Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-08-24
WAS TT MURDER?
IF MOI, WHERE IsiTHE MISSING BOZ.
OSCAR BECK?
Thr Neighbors Seem to Think Him Dead
The Stern Parent Admits that He
Whipped Him-And Suggests that His
Son Ran Away-Though No Human Ego
Has Seen Him Since.

Has Seen Him Since.
Sheriff Richter returned yesterday morning
from Mound View township where he hae
been on q special trip, in company with Deputy
Sheriff Harrison land GLOBE deputy to in
teryiew one Loss II. Beck, Norwegian, who
runs farm near Lake Vadenais, seven OF
miles from 81. Paul.
The history of Beck. gathered from numer
Gus sources, is as follows: He left Norway 8
few years ago leaving behiLd him wife ano
two children, girl and boy. He paid 81 ,O0(
for an unimproved farm of sixty-flve acres
the one upon which he now lives. According
to his own story he left his Norway wife be-
cause he learned at late day that her eharac-
ter had not been stainless previous to their
marriage. Long before his Norway wife died
he contracted a marriage with a Danish
woman on this side of the water. The Danish
woman b rought one child with her, named
Martha, from the old country. Atlength the
Mrs. Beck, in Norway, died, and Mr.
Beck last fall sent for his two
Norwegian children, Oscar, aged eleven and
Lydia, aged ten years. Beek's motive IN send
ing for the children was to make them help
cultivate his land. When they arrived, and he
found them too small to make farm hands, he
was greatly disappointed and would treat them
in a harsh and inhuman manner. His new
Danish wife bore him two more children,
Lille, aged three years, and baby. Thus the
family was increased to five.
The two Norwegian children would doubtless
have had hard time of it with their high
tempered sire. but when the STEP mother lnau'
ence was thrown in, they found life on the
Beck farm uncomfortable. To show the style
of people whom they claimed as parents, it
may be we'll to mention that butter-which
should be common necessary on
farm-was only used by Beck
and his wife, the children being forced to eat
lard upon their bread.
One night last winter when the child Lydia
was sick and faint, she was beaten because OF
her inability to do heavy work, and was
driven to sleep in pile of damp hay during
the whole of damp and chilly night. Finally
Lydia ran away, but meeting her father on
the road she was driven home again.
Her treatment growing worse and worse,
she ran over to a Mr. Anner5erg's house
whittier Beck pursued her. But Annerberg
refused to allow the little girl to return TO her
burlesque of home. and with the aid
OF Mr.. Chasey of the society for the prevention
of cruelty to animals and children, had Beck
arrested and brought TO St. Paul. The un-
atural father was fined 5000, but the fine
was remitted on his agreeing to relinquish the
child. On the first of last March Lydia
was placed in charge of Miss Haviland, the
preceptress of the Home for the Friendless,
in st. Paul, where she has learned the En-
glish language, and borne good reputation
for honesty, industry and amiability.
Gradually Beck acquired among the neigh
bors the reputation of most unmitigated
tvrant, not to say fend in human shape.
They would visit him and expos
tulate with him by the hour
against his barbarous practices, but his mau-
ner was always ferocious and defiant, and he
came to be regarded as a "holy terror" by
all the inhabitants round about.
At last the boy, Oscar, was missed, and the
nelghbors suspected foul play. They did not
suppose that Beck would deliberately murder
his own offspring in cold blood, but they
apprehended that in a fit of anger he
had chastised his son, and had, in the blind
ness of his fury struck him blow that had
proved fatal. They refused to credit Beck q
statement that the boy had stolen away.
belief had become prevalart in the neighbOr
hood that Beck had killed his son, and either
buried him a5ont the place or sunk his car.
1t was to throw some light upon
the matter, if possible, that Sheriff Richter
visited the Beck place.
Leaving their team at A. K. Barnum's
private lake, half.mile distant, the investi
eating party walked to Beck's house, taking
hunting dogs and shot. guns with them, &c
give them the appearance of party of sports
farm house three or four young pumpkins oil
the neighborhood were seen hanging about
the place, conversing in monotones
Beck, who was ct dinner, was sGnt for
and he came to the door without his hat, and
a puzzled look clouding his face. He ap
peared to be man of medium height, and moi
a bad looking fellow at first sight. Closer in.
spectlon discovered wealth of crows feet
about the corners of his eyes, and a network
of wrinkles traversing his forehead and center.
ing at the base of the forehead. The eyes
were large and blue, but would manage to hide
behind the scowling brows in strange fashion
that could not have been noticed by q casual
observer. His head was covered with short
bristling light brown hair, and the lower
part of his face was enveloped in beard vari
egated with yellow, sandy and reddish shades
He was taken to the barn and cross-ques.
toned. He could speak English tolerably
well, but when he found that there was an
interpreter present, he seemed to prefer
speaking in his own language. He said that
few weeks ago while the family were taking
their after dinner nap, the three-year-old girl,
Lille, had come in from the stable saying that
her step- brother, Oscar, was bad and had con.
Quoted himself in an unseemly manner to.
wards her. The mother had expressed her in.
ulRQdtlOu, duu LuG ldbuCI udQ ldhGu lQG DOy
out where the switches grow and switched
him on the bare skin. He first switched him
Ia the orchard and then in the barn.
The next morning after whipping Oscar
Beck went to Minneapolis to see about selling
his farm. He took the girl Martha, aged
nine years, along with him. On the morning
of the old mans departure, oscar had eaten
breakfast as usual, had worked in the field
until dinner time, had eaten in silent and
hod 1ioJ
order to take some of his old clothes
to the granary after dinner
Along with the old clothes the boy had stolen
away his habiliaments and had not retired there.
after. The hoe was found in the field where
he had left it. In reply 10 inquiries from
neighbors, Beck SAID that the boy had run
away. On one occasion some old clothes we're
found on the river bank by the st. Paul police,
and Beck came to the city for the
to Oscar, thinking the clothing might
be his. Beck inquired of three different
policemen regarding the missing youth to no
avail.
This story was corroborated by Mrs. Beck
and the child, Martha, who were questioned
separately. 1t was almost impossible to get
one of the family to contradict another. The
story was well learned BY them all, if, indeed
it was story: By persistently interrogating
~
the court reporter found that when
they had all told their story they hadn't any
more to say. They would shut up like 9
clam, and say they didn't remember. y
when poser was propounded.
After the boy disappeared Beck went and
slept inlthe barn every night for a week
Another suspicious circumstance is that Mrs.
Beck, though she does not believe in ghosts
is afraid 20 stay in the house after dark with
out her husband. The most suspicious
of all is the fact that Beck has already disposed
of his farm with ell its improvements, Mr.
Foster. of Minneapolis being the purchaser
for 81 $50. He admitted this 10 be grea
sacrifice but said he did it because he could no
endure his neighbors. Mr.. Annerberg was on
OF the obnoxious neighbors, but Annerber,
and wife had paid him a friendly visit SO lat
as last Sunday afternoon. l
certainly did not appear tha
the neighbors had acted maliciously toward
him, and yet he offered no other excuse fol
selling sixty five acres OF land under cultiva
tion for only $3.50 more than il had cost hin