Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-10-06
A Mysterious Fire.

An alarm of fire was sounded from box
sixteen at $50 o'clock last evening, caused
by the discovery of blaze in back
kitchen addition to the premises 164 West
Sixth street, which made quick fire and
was hopelessly in flames when the several
engines got water on, which was done very
promptly.
On getting to the work the firemen dis
| covered that the whele low
er part of the tBo-story house
was on fire in spots, and
with their hose and chemical engines they
| soon gave 1t squelching, although they
were engaged in chopping into the side
walls and ceilings as late as 10 O'Clock, for
Goals and sparks, while the eutire lower
portion of the house, with the exception
of the front hallway, was much coaled
and damaged.
The premises were rented of Mr.. Bass
By Frau Hoffman, midwife, who occu-
pied the lower portion with her husband,
while the upper rooms were leased to nine
inmates, two of whom, man and a girl,
both German, were asleep therein at the
breaking out of the fire.
The damage to the house is set down at
from $500 to $500 and on the furniture of
Mrs. Hoffman about 5000, which was in
sursd for $4,000. The real damage done
is insignificant. but the statements of the
German man and girl when they were
awakened by the alarm and opened their
doors into the upper hall. and found the
smoke pouring out the barred doors in the
ower hallway, the fire at the same time
having half consumed the kitchen ell, look
somewhat like incendiarism. Added to
this the presence of fire in the front room
with a mattress therein soaked with kero-
sene and strong kerosene vapor pervad-
ing the structure made it still more proba-
BILE.
The German sewing girl says she heard
some one shutting windows Or making a
noise in the lower part of the house about
seven o'clock, and that Mrs. Hoffman had
been absent all day for the first time since
she, the girl, had lived there. Mrs. Hof-
man on being interviewed told where she
had been and said she was in the house for
a few minutes at six o'clock, and that she
left one door open to the premises for her
husband, who she did not see if he came
home, and who was absent at the circus at
the time of the fire.
All Inc parLleS OF the premises seeueu
to be German and unable to make them
selves ineligible except through the
neighbors who interpreted what they had
to say to questioners. Mrs. Huffman said
the front room where the kero-
sene soaked mattress was was not retn-
ed cut, admitted the presence of
kerosene, but said they had none in the
house, her can being found empty. The
fremen made diligent search for glass to
try and account for q lamps bursting in
the front room, but there were no evil
dences, and Mrs. Hoffman said the
lamp that belonged there was
left by mistake in the kitchen.
She seemed to feel very badly and quite
number of her lady neighbors were sympa-
thizing with her over the wreck of her
home, while the whole establishment was
very thoroughly wet down. Mr.. Hoffman
had not returned from the great moral
when -. reporter left the
premises.
The premises are known by the older
citizens as the Tom Slaughter house, and
the building stands on leased ground. 1t
is said that they had been sold once or
twice but for soma reason the trade has
fallen through.