Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1889-10-09
Circumstantial Evidence Very
Strong-Shsdowed Over
a Month.

from the saloon building. The flames Pre'
higher with great rapidity, and before Cd
OF the card players could throw a buckle
or two of water upon the source Of tb
fire the flames were licking the top of tn
ten foot fence close to which the dry good
was standing. The timely application O
the water quenched the blaze and no
until then did the b~ystanders in that littl
space realize hat on top Of the dry goods
| box aforesaid there rested another boz
| with door attached, in which was kept al
| oil can containing ten gallons OF kerosene
Within a very few minutes, had the fire not
been discovered just as it was, the greasy
surroundings of the can would haveignited
the can would have exploded and another
disastrous fire would have been the result
The buildings OF the surrounding eectior
are of wood, they are close together and
dry as finder.
An examination Of the premises showed
that between tie first mentioned dry goods
box and wall OF the clubhouse was a wad oil
newspaper burned to ashes. No one
thought to look for a cigar stump nor for
burat matches, and the paper was so badly
burned that no one could tell whether it
had ever been saturated with oil or other
in1ammable material. Nevertheless the
cry of "6re bug" was raised and the men
who had been playing cards in the rear
of the '~'Sideboard" instantly re-
called the fact that only a few minutes be-
fore the celestial voices united in
an inharmonious scream of "Fi! FIJI"
one OF the players-a man not above
suspicion of incendi arism-had left the
game rather precipitst ely. Inquiry into
the suspected PERSONS movements after
leaving the saloon showed that he had gone
east on Park street to the alley back of
the Lizzie block; that he walked north mp
that alley to the alley which runs at right
a ngles with it aud had turned into the mar
row passage which runs between low
wooden buildings to the g door OF the
very saloon he had left only q few seconds
before. He was seen entering chat passage,
and within less than a minute was seen to
out. Almost Immediately thereafter
the cry OF fire was raised.
These facts came to the ears Of the police
and soon the suspected man, who, by the
way, has been under police espionage for
about a month, was. arrested and hurried
off to the county jail. That mans name
the police would not divulge, but his arrest,
in broad day light, was seen by many per-
sons, and soon the fact that Frank Inger-
had been arrested, was the talk in many
and the rumor that he was "the''
bug who had caused much trouble of
late. was spread far and near, each circula-
tor Of the rumor adding to it as he passed
he word along. There were many sugges-
lions to the effect that if the right man had
been captured q lyIching would not be the
improper thing.
Frank Ingersoll is a man OF bad repute,
the indisputabie fact that he ia SUE
oected and almost openly accused OF in
,endiarism is not at all surprising. He is
in the same indefinite way of other
and in all of hem, the latter as
\ ell as the former. circumstantial evidence
s against the theory of his innocence. The
nan is well connected by marriage and g.
,reat deal Of sympathy is expressed for his
aggrieved wife and father-in-Iaw. The for
ner left her home last night after 8 Q
earned of her husbands arrest and went
20 her fathers house. When seen by q re-
porter last night thefather-in-law, Thomas
3tees, seemed to be afraid OF his daughters
husband.
At the time Of the Centennial hotel fire,
April 26, 1SS7-in which fire Jesse Glidden
a man named Lincoln, the latter a
oostofice employe and brother-in-law of
Postmaster Talent, lost their lives-Iuger. |
'ell was acting as nurse for J.H B. Foster,
low of Missoula. and the sick mac was an |
of the house, his expenses being |
betrayed by the Odd Fellows of which he
vas q member. Under a bureau or stand
n Foster room was q small satchel con-
$500 in gold and some currency.
After the fire a search for the coin was fu. |
lie. Even the ashes beneath where the |
Dom had been were sifted, but no moulten
old was found. The metallic handle of the |
atchel was all that rewarded the careful
earchers.
In the following winter a miner named /
Mack, who is still in Butte, was
trifken by the smallpox. Ingersoll who
lad been through the scourage and was
lot afraid of it, was engaged to nurse the
at the pest house. One day the
Iurse obtained from friend OF the sick
nan the key to Mack's cabin, he stating at
he time that he wished to clean the cabin
Dr the convalescing lpatient. Since that
ime a sum of money which Mack had
uried in one corner Of the cabin has not
cen seen by it's owner, nor will that owner
how great a the amount lost. On
he money Ingersoll saved while acting as
ir. Mack's nurse he took a trip to the
'acific coast.
Not much more than a month ago Sher-
rams barn, in the rear of The MINER
flee, was destroyed by fire and q large
ortion of the town was threatened. In
ersoll was the first to give the alarm. He
as then acting as a night Waterman.
hortly after fire was disco vered in Mackie's
shop; Insersoll was the first man
n the grounds. Davis barn burned one
ight and with it 80 horses; Ingersoll lived
the same block and was at home the
lght Of the fire. One Sunday morning
here was fire in W. A. Clark's barn on Ner-
Try street; Ingersoll discovered it. There
as at one time in Butte q f.rtune teller,
the destruction VI Butte by
re; Ingersoll was the PROPHETS
lend. Ingersoll's PRESIDENT friend propbe-
ed a fire in South Butte; on the appointed
ight h. L.. Franks warehouse was in
ames. Jobs barn on Broadway was
early burned some weeks ago; q woman
lngersoll leaving the structure before
lie alarm OF fire was sounded. A mvster.
us lire was started yesterday a~fternoon
Sol. Levy's saloon; the same
oman mentioned in the preceding lines
wv 1ngersoll enter the rear passage to the
before the cry Of fire was raised and
ard the alarm very soon after he had
merged from the passage. This woman
couples a small house in the allev he.
Veen broadway Inc Park street and sbe
as told her story to the police.
The justified readiness OF the peopls of
ute to become excited by the alarm of
e, and their excusabls willingness to he.
we Chat not all OF the mysterious fres
ere che result OF focused rays of the moon
n OF spontaneous combustion. comh;na
make ~Ingersoll's position at the present
ne an extremely uncomfortable one. "a.
cially as many people feel, as does tbe
an who expressed himself to a renortar
1T night. He said that Ingerson, Innocent
guilty. was too suspicionable q nerson
be allowed at large on. the streets ~
lite.
The police are confident that thew have
'de no mistake in arresting Ingersoll and
1t vaguely at evidence in their possess;on :
enough to Tut the suspect in strined
thes and behind iron bars.