The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-04-12

Nicholas Kill desires a pardoni So
rapidly do the events of these latter
days tread upon each others heels that
what was yesterday marvel of novelty
is today stale with antiquity.
There are those living in st. Paul
and Minneapolis today who will tell
you that at the time Nicholas Kill
committed the horrible crime the en-
tire countryside was stirred to it's
depths. 1t was a singularly terrible
and fendish crime. Surely" 1T was
said at the time, none but an irS;ane
man could have done IT." And this
conclusion was strengthened and the
proof Of it heightened by the manner
in which the assassin acted after the
commission of his dastardly deed.
1t was in the early autumn of 1887
that Jacob Kohn, a lonely bachelor,
whose brother, Barney, now conducts a
saloon at the corner of Rice and Min
neapolis streets, took up his abode in
the unoccupied house of George H.
Hazard. which still stands, about half
a mile from the carriage entrance to
the state fair grounds. This he did in
order to have a good shelter for the
coming winter, which would be allowed
him gratis by the owner for the slight
work Of keeping the place in order and
protecting 1t from vandalism. Part
Of his work was to take care Of the
stock confined in a corral which sur
rounded the barn.
Nicholas Kill Arrives.
1t was day in early September that
Nicholas Kill, q complete stranger to
Kohn and all the neighborhood beside,
appeared on the scene. He was
large, robust man, apparently one who
did not hurt himself by hard labor,
clothed in rags and absolutely penni-
less, so he told Kohn. He whiningly
begged to be allowed to sleep in the
house until he could secure some work
for the winter. To this Kohn was
nothing loath; the man would help
to while away the tedium of the lonely
hours and he good-naturedly acquiesc-
ed. The two were seen by neighbors
and incidental remarks passed among
them as to the identity of Kohn's COM
panion. But no one was prepared for
the terrible Identification that was soon
to take place.
1t was on the 14th day of September
that butchers boy from St Paul was
sent out to the farm to catch and kill
a calf, which had been bought by his
employer some days previously. He
went to the place, caught the calf, kill
ed and dressed it, and was on his way
to the house to inform Kohn Of his
success when his ear was attracted by
the sound of groans.
Stopping he listened closely and was
surprised to find that the sounds ap-
parently came from an open window in
the side Of the house nearest him. In
telling his story afterward the boy
said: my first thought was to run
didn't know what in the world 1t
could be, but thought I'd go back and
look in the window anyway"
Beheld a Horrible Sight.
The sight that met his eyes almost
froze his blood. There upon a bed was
the figure Of man, despatched with
blood. In the dim light of the room he
could not tell whether or not it was
Kohn. Darling away, he ran to the
house of neighbor and soon several
men were on their way to the house.
By the time they arrived the groan-
ing noise had ceased, and, of course,
it was thought that the man was dead.
One Of the men climbed in through an
open window and then the others fol-
lowed, badly scared. Kohn was lying
on his left side with his face away
from the window and when they tn med
the body over he emitted another
groan. One of the number was dis
patched for physician and then the
others set to work to try to bring back
the fast ebbing life. In their examina-
ton they found that the man had been
beaten with an ak, or some other
weapon Of that nature, for the head
was pounded almost into a jelly. They
noticed JldC ne naQ not Deen prepared
for bed, although most of his clothing
was taken from his body and it ap-
peared to them as very singular that
none of 1t was seen about the room.
In the trousers, which he still wore,
nothing remained in the pockets. The
entire absence Of anything whatever
suggested robbery Immediately.
The doctor came, but nothing could
be done and the man died shortly after
his arrival. Then the body was takees
to the city morgue, but all this timN
the police were working upon the mat
ter with interchangeable energy.
Close questioning succeeded in bring
ing out the fact of the mysterious
presence Of the unknown man about
the place. He was closely described to
the officers, but 1t seemed as though
the stranger, whoever he was, had van
ished from the face of the earth. The
city was searched high and low. The
surrounding country was beaten as
though 1t were some dangerous wild
animal the officers sought. Murmurs
of summary justice were heard, but no
mysterious stranger had yet been cap
| tured.
Capture of the Murderer.
But the undoing of Nicholas came at