The Saint Paul globe., 1896-11-18
PEARANCE OF A HEADQUAR-
TIERS FIREMAN.
LEFT HIS HOME AND MOTHER,
TAKING WITH HIM HIS MONTHS
SALARY AND HIS STATION
OUTFIT.
NO REASON Is KNOWN AS YET
For the Strange Action of the
Young Fireman, Who Was Liked
and Respected.

! Patrick H. McGraw, for five years
prior to last Saturday stationed at Cen
trail Fire headquarters as driver of the
hose cart attached to Engine company
No. 8, has mystifed his family and
| friends by disappearing as completely
as though swallowed up by the earth.
Where he has gone, or his reasons for
suddenly throwing up his position and
! leaving. his home and widowed mother,
are facts which have not yet developed,
and the absence Of any cause for his
| dropping out of sight only serves to
worry his family and confound his
| friends
| McGraw entered the service Of the
fire department in January, 1891, and
has ever since been located at central
headquarters in the capacity of driver
of hose cart No. s. He was pleasant,
congenia1 young man whose attention
| to duty won the esteem of his supe-
| riors and whose geodfellowship made
| him faVorite among his companions.
| While obliged to sleep at the engine
| house, McGraW boarded with his moth
| er at 799 Park avenue and ate his
| breakfast at home the morning of his
| disappearance. When he left home he
bade his mother goodbye, but said moth
ing to her about giving up his situation
or leaving the city. Saturday was pay
| day for the fire department., and Nc
| Graw drew his monthly salary during
/ the morning. He was about the engine
| house as usual until noon, when he
| left, ostensibly to go home to dinner,
! nd ho hn 10 .of
| him.
The discipline Of the department re-
quires that those in the service OBJ
serve strictly the hours for duty, and
when McGraW failed to return an in
| VeSt1gatlon was made which resulted
! In the disclosure that he had removed
| all Of his clothing from his locker, and
had even secured his coat from the
| seat of the hose cart. No one had seen
| him carrying away any of these arti-
| cles, but the fact that everything of
! value was gone from his closet, indi-
Gated that his departure had been pre-
| arranged and carefully carried out
without the knowledge Of his compan-
| IONS though why this should have been
| done no one appears to know. When
| Chief Jackson learned Of McGraw's &C
/ tions, he was dropped from the roll Of
/ the department, and new man in
stalled in his place.
| When the young man failed to re-
| turn to his mothers house for break
| fast Sunday morning, she became
alarmed, ard visited headquarters
She could obtain no information about
| her son, however, nor could she offer
any explanation of his queer conduct.
| Seen by q G l o b reporter last even
| ing, Mrs. McGraw said she had heard
nothing of her sons whereabouts, and
had not the slightest idea of where
he was, or what had caused him to go
away. PATSY has always been a good
| boy" said she, land / can make no
! explanation of his actions. He was
not drinking man, and has always
lived at home, helping to support me
/ and the younger children. 1 have in
quired among his friends, but none of
| them have seen him since Saturday.
| When he left home Saturday morning
he was cheerful and pleasant, and l
can hardly realize he has deserted his
| mother and brothers and sisters"
Inquiry at fire headquarters developed
| the fact that McGraw had undoubt-
| edly planned going away after payday,
| as he had borrowed money in small
| sums from other firemen. In addition
/ to this fact it is claimed that McGraw
paWned a diamond ring for $780, which
he had borrowed from a friend named
William Harrington, from Minneapolis,
who frequently came to headquarters
/ to see him.