The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-04-27
OF INCENDIARY ORIGIN.
Fire Discovered in Four Places in a Deer
Lodge House.


special Dispatch to the STANDARD.
Deer Lodge. April 26-This morning
| shortly after o'clock the shrieks from a
whistle of locomotive which was stand
ing at the depot here. sounded the alarm
OIL ire which thad been discovered by
iootman IN passing No 20 a resort
which has long been conducted by Miss
Carrie Hartley, at the corner of B and
second streets. A few minutes later the
alarm bell in the fire house rang out the
warning and in short time the volunteer
brigade was on the spot and in a re-
markedly short time there was a stream
OF water playing on the building. and the
fire. or fires. for the house was on fire in
four places, were soon extingHshed
The fires were evidently of incendiary
origin. and had been set in four different
parts of the house. One had been kindled
down in the cellar, a small affair used
Tor storing away articles for future use
and had been started among a lot of part
ly used rolls of wall paper, several paint
buckets, containing more or less paint a
half-tiled bottle of turpentine and box
Of matches. besides other infammable
| material. This fire had evidently burned
for some time, one of the heavy stills
was burned about half through and the
floor for considerable space around was
badly charred.
When discovered by one of the men who
was first on the spot smoke was issuing
therefrom, but upon going down into the
cellar he found the fire out and every
thing around it dry. it evidently having
been smothered out by its own smoke
and for want of draft Had the cellar
door been left open it would have been
all day with No. 90
The next hottest place in the house
seems to have been in a little room near
the back door. which has been used as a
nd
other turntables. and which is separa ted
from a bedroom which is next to and back
of the paror. This fire evidently started
in the storage room and burned through
the partition into the bedroom, in the
corner of which was bed, which was
set on fire together with the mattresses
and coverings.
In the Darlor. after the firemen had
been at work for time. a fire was
discovered burning one end of a sofa
and it was thought that that. too, was set
by the same party or parties who had
fired the rest, but it was afterwards
learned that it was caused by throwing
the burning bedclothes from the bedroom
upon the sofa which set fire to it.
On the south side of the Guilding and
across the hallway, are two bedrooms, the
one in front being the landady's. In her
room and in the parlor were the only
places where there were fires in the
stoves last night, and they were the
only rooms in the house in which fires
had not been set. In the bedroom adj
joining the landladys. in the rear, fire
was discovered burning in pile of old
rags and rubbish in the clothes closet set
in the wall. 1t was soon eXtinguished
and did no further damage than to burn
hole in the bare floor of the closet
The four fires were most certainly the
work of an incendiary, and had been set
with the evident intention of burning the
house and it's contents, but who the au-
thor or authors of the deed were remains
a mystery.
Miss Hartley. the proprietress of the
pace was seen. but to inquiries as to
whether she knew or could form any opin-
ion as to how the fires originated, answer
ed: Il don't know"
The house IS badly damaged ~ smoke
and water, the carpets and furniture be-
ing about ruined. The loss will be be-
tween $500 and $500 and is fully covered
by insurance.