The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1921-08-19
BULLET ENDS CAREER
.iSo1,H .z4l NM
Leo Gushman, Former ST.
James Man, Was Shot
VICTIM OF AN OFFICER
Two Auto Accidents, But Luck
lily No One Was Injured;
News Stories

| wv Wv sSSS
| News Stories
| .2g'5,@s -. 9HT1HE
Especial to The Free Press.1
st. James, Mimi, August 16.-Leo
Gushman, at one time associated with
E. T. Sullivan in the publication Of
the st. James Journal Gazette. died
at st. Paul Sunday evening at 7:15
from a gunshot wound infected by a
colored policeman of that city. Gush-
man operated a small grocery store
on Wabasha and with his wife, who
was formerly Miss Veronica Werner
skirchen OF this city, resided at the
rear of the store. During the early
hours Of Saturday morning two men
| attempted to break into a neighbor-
ing store and Gushman, hearing them,
arose and went to the rear door OF
his place, firing two shots which
frightened the wouldbe robbers
| away. He then called the police
station. A few moments later two
men came to the front door of the
door he observed that they were
negroes. He fiourished his revolver
and demanded to know what they
wanted when one OF the negroes
turned a flash light onto him and
fired, the bullet striking him under
the heart resulting in his death Sun
day evening. 1t developed that the
negroes were detectives from the
clothes, whereas Gushman expected
| uniformed policemen he , miStOok
them for intruders. His brother in
law, Edward Wermershirchen, owner
of billiard hall in st. James and one
of the proprietors of the cigar factory
of the same name, went to st. Paul
Saturday afternoon, returning last
| shipped to his old home at Toledo,
Ohio, for burial.
| A Ford touring car driven by Will
liam E. Bierstedt of Dolliver, Iowa,
went off a bridge a mile south of
this city Friday night at about nine
o'clock and landed up side down in
the creek bed fourteen feet below.
In the car with him were his son,
old, his daughter and friend. Bier
stedt- sustained two fractured ribs;
Ralph sustained a severe scalp
wound a sprained back and inter
nal injuries; Fred was bruised about
teh face and head and the daughter
was bruised about the thigh while
Miss Tarbell suffered a fractured
one kidney was injured. Where the
accident occurred the bridge sets at
slight angle with the road. Bier
stedt was driving south, unfamiliar
with the road, and as he approached
the bridge from the north two cars
with. bright lights came from the
south, blinded him to such an extent
at the bridge and the car plunged
through the iron rails to the creek
bed below. There was no water in
| the creek. This is the same bridge
where Mrs. John German met her
death about two years ago.
Mike Klaras, thirty five, employed
tanned serious injuries in a most un-
usual accident at the st. James Gar
age owned by Appel & Wettestad,
one day the latter part of last week.
Klaras was driving the big Menom-
inee truck belonging to the Bottling
Works and stopped at the garage to
put air in the tires. The pressure was
the tire exploded. The force was so
great as to tear the rim off the wheel
and it struck Klaras on the head and
arm, inflicting severe scalp wound
three inches in length and fractur-
ing his left arm. His right arm was
also badly cut. He was rushed to
the hospital where his wound was
dressed but owing to his serious con-
dition his arm could not be set until
two days later. At this writing he is
making good progress toward recov-
cry.
Two automobile accidents result
ed in lucky escape for the persons
concerned when a large touring car
driven by the young son of Gus Tiel
of this city crashed into a buggy on
the Long Lake road few miles South
of here Friday night. Blinded by the
flight Of passing cars the boy did not
see the rig ahead of him which was
going in the same direction. The
buggy was badly wrecked but the
Barge brothers who occupied it, es-
capped Thinjured The same evenir
another mishap occurred on the hard
Ford touring car driven by Justice
Lundquist and Buick roadster oc-
cupied by Mr.. and Mrs. J. w. Purdie
of this city game together in a head =
on collision. Mr.. and Mrs. Purdie
had started for Minneapolis and were
but a short ways out Of the city linn
its when they met the car driven by
young Lundquist. 1t appears that the
lad was making some adjustment on
his carbretor as he drove along and
with his head down he failed to no.
tice the approach of the Purdie car
Mr.. Purdie who was at the wheel OF
the Buick, saw the Ford and honked
his horn but was unable to turn out
sufficiently to avoid the collision on
account of ruts at the side of the
road. Both cars were badly damaged
but no one was injured.
1 CLAIM THE CHAMPIONSHIP.