Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1894-08-17
A BAD FIRE BUG.
'ncendiary Arrested Who Ac.
knowledges Mischief Here.
BE Is IN JAIL AT KANSAS CITY,
Claims to Have Started the south
Park Fire-His General Confession.
Early Morning Fire the BiuT-A
Needless and Hard Run EARLY In the
EyeniuR.


Early Morning Fire on the B,ufr-A
Needless and Hard Run EARLY in the
Evening.
Confined in the Kansas CITY Jail,
according to today's Chicago Herald
dispatches, is ]. M. Logan, most
persistent and determined incendiarv.
who claims to have committed dcpre-
dations in Rock Island. He has de-
destroyed hundreds of thousands of
dollars worth of property all over
the United States, and he tells of his
crimes with the pride and self-satis-
faction of a general reciting the
story of the battles he has won. A
few minutes before his arrest an
alarm of fire had been sent in from
the Kansas City Lumber company.
FIRE had sprung up among the lum-
Der in the yard in two places. The
engines were rattling by when
Patrolman Coffey saw a man running
at full speed. Instinctivelv connec-
ting the fleeing man with the fire,
Coifey gave chase and soon captured
him. When taken to police head
quarters the man gave the name of J.
M. Logan and admitted that he had
set the lumber yards on fire. With
out urging, Logan told of his many
crimes.
According to Loggan's story he
was sent to the penitentiary at King
ston, Ontario, in 1882 for seven wears
for burning a canal lock. ut was
either lock Z or 81 said Logan,
land after l put match to it i ran
a quarter of mile and set fire to a
lumber yard" After being released
he went to Baton Rouge, La, and
fired a large quantity Of cotton bales,
but was caught and sent to the peni-
Tertiary for four years. He next OPP
Grated in indianapolis. Ind, and, be-
ing again detected, was sent to the
penitentiary at Michigan City for
seven years. Good behavior secured
his release after serving four-and-
one-half years, and he was turned
loose in December, 1898, to DESTROY
more property. He burned up a
lumber yard and few houses in
Milwaukee, Wis. and was sent to the
insane asylum.
| What He Did In Rock Island,
The biggest fires that Logan
started, he claims, were in Provi-
dence, K. L., and Rock Island, Ill.
81 burned up stable and lot OF
horses and fine carriages" he said.
''in Rock Island l set fire to a stable,
-four stores and several houses, and
the firemen could not put it out
Logan is small man with short
grizzly hair and beard. His head is
peculiarly shaped and he has pecu-
liar look in his eyes. He talks in a
clear and intelligent manner, and
seems to be proud of his avocation.
He is undou btedly crazy on the sub.
Ject OF fire, and care will be taken to
prevent him from burning down the
Jail. He claims not to know wheth.
er any human lives were lost in the
fires which he started. and does not
care whether there were or not.
The fire to which Logan alludes as
having been kindled by him in Rock
Island was may have been the one
in South Park last June, when a cou-
pie OF stores, school house and
dwelling were destroyed. The fire
originated in Il barn. and the firemen
were unable to cope with it owing to
the distance from the fire limits.
Destroyed by Lightning.
During the violent electrical storm
at 1:30 this morning lightning struck
the 2-story frame dwelling owned and
occupied by Ernst Starkart, on Four
teenth avenue and Fortv-fourth
street, and set it on fire. Word was
quickly communicated to the fire de-
partment, and Chief Brahm ordered
the response of all companies, realiz-
ing the distance of the fire from the
water mains. The department laid
200 feet of hose, being obliged to
battle with the storm in doing so, and
then the pressure was too light to be
of any service. The house, with
most of the furniture. was COM
pletely destroyed, entailing a loss OF
81 600, on which there was insurance
of 800 in Hodgson's agency and the
Rockford company. The family re-
ceived no injury from the Shock
when the thunder bolt fell.
False Alarm.
| The alarm Of fire turned in last
evening from box ~, was a false
ane. The department responded
promptly and found the fire to be in
Moline, near the Rock Island line,
where a barn belonging to Swan
Trupp. and adjoining the Twin City
Ice company's office was on fire. The
barn and part of the Office was de-
stroyed, entailing loss of nearly
81, 900, partially covered by insur-
ance.