St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-12-15
Winona County Stirred Up
Over a Singular Sem
Sation.
Shuddering Stories Flying
About to Account for His
Absence.
A Sensation Behind the Po-
lice Investigation at West
Superior.
Young Mrs. Blaine Allowed
Alimony and Fees in
Her Suit.

hINONA, MIMI. Dec. l4.-Iner6 is
talk of lyncning in the southern part
of Winona county, the farmers and resi-
dents being aroused as 10 suspicious in
connection with the strange and unac-
countable disappearance of young boy
fourteen years old, and particularly is
the excitement great over the fact that
the father of the boy has made no effort
to find him or to satisfy the mystery
which shrouds the affair, but on the
contrary has manifested spirit of i'll
difference
Orrin Northrup is the name of the
farmer in the case. He is living with
bis third wife, and had in the house
Marvin, 3-year-old son by his first
wife. A great deal of gossip has gone
the rounds concerning his former wives.
which may or may not be true. The
house in which he lives is about a mile
off the main ridge road, and in the rear
of it are dark and thickly-grOwn woods
On the Monday following Sunday, Sept.
Is, the little Northrup girl, half-sister to
Marvin, told some of the school children
that something awful happened at
their house last night" On being ques-
toned she refused to speak further.
She said she mustn't tell" This soon
spread among the neighbors, and gossip
was abroad. Northrup inquired of a
neighbOr day or two after the boy had
been missed if he had seen Marvin, but
he manifested no particular anxiety as
to the boys Whereabouts. Will Hough-
ton, an uncle of the boys, had sent
word to Northrup that he must find the
boy dead or alive or some one else
would. Northrup remarked that they
would have Odd fine time finding
him if he were dead" Just two months
after the disappearance of the boy, one
OF his playmateS, the Seven-year-Old
daughter of Joseph Frappie, was taken
sick and died. The last words she said
on her death bed were these: "Orrin
NOrthrup hasn't much longer TO stay
around here. There is Marvin way
down in hole and Orrin has thrown
things down on top of him." This had
an inclination to further arouse snspi-
cions, particularly among the supersti
aious. While there was much talk and
belief that foul play existed, there
was nothing done. a. GLOBE CORE
spondent visited the house of Mr..
Northrup and his neighbors and learned
the following story from Mrs. North
rup:
I'VE don't know where the boy is. Sun
day morning, Sept. ID all of US except Mar
vim, drove over to store about three miles
from here and then went visiting. When we
came back at dusk Marvin was gone. We
looked in-the house for him, but have not
searched the farm or woods We did not
feel able to advertise for him, but believe
that Mr.. Northrup did advertise in paper
for HIM. 1.-THE advertisement was in the way
OF q warning not to trust the boy in Orrin's
name. We supposed at first he had gone 10
his grandmOther's in La Crosse, but they say
be has not been there. Then we didn't know
but what he might have gone away to help
some one thresh. The worst thing we had
against the boy was that he was lazy. We
don't know where he is and that is all there
is 10 it,
Mr. Northrup, the correspondent was
Informed, had gone to Houston county,
to be absent several days. 1t was
learned in La Crosse that the boy had
not been there and they were anxious
TO find him. They believed he had
either been the victim of foul play or
Northrup had bound him out to get rid
of him. He had once offered to do this
to a neighbOr. Mr.. Northrup accounted
for the disappearance of Marvin in a
similar explanation 10 that OF Mrs.
Northrup, giving his testimony to the
BOYS uncle. E. Houghton, of La Crosse.
Orris Northrup, brother OF Orrin, in
formed the correspondent that he had
told OrrIn that If there was any foul
play the best thing he could dc would
be to tell him, and they would make the
most of it. Orrin replied that il he
were to be shot dead on account of not
knowing he could not tell where Mar
vim was. The matter is now being
much talked of all over the county. and
there will doubtless be a demand made
on NOrthrup to either produce the boy
or some satisfactory evidence as to his
whereabouts.