Waco evening news. (Waco, Tex.) 1888-1889, 1888-12-13
/: DIR. r. L. MUNROE, !:
+: Dentist, !:
F.: No. 81 l Austin Ave. !:
THE FIRE.
An EARLY morning Blaze-Losses,
insurance and Incidents.

An EARLY morning 6ldXo-AOeooSs
insurance and Incidents.
An alarm of fire was sounded this
morning at little past half past two,
and later on second alarm. The
fire was OH Bridge street, in two
buildings occupied and used by DR..
s. A. Owens & Son, Mr.. Sam Owens
Jr.. the lower story as an agricultural
implement store, and part of the
second story as sleeping room. The
fire had made little Roadway when
the fire department reached the loca-
ton, but had caught between the
floor and ceiling Of the first story and
was between the walls and ceilings,
making 1t very difficult for the fire.
men to get at the fire. 1t burned In
this subdued way, steadily and pei
sistently and 1t was not until five
O'Clock, after two hours Of steady
work, that 1t was extingnished. The
damage to the buildings can hardly
be estimated. The two buildings
which were burned, belong, the one to
DR.. s. A. Owens and the other to DR..
d. r. Wallace of Terrell, and Mr.. Geo.
w. Jackson of this city. The insur-
ance on the building of DIR. Owens,
was, $3.50 ON building and $50 on
shelves and counters; that on the
other building is respectively $3.50,
held by Mr.. jackson, and $500 by DR..
Wallace. The loss is probably fully
covered. The stock Of agricultural
implements In the two stores was
large and the bulk recently put In,
consisting of wagons, cultivators,
reapers, mowers aud other like goods.
The damage from fire was confined to
one corner Of the store, In stack of
wood work Of about fifty cultlvators,
which were consumed or ruined, any
other loss will be from water. The
loss on these is estimated at about
twelve hundred dollars. The stock
was insured for $500 on machinery
and $4,000 on household furniture
stored there, SO that the loss WAS
fully covered. AS far as the fire was
concerned, 1t was not serious ono
and might be dismissed in q few lines.
But a search Of the building after the
fire was subdued, revealed a delibe-
rate purpose to fire the building and
there are not lacking suspicious that
. more awful crime was contemplated
and that part of the plan was
TO BURN UP
DIR. Owens, who occupied front
room in the second story, room,
which has been used by him as an
office, for seventeen years and which,
IN the absence from the city of his
family, as q sleeping room. together
with his son. Mr.. Will Stills, who was
the first to enter the lower story of
the building, discovered In the mid
die of the floor, In the rear of the
building five gallon can half full of
coal oil, which he. brought out to the
street. Others entering with liant
ems, found additional evidences Of
the incendiary origin of the fire.
: Paper saturated with coal oil, were
gfound on the wood work of the ma
Shlnery. in every part Of the store.
On reaper three or four pieces Of .
candle were found. and on the same
reaper, IN . bundle of straw, standing
up straight, was q piece Of candle In
position, such as to fro the hay when
burned down. But the most startling
evidence Of . plan to burn the build
Ing was found in . buggy standing In
the middle Of the store nearest the
Pfvap r. vvas n sank .f3llad With hav