The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1912-10-18
KELLY WAS CONFUSED
WHILE UNDER INQUIRY
From Saturdays Daily.

pal court this morning on the charge
Of arson in the first degree. She
was given a preliminary hearing
County Attorney j. w. Schmitt ap
peared for the state and C.. E. Phil
lips and Thomas Hughes were at
torneys for the defense After lis
tening to the testimony, Judge Com
stock held Mrs. Dolson to await the
action of the grand jury which viii
convene at the opening of the No
vember term of court.
Deputy State Fire Marshal l.. v
Conley was the first witness sworn
and said that he had made thor
ough examination of the premises
of Otis Dolson at 102 West street
and that the condition of the house
showed very plainly that the fire
had been set with a deliberate in.
tent to destroy the house. The
odor of kerosene pervaded the at
mosphere around the house and
the porch was soaked with it. Mr.
and Mrs. Dolson were in the house
at the time of his visit and Mrs
Dolson showed him through the
building. The fire had burned
through the northwest corner of the
house and it looked as if the fire
had also been kindled on tho "o~"n
The furniture had been piled pro
miscuously about the rooms and
nothing was in order. -.
Kelly Was Confused.
Hugh Kelly, who has been held as
one of the principals in the arson
case, was then sworn and he seemed
to be badly confused. County Attor'
ney Schmitt questioned him about
his movements on the night of the
fire, but it was hard to make him
understand just what was expected
of him. He testified that he had
been working on the sewer all day
and at six o'clock he went to his
home at the foot of Rock street
and stayed about half an hour
Kelly said that he knew Mr.. and
Mrs. Dolson we'll and had been
more or less intimately associated
with them for two years. A year
ago last summer he had gone to
work for Dolson and had stayed
with him till in the winter. DOlson
and he had falling out then and
in the fracas Dolson had hit him on
the head with a rock. He said that
it was not much of a fight, but did
not remember much after Dolson hit
him.
Had Been Drinking.
Kelly testified that he had been
at the Dolson residence good
many times and had always drank
with her. Sometimes Dolson had
been with them, but most of the
time he had been somewhere else.
He had also met Mrs. Dolson on
the street and had talked and drank
with her. When asked if he and
Mrs. Dolson had run away to Lam
berton short time ago he denied
it, Kelly's story of his movements,
as extracted from him by gruell-
ing cross questioning, is as follows.
When he left his home at the foot
of Rock street about seven o'clock
on the night of the fifth, after he
had finished his days work, he
had gone into a store on the corner
of Rock and Front streets and
bought some tobacco. Then he went
into the Big Six saloon on north
front street and stayed about three
minutes, without buying anything.
He went up town and walked around
awhile and about nine o'clock met
Mrs. Dolson on the corner of Front
and Cherry streets. He spoke to
her and she gave him some whis
key. Then she said she wanted to
get the "old man" out of the way
and suggested that Kelly burn the
house that night with Dolson in it.
conversation all Kelly would say
,I~ hot oh tod
to get rid of the "old man" and fol
Kelly to burn him up. Kelly then
left her and she went on towards
her home. He said that he did not
know whether she had a package OF
shoes with her at this time and all
he noticed was the whiskey bottle.
Wanted Some Booze.
Kelly then walked around for a
little while and met an acquaintance
who he knew by the name of John.
He did not know the mans last
last name. From Kelly's descrip.
ton John was a rather small man,
dark complexioned and weighing
about one hundred and fifty pounds
At the time John wore a light col.
ored duck coat Kelly gave John
three dollars and told him to get
some thing to drink. Kelly is on
the black list and cannot buy a
drink himself He waited for the
booze somewhere between Liberty
and Cherry streets on Front street
and in a short time John came back
with two quarts of brandy. He did
not know where John had gotten the
liquor and did not know the direc.
ton he had taken when he went
after it. They stood in the street
and drank some of the brandy and
then walked down toward the Chi
cago, Milwaukee and st. Paul rail.
road tracks. They drank nearly all
the brandy and then waited till after
midnight and went down to Dol.
sons house. Kelly did not seem to
be able to tell just what converse.
ton had passed between him and
John, but they must have talked
over the plan of burning the house
for as soon as they got to the place
they Immediately set out to get
some kerosene from the National
Refining company's warehouse on
Poplar street. Kelly said that his
companion had gone through a
barbed wire fence to get the oil
but he had STAYED outside to wait
for him. John broke into the ware.
house and found five gallon can
which he proceeded to fill from one
of the oil tanks Upon coming back