The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-09-19

white burglar after threatening the l life of Mrs. w. Nj. Backwelder, wife of the pastor of the Woodlawn Baptist l church. set fire to the parsonage this morning about o'clock and burned 1t to the ground. The burglar escaped without any booty, although he ran sacked. the entire house, put the build ing and the contents were completely l destroyed and Mrs. Blackwelder is on the verge of nervous prostration as a result of the shock.
 Pistol at Her Neck.
 The burglar kept pistol pointed at Mrs. Blackwelder all the time and made her give him all the money in the house, which amounted to about 8. In disgust he threw this back at her and then set fire to the house. The Rev. MT. Black welder is in Fayette, Ala, assisting in a meeting and there was no one at the house except his wife and three little boys, the oldest of whom is only nine years old. The family barely escaped with their lives.
 According to Mrs. Blackwelder she awoke to find the man in the room with a dark lantern. He pointed pistol at her and ordered her to keep quiet and not make any noise. She. however, screamed but none of the neighbors heard her.
 Threatened to XII.
 The burglar then commanded her again to keep quiet and told her that the next time she screamed he would kill her She obeyed this time. He made her get out of bed and examined everything in the room to see if he could find anything of value. The man searched both the top and the bottom of the bed, raising the mattress and making careful search, but all the time careful to keep the pistol pointed at Mrs. Blackwelder
 Finally he commanded her to give him all the money in the house. She gave him a purse containing about s, which she told him was all there was in the house. She told him that her husband had not drawn his salary and there was nothing else of value. He then threw the purse at her in anger and cursed her
 Systematic Search.
 The man then commenced a systematic search of the house, going into every drawer in the place. He never let Mrs. Blackwelder get out of his sight, and kept her covered with the pistol all the time. He threatened her time and again and used ugly language frequently Finally finding nothing in the house that he wanted, the man went to the back porch and there with one foot, he turned over a can of oil and dropped something explosive into it. There was a noise and suddenly the entire house was on fire.
 But before he set the place on fire Mrs. Blackwelder begged him time after time to be allowed to save her children but he refused tc listen to her.
 The Explosive.
 When the explosive, which is supposed to nave been dynamite or powder went off, the man disappeared and no traces of him have been found
 Mrs. Backwelder saved her children and made no effort to save the furniture or the house. Soon neighbors rushed in and tried to save something, but the start that the ell had given the flames caused them to spread so rapidly that this was impossible.
 Mrs. Blackwelder was almost wild with grief and excitement She was taken in charge by Dr, D. B. Jones' who carried her to his house and provided for her, The children were cared for at the neigh bors houses. All of Woodlawn is ex- cited over the deed which Is the most brutal which has ever occurred there, and several parties are out hunting for the fiend. It was stated this morning that if he was caught he would probably be lynched so intense was the excitement.
 The house which was destroyed, was a one-story cottage, but unusually large, and one of the prettiest In Woodawn. The loss has not been estimated but the house and furniture will probably amount to about $500O All the clothing was scat tered over the floor and was destroyed by the flames
 Mr. Blackweder was telegraphed for at once and will probably be home this morning, or on the first train he can catch. The sheriff's office and the police were notified at once and a description was furnished them.
 The man is described as being very tall and having q heavy beard and mus tache He wore black or dark blue clothes. He did not wear a mask, and it is not known whether the beard was false or real, Mrs. Blackwelder says she would be able to identify him with out trouble. It is supposed the man came to Birmingham. The police are on the lookout for him. They are trying to get dogs to put on the burglars tracks.
 The Baptist church Is very near the Woodlawn station and the parsonage right at the church.
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