Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1918-09-25
BATTLES
DRAFT EvADERS.
ONE MAN is KILLED AND FIVE
WOUNDED ON FARM NEAR
OWEN, WIS.
FOUR BROTHERS RESISTED
Fire on Federal Officers Sent to Ar
-est Them-Three Fugitives Make
Escape From Farmhouse Be-
sieged by 200 Armed Men.


Owen, Wis, Sept. II. - One man
was killed and five wounded during
pitched battle between a posse of
armed citizens and state guards and
four alleged draft evaders at the
Kruger farm, two miles west of here.
Harry Jensen, stationmaster at
Withee was instantly killed while re-
loading his rifle 500 feet away from
the farmhouse. Emil Laino, of Withee,
sustained f1Ve bullet wounds and near
ly died from loss of blood. Other in
jured are Angus Page, Frank White
and Mattson. All are expected to re-
cover
Two special agents of the depart
ment of justice called at the Kruger
farm to arrest the four Kruger
brothers, Frank, Louis, Ennis, and
Leslie, on charges of evading the Sc
lective service, and were fired upon
by two of the young men The officers
returned to Owen and formed a posse
of 200 armed men who surrounded the
mediately fired upon.
After an all night siege, during
which hundreds of shots were ex-
changed, it was discovered at daylight
that there was no one in the beleag-
uered house. Frank Kruger, one of
the men the posse sought to arrest,
surrendered after being shot through
the leg. The other three brothers, En-
mis-, Lewis and Leslie, who were
known to be in the house when the
battle began, had disappeared during
the night. 1t is claimed it would be
impossible for them to escape from
the premises through the Gordon of
guards and it is believed they are still
in hiding on the farm.
Mrs. Kruger, mother of the four
boys, was taken to Eau Claire and
lodged in the county Jail, while her
wounded son, Frank, was taken to a
hospital at Chippewa Falls. Neither
would say anything. Frank is being
carefully guarded. Mrs. Kruger is
near a nervous collapse. The whole
county and neighborhood are at fever
heat and it will be short shrift for
the boys when they are caught
Frank Kruger, who is being held
by the authorities, is Sc years old.
The other three brothers, who are be-
ing sought by the authorities, are:
Ennis, 20; Louis, aged %, and Leslie,
aged 26. Frank and Ennis are charged
with having failed to register on Sept.
IL, while Louis and Leslie have failed
to obey summons from the local
boards and are charged with deser-
ton.
When the attacking party stormed
the house early Sunday they found it
had been struck by many bullets.
There were bullet holes through every
wall, through windows and the roof.
A search of the basement, the only
place where the boys could have hid
den, brought no clew to their where
abouts. The house was stocked with
food. ammunition and several high
powered rifles, indicating that
the Kruegers had expected a siege
and prepared for it. Dead animals, in
Guiding a huge bull, that had come
within the range of the fire, were
found in the yard.
The huge barn on the Kruger farm,
which was set ablaze after formalde-
hyde gas had been introduced in an
effort to drive out the men if they had
hidden in the loft, proved to be a veri-
table arsenal. Hundreds of cartridges
popped during the blaze and in one
corner a secret chamber was disclosed
in which the brothers evidently in
tended to hide on the approach of Of
ficers. An accident caused the firing
of the barn, an explosion resulting
when the air suddenly came into con-
tact with the strong gas. Destruction
of the barn apparently dissolves the
theory that the men had hidden on
the premises.
C. E. Marks, agent of the depart
ment of justice at Madison, Town
Marshal Peter Rasmussen and Deputy
United States Marshal Joseph Gantz
barely escaped with their lives when
they went to arrest the four brothers.
Harry and Frank Kruger were in the
corn field when the officers approach
ed. Marks told Frank he wished to
speak with him, but was warned not
to approach. A moment later the boys
opened fire on the officers with auto
matte pistols, it is claimed. A bullet
tore through Marks coat at the
shoulder while others bruised Rasmus-
sen and Gantz. The officers returned
the fire and the brothers retreated to
the house from which they continued
70 fro