The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1909-12-15
HORSE RELAYS
SPEED fLOPER
TEN sTEEps VIE WITH BLIZZARD
TO BEAR RoLTiNc HUSBAND
FROM ANGRY WIFE,

Perham, Mimi. Dec. 16.-Drawn In
the wild hippoorome OF horse herd
running through the binding blizzard,
which had no equal here since 1881,
the itinerant George Petrie, wealthy
and well known horse trader OF South
st. Paul. one OF the shrewdest Ia the
northwest, outwitted the combined
forces Of the city and county authorI-
ties and his own wife Saturday night
In spectacular dash and elopement
from the aitY in tile bowling storm
with young girl
All the livery barns OF Perhan fur
nished the best on their stalls 10 the
authorities, ,yho comm need the pur-
suit a quarter OF an hour afterward
but the horse trader to his own ad :
vantage while he remained in the town
and by changing about the ten fast
horses he took with him TO freshen
his steeds he rapidly outdistanced his
followers His location is now UNI
known
Petrie came into our town a week
and a half ago a..d engaged rooms for
himself and the young girl he called
his wife at Mrs Reuters He traded
about the town, practically draining
it Of all its good horses for his own
herd, until Saturday. when into town
came the actual Mrs. Petrio, so she
alleged, who proclaimed with snapp-
ing eyes that Petrie had deserted her
In North Dakota last summe and fled
the country with the young girl he
brought here with him. She said she
loved her husband anyway and he
would have to come with her.
Agrees to Send Girl Home.
The woman went to see Petrie. They
had stormy session, as the result of
which, 1t is said, Pert agreed to ship
wife No, 2 back to Dakota that night,
He even bought ticket The ticket
agent of course told Marshal Caugh-
rey and finally everybody, hearing of
1t, settled down and thought the pend
ing excitement dissipated. 1t wasn't
1t had Just commenced, Petrie saun-
tered nonchalantly down to Reinhart's
livery barn after supper. told all the
double life, it didn't pay, and he was
boys there that he had given up the
Marshal Caugherty puffed into the
Paul and settle down.
s@< Gets Best Sleigh.
He asked, Remnant finally, IL he could
get his very best sleigh, for the snow
storm had just begun to open without,
as he was going, to try to cheer his
real wife up. He left the barn with
the rig attached to a wheezy old spav-
inned nag he had traded away himself.
This morning the spawned horse was
found tethered down by the stock
yards, where Petrie had gone to get
his own horses.
Marshal Caugherty pulled into the
barn half an hour afterward with
Sheriff Billings and two deputy sher-
ifs, ordered out every rig in the place,
and said he was standing around down
near Mrs. Reuters boarding house,
when Petrie, two horses hitched to the
sleigh, and eight more tied up behind,
sailed up our towns main street in
q cloud Of. snow, took aboard the
Young retiring girl at Mrs. Reuter- 8
and vanished in a hurriance of his own
creation southwark ous of town.
Mrs. Petrie Gets Busy.
Mrs. Petrie came down and Joined in
the preparations herself, and finally
several teams were on the trail. They
never got in sight of him. Many of
the posse were almost lost in the
binding storm, ,4.ass
Farmers along the way tell of
sounds like cattle stampede rushing
by their storm bound houses in the
middle Of the night, but it had passed
by before they could get to the win
dow to look out. John Casperson, a.
hermit living on the shores of CT.
ter Tail lake, said he saw a herd of
horses dash up in front of his shack
that night, stop, some one get out and
change horses and whirl away south
ward again. g
Travels Like the Wind,
That Petrie set wild pace through
the nights long storm and until late
the next day is shown by the reports
of his presence in Henning, forty
miles south of here by road, early the
next morning, and at Clitheral TWEEN
ty-two miles west of Henning, before
noon. There all trace of him las been
lost, and it is believed Petrie is now
across the North Dakota border
Mrs. Petrie return I'd here and swore
out warrant for her husbands ar
rest. The police are now searching