Omaha daily bee., 1919-09-29
Each Burst of Flame Greet
ed With Cheers-CroWd
Watches Upper Floor to See
If JaiIors Are Smoked Out.
WOMEN AND GIRLS
NUMEROUS IN CROWD
Zen Cut Fire Hose-BuiId-
ing Burns Three Hours Be-
fore Stream Turned On
Shoot Until Negro Dies.

The spectacular features attend
ing the burning Of the magnificent
Douglas county court house. with
damage estimated from 100000 to
S5O0,000, were entirely subordinated
to various aspects of the crowds
action, which were without prece
dent in any affair of the kind that
Mas taken place in the country in the
VAST quarter century.
4 For three hours the fire burned,
poin after room being set afre by
fembers of the mob, without him
france from police or flremen. the
ftter being utterly unable during
hat time to get stream played on
" of the rooms. The first hose
VS. not turned loose until about
ESQ, and then only after the shoot
ing ON the Eighteenth street side.
which heralded the capture and
death OF the negro, and the achieve
ment of5the mob's purpose,
"It's All Over"
1t was then that truck ran a
hose out at the Farnam and Seven
teenth strees corner. Some of the
crowd jumped instantly to cut the
hose, but were restrained by others
who shouted:
"Let 'em alone. Its all right now,
we've got the niger and its all
over
No Injury to Firemen.
No injury was done the firemen
in preventing their efforts to reach
the fire, possibly for the reason that
any effort on their part to combat
the mob would have been useless. A
fire truck that drove up to Farnam
and Seventeenth street was greeted
with boots and jeers by the crowd,
which made way for it, but surged
around again when the hose was run
out and attached to the street plug.
Cut the hose" yelled some one,
and within a moment scores of
knives had hacked the tough fabric
Of the hose to pieces.
The same attitude was maintained
by the crowd with the advent of
each succeeding fire wagon, until
it became apparent that no legally
constituted authority in the city
could do anything to stop the burn-
ing.
The Offices Burned.
Starting with the county treas
urer's Office, the following rooms
were set ahre by members of the
mob, and wholly gutted with all
contents:
County treasurer's Office, first
'hoor.
Election commissioners rooms,
first floor.
/ Sheriff's Office, fourth floor.
y, County clerks Office, first floor.
THE district clerks Office, second
4, hoor.
The county attorneys Office, third
hoorA
Red Cross rooms, basement.
The flames spread to other rooms
of the building, but the above were
wholly burned out. with contents
and window facings.
Mob Used Gasoline.
Gasoline was used to start the
flames, the first room to burn being
the county treasurer's Office. The
fluid was turned on the floor, desks
and chairs, and the latter placed in
pile in the center of the room.
A mighty cheer burst from the
crowd with the first explosion o.
flames through the windows, and the
mob surged around to the Farnan
street side from Seventeenth anc
Eighteenth street Within few
minutes entrance was made into
rooms on the third and fourth floors
on the Seventeenth street side O
the building, and within an hou1
thew burned fercely, FIVE rooms or
the fourth floor being gutted, tht
flames reaching from the end of thu
building to Z point over the middle
of the greet central doorway.
The fire in the county clerks Of
hce was started by three or fou
youths, apparently only IA or II
years of age. -
K They were seen at work pilins
chairs in the center of the room
their actions being followed will
cheers by the mob. Then the mattel
was applied, and amid cheers ant
shots from the crowd they climbed
out on the widow ledge to watcl
the progress of the flames.
Crowds Cheer Flame Bursts.
With each BURST of flames from
! the windows the crowd set up ;
cheer, which drew the members o
the mob on the side streets surgins
around to the front Flame burts
from the side streets, with result
ant yells, took them back again, ant
in this manner the progress Of th
fire continued during the thre'
hours that it burned.
Women and Children.
The makeup of the crowd wa
largely that OF spectators. A grea
number of women. and girls wer'
in the thick OF the jam at all hours
,,,,+l,,, fau, {aef Of fhi