San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1892-04-18
INCENDIARISM.
Terrible Disaster Saturday.
THE SAN ANTONIO FIRE BUG
KEPT BUSY.
The Fire Record of the Alamo City
Broken With Alarming Sue
cess = Full Report = lnsur-
ance-Public Meetings
Citizens Patrol, Etc.

"Coming events cast their shadows
before.n Little did number of peo.
pie think, when told by local seer
and fortune teller last week, that San
Antonio would have great fire Sat.
urday night, but such proved to be
the fact. There were more fires and
attempts at fires Saturday night than
ever before in the history of the Ala.
mo city. None were accidental and
all are laid to the door of the mys.
terious fire bug who has been operat.
ing in San Antonio for the past
month, although In one or two cases
how tn is unknown being could have
entered locked doors and left them
locked after the fire was started, is
questionable.
The fret fire to begin the night
with was started about 8 o'clock IN
the stable at the southwest end of
Olive Sternen berg q Co.'s lumber
yard, on the west side of the city. on
Medina and San Marcos streets The
alarm was promptly turned in aud
the fire department responded with
tolerable alacrity, the entire fire force
being sent out The flames increased
with terrible rapidity and som con-
sumed the stable and two horses,
owned by c. NJ. Cad wsllader. 1t
then communicated with the lum Der
yard and soon spread over the entir Q
stock kept ON hand. Streams from
the engines soon had the property of
private citizens adjoining we'll soaked
with water, and the fire, in about an
hour, we'll under control, bnt could
not extinguish it as the lumber piles
burned fiercely. The firemen fought
the fire from the sides and real, and
did good service, although several
OF the men suffered terribly from heat
and smoke and two tainted and were
carried away. The Office papers and
the safe were saved but the remain
der of the property burned complete
ly, not being extinguished until after
daylight Sunday morning.
The loss on this fire is estimated at
Sill 100, of which the Lumber company
hold $4,000, G. NJ. Cad wallader 500,
and Judge McLeary, who owned the
stable, etc. :, destroyed, $1,000.
The insurance was as follows:
Olive. Stern en- berg & Co., $500 In
London, Liverpool & Globe; $500 in
Phoenix. of Brooklyn; $3.50 In the
Alamo; 81 800 in Burlington; ST 900 In
Traders of Chicago; 81 900 In United,
of Manchester, Eng. Total $4,000.
J. H. McLesry, was insured but
amount is unknown.
The fire was clearly the work of an
incendiary, and 1t is believed from
what the Waterman, Garcia, states,
that he saw the man. Ho was in the
yard when q man came up to him
and asked him il he had seen spot
ted dog. Answering no." the man
turned and said, "Hello, there's a
fire." The Waterman ran to the fire
and did not see the stranger any
more. Glenn Aubrey, young man
living near the yards overheard Chas.
Hathaway, young negro, to say,
that he had started the fire because
he could get no work. Capt. Shar
din, was informed of this statement
and caught Hathaway az he was
walking Iesurely down the railroad
track toward the city. He told the
Captain he was joking at what he
said, with some other negroes. He
was locked in jail anyhow. While
the lumber yard fire was in progress,
there were several attempts made
In other parts Of the city to set fire to
residences and business blocks, two
of which were sadly successful.
The firemen were working manfully
at the lumber yard, when Special
Watchman Guerin and Policeman
Nye Hale, on Alamo plaza, about
1850 o'clock discovered q fire in the
middle of the building Nos. 25, 25 IL
aud %, west side Alamo plaza, occu-
pied by Buck & Cox as q second hand
goods store. They turned in alarm
No. PIG, at Joske Bros corner, and
ran back to break open the doors,
which they diu and found the fire
located In the centre of the build.
ing among lot of furniture. A hole
seemed to have been cut in the floor
from underneath and the conbustible
material was applied from beneath.
This floor lie double thickness, the
upper and lower planks crossing
each other. The workman who cut
through, if he did so, was q skillful ,
persevering fellow, who had lots OF
time and plenty Of nerve. The fire
spread with terrible rapldity and had
no hindrance as the entire fire depart
ment was more than one mile and q
half distant. The mounted police rode
out TO the LUMBER fire and brought
back with them an engine and q
hose company, but ere their arrival
the fire had spread from the first
building right and left through the
block from Alamo plaza to Losoyo
street and had communicated with