The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1890-05-06
TIMBER
M~iscreants Destroying Woods Be-
cause Prevented from Stealing.
specio1 to he Jersev city News.

-.
MOUNT HOLLY, May 5, 1890.-Tfmber
thieves have been maintaining a reign Of
terror in Burlington county. Their
fIsndish work Of setting fire to the yalu-
able timber lands in this vicinity. which
was only stopped by the heavy rain. has
resulted in the loss of many thousands or
dollars to the owners of timber tracts
and lucrative cranberry boys, besides de-
stroying the homes of many tenants. At
present no estimate can be exactly placed
dRthe amount of property ruined, but it
will certainly not fall short of S5O.OO0.
SETTING FIRE TO LARGE TRACTS.
A stretch of ten miles, which one week
ago contained the finest specimens OF oak,
pine. maple and cedar timber, has largely
been converted into a PLAIN OF ashes ana
charcoal and smoking stumps OF trees;
1t is known that timber thieves started
the destructive confiagration in revenge
for the recent wholesale threats or the
owners tina they intended to SHOOT down
any man who should steal their wood
Now that the thieves have wrought such
devastation, the owners are afraid to
prosecute auy of them for lear that new
fires will be started.
The fire of last Wednesday started at q
place called big HILL" in Southampton
Township, owned by John Wells. At the
same time the thieves set fire to several
adjoining tracts. Within a fewhours the
Whole section of the country was In q
sheet of flame. The timber was dry and
burned quickly. Bands Of men endeav-
ored to fight the flames, but were re-
pulsed by the fearful heat.
Throughout Wednesday and Thursday
the fire spread rapidly and laid waste to
the thousands of acres. h cracking OF
*be timber and the strong wind tanning
fha fro H11ad tho pQnnfru with q r0ntin11-
Gus roar. The heavy rain on Friday
morning, however, stopped its progress,
The burned district extends from the
southern part of Southampton township
to Shamong and through WOODLAND and
Medford townships. A greater part OF
the destroyed woodland was young tim
Der. Many cedar tracts were also des-
troyed, The cedar was selling at q good
price, it being used for shingles, inside
material of houses and lead pencils.
Probably the heaviest loser was Joseph
Hinchman, of Medford township, who
lost about 1900 acres of choice timber
Ian besides a lot of cut wood The fire
also injured most of his 500 acres Of cram
berry boys. Hinchman is the largest
cranberry grower in southern Jersey. 1t
is thought his loss will not be less than
$4,000. Several small houses on the
property of Mr.. Hinchman, occupied by
some of his workmen, were burned to the
ground.
SOME. OF H VICTIMS.
Great damage was done to the immense
tract of woodland of General John S.
Trick, of Vincentown.
Henry j.. Trick, the son OF the General,
lost 500 acres of his magnificent timber in
Northampton Township by the confiagra-
ton. Jesse Braddock and Japhet Bow
ker were large losers in Medford Town
ship. They lost 1000 acres of timber,
besides some of their cranberry boys. The
large timber tracts of Joshua Jones, Mrs.
Louisa Moore, ]. Ballinger and q. PEN
mock, stretching over 5000 acres, were
nearly all reduced to ashes, and the farm
house and outbuildings Of Charles FL.
Haines were laid in waste.
This wholesale destruction of property
has been relished by the revengeful tim
Der thieves. For years these rascals have
been stealing the timber in broad day
light They laugh at the owners and do
not attempt to conceal their guilt. A
resident Of Metford said yesterday that
for the past five years fully twenty cords
of wood have been stolen from his prop
erty daily. The timber thieves do most
ri 'Dieir cutting on Sundays and then maui
for the rest OF the week. In Northamp-
ton and Medford townships alone the
number Of these pilferers is above a score.
They make tn cir living by stealing the
wood Of their n~eighbors. One man, well
known to the Inhabitants of Northamp-
ton Township as the "King of the Tim
Der Thieves, \ is alleged to have spent his
whole life in stealing his neighbors' tim
Der. Had he not been a heavy drinker he
would now be a rich man at other peoples
expense.