A BOY INCENDIARY.

Dunstan Times, 28 December 1900, Page 3

A BOY INCENDIARY.

BURNS A TOWN HALL. Harry Glen, an eleven-year-old boy, a native of Fresno, in California, has been committed for trial for burning down twelve buildings within two weeks, and the proof against him is overwhelming. About fourteen days before the boy s arrest (says the San Francisco ' Call') a fire occurred at Sanger under circumstances that strongly indicated incendiarism. Constable Irvine began an investigation, and kept a number of suspicious characters under surveillance, but never suspected the real culprit. In the meantime more fires occurred, all attended by suspicious circumstances. Finally, the Town Hall was fired, and partially destroyed. The following night the torch was again applied, and the building-further damaged. For six successive nights the hall was systematically fired, and finally was reduced to a mass of debris. Young Glen was not satisfied with his work. On the night after the building was destroyed he set fire to„,the'heap of remnants, and was caught "in the, act?, but was not arrested on the spot the police desiring to obtain more evidence. On the following night two barns were destroyed, one of them containing a horse and other animals, which were burnt to a cmder. The last building which the boy burned was a cottage, which was destroyed. By this time sufficient evidence had been collected, and Constable Irvine decided to arrest the boy. iiefore he was detected setting fire to the Town Fall he had burned a whole row of Chinese tenements. He cried bitterly when taken to gaol, and told many conflicting stones. When these contradictions were pointed out to him he wept, and declared that he did not know better. It is supposed that he set fire to the buildings in order to watch them burn. He was always one of the first to reach the scene of the fire, and gazed eagerly at the flames. He hated the Chinese,' which probably accounts for the fact that he began operations on their houses. ■