed their entire ignorance of
any knowledge as to how the fire might
have originated, unless it was from
friction.
The first clue the detective secured
was through woman with whom j. ii.
Watkins, one of the members of the
firm, was more or less confidential. The
officer learned that to this woman a
word or two had been dropped that
tended to show that Watkins knew
more or less about the cause of the fire.
How to find out how much he knew
was the first question which very nat
urally suggested itself to the officer.
Watkins is shrewd man, full of Dusi-
ness, although well advanced in years
and naturally enough would be the last
person to made any admission if he
thought they could be used with any
advantage against him. Knowing that
he was intimate with the woman, who
by the way was not far behind him in
the matter of shrewdness, it was decided
to approach him through that quarter
She became willing accomplice in the
effort to ferret out the mystery, when
the matter was suggested to her, and by
combined effort with one or two 9TH
ers the evidence was secured.
A suite of rooms in small building
on Adams street between Huron and
Erie were engaged, and it was at this
place that the meetings were held. They
were excellent quarters for the purpose
for which they were intended. Entering
the building from either front or rear a
person first had to climb pair of stairs
which led into hallway. Two doors
opened out of the hallway, one into
room nearest the street and the other
into a room situated at the rear of the
building. A third room was between
these and it was in this that the detect
i've and whoever he pleased to select as
witnesses were secreted. Watkins and
the woman occupied the front room,
which, is heated by small stove, the
pipe of which passes through the middle
room, in which the chimney is located.
The building is an old one and the hole
being the worse for usage made very
suitable opening through which the con-
yersation in the front room could be
heard very distinctly by any one who
took the pains 10 listen at the other
side. In addition to this small hole
was broken through the plaster, which
served as an additional peep-hole.
As stated before, meetings between
Watson and the woman were arranged
to be held at this place. Arrangements
were also made between the woman and
Detective McMahan that whenever
these meetings were held the officer was
to be stationed in the middle room so
that he might hear all that passed be-
tween them. The first meeting was held
on Monday night, and it was then that
the detective first heard utterances from
Watkins that gave him hopes of finally
accomplishing his purpose. The sub
stance of Watkins statements that eve
ming was that the mill shut down at
about o'clock. Ferguson went to sup
per and Watkins remained at the mill
without supper. Ferguson returned to
the mill at 80, and they had conver-
sation. The former complained of not
feeling well, and went to drug store
and got dose of rhubarb. Watkins ex-
pected him to return, but he did not,
and he did not see him again that night.
Watkins waited at the mill until about
o'clock and then went home. On the
way he got very nervous and trembled.
Hefelt sick and stopped in saloon and
got hot punch and then went home
and to bed. The next he heard was the