River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1906-09-27


Chicago.-Tbe story of the pursuit
and capture of Paul o. Stensland,
! president of the wrecked Milwaukee
| Avenue State bank, is one of the
most dramatic in the history of those
all too frequent events. Traced from
this city to Tangiers, Morocco, he was
| apprehended there by Assistant
States Attorney Olsen, who was ac-
companied by representative of the
| Chicago Tribune. Not less interesting
is Stensland's account of the circum-
! stances leading to the wrecking Of
the bank and the despoiling of thou
sands of depositors of the poorer class
of the savings of their lifetime. Told
| In detail by the Tribune representative
! the story is as follows:
1t was the old story Of a woman
scorned that led to the finding of
| Stensland's trail. One of his numerous
| friends who thought she had been
shabbily treated put the authorities
in possession of the first hint as to
the fugitive's whereabouts. Her infor-
nation was Indefinite, but investiga-
ton proved it's probable accuracy.
Finally, on August 10, it became
certain that he was in Tangier and
had been for 16 days. The facts were
laid before States Attorney Healy
He was asked If he could send a
man with a representative of the Tri-
| bune to an unknown destination,
where it was expected to find Stems
land or his trail Mr.. Healy accepted
the proposition and Assistant States
Attorney Harry Olsen was ordered to
meet the representative of the Tribune
| in New York ON Monday, August 20.
| The next day Mr.. Olsen and the Tri-
bune man sailed on the liner Kaiser
Wilhelm ii.
Paris was reached Monday, August
| 81, and was left Tuesday at noon.
Madrid was reached Wednesday after
noon, August 20, and Gibraltar &c
hours later. On Saturday morning,
September 1, the boat was taken for
Tangier, the Moorish city being
reached early in the evening.
Back to Gibraltar.
All Saturday night and until four
| o'clock Sunday afternoon, September
2, the investigation proceeded. At
every town Stensland's tracks were
uncovered and the last clew pointed to
the Grand hotel at Gibraltar. 1t was
as follows: Assistant States Attor-
| ney Olson had represented himself to
the keeper of the hotel where Stems
land stopped at Tangier as his son.
| Stensland, as has been stated, is trav-
cling under the alias of P. Olsen. The
names were the same and the two
men do not look unlike. The hotel
| keeper believed the story, but could
| give no direct information as to
| Stensland's whereabouts.
AS he was riding to the hotel at
midnight after getting the governor of
the French bank out of bed, voice
| from a Moorish cafe sung out:
81 say, Olson, l think l know where
your governor is
We dismounted as the hotel man
continued:
you left the old man in Glib A
friend of mine just come over on the
night boat says he saw him at the
Grand hotel"
When we left Tangier Sunday after
noon, September 2, for Gibraltar to
run down the Grand hotel clew we left
/ % Moorish and Arab scouts to guard
all the entrances and exits.
| Less than an hour after the Olden-
| burg, the German steamer bearing
| Stensland from the Rock to the Moor
ish coast, reached port our Arab chief
of scouts sent a cable to us at Gibral-
| tar announcing the arrival of the boat
and the presence on board of the man
we wanted.
Hired Special Steamer.
| We began negotiations for special
steamer to bring us back to Tangier.
Finally small steamer was chartered
and permission obtained from the Of
ficer of the guard to leave port.
At midnight we turned tail on the
Rock and headed across the straits
1t was four o'clock in the morning
when we rounded Malabat Point and
saw the red light above the gate of
the city of Tangier.
The steamer Oldenburg lay half a
mile off shore. We hauled alongside
and asked if the passengers had land
ed. 1t was great relief to hear that
| they had not, as we feared that if so
Stensland might have been warned