Valdez daily prospector., 1913-10-09
VICTIMS SHOT
 AND ClUBBEO
,lnvestigati Shows That Ander- son Was First Victim of the
 Murderer.

from Willow Creek, where they had gone to make an inspection of the bodies of the two men who were recently found dead near the Willow Creek roadhouse.
 The bodies had been exposed to the elements for some time and were in an advanced stage of de- composition, but the doctor was able to ascertain that both men had been shot and afterwards clubbed. The murderer had used a small-bore high power rifle, and had evidently used heavy club or the pole of an axe with which to make sure of his deadly work.
 The first body discovered was that of Ole Nelson, and was found about l5G yards from the Willow Creek rOadhOuse. The other is believed to be that of Herman Anderson and was found one and three-quarLer miles far ther along on the road. The men had undoubtedly been travelling companions as shown by the ef- fleets of their packs. Both packs contained the same kind of socks, handkerchiefs and gloves.
 The officers have learned that he men left Fairbanks about July l9. as a strip of the issue of the Fairbanks Times of that date was used by one of the men to tight en the band of his hat to keep it from blowing off. The keeper of the Copper Center roadhouse remembers the two men passing that place about the first week ill August. The men stopped there in the afternoon for dinner and left again the same afternoon. There was nothing particular about the men to distinguish the,n from hun.i''cds of other travellers, except that one of the men wore a pair of new tan shoes.
 IL is believed that Anderson. whose body was discovered last. came to his death first and that after having shot and clubbcd him tu death. the murderer followed and shot Nelson. Anderson had been shot while sitting on d brush bed with his feet to the fire. iIr had also been rllIbh"d by his a>saiIanI while lhr latter was standing behind him. His skull was fractured in several places. in. whole top of his head liter ally being smashed in. His pOrk- cts had been gone through and cunlained only twenty-five cents.
 The body of Nelson showed that he had been shot through the shoulder. as though turning to see if his pursuer was gaining on him. He had fallen on his fac" and the murderer had not trnu- bIed to turn the body over, but had taken the rope from his pack and tied it about his feet in or der to drag him into the brush beside the road. The body was only fifty feet from the road, where hundreds of people must have passed since the murders took place. It was concealed in thick undrrgrnwLh and was "n- ly discovered by accident. His head showed that he had also been clubbed with some blunt in- slrument.
 The fact that the murderer or- prlooked the roll of bills in the shirt pocket on Nelson's body was probably due to the fact that his victim fell on his face. The kill ing took place near the road house and he was in hurry to get the body concealed before the appearance of any chance travel CT OF investigation by the road house keeper. It is also possi- ble that having secured big sum of money from Anderson, he reasoned that Nelson. had noth- ing except the change he carried in his pants pockets, which had been turned inside out. Nelson's watch, which was picked up close to the road, where it is believed he dropped it when shot, had stopped at six o'clock.
 The place where Anderson came to his death showed no signs of a struggle having talk en place. The murderer had evil dently been close to his victim when he fired the shot and im-