The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1902-09-26
ENDED HIS LIFE.
Suicide of Bengt Nelson, a
Rapidan Farmer.
After Cutting His Throat He Leaped
into the Maple Riyer-Body
Found Yesterday.

Bengt Nelson, an old and highly
respected farmer of Rapidan township
committed suicide early Friday morn
ling by cutting his own throat and
then jumping into the Maple river tc
make sure that there would be no fail
S1re. The body was not found until
Sunday morning.
Nelson had for some time past been
suffering from severe pain in the back
of his head and had been in dread
aest he should become insane and be
committed to an asylum. This and
the failure of his melon crop caused
him to become Respondent. He re-
Gently visited two of his daughters
who reside in Minneapolis and took
some treatment there, but it did him
no good. He said to these daughters
that if he should go insane he did not
want TO go to the asylum. He said
that he would not hurt anybody but
would Just walk around the farm.
Thursday night Nelson was talking
with Mr. Thorson, who runs saw
mill near by, and Mr.. Thorson tried
to cheer him up, as he had noticed
that his friend had been respondent
for some time.
Nelson had been in the habit re-
Gently of getting up early and going
out for q walk, as he was restless AID
could not sleep. Friday morning he
got up at 3 80 a. m. but his daugh-
tiers persuaded him not to go out He
got up again at a. m, before the
family was up, and went out. That
was the last seen or heard of him. AS
he did not return, the family and
neighbors searched all day Friday
and Saturday for him, but without
success Early Sunday morning his
body was found face downward on
sandbar in the Maple river, which
runs by his farm.
Coroner Kennedy was summoned
and drove to the sNelson farm Sun
day afternoon. The body had not
yet been removed from the river when
he got there, and he procured assis-
lance and had it taken from the water
and removed to the granary, 1t was
found that Nelson, before throwing
himself into the river, had cut his
own throat He al 1ays carried
pruning knife with him, and it is sup
posed that he used this, although it
could not be found Nelson had
slashed his throat twice. The first
time he began under the right ear and
made long but shallow cut all
around his throat and the second
time he made shorter but deeper
cut, almost severing the windpipe.
The juglar vein had not been injured.
Nelson had then evidently jumped
into the river at point half mile
from the house, where the water is
deep. The body is thought to have
been caught and held by some roots
until Saturday night, when it got
loose and drifted down to the sandbar
where it was found. The body was
clothed only in shirt and overalls.
Coroner Kennedy found that it was
too plainly case Of suicide to require
the holding of an inquest.
The decesaed was born in Sweden
and emigrated to America thirty-four
years ago. He had resided on his
farm in Rapidan township, five and
half miles southwest Of Rapidan
station, for the past twenty-five years.
he was sixty-seven years Of age and
leaves wife and nine children. He
was intelligent, industrious and we'll
liked, and his sad ending has cast a
gloom over the entire neighborhood.
The funeral occurred from Rapidan
Station at two O'Clock this afternoon.
The daughters from Minneapolis
have been visiting at home. Thursday
night their father asked their mother
when the were going back. She re-
piled that one of them would go Sat-
urday. He made some reply to the
effect that this would not be too late,
but no attention was paid to the re-
mark at the time. 1t is believed that
Nelson was out of his mind when he
committed the deed, and that he had
been planning it for some time.