Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1910-05-04
CARL OLSON Tells
HIS SIDE OF STORY
INSISTS THAT HE IS INNOCENT
OF THE MURDER OF PAUL
PETERSON.
Has Been Confined mi the Peniten-
tiary for Five Years - Was Sent Up
On CircumstantiaI Evidence.

| TOWner, McHenry county.
Peterson was murdered on his
! cain where he was living alone, thu
deed being committed with small
! axe, which was found on the prem
| Uses covered with blood and human
! hair. The murder was not discover
! ed until at least two weeks after II
was done, and soon after that Olsor
was arrested on suspicion, as the
! personal property Of the murdered
man. consisting of three horses and
wagon and double harness, was
! found in the possession of Olson, he
claiming that he had purchased them
from a man he met on the road and
who was an entire stranger to him
Olso was living on his claim at thu
time and was alone and had no way
of proving an alibi, and he claims he
was railroaded to the pen. Through
the courtesy of Warden Hellstrom 8
Tribune representative was allowed to
interview Olson yesterday, and got
his side of the story.
Olson is q rather tall, light com
plected Scandinavian and has the
prison pallor to a marked degree,
having been confined in the institu.
ton since June 1905. He is EN-.
ployed in the machine shop and the
officials say has been model prison
er all the time.
He was visibly affected when the
reporter was introduced to him, and
has been considerably excited since
receiving the news of the finding of
a coat on the N. p. bridge near this
place, and in which a note was found
which contained, among other Things,
a statement of the determination Of
the owner to commit suicide, and q
confession that he was the man that
killed Peterson and then sold the
property to man unknown to him.
Olson states that he met the man on
the road and then and there purchas-
ed the outfit as it was just what he
needed to do the work with on his
claim, which he had just taken up
that spring.
He states that he was slightly sus-
picious of the man, but that he told
a straight forward story about the
ownership of the team and finally
sold them for $45. This was not such
small price then. as the horses
were in poor condition and horses
were not bringing much in the mark
ct at that time
He states that he was acquainted
with Peterson but that he had never
had any trouble with him, and he
stated to the reporter with tears in
his eyes. that his history could be
traced from the cradle and it would
ho hof hn no
fight in his life or even a serious dis
agreement with any of his fellow
men. He thinks there we're people In
McHenry county who were anxious to
get rid of him and that he was rail-
roaded to the penitentiary.
When asked if he had anything to
say to the press, he stated that he
was not used to saying much, but
that he was innocent and that he
would appreciate anything that could
be done to get him out of the pen and
that he was entirely innocent of any
completely in the crime with which
he was charged.
He told with tears in his eyes of
how his imprisonment was wearing
on him and stated that at times he
mind, but now ray of hope has come
he would take on renewed courage.
He says that he had a wife and two
children. but that they had not come
to his claim to live has he had not
proper quarters fixed up for them.
His wife has secured a divorce and
remarked since his Imprisonment in
the penitentiary.
The mans brother has been in the
city since the finding of the note
which seemingly exhonorates Olson
from all connection with the crime,
and he suggested searching the river
for signs of the man who is supposed
to have committed suicide, but this
has been abandoned. as the Mis-
souri, river never gives up it's dead
at this point as the shifting sands at
the bottom Of the river quickly cover
any object thrown into it, and there
has never been known an instance
where the body of a drowneded man
has been recovered.
Just what steps will be taken by
the state or county officials to in
vestigate the matter cannot be said,
but there will! probably ie some &C
ton. 'SY
At the last June meeting of the
state board of pardons Olson had an
application in, but it was not acted
upon.
When the interview with the re-
porter was ended and the guard came
to take Olson back to the machine
shop, the man stood with bowed head
and detected mein and with tears
streaming from his eyes while he
waited for the turnkey to swing back
the big steel barred door which would
again shut him out from communica-
ton with his fellow men, and the re-
porter could not help feeling, after
the conversation with them man,
that an innocent party was being
confined behind the bars of the North
Dakota state penitentiary.