Little Falls weekly transcript. (Little Falls, Morrison Co., Minn.) 1894-19??, 1896-06-05
THE WORK OF TRAMPS.
Fire Setin an Unfinished Dwell
ling Destroys it and Another y
Monday Morning.

IigEs.s Hl0tlNeAy 1lvlNl iNhA6s .g.+t ...y
"a about $50 o clock Monday morn
ing the uncompleted dwelling house
OF p. B. Mccormack, on Fourth
street northeast, was discovered on
fire, and owing to the great progress
made by the fire before it was dis
covered, and to- the unfavorable
hour, every one being in bed, the
Building was totally destroyed. and
the residence building Of D. Shell
don, situated within few feet OF
the new one, was almost completely
|cOnsumed before the fire department
arrived. >%'. Z,
The new building was almost COM
pleted, being latheu, sided, ETC., and
the plasterers were 20 begin this
morning. The only wood work to
be done was the interior finish, and
the material for that was stored in
the building, SO the loss is almost as
much as If the building had been
completed. III, r.
The material in the new building
was all dry and it was but short
time until it was wholly consumed
and the fire had communicated to
the lesidencesof Mr.. Sheldon. less
than twenty feet north OF the new
.ane. NM.
For some time there were only
two men at work at the fire, +. W.
Lyon and Cbas. Latham, MIR. Shell
don being a cripple. and they
directed their efforts toward saving
the contents Of Mr.. Sheldon's house.
They worked very hard and sue
ceded in saving nearly every thing on
the ground floor, though some
Things were damaged, but the
furnishings in the second story were
|cumpletely destroyed. The building
still stands, but the entire south side
Ia burned aid it will undoubtedly
have to- be torn down.
III The fire is without doubt the
work of tramps, as they have been
nsing it as a sleeping place for some
time. Nearly every morning when
1.-The carpenters went to work on the
building they would find the doors
or windows broken open and evi.
| dences in the piles Of shavings that
tile place had been occupied the night
before. ~ I'll %.s ...s-.- ..,....s ...s. =:
On the new building there was a
builders risk Of $3.50, in the CONT
mental Insurance company and also
1915 on the carpenter tools Of Barney
Braehm, who had the contract for
putting up the building. The in
surance on the building will hardly
cover the cost Of the material used,
and Mr.. Braehm estimates his loss
at about 800 on the tools besides
hisilabor. In addition to this M.
Mccormack, for whom the building
was being erected, had stored con-
siderable of his goods in the cellar,
expecting to soon occupy the build
ing, ana the loss on them he cannot
estimate very closely, but the total
on the new building above the
in:arance will be between $500 and
$4UO.
On the Sheldon residence there
was an insurance of $500 with the
Royal company and the damage will
be fully that amount If not more.
The contents were also insured for
$500, also in the Royal, OF which V.
Schallern is agent, but the damage
done to them cannot yet be esti-
mated.
The locality in which these build
ings were located, being near the
railroad depot, is the worst in the
city for tramps, and the theory that
they either accidentally or Intention
ally set the building on fire is the
only way in which the fire can be
accounted for, as there was no stove
in the new building and nothing
from which the fire could originate.