Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1892-05-14

md those first to arrive upon the scene
ire very conflicting, still enough Is known
o make it certain that this disaster IS the
.esult OF deliberate incendlarylsm. what
he motive is has not yet developed; 1t
nav become apparent later, but unques.
.ionable the jon was well timed and
.leverly executed.
c. c. EvERHART
is the superintendent of the building aud
grounds, acting under instructions from
the capitol commission composed OF
Secretary B. NJ. Thomas, Hon. Sol.
S piegelberg and DR.. r. H. LUngwill. lie
states that he left the building last even
ing at about ten minutes past 6, lCcBlng |
ali the doors, but leaving Auditor Perez
at work in his office. At about O'Clock
he returned to the building and opened
the west door to admit U. 5. convict
Francisco Hernandez, trusty from 80
zorro county, detailed from the penlten-
tiary to irrigate the captoI grounds. Her
nandez unbarred the south doors and
took the hose out onto the grass, turn
ing on the water from the stand pipe on
first floor, complaining at the same time
that there was very little water in the
pipes. 81 knew this" said Everhart;
II have complained time and again OF
the lack OF water, so | paid no particular
attention to the convlcts grumbllnss.
About 8:l5 o'clock Mr.. Everhart, While
working in his garden saw the smoke
about the dome and ran to the capitol,
and as he ran one way the convict ran to-
ward his house by another street to warn
him that the building was on fire.
CONFLICTING STATEMENTS.
Francisco Anaya, Canuto and Antonio
Alarid were the first men TO reach the
building. They ran across the street
from Hon. Anto. Ortiz y salazar's resi-
dence and found all the doors locked in
Guiding the south entrance. No body
was in the building or about it; the con-
vict was not there, nor was the hose In
place for irrigating the grass. This was
at s 10 O'Clock, and herein is a wide dis
crepency between the statements pub
lished. Ceestino Ortiz, clerk in
the treasurer's Office, opened the
west door for Anaya and party and they
! llRDleu lu6 gas lah UP oboAAo pN' w
| find that no water was available. About
| this time the fire bell rang. In a few min
utes, they say, fire broke out in the north
dome. They also say that Mr.. Everhardt
came in after little and turned off the
gas all over the building, telling the Ala
ribs that they had no business there.
AN IMPORTANT STATEMENT.
Privates Young and Downey, of com
pany D, Fort Marcy, were walking passed
the capitol grounds at little before
when they saw small light in the south
dome and a volume of smoke. They
cried fire until a response came iron
north OF the bridge and ran to the JAM
tors room, where kerosene lamp wal
on a table. They tapped on the window
and man, OF medium height and havln!
beard on his face, came out, but he die
not seem the least disturbed when tolt
that the building was on fire. The.
thought this man was the night watch
man, and pushing by him they ran vi
stairs and attempted to turn on the waite
when they found slit in the hose waste'
the water as fast as it flowed from TN
stand pipe. When they came dow
, stairs they saw convict near the soutl
door, but he was quite unconcerned abou
the fire to all appearances. When thes
soldiers reached the ladder leading to tn
{ dome they could have extinguished tn
blaze with two barrels OF water. The
] say there WAS q fire in the CRATE In tn
t janitor's room, first floor, but that tn
9 blaze in the dome WAS some dlstanc
away from the chimney at the bottom Q
, which was this CRATE. Young thinks h
II. would be able to identify the man whom
8 they first met upon reaching the building
and whom he thought was the guard, Q
night Waterman. The description of thi
f mysterious party, however, is vague.
4 SANTIAGO BAoA
ls the night Waterman. He says h
usually reaches the building betwee
Q 7 30 and s, and admits that he was nc
: about the premises last night until afte
g the cry of fire was raised; he saw tn
., crowds gathering as he was approachin
|! the capitol about s o'clock. When he al
u rived he told the convict to go up stair
). and turn on the water. He saw no so
u diers at that time.
Summing up, 1t seems from the abov
y that this condagration originated almof
:; at the same time in two parts of tn
u u building far removed from one another
and that it was started by an incendiar
: who was not only well aware OF the dc
,. fectiye water service, but took the add
tional precauton to slit the hose on tn
!, upper floor in such a manner as to rende
II it unfit for service.
OFFICIAL INVESTIGATION.
/. An official inquiry will be instituted t
g ascertain particularly the facts in relatio
10 tha M urta rinna individual ahnua refa,