The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1917-01-19
HAD DEALINGS WITH HIM
Never Knew of His Being In
Trouble Before; Has Family
. .-. Back Home
From fridays Jallv.

women on The street las1 Tuesday
night, there is no doubt. He bumped
into some that We're coming from
church on Main street. He SAID
Hello, kid" and Come this way"
to others on Main street. Chief Of
Police KlugherZ has information that
he went into a restaurant that same
evening and when asked by the
waitress what he wanted said he
wanted a woman. The chief has
been informed that he was then
promptly ordered out. He also was
in trouble in the dining room of the
Heinrich hotel. How many other
places he may have had like friction
in can only be conjectured.
The great question that has been
interesting everyone is whether he was
the man who attacked the two women
that night. Could Mrs. Hobbs be
mistaken in declaring that he was
not the man who assaulted her?
Could Miss Fannie Strand be mis-
taken in identifying his voice and
clothing as those of the man who
attacked her? Then, could there
have been more than one man
dUTOdu IudI HlSut III mdhhdIo' III
sulting and attacking women?
Ora Quint. night porter OF the
Saulpaugh hotel, a comparatively
new conner in the city, told the po-
lice yesterday that his wife was one
of those who was accosted on the
street that night by Cottrell.
This happened not far from the
Northwestern passenger depot. Quint
got a good look at the man, and
from the description of the prisoner
he is sure that it was the same one.
Neither he nor his wife quite heard
what the fellow said, but Mrs. Quint
has an idea what it was.
Has Told the Truth.
1t has developed that Cottrell has
told the truth in the main, if not the
absolute truth, when he gave an &C
count of his identity, family and
residence to the police. Statements by
him were corroborated by S. B. LoOmis
who has come to Mankato from
Bookings, S. D., and is employed as
a bookkeeper at the Mayer Brothers
mandatory. Loomis has had this
position since the first of this
month. He has family at Brook
ings and expects some time late in
the spring or early in the summer
to move them to Mankato.
Loomis said last evening that he
had a partnership with Cottrell, just
as Cottrell said. This partnership
was in the making and selling of
hay from a tract of land rented by
Loomis near Moritz, S. D., where
Cottrell and his family had been
living in small dwelling.
Loomis said he was acquainted
with Cottrell for a number of years,
and that Cottrell had never been
known by him to be in any trouble
of this nature before. He said Cot
trell was inclined to be backward
and shy in the presence of women.
He said he was astonished when he
learned that Cottrell had been in
such trouble. He said Cottrell drank
rather freely some years ago at
times, but during the last five years
had not had much to do with liquor.
He said he believed that when Cot
trell found himself in Mankato with
a fairly good supply of money in
his pocket. he drank pretty heavily
and lost control of himself and mis-
behaved He did not believe Cot
trell was guilty of the attacks on
two women in Mankato Tuesday
night.
Had Hard Luck.
Loomis said Cottrell came from
Iowa to South Dakota ten years ago
and bought a farm near Bushnell,
@ hoI 70 inc in,
Iowa, where he was a tenant far
mer. AS a tenant he had amassed
about $4,000 in the business. In
South Dakota to rejoin his family.
hard luck, particularly in one COM
plete crop failure about five years
ago. The result was that Cottrell
lost all the money that he had in
vested in the farm, though he still
had some horses and machinery.
Loomis said that after that, Cot
trell frequently did farm work for
him, particularly in the matter of
haying. Loomis said Cottrell was a
hardworker and there was no troub-
lie with him, as far as the matter of
and business were con-
cerned. The latest deal between
Tie TWO llltH was Ill tllt CutJlHS,
curing and marketing of the hay
near Moritz. 1t was agreed that they
should share in halves all that was
obtained from the sale of the hay.
During the haying season of 1916,
they put up 600 tons. They sold
300 tons, lost 200 tons by fire and
had about 100 tons left.
Loomis said he himself. prior to
getting the job from the Mayer
Brothers concern, had been in diff
ferent parts of Southern Minnesota,
including Mankato and New Ulm, to
sell it. He was asked how he could |
sell Dakota hay here when so much |
was raised in Southern Minnesota,
and he said the Dakota prairie hay |
was superior article, and found a |
ready market.
Visited the Saloons.
Cottrell had about $50 on him |
when arrested. He had come to !
Mankato Monday to see Loomis and |
make settlement with him up to
date. Loomis handed over to him
more than that sum. The |
men met first on Monday and again