The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1907-05-22
CONFLICTING ARE
STORIES OF
AFFAIR
Which Caused Death of Mrs.
Burgess Mother at Little
Falls, MINI.

The following is a telegraphic ac-
count OF the shooting OF Mrs. Kuffel
at Little Falls. MINI. Mrs. Kuffel
was the mother OF Mrs. J. w. Bur-
CESS of Grand Forks. as has been
stated in the Evening Times. The
account:
= Last Monday while going along a
road in Swan River Theodore Wich-
orski was called in by Mrs. Gertrude
kuffe1 to shoot woodchuck When
he fired at the animal Mrs. Kuffel
was struck in the side by bullet
which may have rebounded from a
rock. Blood poisoning set in and Mrs.
Kuffel died from the effects of the
wound on Sunday afternoon. At the
time of the shooting Wichorski was
accompanied by Joseph Pluck.
Mrs. kuffel was a woman about
fifty-five years OF age and the IMAM
who did the shooting is about twenty
two. He was visiting in the neighbor-
hood at the time and his tale of the
shooting is as follows:
He and Pluck were coming along
the road and Mrs. Kuffel was picking
up chips near her home. She had
with her small dog and the dog
began barking at an animal in the
woods. Wichorski says she called
to him to come and shoot the animal,
which proved to be woodchuck. and
he fired at it point blank. A large
smooth rock was near, and he says
the bullet rebounded from this rock
and wounded the woman in the side.
She was Immediately taken to her
home and medical aid summoned.
Wichorski left on Tuesday for Min
neapolis. where he is now at work
and gave the relatives of the woman
his address. saying that he wanted to
know how she was doing.
Story Told by Victim.
According to the story told by John
Kuka, who was in this city today,
Mrs Kuffel broke her silence for the
first time and told how the shooting
occurred. Mrs. kuffel whispered and
called Mrs. Kuka. wife of John Kuka,
to the bedside and told the following
tale.
Wichorski and Pluck were drunk at
the time and came down the road
shooting at everything along the road.
She warned them off and tried to get
them to go on. Just then the dog
barked at a squirrel or chipmunk and
from her and produced a revolver and
began shooting at the animal. The
bullet struck Mrs. Kuffel in the side
and she fell to the ground.
Wichorski, according to Kuka's
- H., nsL IL
went running and terribly frightened
to where he John Kuka) was plow-
ing in field and asked him to go
for doctor. Kuka babe Pluck go
for the doctor and gave him his team.
Pluck raced the team to this city and
Kuka went to Mrs. Kuffel's aid.
The doctor on examination found
the ball had struck her on the tenth
rib and followed around to the spine,
where it lodged against one OF the
spinal processes.
The ball was not flattened in the
least and bore no sign of having
struck stone first. The ball is said
to have entered Mrs. Kuffels body on
the right side on a downward slant
and the doctor is convinced that the
ball did not hit anything before it hit
her. 1t is thought that Wichorski shot
wide of his mark and fired directly
at Mrs. Kuffel.
The attending doctor says that
Pluck was drunk when he came after
him and gave no coherent answers
to his questions.
Bullet Rebounded, Says Son.
According to the testimony of
neighbors living neal. the scene of the
shooting, Wichorski and Pluck got
very drunk at Jake Morseek's saloon,
couple OF miles away, and went up
the road shooting at telephone poles
and other objects along the road until
they came to the Kuffel farm, where
the fatal shooting occurred.
Joe Kuffel, son of the woman
killed, was in the city today and stat
ed that the men had been called in
from the road by his mother and she
asked them to kill woodchuck for
her; that they shot several times at
it, and finally a bullet rebOunded
from the rock and struck Mrs. Kuffel
in the side.
No post-mortem has as yet been
held, though it is probable that the
coroner will hold an inquest on the
remains before they are inferred.
The relatives of the deceased are
very ugly over the affair.
Wichorski is in Minneapolis at
present and Pluck is badly frightened
and swears he did not use the gun.
Wichorski tells much the same story,
but the story alleged to have been
told by the dead woman before her
death would fix the blame on him
despite his statement to the contrary.
Mrs. Kuffel was well known in
Swan River and the funeral will be
held there probably on Tuesday or
Wednesday.
No criminal action has been begun,
but it is likely that some action will
be taken in the matter, either on the
charge OF manslaughter or criminal
negligence, OR both. Immediately after
the funeral.
REFORMED PRESBYTERIANS.
Associated Press to The Evening Times.
D~N ~A@r