The Fire Fiend Stalks Seattle's Waterfront
A witness spots a mysterious arsonist fleeing the Western Mill in a rowboat, stoking fears of a serial firebug terrorizing the city's timber industry.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The fire fiend is at work in Seattle. Last night the Western Mill, on the shores of Lake Union, was destroyed by an incendiary. An employee of the nearby Armour of Armour company on the hill testified that as he looked in the direction of the mill, about 10 o'clock, he saw a man enter the mill with what appeared to be a can of oil. The man soon left the mill, climbing into a small boat, and rowed away quickly. A fire appeared, and the alarm was turned in. The incendiary is described as being tall and wearing a black suit and a slouch hat. As the mill was at the water's edge and the framework dry, it burned like tinder. The drying kiln shed was also slightly damaged. The mill was owned by the Western Mill Company and was idle. Only a few such as the North mill were recovered in and everything points to the work of an incendiary. Just a few days before this, the King-Clarke Lumber Company drying house was also set on fire and burned to the ground.
“The fire fiend is at work in Seattle.”
Arson has been a recurring terror in Seattle's industrial history, reflecting the high-stakes, flammable nature of the timber trade that built the city. Today, similar anxieties about structural security and urban fire risks persist, though they now manifest through concerns over the vulnerability of high-density housing developments and infrastructure under strain.
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