The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-09-20


can be deducted from any events in
the woman's previous history. Rob
| berry could not have been motive for
foul play, it is said, as little of value
was found on Larsons body, and he
was a man never known to have pos
sessed any great sum of money. There
| was no money in his pockets, but an
unindersed check on the First National
| bank for $24 was found. 1t was made
payable to Charles E. Brown, a name
Larson was generally known by to the
! police or others, and purported to
have been drawn by S. E. Baldwin s.
| Co. The date was Sept. 15 the day
| of the drowning, and 1T is believed that
when Larson met Minehart at South
| Wabasha street and Fairfield avenue,
he had come to the city for the pur-
pose of passing this check. The hand
| writing is said by the police to be iden-
teal with that of number of forged
checks passed here last spring, and
from this fact, together with Larson's
! having been known as a professional
| fcrger, having served a term in Still
water for that offense, he is believed
to have passed these instruments. On
the body was also found watch and
chain, the latter doubtless of gold, but
the former a cheap affair. That the
| watch was found undisturbed in the
! vest pocket, is considered another evil
! dence of lack Of an attempt to 1nJure
the dead man for the purpose of rob-
berry. Several letters and memoran-
dun book bore the name OF Charles h.
Brown, and while the body had been
identified by relatives and the police,
Coroner Nelson was under the impress
! sion until last evening, that the dead
man was some one else than Larson.
Mime Smith makes the following
! statement concerning Larson's death:
81 was at the house of Nancy. Davis, on
! the upper fats with Mrs. Russell, and had
started to go across the river to Mrs. Coles,
where l lived for several weeks, to get some
! articles of clothing l intended going over the
! high bridge, but met Larson and Mfnehart,
and we had some beer together. Larson then
proposed that l go across the river with he
and Minehart in a boat. l agreed, and he
/ said we would get key Of beer and go to
his house at Liydale and have a good time.
! Then we went to a house boat kept by JOS
eph Kinney, where we met Ryan and Memo.
/ The men got the key Of beer, and Larson
! called across the river for boat. Some one
answered that the boat was out and Larson
said he could get one on this side, He did
/ so, and we got in. All of the men had been
drinking, but none of them were staggering
drunk and all were in the best of spirits.
Ryan and Memo got in first, occupying the
two seats in the bow, then Aiinehart took the
center seat with the oars, and Larson and
sat together on the stern seat. The boat had
gone but a short way from shore when
! felt water about my feet, ard exclaimed that
i something the matter with the boat,
| but Mnehart said to never mind that 1t was
all right and that he was good oarsman
| From where Larson and l sat l could see
| ahead and soon l that the boat was
near the bridge pier, and cried out to Mine
hart that it would strike. The next moment
/ there was grating sound, ana we were al!
/ thrown into the water. Larson and L went
| down together. I think | sank twice, and
| when 1 came up again Ryan caught me by
| the hair and pulled me to the boat, where
| he MInehart and Memo were clinging. Then
| We called for help until rescued we saw
| nothing of Larson and at that time thought
| he must have swan to the snore. mere
| was not an angry word spoken in the boat,
nor anything done which would have tipped
US over unless we struck the per-
Under questioning, Mrs, Smith re-
asserted that the capsizing was purely
accidental but admitted that Mine
| hart's actions were peculiar, though
| attributing them to excitement. Size
said Minehart grabbed at the boat
and apparently shook it until she
begged him to stop, saying: For
| Gods sake, keep still and we will get
Minehart swan little way from the
| boat and came back, when Ryan cried
to him not to roll the boat over again,
saying: You act as though you were
| trying to drown the whole lot of US.
| Minehart made no response, but clung
! more quietly to the bow.
! Ryan. and Memo substantiate Mrs.
| Smiths story almost in detail. Ryan
| Corrob0rates her story of Minehart S
/ peculiar actions, and says that he did
! make the remark about the latters
acting as if he wanted to drown
the entire party, though he would
make no direct charge. and, like Mrs
Smith, said he thought Minehart's be-
/ havior was due to his excitement
Coroner Nelson stated that he had
examined the body and found no
/ marks of violence. He said an inquest
| would be held to satisfy the relatives
of the dead man, but that, in his opln-
ion, the drowning was wholly acciden-
| tai