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

Wlle) ABOUT 1T but it bothered me a
good deal. Later letter was handed
me rejecting on my wife. | showed
1t to John Fank. Then he began
pushing saying it was so. Three
years ago he used to come over to
where we were burning bush. He
seemed to get there the same time my
wife would when she brought drink
ing water. Once he stepped between
us when she was going to give me
drink and said. Don't give it to him,
give 1t to me first and she did. Ed
Mundon and John Lane both told me
watch Fank.
Clara and me quarreled some about
it; she claimed she was innocent. She
went home that fall that was two
years ago. had sale while she was
gone but when she came back | tool,
her in agaiu.
Then Fank began again. He would
keep coming there. He said he caught
Ed Mundon there with my wife and
caught her again down on the lower
so. He told me he would help me
and kept telling me she was foolinp
with other men. Well she left me
then and started divorce proceedings
she left when | was away. When |
got back Fank and Lane were there.
| went to Platteville to see her but at
first she wouldn't talk to me. After
wards | met her on the street and she
talked. | wanted her to come back.
She wanted to live in town but finally
agreed to come back if / would deed
her the farm. This | did. But be-
fore this | went to see Fank if he
would swear to what he had told me.
He wouldn't and acted as if he wanted
me to pay him bounty for swearing
for me. Then my wife came back and
Fank began coming around again. He
said one day that it would be the
same thing right over again.
About two years ago | met him in
the woods not far from where his body
was found and asked him why he
kept insulting my wife, and asked him
II she ever gave him any cause. He
said she never had. said to him.
John Fank you let my wife alone and
treat my family as / trea: yours and
it will be all right
| have been told by great many
that he was at my place a great many
times this last summer. A month or
so before the killing | heard some
thing around the house and raised the
window and fired a revolver. Soon
after heard a revolver shot down to-
ward the school house aAdJohnFank's
voice telling me to come out and he
would exchange shots with me.
(The rest of Holzer's story down to
the day of the killing was much like
his statement published some weeks
ago in the Herald and included ac-
counts of insults, threats to burn and
poison and crimes by Fank.
On that last day | had been to
Washburn and got home about four
O'Clock. Clara called my attention
that there was John Fank down by
the school house. He started down
the road, then he came back and up
the road past the hoop shanty where
| was. After he had gone by | went
down to the fence. He stood about
five or six rods away. He said ''How
do yen feel9 You got some of your
wood burned, didn't you? You'll feel
good if you get burned out some time
won't youP Bought those pills yet?
A nice house you've gotn'
After he left | went down to the
lower end Of the corniield and fed my
hogs. As was coming back saw
Fank coming toward me there, and
we came on within about Il feet Of
each other, and | stopped first and
just as soon as he saw me stopping,
he stopped And.John says, What
are you going.to do?" says, Moth
ing" He says, care you going to
shoot me?'' | says, II hope not, no, !"
wow" says, John, you know |
told you to keep off our.place, and
want you to do it, and be says,
"I'll come on your place when
damn please" Then ! says "John
wan you to treat my woman and
children as | do yours" H. says,
&C d your woman and child
rem, and you too" And then the
last words was-("Do you want me to