The daily gazette., 1883-04-11
TRYING TO OBURNATOWN
WORK OF INcENpIARIEs ON
MONDAY.
TWO BLACK MEN UNDER ARREST
Westminster, Md, Passes Through a
scOrching siege-Heavy Loss of Prop
erty.

WESTMINSTER, Nd, April 10.-This city
was the scehe of terrible conlagration last
night, which for a time threatened the
destruction of all the property In the place,
Twenty buildings were burned to the
ground, including the Lutheran Church,
the finest editice in the city. Il is generally
believed that the fire was the work of incen-
| diaries. Early yesterday morning an at
tempt was made to set the Montour Hotel
on fire, pile of kindling wood and paper
being found burning under the rear stair
way, which, but for the timely discovery,
would have, by setting fire to the stairway,
cut off one of the principal means of egress
and endangered many lives, as the house
was full of guests at the time.
Allan Toop and Joanna Green, both
colored, were arrested on suspicion, and the
| first fire was extinguished with but trifing
| damage. Near midnight, however, fire
| broke out again in H. Thompson's livery
stable, and spread with great rapiiity.
| Robert Thompson and Aaron Schaefer, who
were asleep in the haylott, perished In the
| flames, and only a few blackened pieces OF
their bodies were scraped up from the ruins
to-day. The stable being situated on the
principal business street, stores and resi-.
dences one after another caught the tlaze,
and in half an hour an entire block Of build
ings were in flames.
There were couple of small chemical en-
gines in the place, but they were of little
| use in such a confagration, and the only
water obtainable was from pumps and wells
| and small pond on the outskirts of the
| town. The citizens became fairly panic
stricken, women in their night clothes with
| children in their arms rushed frantically out
| of their houses and persons residing squares
away from the burning district threw their
| furniture out into the streets. So rapidly
| did .he fire spread that few persons, whose
| houses were destroyed, were able to save
much Of their furniture or clothing, and
| many of the merchants lost their entire
| stocks of goods.
The fire reached the limits Of the town
| and spent its fury when there was no more
material to feed it. II was prevented from
spreading in other directions by the tearing
| down of several frame buildings and a
| furious rain storm, which began about 2
| O'Clock this morning aud lasted severa!
hours. Two little children were rescued
from one of the burning dwellings by a
young woman. The roof of the house was
on fire, and the mother, an invalid, was
alone in the house with her little ones. She
tainted from fright and was borne out in
safety Her children lor the time being
were forgotten until neighbor, remember
ing them, hastened up stairs and CROPPED
her way about in the binding smoke until
she found the children, who were nearly
suffocated, and escaped with them. In less
than an hour afterward the building was
burned 10 the ground.
The total loss on buildings is estimated at
$3.50, 900, about one-half covered by insur-
ance. The loss on the goods in stores, cloth
ing and furniture in dwellings is roughly
placed at 500, ,000 Several poor families
are rendered homeless.
The proprietor OF the livery stable has
made a statement to the States Attorney
AaN--
times employed about the stable, asked him
for lantern. He refused their request, but
later on saw them r -.Gng c.. ds : the light
of lantern in the back part of the he.
A short time afterwards he heard cries of
fire, and saw the rear of the building in
flames. Robert Goodwin, John Clark, Han
son Dorsey and Charles Warfeld, the men
who were IN the stable, have been arrested,
, pending the result of the 0oroner's investi-
cation. Thirty horses and two cows that
were in the stable were burned to DEATH
Several of the animals, with their names
) and tails on fire, escaped from the
stable and dashed madly through the
crowd on the street, injuring
three or four persons. The principal
stores and dwellings burned are those of
. Jacob Thompson, livery stable; Bixter u
Senef, boot and shoe dealers; Guselman q
| Morris, furniture Dealers Mary Leister,
dwelling house; p. X. Herr 81 Bro, carriage
factory; NJ. G. Strasburger, liquor store; A.
t j. Malchorn, millinery establishment;
, Thomas Erb, provision store; J. Zacharias
) and Mrs. Babylon, residences. Nearly all
the policies of insurance are in Maryland,
New York and English companies.
Westminster is the capital of Caro- II
3 county, and is on the Western Maryland
, railroad, SO miles northwest Of Baltimore.
1t contains eight churches, three national
banks, a savings bank, two newspaper
offices and the Western Maryland College oi
r the Methodist Protestant denomination. The
f town has manufactures of stationery and
:; portable engines, agricultural implements
: and cigars. The population is 2,2l0.
e Owing to open threats of lynching the jail
e is guarded tonight by % men who are wei
: armed. Quiet and order prevail at present
!; but there is deep feeling of indignation
# against the men who caused such destruc
e tion of property and loss of life.