New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1899-01-04

Il Liz VI ~ SWO-n II sIIOHl lHOSt Oh tue
4 |spot when the coroner arrived, was CON-
i posed of Aug. Wager, Geo. Stadick, JOS.
Traurig, John Altman, Louis Anderson
and Mike Buchl, all of Lafayette.
i The witnesses who were called upon
or volunteered to testify we're Joseph
Wild, Chas. Fischer, Gottlieb Blerauge.,
Mrs. Wellner and William Bieraugel.
{. They gave the particulars of the trag
edy in substance as follows:
Saturday night between eleven and
twelve o'clock Mr.. Wellner aroused his
wife and told her that he had heard a
noise outside the house, and that he
deemed it best to go out to tie barn and
see what had caused it.
He did so. When he left the house he
was clad only III his underclothes and
thin duck coat. On his head was fur
cap and on his feet stockings and the or
dinary house slippers. He wore no NIT
tens, but carried lantern in his hand
In this manner he was found in the
morning.
Shortly after leaving the house, there
was a shot or two. Mrs. Wellner heard
at least one of them and sprung at once
from her bed. Dressing hastily, she
started out of the bedroom door to 90
through the kitchen, when man entered
through the kitchen door, covered her
face with what she supposed t" be re-
volver and ordered her to sit down and
keep still if she didn't swami it to be the
last of her, I
She complied out of fear and excite
? ment, Then another man entered and
tied her hands and arms across her breast
with a rope. THIS done, he asked her
; in English where the money was. She
said they had no money. Then he asked
her where they kept their pocket book.
She told him that it was in the other
room in her husbands pants pocket.
He started after it and soon returned,
the other man all the while standing
: watch over Mrs. Wellner. The pocket
book was opened and examined and
such things as were of no value were
f torn up aud thrown upon the floor. The
3 pocket-book itself and the money, which
: lacco1dlng to Mrs. Wellner could not
have exceeded few copper cents, they
, took with them. They also picked a
II watch-a silver one-from the wall near
the clock and pocketed that. While do
| ing this Mrs. Wellner could see from a
/ light on theswaH that one of the men
carried lantern. =
Then they quietly departed, closing
the doors after them and not speaking a
word either to each other OF to her.
\; While IN the room, she could only see
the dim outline of the men. They were
of medium size and wore cloth ovcrcoats
with the collars turned up. Their caps
were pulled down over their faces so
that she coEld not tell whether they
were smooth shaven or not. Both spoke
to her in the English language.
After the Strangers left, Mrs. Wellner
remained sitting on the kitchen lounge
for nearly three hours. Fear, she said,
kept herSfrom making hardly move.
AS it$gotalong towards three o'clock
she began to- suffer from cold and then
1t was that She made an effort to free
4 her ne n hands5b applying her teeth to the
70 rope. She partly succeeded, sufficiently
SO to enable her to open the door into
room where her two children were asleep.
She woke the oldest girl, Rosa, who
dsabout nine years of age, and asked her
to look for a pair of scissors with which
to cut the rope. The little girl did so
Land then the two started for the home
SIof Mrs. Wellner's father, Gottlieb Bier
augel, about quarter of mile distant.
The youngest girl, whou1 only five
,Ayears old, was left alone at home asleep.
Arriving at her fathers house about
lour o'clock, the balance ST the rope
sWas removed from Mrs. Welln er's wrist and
after telling her story she returned with
her father to her own home to look for
her husband.