New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1904-10-26

TRAGEDY Turks IN SHELL
Continued from page /.
not burst an effort was made to find
them and destroy them. To his know
ledge, said the major, there were only
four shells that did not burst during
the shooting here, and one of these, he
had heard, had been picked up by his
men and thrown into the river.
MAJOR EXPLAINS SHELL.
The percussion shell, such as the
one found by the Klossners, is long
and rather narrow and cone shaped
at the end. It is solid piece of steel
with cavity inside for the charge of
gunpowder and in the base is a hole
in which is screwed a piece of brass
containing the cap and the plunger.
These shells are so constructed that
when they strike an object, such as
board, the earth, or even water, the
plunger hits the cap, which in turn
ignites the charge and explodes the
shell.
A task to which the jury devoted
considerable interest was determining
just how the shell got to its position
where found by Mr.. Klossner and his
son. Mr.. Klossner led the party to
the spot where he had picked it up. It
| lay there, he said, with its point toward
the road But there was no mark on
| the earth to show where it had fallen,
nor was there mark anywhere near
where the projectile might have struck
and, being perhaps defective, not ex-
ploded but ricocheted off.
On an oak tree perhaps thirty feet
from the spot where the shell lay there
was wound which looked as though
the tree might have been struck with
some missile, but it hardly seemed
possible that the shell found by the
Klossners could have struck it, as the
spot indicated by Mr.. Klossner was
not at the right angle.
| HOW CAME SHELL THERE!
The ground was soft while the shoot
ing was going on and as the projectile
weighs thirteen and half pounds it
should surely have made some linden
tation.
It was not possible for the shell to
have struck somewhere below the bluff
or on the bluff and ricocheted up, as
the elevation is altogether too steep.
Only two theories seem PLAUSIBLE,
either the gunners made big mistake
and shot very high, or else someone
carried the projectile to the spot where
it was found later by Mr.. Klossner.
It is to this latter theory that the
officers, Major Allen and Lieutenant
Mcdonald, as we'll as General Bob
Letter and others who viewed the ground,
hold. They figured it that in order to
have placed the shell where it was
found without recocheting after it left
the gun the gunners must have made a
mistake of from 600 to 800 yards in the
elevation, something almost unheard
of with expert gunners. The worst shot
fired while the battalion was here was
mistake of 300 yards in the elevation
In the shell there is no explosive
but gunpowder and just how there
could have been an explosion from
pounding under the circumstances
came in for consideration. It was
brought out in the testimony of Mr..
| Klossner tn at when he emptied the
powder out of the shell he shook out
but about half table spoon full, so
that there must have been considerable
more left. The cap also was out. In
pounding a spark must have been
struck and the ignited.
SPECIAL BILL POSSIBLE.
Just what recompense the govern
ment will make if any for the tragedy
cannot be known. The government
cannot be sued by one of it's citizens
SO that no damages can be collected
in that way, but the verdict of the Jury
may leave room for the passage of a
special bill by congress covering the
case.
The funeral of the dead boy was
held Monday afternoon and his body
was laid to rest in the city cemetery.
The simple services were held at the
house and then the procession of
scores OF carriages with the Second