Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1902-09-11
CHEATS THE HANGMAN
Bartho!in, Degenerate Murderer
OF Mother and Sweetheart,
Dead by His Own Hand.
SEEMS TO HAVE HAD A CONSOIENCE
Sort of Embryonic Affair, That Led
Him to Suicide-His Brief
Confession.

| which was buried here Saturday morn
! inc. and which was believed to be that
| of William BarthOlin, was exhumed
| yesterday afternoon and positively
! identified as that of the Chicago dOu-
BILE murderer The Identification was
made by William Mitchell, brother
| of one of BarthOlin'S victims, and De-
| tective Andrew Rohan, of Chicago,
| who arrived here yesterday morning
| from Chicago: DIR. A. j. Coey, of Chi
cago, who came here with Detective
Rohan, cut out the lower jaw of the
dead man, which contained two gold
| crowned teeth which have figured
| largely in the description sent broad
| cast throughout the country for pur-
/ poses of identification. The jaw will
be taken to Chicago by the detective.
BODY Found in Flax Field.
/ Bartholin's body was found last Fri
/ day afternoon about six miles from
Riceville, by j. &. Pratt, resident of
Riceville. Pratt was driving to Elma,
and when passing fax field saw the
| body lying against a stack of flax.
| Thinking it was a man asleep he paid
no attention, but on returning found
the man still There, and upon investiga-
| ton discovered he was dead with re-
volver lying by his left hand. Coroner
| volyer lyig by ais left hand. Coroner
| Carpenter was notified and the body
removed to an undertaking establish
ment at Riceville There J. B. McCook,
editor of kiceville paper, discovered
/ ho rtrily iyO 20
| semblance of the Chicago murderer.
Left Chicago Railway Laborer.
| INQUIRY here developes that Bartho-
| lin came to Riceville Aug. 6, before the
| bodies of Mrs. Bartholin and Miss
| Mitchell were discovered. Thomas
| Phee, contractor doing some work
here for the Great Western road, adj
| vertised for labOrerS in Chicago on
pAug. 5. offering free transportation to
| the place of work. Among those who
respon ed was Bartholin, who hired
under the name of George Edwards.
| He worked at the construction work
| for but half a day, and had since been
| working on a threshing machine and
| in the harvest fields until the morning
of Aug. 81 when he was last seen
| leaving Riceville in the direction of the
place his body was found.
Confession That He Left Behind.
| The following brief confession was
| found in his pocket:
''To Whom 1t May Concern: wish
] to state that | am the Bartholin the
| police are looking for. | also wish to
certify that l had no assistance of any
kind from any one. Thompson, Claffy
and COunselman are all as innocent as
an unborn child and should be freed
at once.
81 cannot go into details in regard
| to the crime. They were not planned.
It was all Minnie and l could do. My
| mind is wandering Such drop in life
| in so short a time, two months ago
travelling in the best company, today
| leading the life of hOboes, MUIR
derer.
81 intended to go into details and
| tell all, but I can't get my mind CEN
| tered Even my handwriting is dis
graceful, but above all things l ask
| clear everybody from under suspicion,
there is no second party and I am the
last. WILLIAM BARTHOLIN."
Riceville, Ia. Aug. 81.
| LETTERS FROM MINNIE MITCHELL
| Her Brother Takes Possession Of Them
BarthoIins Life in Iowa.
After the words 1T was all Minnie
and I could do" in the foregoing,
| there is an unintelligible scrawl prob
ably intended to tell what ''it'' was,
and which relieves the words of any
| imputatiOn on Miss Mitchell as party
| to the murder of Mrs Bartholin. 1t is
apparent, however, that artholin and
Miss Mitchell shared in some trouble.
Several notes to Bartholin. signed IN.
NJ and identified by William Mitch
ell as the handwriting Of his sister,
were turned over to the brother, who
seemed eager to prevent their puDlica-
| ton. One is addressed to Dear WILL"
and informs the recipient that she
could not meet him that night.
| Two of these missives are signed
Your darling sweetheart, Minnie"
All are dated in Chicago during April
| The confession was written on note
paper and dated Aug. 81, the day on
which Barthoiin is believed to have
| killed himself. The fugitive murderer
reached Riceville on Aug. 6, one day
, before the discovery in Chicago Of
the body of Minnie Mitchell, and three
days before the remains of his MUIR
dered mother were found. He worked
half day on the railway bridge, then
registered at the Wilkes hotel here,
and pretending to be i'll kept his room
| most of the time, leaving at the end
of five days, when he went into the
country and got work at harvesting.
Everybody was so busy in the coun-
try that little newspaper reading was
done, so he was pretty safe out there.
He worked week for one man and
then three days for another. On Aug.
80 he returned to the Wilkes hotel, in
the afternoon. The next day, it is sup
posed, he killed himself. At all events
it is considered certain that he wrote
his farewell confession in the Wilkes
hotel on Aug 80, before seeking the
spot at which he committed suicide.
CRIMES THAT HE COMMITTED
First Kills His Mother and Then the Girl
Ho Tod Tor rfo