The Saint Paul globe., 1900-06-20
CASE AGAINST ERICKSON
TT RESTS LARGELY ON THE TES-
TIMONY OF GUSTAVE
WOLL
DEFENSE WILL OPEN TODAY
Impeachment of VOLTS Reputation
for Veracity, as Well as His
Sanity and Reliability,
Is Indicated.

up yesterday morning the court rum
was packed, and when Judge Bum took
his seat en- the bench one could hear
a pin drop.
The story told by Gustav Woll, the
states principal witness, was terrible
one.
Edward Erickson, the man accused by
Vol of numbering his brother, Martin
P. Erickson the night of Feb. 1, 1894,
was brought into court looking very
good considering the strain he must be
undergoing. He occupied seat behind
his counsel, Messrs Dickson and Don
nelly, and when Woll told who it was
that murdered Martin Erickson he point
ed his finger at Edward Erickson and
said, THAT fellow there did it, -
Drs. Riggs and Abbott were interested
listeners to VOLTS story and were watch
ing him very closely to see if he showed
any signs of insanity.
Sergeant Ryan was the first witness
called. He was patrolman at the time
of the murder. He saw Martin p Erick-
son at the shop the night of Feb. l, 1894,
about ten minutes to g. Martin was in
front of the shop. Edward Erickson
was working in the back Of the shop.
Ryan then went up Decatur street to
Preble street and on Preble tC Mime
haha street. He then turned and went
back TO Erickson's butcher shop. He
found Martin Erickson .ying on the floor
inside Of the door. His head was toward
the east and his feet toward the west
Edward was holding his brothers head.
Martin was dying
Sergeant Ryan testified:
when l first came in 1 stopped over
him and asked him who shot him. His
head was swinging in such a way that
L saw he was conscious. 1 saw slate
| hanging on the Wall and [ thought may
be he would write so 1 got it and put il
before him.
Did you hear Martin P Erickson make
any statement or say anything when you
were there?"
mo, sir
Asked as to the condition of the door
leading from the rear of the shop to the
railroad tracks, Sergeant Ryan thought
it was open,
Dr. b. II. Whitcomb, who at the time
was coroner, testified to having been
| called to the butcher shop He saw the
body Of Martin P. Erickson lying on the
moor in front of the door. The body
was removed and an autopsy performed
by DR.. Fennell. DR.. Whitcomb renem-
bered that the glass in the door was
broken, and thought that the glass was
lying on the sidewalk as if 1t had been
forced out from inside
Dr Fennell told of the autopsy He
had found bullet wound in the breast
and other marks indicating that the
dead man had been engaged in struggle
for life.
When Gustav VOLTS name was called
by County Attorney Bigelow, almost
every one in the crowd craned a neck
| to see who he was. His answers were
listened to with much eagerness, and he
gave them in very impressive way
Answering the questions asked by At
torney Bigelow, he told his story
Il have lived he1e for twenty wears
/ The night of February 1, 1894, was down
town to buy suit of clothes. but only
bought pair of overalls"
Where did you go after you bought
them?"
Home
DO you know where Martin P.
! Erickson's butcher shop was at that
! time?"
Yes"
Did you notice anything when you
passed there?"
Yes"
What did you see?"
Il saw him fighting with some one"
"Who?''
His brother
What brother?"
That follow there pointing to Edward
! Ertcksom and little fellow"
In answer to other questions Woll said
! that he saw Edward Erickson take a re-
! volver from his hip pocket and shoot
his brother ir the front. Then, he said,
they got up.
Who broke the glass in the window? p,
| fa1I
ward EricksCnl.
"HoW?''
He broke it with his elbow" Qllus-
! trates).
Where did you go then?'
Il went home"
When did you first state to anybody
what you saw that night?"
when I told the governor
Then VOL told how he had gone to
| John Bodine and asked him to go to the
| governor with him.
S. j. Donnelly, with Fred N. Dickson,
then took up the cross examination of
! Mr.. Woll.
II was born in Sweden in the country
! some thirty miles from Buttenberg, and
I will be forty eight years old in Septem-
/ Der. l was not doing anything in Febru-
ary, 1894. Two or three weeks after the
! killing l was working on the Minneapolis
| & ST. Louis railroad. The winter be-
| fore 1 did not work for there was moth
| ing to do he said.
! Asked about the COW story which he
! had told number of newspaper men,
| Woll said that it was not right.
He knew Edmund, the former county
! treasurer.
Have you not talked with him about
this?'
He had not
Vol knelt down to illustrate how the
murder was done. He showed how Ed
ward Erickson had his knee on his broth
! er's knee. The other fellow was holding
his head. There was only one shot.
Then he held his hands to his head
! and gave such account as he could of the
devils that had been disturbing him.
! He saw the scene over again at night,
but never in the daytime Sleep had fed
away from him, and when he was in
Montana his partner had been kept
awake.
On the night after he had told the gov
ernor he had slept we'll
Counsel desired to know il he had not
had trouble with his children and if he
had not been arrested for chasing them
! with a knife.
| Woll said he had had some trouble with
his children three years ago. He wished
his children to be in the house at night
! when he went to bed so that he might
| lock the door.
| At 2 o'clock the cross-examination was
| resumed, and under the fire of Stan Dom
nelly, Woll admitted that he had pass
| ed a policeman, or, rather, that the po-
liceman had passed him. He had not
| told the policeman of what he had seen
| through the window, because, as he said.
he was scared. When asked why he went
/ Alaska ha ho6