Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1898-10-27
Fourteen Years.
THE JURY.


Archie Brown.
.I,ao,o,a tIoehn ..-.--. Lancaster
Ed. lind.
yvasb Russell ..........-...Fe nn1more
- uoarrar ..L Liberty
Iohn Drages. ......... Fennlmore
The trial of VIM. Holzer for the
murder of John Fank was called at
4 O'Clock, p. M, Wednesday. All
that day and the forenoon OF Thurs
day were consumed in getting the
Jury. Fifty-four men were examined.
Seventeen men were excused for cause
The state used nine peremptory chal-
lenoes and the defendant sixteen.
The Jurors are all farmers except
Ed. Lind who is bartender. Mr..
Draggs and Mr.. Simons have retired
from active work and live in the vii
lage of Fennimore.
The attorneys in the case District
Attorney w. E, Howe and j. w. Muir
ply of Platteville for the state, and u.
J. Gardner of Platteville and Ed. M.
Lowry of Lancaster for the defendant.
The case was opened by the district
attorney who in very earnest man
ner explained the gravity of the duty
devolving upon them and himself and
made brief statement of the facts he
relied upon for the conviction OF VIM.
Holzer of murder. The taking OF
testimony was then begun, Follow
ing is a synopsis of the principle tes-
timony of the case.
Immaterial evidence is condensed
or omitted altogether.
MRs. JOHN FANK: am the wife OF
the deceased John Fank. Have lived
in Lima seventeen years. last saw
my husband on Thursday afternoon,
Sept. l, 1898. 1t was at home at my
bedside. [ was sick. He said it was
too hot for HIM in the house that he
was going out for little bit.
Those were the last words he said to
me. / never saw him again. | have
four children There was search
made for him but not that day-not
until about II o'clock that night.
The children called for him several
times that night. | got very uneasy
and at about twelve o'clock they got
up and searched for him and called
for him but did not find him.
Cross 1t was not a
common thing for my husband to be
out late of nights. do not know of
any business he had at Clifton's that
day. Did not know that Holzer was
jealous of my husband. Did not know
that he had caused any trouble be-
tween Holzer and his wife.
MARVIN CLIFTON. live in the town
of Lima. l was at fathers place on
September first blowing about aquar-
ter of mile from Holzer's. ! was
north of the road and west of our
house. / saw Holzer that afternoon
in the road and talked with him. This
was about half past three. There was
talk about Fank or Turtle as they
called him. He asked if | had seen
Turtle that day, said II guess he's
laying low. Damn him he'd better. y
He said he'd been piling dirt on his
woman's head that she didn deserve,
that he lad burned his wood. said he
had accused him of it, said he could
not burn his stuff and damn him,
I'll fix him for it.' He said too that
he had watched for him the evening
the wood was burned and that he in
tended to put him on the Goals if he
was the best man. saw Fank that
afternoon. He came along about
O'Clock to where l was blowing at the
other end of the field. He asked if my
father was home. He said II guess
Holzer is kindly watching me this af-
ternoon and said e.guessedHolzer had
it in for him and asked me if l knew
where he could borrow or buy a shot
gun or something he could
put four or i've buckshot in. He said
since his hay was burned he was
watching his grain stacks and didn't
like to be laying around them without
something with him and if anybody
started to burn his stacks he'd be with
them. 1t began to thunder and he
started to 60. l said if he has it in
for you you'd better not go past
Wills house and kind Of laughed and
he laughed and said he guessed he'd