The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1901-12-27
DENY THE CHARGE
Buckholtz Bros. Say They are
Innocent.
Arrested in Medo Last Evening on
Charge OF Setting Fire TO Vim.
SeefeIdt's Barn.

having III tuelT SuStUuy lcticLACh dAu
George Buckholtz, who are charged by
Detective I. j. Coleman of Mime
apolis with having set fire to VIM.
Seefeldt's barn in Medo on the evening
of Sept 4th last, with the intent to
burn his dwelling. The warrant
charges arson in the second degree
The prisoners were lodged in the
county Jail, and owing to the absence
from the city of County Attorney Will
son will not have their hearing until
Monday, when they will have an OPP
portunity to give bonds for their APP
pearance when wanted
The arrests were made at the homes
of the defendants in Medo at ) 30
o'clock last evening, Sheriff Gerlich
taking Fred Buckholtz and Deputy
Gerlich taking George Buckholtz.
Frederick is thirty-one years old and is
married. He looked upon his arrest
as a joke. George is twenty eight
years old and when taken into custody
enquired what the charge was. He
lives with his father, who is well
known farmer Neither one offered
any objections to going to Mankato.
nor did either seem nervous over the
charge.
Vim. Seefeldt is brother of the
mother of the Buckholtz brothers, but
the feeling between the two families
has not been of the most cordial ma
ture Frederick Buckholtz however.
has been on friendly terms with the
Seefeldts.
The fire occurred early in the eve
a E,l1 . -.
large, new barn, COW and horse
stables, corn crib, windmill, some
machinery, five horses and two calves
The house had narrow escape, and
the granary was also saved Mr.. See
feldt suspected at once that the barn
had been set on fire, and some time
ago he employed three Minneapolis de-
tectives to work on the case. VIM.
Whitney and Messrs Coleman and
Wilson.
Whitney. under the name of Bill
Burke, spent last week at Frederick
Buckholtz' s house, working for his
board as common farm laborer.
Coleman spent day or two at the
senior Buckholtz's place, pretending to
be buying turkeys, and hired George
Buckholtz to drive him around Will
son joined him there. They claim to
have secured admissions and other evil
dence warranting them in MAXI * the
arrests They have returned to Mime
apolis.
The Buckholtz farms are eight miles
from Mapleton. Frederick lives forty
rods from the Seefeldt house, and the
senior Buckholtz lives three fourths of
mile from 1t.
Both the Buckholtzes deny strongly
that they started the fire, had any
thing to do with, or know how it
started. They are confined in differ
ent parts of the Jail, bat their stories
tally and seem to be straight forward.
They were born and raised in Blue
Earth county, and Frederick is we'll
liked. George was popular until Mrs.
Rose Beck sued him couple of years
ago for damages for the alleged Sc
duction of her daughter. The jury
awarded her 81, 900 damages the de-
PENDANT making no appearance, and
she then commenced an action TO set
aside the conveyance of his farm to his
father. alleging that it was made to
avoid paying the Judgment. She was
successful in this. also. VIM. Seefeldt
was one of the witnesses for Mrs. Beck
in the latter suit, and this fact is
claimed as the motive for the alleged
burning of the Seefeldt buildings by
the Blckholtz brothers
George Buckholtz. when seen by a
Free Press reporter at the county jail
this morning, said that he went to bed
at . p. N. on the night of the fire, at
his father house, and that the first
that he knew or the fire was when his
brother awakened him at midnight.
He then went 10 the Seefeidt place,
and saw the ruins of the buildings
and assisted in putting out the fire
that ran down the road among the
weeds and in peat bed towards his
fathers house de heard the next day
that Mr.. Seefeldt had accused him of
having set the FIRE. He had never had
any trouble with the Seefeldts. When
he arrived at the fire the wind was
blowing from the southeast, little
away from the house. The barn was
the first building to burn, but he did
not know where the fire started, except
what he had read in the papers at the
time. He considered that the charge
had been put against him out of
meanness. He had heard it suggested
at the time of the fire that it might
have been started by cattle stepping
on a match, as Seefeldt smoked good
deal. He had no theory to advance,
himself
Frederick Buckholtz said, when
asked about the matter, that he went
to bed about ten clock on the night
of the fire. He slept on the other side
of the house from Seefeldt's but was
awakened and saw the reflection of the
flames on his own barn He started to
20 to the lire, but waited for his wife
and child, who did not want to be left
alone. They were the first at the fire
besides the Seefeldt family. He helped
to save what property could be saved
and remained until daylight. At
midnight he notified some of the
neighbors. his brother among others,
as the sparks were still threatening.
The wind did not blow toward the
house except for FIVE minutes, when
1t blew directly on the house from the
burning buildings The fire seemed to
have been started either on the first
floor of the barn, on the side from
which the wind came, or In some straw
outside of the barn. He did not think
that the barn was set on fire. The next
day he heard that Mr. Seefeldt had ac-
cused his brother, George, of setting
the fire. He told Seefeldt that he did
not think that George set the fire,
Since then he had not been friendly
with the Seefeldts
Both brothers say that they talked
with the detectives about the FIRE at
various times, but they deny that they
made any admissions about setting
tha fire. They say that Rurka WAS