The Arizona sentinel., 1905-09-06
YOUTHFUL FIRE BUG.
Boy of Eleven Years of Age Confesses
 to Setting Numerous Fires.

The source Of the numerous myS- terious fires started in Yuma during the past two months has been at last determined by the confession of a ten year old boy-Ygnacio Carmelo who was taken into custody by Rangers Wheeler and McPhaul last Saturday, at the home of his mother in the southeast part of town.
 The boy, without much pressure and with little feeling, told his story, which was interpreted by Mir. E. F. Sangui- netti. He told of having set six different fires, one of which was the school house fire, mentioned in last week S paper.
 F. C. Ramirez, clerk for Johnson X Bowles, who claims to have fur nished the first clue which led to the boys arrest, tells the following story:
 My attention was first directed to young Carmelo, some time ago, when he stole some soap from Johnson & Bowles' watehouse I told his n1other5
 
 who promised to correct the boy, and no complaint was made to the author tiles. Later the lad stole beer bottles at the rear of the store and brought them around to the front and sold them to us again. He was Eot dis covered until he had made nine dis tinct sales of bottles in this way. The first | knew about his mania for set ting fires was a few days before the school house fire. My wife saw this boy deliberately start to set fire to an out house in the corner of my lot. He twisted lot of papers and inserted them through the cracks between the boards and was just going to strike a match when my wife shouted to him and he ran away. The day after the school house fire, the s. F. privy, back of the lumber yard near Third street, was discovered on ire and my wife saw this Carmelo lad running away from it.'' According to Mr. Ramirez, it was on his and his wife's knowledge of the boys doings that the officers acted and took the boy into custody.
 On Monday morning formal com- plaint was sworn to by w. H. Elliott, school trustee, charging Ygnacio Car- melo with having set fire to the school house, and the boy had hearing upon this charge before Justice Redondo, who held him to the next grand jury, and he was given into the hands of the Sheriff.
 The boy said he set the fires just to have some fun, he liked to see the fire companies at work, the playing of the stream of water on the flames. He just wanted to see the wheels go round."
 During the past two months, there have been perhaps dozen or more fire alarms. and the origin of nearly all of them has been unaccountable. People were getting very apprehensive and nervous over the fire question, and the council not long ago offered reward of Sl00 for the arrest and conviction of any person on the charge of arson. The situation seemed to justify it, and the arrest and confession of the Car melo boy proves the council acted wisely.
 Now that the young fire bug is in custody, people will feel more secure than they have for some time.
 Owing to the age of the culprit, no severer penalty than sentence 10 the reform school at Benson can be imposed, but perhaps he will have his degeneracy cured by the time he is released from the institation.
 WHO WILL GET THE REWARD.
 There are two parties who claim the reward offered by the city-F. C. Ra mirez and Rangers McPhaul and Wheeler.
 On Monday, MT. Ramirez made a formal demand upon the council for the reward.