Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-06-03
OLD CRIME RECALLED.
Two Men pig Around Abandoned
Aouse in Dead Of Night.

N5areneo June 3-ThiS community Is
again stirred UP over the report from
Con,oy that short time ago Two men
drove up to the Ole Olson place about
midnight and began digging In the
ground in search of something. rms Is
the place where. about six years ago
the old miser was beaten to death 1or
his money, and at the time detectives
were pat on the track and rewards
were offered to hunt down the muir
derers.
Ole Olson was one of the old settlers
who at an early day emigrated TO Iowa
locatinv a little to the west OF Souln
An,ana. Later he removed soutn le"
miles and owned the land on ootn siaes
of the Milwaukee track north OF ooh-
rov The house In which he lived was
!. little to the west of the track ana
GOOD distance from the road. and sur
,.o,,ae5 nv trees OF his own planning.
no had few If any callers, ana mere h'
lived all alone from year 10 year.
49,, h;s money and planting II IN NV
-ron,d 60 the story goes. having 'i'u'.
go, q, ranks. He loaned money d.
,;,nas INT most of 1t was placed away
.i0.ss. oars and hidden in holes III
tout eight years ago three maskeu
-, srove M about midnight ana pe-
80. system of torture after denanu-
ing his money. All methoos were 80.
and finally they brought hay ana s.ia"
into the house. tied him fast ana oesas
~ hnrn his feet. When nearly uease
q tSsah ~.
and in great pain he divulgeo Tue nv
mo place of his money, which was
taSan away. and the unlimited Visitors
aarar,ed leaving the old miser tled ana
Gagged He never fully recovered iroh'
That night of terror and never toid now
much money he had to give UP OF Wn"
tho ma rites were. However, he stated
that he would fix for them a. second
time II anyone should venture on sucn
a. err.,nd. He lived alone as before ana
nroyided himself with a gun wl1nih
reach of his bed with which 10 meet
any assailant.
On 81 clear night in September, 1899,
a nerson on his way home from Conroy
saw couple OF men sitting on the
track near the old mans home. He did
not know the men, and they sat racing
the west, with their hats drawn down
over their faces. The next day the oid
man was found In his home with mis-
head and face beaten and otherwise
injured. unconscious. and from the ef-
fects of which he passed away the same
day. The door had been Kicked TO
pieces, window panes broken ana the
house appeared as tho there had peeh
n struggle for life and death. Then the
people of the vicinity We're up IN arms
and much time was spent in hunting
down the criminals. Certain traces
were found. but 1t was finally given up.
The case is again opened up and ex-
element is again aroused over the at
fair.
About II o'clock at night team
driven by two men in top buggy
stopped on the west side of the track
near Conroy and got out and took down
the wire fence and drove into the pas
ture and UP to the old Olson house,
which has never been occupied since
the time of the murder. The young
men who saw this walked up the track
toward the house TO see what the par
ties wanted and. getting within short
distance of the house. the men came to-
wards them. The young men depart
ed. They then nailed up the fence. The
parties remained up there about two
hours and came out the same way, nail
ing up the fence after they had gone
out The next day four holes were
found dug around a tree near the house
where the old man had lived. This WAS
all which was found that had been dis
turbed during the night by these mid
night marauders. The question nat
urally arises. who We're these men bent
on such a mission? Were they of the
first party who secured the large sum
OF money. or were they of the second