New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1899-01-04
mn, WEDNESDAY,, JANUARY q 1899. WHOLE NUMBER 1898

house. These tracks seemed to have
been made by new overshoe of the
Goodyear make. They could also be
seen lear the barn AMI one was plainly
noticeable in the frost on the sill of the
door on the west end Of the barn, near
est the house. In the road through
Wellner's grove and in the main road
leading towards Lafayette these tracks
could be followed for distance Of
eighty rods. In Wild's judgment they
had been made by No. 8 shoe. In
the barn Wild said there was evidence
in the hay of two persons having rested
there, and right near the door he found
same rope of the same kind with which
Mrs. Wellner had been tied.
He found Mrs. Wellner in the house
crying and apparently very much dis.
tressed. Her arms, he SAID, still bore
the marks of the cord, and the knotted
rope was lying on a table at her side.
The body of Wellner was lying face
downwards near the southwest corner of
the barn on the south side and close to
the wall. One bullet had penetrated
the skull on the right side, above and
back of the ear and another had entered
his back, just about the center. Pow
der marks on the coat showed that the
bullet had been fired at close range.
A lantern was clutched In Wellner's
right Land and a small stick or club was
lying beneath his body. 49,.
In this position he was left until the
arrival Of the COZ oner about iour o'clock
Sunday afternoon. When picked up it
was seen that his nose had been broken
and his face badly dlsiigured In beng
torn from the frozen ground. ,.,..a.s.
Coroner Merritt examined 1hr ,,ohnds
and found that neither of the b,....,s had
passed Though tie body. He therefore
ordered an autopsy for Monday after
noon.
Ali of the witnesses were questioned
as to Wellner's neighbors and workmen,
and IN every instance thereby was that
they had been friendly. Mrs. Wellner
was asked If she was sure, that the
strangers We're not men who had worked
for Wellner in the past, and she said she
was. No strangers had been seen ID tile
neighborhood during he past two weeks
except two men and a woman met by
William Bieraugel near Gugisberg's
place Saturday evening between five and
six o'clock. They were walking slowly
in the direction Of the Wellner place and
were all we'll dressed, Each of the men
carried russet- -colored satchel. They
had not been seen by anyone else, but
Mr.. Wild had heard Wellner's dog bark
ing back of his Darn about seven O'Clock,
All indication that Wellners were recciv-
ing visitors FROM the country to the east.
The foregoing practically covers all
the testimony introduced at the inquest.
1t in no way clears up the mystery,
and if the authorities should be fortu-
nate to discover clue and ferret out the
perpetrators they will have done excep-
tionallys clever work.
Wellner was man of peaceful char
acter, fair in all his dealings with other
men and careful to avoid quarrel.
Thus it makes it hard to connect the
crime with anyone in the heighborhocd. d.
I He was a well-to-do farmer of COM
Portable means, but he was never known
to keep much money in-his house.
This makes the robbery theory seem
altogether unreasonable.
Either way it is taken, it becomes a
horrible crime, as .deplorable as any in
the history OF the county In which 1t oc-
CURED,
The Autopsy.
An autopsy over Wellner's body was
held by Drs. Merrittsand Strickler Mon
day afternoon. The bullet which ent-
cred the head passed clear through the
skulland lodged right under the scalp
on the opposite side of the head from
which it5entered. The other bulletstruck
the spinal cord aud lodged in the abdo-
men. Both were Of 38 caliber and eth
Ell one Of them must have caused instant
death.
Lind to the Teachers.
Governor-elect Lind addressed the
state educational convention at st. Paul