Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1908-03-18
The Mysterious Axman.
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It was long suit that settled the
ownership OF the wood lying between
the Scarsdales and the Kircho.s. ana
even then the decision of the court
left the ownership of the timber on the
property uncertain. The Scarsdales
gained the land, Il title to which would
in law include the TIMBER but klr-
choT had ut one time held bill OF
sale for the wood. and when the de-
cision came the Kirchoff against whGm
it was rendered declared that no Scars
dale should ever carry away stick OF
wood from the property. He died soon
after making the threat. and Thomas
Scarsdale considered that he might
take peaceable possession of both land
and timber. However. there was no
occasion to cut the wood, and no move
was made to do so for many years.
Indeed the property remained as 1t
was till Howard Scarsdale became en-
gagged to Elsie Kirchof'. Then Howard
concluded to build house for himself
and the girl he. was to marry In the
center Of the woods. Before beginning
he sold the timber to make way for
the house to man who was to take 1t
away. Is
The first tree cut down fell on one
of the men engaged in the work and
killed him. Then when it had been
sawed into logs and they were being
removed from the property chain
broke, log rolled down on man. and
another life was sacrificed. Some
body spoke of the threat Of the Kir-
choff who hau lost the suit, and that
ended for the time any attempt TO
remove the timber, for no one would
undertake the job.
One night Elsie Kirchoff. who Occu-
pied the family home on the west edge
Of the wood. being awake heard the
sound Of all Ak which she fancied came
from the spot where her tiance had
purchased to build their nest. The next
day she told Howard Of the circum-
stance Howard insisted that she must
have been mistaken. No one had been
chopping in the wood. He made per-
sonal examination, which confirmed
what he had said. But Elsie remained
firm in maintaining that she had heard
an AMMAN at work. Howard told her
that she would soon hear axmen, for
he had succeeded in securing new
gang of men for the purpose of taking
away the timber.
IJ,x ho 0f
carried by Elsie kirchOff's house. The
bearers set the bier down in front of
| the house to rest. and Elsie shrinking
~ went out, leaned on the gate aud
asked what had been the cause Of
death She was informed that a tree
that had been partly felled by the first
gang of men employed to cut the tim
Der had fallen on the man and killed
him. He was to have been the fore
man of the new gang that Howard
Scarsdale had employed.
The girl paled, gasped and went into
the house. She sent Immediately for
her lover and implored him to take no
further action in making the required
! clearing. Scarsdale considered the
deaths simply a chapter Of accidents,
but he found Elsie in such turmoil
Of emotion that to calm her he prom.
ised her that the whole matter should
be Indefinitely deferred.
| Autumn was coming on, and he con-
cluded to keep his promise till the next
spring, when he would have the job
done without saying anything to Elsie
about it. Perhaps he could get her to
| be absent while it was done. He sue
ceeded in doing this. Elsie went in
May to visit friend, but she had
scarcely settled herself in her friends
house when she experienced an ire
sistible desire to return. This she did
! the next day, reaching her home at
bedtime.
| Howard had his men ready to enter
! upon the work of making the clearing
the next morning. Before breakfast
he received Il message from Elsie that
she was at home and she wished him
! to come to her. Thinking she had been
| taken i'll, he went to her Immediately.
Without explaining her sudden return
she asked quickly:
''Are you going to cut the wOod?"
Howard tried for awhile to equivo-
cate, but, seeing that she would have
! nothing but the truth. confessed.
"Stop it at once,'' she said exC1tedly
"Go and forbid the men to strike
| blow. Last night heard the axman
again. Oh, do go and stop themw
While they were speaking there was
crash in the wood.
''TOo late"' gasped Elsie.
Howard, impressed with something,
he knew not what, started to go to
the wood. Elsie held him in a tight
| EN- brace. Hearing a shouting, he tore
himself away. When he reached the
point from which the voices came he
found that the men had been at work
long enough to fell tree with a rOtted
core. 1t had fallen prematurely on one
Of the men, and the others were try
ing to pry it up so that they could get
him out. When they succeeded he was
dead
| This is the story they tell about the
forest, which is still standing. Not
stick of timber has been removed.
After the last accident, as Howard
! Scarsdale insisted on calling it, Elsie
refused to marry him unless he would
give UP building on the property, and
he complied, building elsewhere. II
| you go there and ask why piece of
property so desirable and surrounded