Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1874-09-24
A STORY OF FABRICATED AND
RCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE.
BY CHRISTIAN REID.

OF cases where supposed murderers
have been executed for crimes which
were never committed, the most singular
on record is that Of the trial and COnviC-
ton Of a Danish clergyman, which oc-
CURED many generations ago in Jutland.
From its impressive nature it has been
made the subject of frequent remark by
Danish and German writer's, and it is
still remembered and dWelt upon with
pity in the native country of the unfor-
tunate man. In his 'TFamous Cases of
Circumstantial Evidence" Mr. Philips
gives an account of this celebrated and
striking case which may be worth quot
inc, since the book in which it is to be
found Though full of interest even to
the general reader is not likely, from the
nature of its subject, to have attained a
very large general circulation.
The unhappy hero Of the story, Soren
QirSt, was pastor Of the little village Of
Neilby, situated a few miles from Gre
nall, in the Jutland Peninsula He was
man of excellent moral character, gen
erous, hospitable, and diligent in the per
Torrance of his sacred duties; but he
was also man of constitutionally violent
temper, which he lacked the ability to
restrain, and was consequently subject at
times To fierce OutburSts of wrath which
were a scourgc to his household when
they occurred and 4 humiliation to him
self Like most Danish clergYmen OF
that day, he was a tillcr of the soil as
we'll as a preacher of the Word, and
from the produce of his tithes and the
cultivation OF his farm, realized Il com
Portable competence. At the time of the
occurrences about to be related he was
widower, with two children-a daugh-
ter, who kept house for him, and son
holding an officers commission in the
army
At Ingvorstrup, a village not far from
Neilby, lived at the same time a cattle
farmer, one Morten Burns, who had ac-
quired considerable property, but was
in ill-repute as reckless self-seeker and
opprcssor Of the poor. This man thought
fit to pay court to the pastors daughter
but his suit was rejected by both parent
and child, and either the refusal or the
manner of it SO irritated the sutton that
he sWore to be rcvenged on both
Some months later, when the short
lived suit had been forgotten, the pastor,
being in want of a farm servant, engaged
Niels Burns, brother of the rich Nor
ten, in that capacity. Niels soon showed
himself to be utterly worthless, lazy and
impudent, of which the result was a con.
slant succession of quarrels between him
and his master. Soren, on more than
one occasion gave him thrashing, which
did not tend to improve the relations be
tween them These relations, however
were not destined to last long. One day
the pastor set Niels to dig piece OF
ground in the garden, but on coming out
after a time he found him, instead OF
digging, leisurely resting on his spade
and cracking nuts, his work being left
undone. The master scolded angrily
the man retorted that it was no business
of his to dig in the garden, at which
Soren struck him in the face, and the
fellow, throwing down the spade, retail
ated with a volley of abuse Thereupor
the old man lost all selt-COntrol, and
Selling the spade, dealt him several sc
we're blows with it. Niels fell to the
ground like one dead, but when his mas
ter, in great alarm, raised him up, he
broke away leaped through the hedge
and made off into the neighsoring wood
From that time he was seen no more
and all inquiries after him proved vain
This was the pastors account of tn,
facts.
Before long, strange rumors began t
ClICuIalC III tilt utlSuOOIuOOt, anu, dS
matter of course, reached the clergy
mans ears Morten Burns was know
to have said that he would make til,
parson produce his brother, even if Il,
had to dig him out of the earth" SOreI
was intensely panied at the calumny i'm
piled, and instituted, at his own expense
i quiet search after the missing man.
search which failed altogether. Mean
while Morten Burns, in fultillment of hi
threat. applied to the district magistrate
.aking with him as witnesses one Larsen
a cottager, and laborer's widow ant
daughter, on the strength of whose test
mony he declared his belief that the pas
tor had slain his brother The magis
trate represented to him the risk he RAJ
in making so serious charge, and advise
him to weigh the matter well before l
was too late. Sut Orten persisted in III
design, and the statements OF the wit
nesses We're taken down.
The widow karsten depOsed that, o.
the day when Niels Burns was SAID t
have fed from the parsonage, she and he
daughter Else had passed by the pastor
garden about the hour of noon. Whe
they were nearly in front of the hedg