Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1901-03-07
A MANIAC BURNS HIS PROPERTY.
Iowa Farmer Burns All the Buildings
on His Farm.

Denison, March crawford coun-
tvs worst tragedy occurred yesterday.
Henry Warn a farmer living in Good
rich township, elk miles north of Den
ison, fired all the buildings on his
farm, destroying every infiammable
thing he possessed and his charred re-
mains have been found in the ruins of
the barn. Mystery shrouds the where
abouts of William, his son, young
man q years of age He was known
to have been at home the night before
but no one has seen him since the aw-
full tragedy and his remains have not
been found. 1t is easily possible that
charred body may be found
The tragedy occurred about 8
o'clock yesterday morning A number
of neighbors saw the smoke and has
tened to the rescue. They beheld the
old man rushing from building to
building carrying a pail filled with
cobs soaked with kerosene, and set
ting fire to everything as he went
RepuIsed WouId-Be Rescuers.
AS they approached the place Warn
saw hem and began shouting that he
would kill them is they came near and
waving his revolver and shooting at
them. The would-be rescuers ran for
their lives. and the maddened man
went on with his work of destruction
The first man on the scene after this
was c. NJ. Russell. who was soon as.
sisted by Peter Atzen At this time
the house was burning fiercely and
nothing could be done to uuench the
flames. Mr.. Russell rushed to the barn
to release the horses and stock. He
succeeded in releasing about a dozen
COWS and then he tried to get the
horses out. Much to his surprise he
found wagons backed up against the
doors to prevent the horses from es-
Gaping and he was forced to knock out
the side of the barn, by which time the
ire was blazing so hot that he was
able to rescue but one of the tortured
beasts. 1t became apparent that moth,
ing could be done to prevent the holo.
caust.
Every building was ablaze and with
the cunning of a fiend Warn had brok-
! en- the hydrant of his farm waterworks
SO that no water could be had.
To realize the extent to which the
deed was planned it is only necessary
N
backed nm against tba ~ s o!is
of wire Vows s+oel,aa ~, ~ ~. eo ~
hog house 10 r,.I,a s,,,.a W as .ie
woYld nerisb VIII, ~ eiia' 'iie MOSS
.n 'iie resi-.
Daughters Effects Were Saved.
, Another freak of the crazy man. for
such he must have been, was to re-
move from the building all the cloth.
ing and effects of his daughter, Ber
tina, who was married on Monday last
ITO a young man named Frederichs.
Even her dog was released from the
house while two other dogs were left
inside to die.
The scene of the fire is terrible be
Iyond the telling. In the cattle shed
or, rather, where once was the cattle
shed, there is now but a long line of
smoking and distended bodies.
The bodies Of the horses rise from
the debris of the barn and it was here
fallen between them, that the body OF
Henry Warn was found 1t is burned
beyond recognition. The legs and
arms and top of the skull are burned
away and not scrap of flesh adheres
to the blackened bones. The base OF
the skull the ribs and the jaw bone
are all that tell for a certainty that
when tho s,p- Moss ,,o,+ o,lo,, -, -. !: .