River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1876-11-02
MURDER IN BURNETT COUNTY.

The Burnett County Sentinel, print
ed at Grantsburg, in its issue of the
9th alt, records the Murder of Ber-
ant TolfsOn, by Christian Anderson.
From the Sentinel we extract the fol-
lowing
1.-The most cold-blooded and bastard
ly murder ever committed in this
county OF any other place that we ev-
or heard of was perpetTated last Mon
day, about o'clock p. NJ, few miles
below this place at the house of Ole
Thoreson on the road leading to st.
Croix Falls. The facts of the case are
these: IL seems that in the afternoon
of that day, Monday, both tie deceas-
ed and the prisoner had met in this
village, and had few words and near
ly came to blows, about two dollars
that TOlfson owed Anderson. Some
time after this quarrel Tolfson started
down to Ole ThOresOn's where he was
stopping. Awhile after Anderson
started down with his gun and went
straight to the house of Ole ThoreSon.
and seeing the deceased sitting at the
table eating his supper shot him, the
ball passing through the window, en-
tering his right breast, and going
through his right lung. There were
at the table, besides the deceased. Mrs.
Thoreson, Christine Nelson, and Ole
Olson, boy about Is years old, who
all fled at the shot. running to a neigh
boris near by. The murderer went in
to the house, fired off his revolver two
or three times and then went and call
49, 4 =. - fhn 1aanngnI
In the meantime while Anderson
was calling the neighbOrs TO the relief
of the deceased. the report was brought
into the village by Perry Hickerson,
and thedoctor and w. j. johnson went
back with him to the scene of the
murder; but they found no one there
but the deceased up stairs in bed,
where he had dragged himself; but
they could see that he was not long
for this world. and about two hours
after he was shot he wasdead. Chris.
| Anderson the murderer, came into the
room before TolfsOn's death, and was
pointed out by the deceased as the
person who shot him. Anderson was
then arrested, brought to this village
and lodged in Jail. where he is at the
present time, attended to by Arne Hig-
dem. After he was brought into town
and before taken TO Jail. he escaped
| from the officer in charge and ran
down to the river, but returned in a
| few minutes and gave himself up.
The preliminary examination took
place before ChaS. Stevens, Justice of
| the Peace, on Tuesday, and on his own
admission that he had killed Berant
/ TolfSon. he was committed TO Jail to
await the spring term of court.
This has east gloom over the en-
/ tire neighbOrhood, where they were
| both well known and respected by all.
I They were young men, under % years
of age. and always appeared friendly
until Monday last. Berant Tolfson has
been driving the stage between this
place and Rush City for the past year
until few weeks ago. There are sew
eral stories going around of the cause
of the shooting, and we can't tell
which is the true one. IL is said by
some that a young woman, who was
waited on BY both the prisoner and
the deceased was the real cause. 1t
is said that they had been drinking in
the afternoon before the shooting, but
not much, and they were not drunk
when they left town.