St. Paul daily globe., 1888-07-30
By a Gambler Who Had
SWindled Him at
Cards.
Social Swedes at Lake Vad-
nais Preyed Upon by
Sharks.
In the Row That EnSued
Two Lives Were
Lost.
The Body Of One Victim
Hidden by His
Slayer.

"Bellman's fest'' was celebrated yes
terday by the Scandinavians of Mime
apolis, st. Paul and Saltwater at Bass
lake, better known as Lake Vadnais.
The excursion numbered about 400
persons, including the Swedish guards
and band, from Minneapolis. The lake
is about ten miles north of Minneapo-
lis, on the St. Paul & Duluth road, and
has gained considerable notoriety as a
resort for desperate characters. When
the excursion arrived, about 10 o'clock
in the morning, party of ''sure thing"
fakirs were already on the ground with
various
DEVICES FOR SWINDLING.
During the afternoon number of
the Scandlnavians were heavy losers at
the shell game, which corresponds prac-
tically to three-card monte. Finally a
row ensued. The toughs were evil
IDENTIFY prepared for fight, having re-
volvers, knives and hatchets with
which they knocked over suckers" as
they called them, almost at will. A
man. whose name could not be aScer-
tanned, but whose home is in Minneap-
oils, was struck on the back of the neck
with club
AND KILLED INSTANTLY.
His body was dragged into the bushes
by the roughs and hid. A carpenter
named johnson. who lives at the corner
of Seventeenth avenue north and Third
street, Minneapolis, was stabbed in the
groin and disemboweled. Alex Olson
and Louis johnson, of saltwater, were
badly bruised, but were not seriously
injured. Surgeons were summoned
from st. Paul last evening to attend to
THE WOUNDED MEN.
Deputy Sheriffs j. Ensham and
Boyd made several arrests, among
which was that of James Donavan, who
is thought to have taken an active part
in the fight, The man named Johnson,
who was stabbed, was reported at 10
O'Clock last evening as dying, and the
attending surgeons report his
RECOVERY HARDLY POSSIBLE.
He is still at the lake and his removal
Is not considered advisable. The iden-
tity of the man who was killed outright
could not be established last night.
The Scandinavians composing the ex-
cursion were greatly excited and could
hardly give coherent account of what
happened. The report reached st. Paul
early last evening that there had been
serious row at Bass lake and that some
man had been cut during the fight.
The sheriff was first notified, but those
to whom it was reported thought the
story did not amount to anything and
consequently paid
NO ATTENTION TO IT.
Later in the evening, however, the
report was verified. and with it came a
second that two men had been killed
during the fight and several others in
jured.
Who started the row and who in
dulged in it could not be ascertained,
but it was pretty well established that
gambling was at the bottom of it, and
that st. Paul fakirs were the prime
movers.
The women fled in every direction
and some of the men got out of the
road. When the row had partially
terminated it was found that one man
had been struck ON the back of the head
and
HAD HIS NECK BROKEN.
Another had received cash which
stretched across the abdomen, and which
let his bowels out on the ground. The
excitement that followed was intense.
An infuriated mob looked for the men
who had started the fight, with view
of lynching them, but they had all dis
appeared. One man named Scheffer,
connected with the union depot news
stand, was caught on suspicion, and
before he could say anything he found
A ROPE AROUND HIS NECK.
He was only saved from lynching by
the interference of gentleman who
declared that Shelter had nothing to do
with it. Then there was a general
flying, and men couldn't get away from
the picnic grounds too soon. James
Donovan, of this city, who is accused
of being the man who struck the
blow which broke the mans neck, was
brought in and placed in the county Jail.
Jimmy Donovan, who was brought
in by Constable Bowers last night as
one of the suspected perpetrators of the
crime, is about five feet nine inches and
parently of slight stature, but wiry and
athletic. He was very nervous when
locked up in lhe Jail. He told the
jailor that he was not connected
with the affair at all. He did
not forget to refer to the almost sue
cessful attempt made to lynch him. and
shuddered as he spoke of his proximity
at one time.
TO A HEMPEN MOOSE.
Donovan, however, whether he was di-
rectly implicated in the crime or only a
bystander, k-ows enough about it
to make him an important witness, The
Swedes had 'tgot onto the game of
the thugs" and one of them was
knocked down in the saloon and robbed.
He went out and returned in little
while with two more Swedes. They
began rather high-handed investiga-
ton of the case and were going to
clean out the thugs, when the bloody
knife got in its work. Donovan is one
of a gang of thugs and -sluggers