The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1886-04-01

said he closed the basement doors and shut
tiers: They fastened OH the inside. He left the
gas burning dimly,s that MI. Murcn could hx
the fire before leaving. Crockett first heard
of the fire at I. 30 Sunday morning He went
to the building and looking In from the base
ment doors saw that the stove was all right
The cover was raised. The stove is about
ten feet from the elevator Inc Witness has
ALWAYS regarded it as safe. There were
some shelves in the cellar against the wall
Of the Perkins store, and counter beneath
them. These shelves contained castors, pa
per, Irvine, etc. There were some hat-bar-
rels near the coal bin, and the cellar also
contained excelsior in bales and lot of
spring beds. The gas Jet was between the
stove and the westerly wall. There was no
excelsior on the counter under the shelves
in the cellar. There was only small
amount of paper there: No gas Jet was near
the shelves, and the witness does not smoke.
The funnel of the stove passes near the
woodwork in the basement. The fire in the
stove would not be likely to last from Satur-
day night until Monday morning unless
fixed on Sunday.
Miss Hattie j. Healey was called and said
but not for several weeks past. Sne added
that she didn't know anything ABOUT me
fire, and was thereupon promptly excused.
John B. Brown, Joiner. and member OF
the fire department. was next calieu, ana
testified in regard to the location OF the fire
same as the previous witnesses. Inc VIII
ness thought some parts of the furniture on
the ground floor was burned ana nOtlced
rolls of cloth stuffs burned at the ends; In
the second story, about six or eight 1eet from
the elevator, found pile of burning excel
sior upon the floor. There. was about a
bushel basketful of the excelsior, and 1t was
thrown out of the window. Mr. BreWn no
ticed that some of the willow chairs on the
frame looked as if they had been burned,
Il leo AI,of ifn hnd
the Perkins store. He saw only one place
in the Perkins store where ne thought
the fire had come through.
Geo. w. Platt, cooper, and captain OF
Eagle Hook & Ladder Company. teStlhed
that the timbers of the ground floor were
somewhat burned near the elevator. He
saw the remains of the fire at the front OF
the store. One stuffed chair and some OF
the willow chairs were burned. There did
not appear to be any fire near this.
w. II. Lincoln, an electrician, employed
by the telephone company, and member OF
the fire department. testified that he saw the
fire at the left of the entrance to the San
born store. He also testified to the extent Of
the fire in the basement, and said that there
was some fire around the furnace and among
the bales of excelsior. He saw the opening
between the two cellars, and gave testimony
as to the fire in the basement of the Perkins
store.
Fred Fl. Beam, a member of the fire de-
pdrIm6nL, SdlQ LUdL ne COulU duu uSbLluS W
what had been said.
Chief Engineer Gloves testified in regard to
the extent of the fire about as other witness
es had testified. He thought the two upper,
and the basement and ground floors were
the most badly burned. His attention was
called to the fire in the front of the store, af-
ter it had been eXtinguished. This fire was
25 or 80 feet from the fire in the rear. Mr..
Cloyes did not notice any indication of fire
between the two places. He placed firemen
Smith, Frates and Bean on guard, with in
structions that nothing should be moved I'M
til after the building had been examined by
the jury. When in the store with the sher-
iff Mr.. Cloyes noticed that the coal in the
stove did not appear to be burned.
Frank NJ. Smith and Fred II. Bean testi-
Sunday morning until O'Clock Monday af
tern0on, after the examination by the jury.
Nothing in the building was moved.
Mr.. Murch stated that the excelsior found
burning on the second floor came from the
cushions of pile of piano stools stored there
and which burned, fragments still lying be-
hind the building where they were thrown
from the windows He said that the paint
shop was saturated with paints and oils
which would account for the fires spreading
there.
This closed the testimony and the jury
retired After short time they reported to
the sheriff as follows:
STATE OF MAINE.
CUMBERLAND SIS. March 81, 1885:
An inquisition held at Portland within the
county of Cumberland on the twenty-ninth day OF
March, A. D., 1886, before Benjamin True, a
sheriff in and for said county, who being sworn to
inquire for the State when, how and by what
means the fire originated which partially destroy
ed the stores numbered and Free street, occu-
pied by William H. Sanborn & Co., in said county
as furniture warerooms upon their oaths say that
the fire originated within the basement of said
stores on Sunday, the twenty-eighth day OF March,
A. d., 1886, but how and by what means said fire
was caused is to the jurors unknown.
In testimony whereof we, the jurors of said in
quest have herewith set our hands and seals the
day and year aforesaid.
STEPHEN MARSH
ALBERT S. MITCHELL,
NAHUM LITTLEFIELD