River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1900-05-31
WHOLESALE MURDER
Whole Family Shot Down in Their
Home Near Anoka, MINI.
Assassins Fire Through the Window While
the Family of William Wise Were
Quietly Passing the Evening
Hour. No Clue.

Hour. NO Clue.
Anoka, Mimi, May 2S.-In a small farm
house. five miles northeast from Anoka
in Gov township, there occurred on Sun
day night one Of the most shocking TRACE
dies in the history OF Minnesota. The
persons above named are lying in the
farmhouse without care or attention, save
that which is volunteered by neighbors
They are the victims of assault by persons
who appear TO have left not the slightest
clue TO their identity.
Who did the deed, or why it was done
none in Anoka can guess. and the whole
affair is shrouded in the deepest mystery
sunday hieht William Wise, his sons
William and Joseph and Mrs Wise were
in the Kitchen rlaying cards. They had
been there for some time, when the two
daughters, who were in the front room
heard a step on the porch. They ran into
the kitchen and told their parents. Mr.
Wise said there was no one there, and the
girls went back into the front room. They
had hardly seated themselves when shots
rang out and the house was turned into
a shamble A shotgun and 44-caliber
winchester rifle we're the weapons used.
shot Down without Mercy.
Again and again the shots rang out, and
each time there was a shrek or groan
from some one of the family who was hit
All was confusion around the house, and
nobody thought Of looking for the assail-
ants until it was too late.
On hearing the shots the first impulse
of the daughters, Martha and Eliza, was
to rush to a safe place between the two
rooms While the shot rand bullets rained
in the kitchen the girls stood there and
watched First their little brother Willie
then their father fell, crying in their
agony. The room became filled with
smoke, which, when cleared away dis
closed a sickening sight.
Little Willie Wise. aged years. lay on
the floor dead His death was instant
aneous. The bullet struck him under the
right shoulder blade and tore up through
his cheek.
Mrs. Wise was sitting with her back to-
wards the window through which the shots
were fired Hearing the first shot, she par
TALLY turned around and was struck with
a Winchester bullet in the abdomen. She
fell towards the floor, Selling the table to
support herself On her right sat Mr..
Wise. At the first shot he let his head
fall on the table, and the bullets struck
him in the neck and the left side OF his
cit ie
mother, and was not hit by the first dis
charge He began running around the
room until struck by a bullet.
The firing lasted but a few seconds
The shotgun was double gun and loaded
with buckshot. The assassin crept to the
window, where the center light of glass
was broken. There was wire mosquito
netting across the hole, and there are two
large holes in the netting to show where
the shot went through. The two holes are
within an inch Of each other. there being
only few wires between them. Under
meath the holes made by the buckshot are
FIVE bullet holes, made by a forty four
caliber rifle The bullet holes are almost
directly under the buckshot and so close
to them that two men could not have fired
at the same time. Both barrels of the
shotgun were evidently discharged at the
same time.
Looking at the window, it appears as il
one man did the shooting, using the shot
gun first and the rifle afterwards
There is another window directly oppo-
site the one shot through. The glass is
perforated with bullet holes, and the wall
to the left is riddled with buckshot. Thir-
ty-two pellets have been taken out Of the
wall There were fully ten shots fred
from the rife for Sheriff Merrill picked
up ten exploded shells and one that had
not been used. There were no shells from
the shotgun