“The walls and floors were badly damaged, while the rugs, curtains, and several pieces of furniture were totally destroyed.”
“What caused the dense smoke, of which Mr. Ogden and other witnesses speak, if the fire was, as you testify, confined to a comparatively small space?” inquired Coroner Penfield.
“The fire had apparently smoldered in the walls of the room, and on its bursting out, ignited a davenport on which were numerous pillows; all the chairs in the room were tufted, and when they caught as well as the velvet hangings, it added to the density of the smoke. But for the discharge of two boxes of cartridges, my men could have put out the fire much more quickly.”
“Did these cartridges go off in only one direction, Chief?”
“No; on the contrary they scattered in every direction, and I found bullet holes even in the house next door to the Ogdens’. In several instances my men’s helmets were pierced by them.”
“What caliber were the bullets, Chief?”
“Thirty-eight—for use in rifles,” as he spoke, the fire chief pulled a handful of brass shells and bullets from his pocket. “I picked these up after the fire was out, and took the bullets out of the walls.”
“Did the bullets penetrate through the walls to the hall beyond?”
“No; but the two doors to the den were open, and the bullets also went through the windows, and that is the way they reached the next house.”
“Did you see Mr. James Patterson alive when you entered the Ogden residence?” asked the coroner, handing the brass shells and bullets to the foreman of the jury.