Rensselaer Republican, Volume 25, Number 48, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 July 1893 — FIRE AT THE NEW FLOURING MILL OF W. R. NOWELS & SON. [ARTICLE]

FIRE AT THE NEW FLOURING MILL OF W. R. NOWELS & SON.

A Timely Discovery and the Prompt Use of a Backet of Water, Squelches ■ the Fire at the Start. On Tuesday last about 12:45 o’clock smoke was discovered pouring out of the roof cornice, at the* northeast corner of the Nowels Mill, located near the depot. Parties entering the Mill discovered the fire to be in some oat screenings and the wooden lining of a large oat bin, and promptly' put out the fire with a bucket of water. The oat bin was nearly empty, and also nearly air tight. The board lining of the out side wall to which is nailed the out side covering of corrigated iron was on fire and had burned about 2 feet high. ■The fire company quickly rallied in response to the alarm bell, and with the chemical made big time for the scene of the fire, but before reaching the mill were met with the cheering news that the fire was out It was an extremely hot and dry time, the wind was blowing very strong so the probability is, that if 4 the fire had made a little more headway, and broken through the roof or walls so as to have created a draft, a very disastrous conflagration would have resulted.

As to the origin of the fire, the proprietors of the mill have sufficient evidence to justify them in positively asserting that the fire was intention-, ally set, An attempt that failed was ’ made to fire another |iart of the mill. ’ A thorough and promising investiga- ( tion is being made along that line. It is pretty hot weather for legal battles but last monday E-.q. Morgan and a jury listened to a hotly con- | tested esse at the court house in which W. B. Austin was plaintiff and John 'Wiseman of Union Township defendant. The bone of contention was a note which the defendant claimed he had paid in full and the plaintiff claimed he had paid in part. Verdict for defendant S. P. Thompson was Atty, for plaintiff and Capt. Marshall, for the defendant.

i -..,y ,■ The sudden and mysterious disappearance of Mr. Beam of Reynolds, father of Station Agent Beam of this -place is reported here. He left his home at Reynolds, last Friday intending to go to Dayton, Ind., to ' amine and possibly invest in a flouring mill. On arriving at Lafayette he,examined a mill there and concluded not to go to Dayton but to return home, which he did or started to do, but has not been seen since. When he left home he had about S4OO n money on his person, and it is beiHeved that this money is in some way reponsible for hu abse nee. You talk of wisdom, strength and beauty, bus fcr a good lemonade go to Vick’s. A narrow escape from death was by boss-carpenter McGowan at the new addition to the St Joseph College last Friday. As he was looking after some of the parte connected with the elevator for carrying brick to the attic he tost his footing and shot down the opening at lightening speed. However he did not lose entire control of h*s mind and after falling about sixteen feet, caught the rope with one hand clinging to the rope decended 35 feet when he gained sufficient control of himself to make use of his other hand and landed himself in the basement. The one hand was badly lacerated, cutting the flesh to the bone, but Mr. McGowan considers himself a lucky man.