Bemidji Daily Pioneer Newspaper, March 29, 1907, Page 1

THE BEMIDJI DATLY PIONEE \ MINHESOTA HISTORICAL —eOCIETY. [ VOLUME 4. NUMBER 287 BEMIDJ1, MINNESOTA, FRIDAY EVENING, MARCH :9 1907 TEN CENTS PER WEEK THE WESLEY TRIAL IS NEAR T0 THE DENOUEMENT STAGE Caldwell Is Star Witness for Prosecution---His Testimony Stands Unshaken After Severe Cross-Examination-- “Shorty” Wanted Dahl’s “Plant” At the conclusion of the ad- and made a survey of the roads, | dress by Mr. Fuckley, yes ftrails, etc, and reduced same to terday afternoon, and when C. plat or map, which was iatro- C. Strander had been called as duced as state’s Exhibit “C.” the first witness for the state,! Miss Danl’s house was situated John M. Martin, of counsel for on section 33. Had made survey Requestioned by Martin if on Ithat date the trail he had fol- lowed was in.passable to wagon or sled, witness could not recall condition, Mrs. Halvorson was next called the defendant Wesley, made anjeast to Blackduck road, also|and corroborated the evidence of objection against the admissien/north and west in section 33. of any evidence under the in-)Located Caldwell’s house and dictment, on these ground barn First—Because the indictment,; southeast quarter, and N. O. returned by the grand jury|Dahl’s house on northeast quar- against Wesley doos not stateiter of northwest quarter of same facts suf b to constitits a } section, and barn near the house, public offense, reason that | He also described the lecation of in said indictment the defendant! Paul Fournier’s place, James Wesley is alleged to have| From Miss Dahl’s house 2 trail killoed N. O Dl by shooting|leads to an old lozging road not him with a rifle; the calling | passable to teams. Also foot- for a conclu path which crosses a small +{stream, and a road known as the 1| Red Lake Blackduck tote road. The wap also showed a well- 2d trail running in a south- terly direction to Dahl’s ;f such|cabinand notaccessible to teams. ie; and|The map in evidence shows lines encircling Dahl’s barn exiending and | southwesterly from mead>w to mitting facts rifl2 was I leaden b: plosive, fire?, and N. O. Dahl, Second—Thas judicial notice of its records that there an ind . on | Tamarac timber. file in this cours accu From Miss Dahl’s house the Paul Fournier of haviug trail runs south toalarge spruce said N. O. Dahl by shooting tree and follows logging road 1 indictiment| from this tree south to where an er and indict- | old skidding road intersects, and cootinuing in sams direction trail intersects main road to Paul Fournier’s and Bugene Caldwells’ house. The map shows clearing necar Dahl’s hous2. The well-defined trail leading to the meadow, and a it that against said [ou ment againsy each separate! not as joint that neither of « d accuses either of said defendants of having counseled, aided or abbetted the killing of N. O. Dahl as accessories before or|all conspicuous marks of nearly after the fact. every foot of land adjoining the The court held that he was not|cabins of the Dahl’s 1s described. certain concerning the ruling up-| The cabins are aboat 200 fee on the motion that the indicvment| from the tamarac timber to the did not states facts sufficient to)logging road, and the same dis- constitute a public off:nse and|tance from end of skidding road would hear counsel for state and|The trail1s nowa wagon road, defendaut before o having lately been cutout from Friday worning, Paul Fouarnier’s to Krueger’s counsel tn farnish authoriies;|olace. and as to motion alleging thasthe| Mr. Stoner further described indictments : gainst Fournierand | from the map the location of ali Wesley accuses them separztely | she roads, also the meadow, the as principals for the same kill { limber and its variety, as well as ing, the court said he did not|the course of the crqek running think objection would be talken fnear Miss Dabl’s cabin, ab this time. Cross examined by Mr. Mar- The cass procaeded b o | bin: the decision of the eoury in thej Mr. Stoner again explained morning. the locatiouns, and the views that C. C. Strander wus called as|could be obtained of the Dah! the first witness f.r thy stue. | places from different directions. He testified as to the conditions| Stated that a person could be of ths Dahl's and hi i ip|scen from Caldwell’s barn to to them; when they h Miss Dahl’s hous= when he was seen alive and the s | there. disposal of the bodi-s; R questioned by the state fied a ring as being one which]Stoner folt 2 the .course of belonged to N.O Daul: counselithe + L the Jocation of for defendant, out tho county at |an up-rooted balsam tree a short torney said he would | ow | distance from the trail, about relevancy of the idoitific . 1200 feet from the elder Dahl’s 0. C. Rool was called. He [house under which his body was verified the testimony of Mr.|found. Strander. | Mr. Martin for the defense Court adpurned until [riday|again questioned Stoner with morning at %:30 o’clock. reference tolocation of Crandall’s camp, There was another large crowd {old farm house, and - described in attendance at the Wesley trial!the camp as being east of the today, much intercs een | northeast corner of section 33. awakened by made by Coanty Abs unk- | dence. ley to the jury y ¥, inj Tke Halvorson was sworn for opening the case for the state—!the stite. Questioned by Funk- tuat two witnesses would tell ofjley testitied that he had lived in confessions aleged to b been ' Quiring for seven years. Had made by Wesley, wherein he|known Dahl durirg all this time, G atx|The map was accepted in evi-| stated he and Paul Fouraicr had| killed the Dahl’s. | At8:80, in chambers, Judge! Spooner took up the maiter of the objzclions made by connsel for the defense, recorded above. | Counsel for state and for de-! fendant present=d authorilics, and the matter was thoroughly | gone over. The couct denicd the motion at} the present time, bubthe defense | can bring up the same wotion later for arrest of jadgment, on motion for a new trial if there should bea conviction, The decision was rendered in| open court, afier which the triall was resumed, obj:ction being made by the defense. i M. D. Stoner, cournty surveyor, was the first witness called by the state at the resumption of the trial this morning Mr. Stoner presented a map showing the country in the vicin- ity of the Dahl homesteads. On question he stated that he wes familar with the township of Quiring, and the neighborhood of the house of Miss Aagot Dahl. and his daughter from tha time she filed on her homestead. He was in the habit of visiting the o'd man and daughter frequently | and bad helped to build their cabins, Last saw theold man ali January 16, when he went to his place for some potatoes, and the last time he saw thej daughter was ashort thme later| at the Quiring postoffice. April I12tb, tive days afier the commiszion of the crime, he, went t) see old man Dahl about! buildiog a house, butfound no one at home. The coois were locked, and the blinds drawn over windows. Went from there! to Miss Dahl’s place and found same condition there. Saw no tracks cn ground owing to hea%y | snowstorm two days previous, Cross examined by Martin for defense, Halvorson described course taken, and pointed out on the map the road followed. Examined again by Funkley he testified that on the occasion of his visit April 12, he did not see a hand sled kept by the old man her husband. Had known Dahl’s for three years, and was with on southeast quarter of|Mr. Halvorson at the time of his visit April 12. Saw hand sled half way between the old man’s land girl’s house, a few feet off the path. Could not remember if sled was covered with snow. Cross examined regarding depth of snow, said did not take {any particular notice. The sled was in a position as if somebody had just pushed it off the road. Bugene Caldwell was sworn for the state. Questioned by Funkley testified that he was a farmer. Had lived in Quiring about ten years, and had konown Dahl from the time he first came there. He saw Dahl when he re turned from Crookston after sell. ing his timber, and met him coming from Carter’s where the daughter had stayed while he was in Crookston. After the old man returned he had gone to live with his daughter, and he bad visited them two or three times during the winter. The last time he was there in March when he was accompanied by his wife, and spent three hours with | them. Along about the first days of April he was havling hay to where Blackduck river empties into Red Lake. On the night of the 5th or 6th he was late -going ome, and pissed Miss Dahl’s house at a point where there is a stretch of open country. He saw lights through the windows and sparks flying from the chimney. Cross examined by Martin Caldwell stated he had testified at the preliminary examination of Paul Fournier in January. Also that he was the man who had discovered ths remains of N. O. Dahl. Charles Laroque was sworn for the stats and testified that he bad lived in Quiring three years. Knewx N. O Dahl and daughter, and had seen them at different times during the winter. Saw hem at the girl’s cabin during February when he skidded logs there. Went there again the last of March or first of April to bargain for some potatoes and other articles, and bought $13.50 worth to be delivered when the girl proved up on her claim in June. The potatoes he could have any time, Went to Dahl’s cabin after potatoes April4, and the gir! was also there. Got potatoes and the old man locked the door. Paid Dahl $33.50, in three ten- dollar bills and five dollar bill re ceiving $1.50 in change. Nevcr some 80 rods from the|saw either alive after that time. AFTERNOON SESSION Court reconvened at 1:30. Charles Laroque was called to the stand. i Question by Funkley— Were :vou out hunting, l-oking for dead deer with Mr. Dahi? No cross examination by de- fense. Mrs. Caldwell was called by state, but unable to testify on account of sickness. Will take stand tomorrow. David Miller sworn bv the state, and testificd that he had lived in town of Clifford. Had known Paul Fournier nine years. W:s at Buena Vi<t about. April 4th or 5th and saw Paul Fournier there. Question by Funkley— Stat what transactions you had with him? Objected to by defense. Objec- tion su-tained. Miller excused for the present. sgain | Wm. Butler called. Did not answer. County attorney objected tode- laying matters up this way, and cours requested sheriff to xoti fy witnesses to be present when called or there would be trouble. Eungene Caldwell called to the stand again by the stats testified that he had known James Wes ley for eight or nine years. Wesley had worked for him at Had been there in March, 1907, ter’s place. for hauling wood at his daugh-different times and had also imade his home at Caldwell’s place for two or paee o i oot KILLING OF THE DAHLS had worked for Fournier dur- ing the winter, also for Caldwell, and on the drive during the spring. During February Cald- well and Fournier had worked 30 days on a timber job for Martin- dale, and Wesley nine days. Fournier and Wesley boarded at Martindale’s, Fournier doing the cooking. Calawell used to eat dinner with them occasionally while working on the job had heard Wesley say something about Dahl. Wesley sald: “Dahl has a plant and I would like to make him dig it up and show the old — ——how to spend it.” Wesley knew that Dahl had sold his timber and had money. “Me and Paul,” continued Cald well, “used to josh him about Miss Dahl and Miss Flaske when in the house.” Sherty asked what would I do with that “round head,” meaning the girl, and Fournier said she would be just the thing to have ona farm Shorty then said what would I do with the old man, and Paul said it is an easy matter to get rid of him. Shorty asked: “Kill the old— would you?” “I left Mr. Martindale about this time, but “Shorty and Paul were talking during this time about Dabl going to Crookston to get money for the girl to prove up,” continued Caldwell. During the winter of 1903 “Shorty” often spoke of old man Dahl’s plant; couldn’t state the exact time, but it was before he sold his timber. One day Wes ley said something about shoot- ing the game warden, and bury his dead body in the swamp. April 7, Caldwell had been hauling bay. . Was home in the evening, and heard the dogs bark- ing outside. Went out with wife and heard scream which his wife said might be an owl hooting, but he thought it sounded like a human being., Later beard rifle shot fired about a quarter mile distant, Thought it was funny and remarked to his wife that someone must be doing up old Krueger. , The time of the shot was about 915 and the night was still. Next morning, the 8th,he went after a load of hay and turned his steck out. Later the cattle dis- appeared and he tracked them by Miss Dahl’s cabin, withia about four feet of the door. Saw tracks leading frcm the docr toward southwest and followed them to beaver dam, where the tracks stopped. Came back to look for Dahl; the doors were locked and one blind down. Didn’t s2e clothes line or old man’s sled. Noticed tracks from swamp to spruce tree, many tracks fresh from the night before. Went to Fournier’s place in the afternoon, and fesnd “Shorty” and Krueger with him “Shorty” looked different than usual, Looked pale and kept his eyes on the floor; didn’t talk mach, Aftera while Krueg r started to go home, and Fourni - | said, “there’s your gun, Bili”’ Caldwell went to Krarger's place and from th re bo n-. I'n s happencd April 8. the day afur he heard the shot and scream. Later became aware that Id| man Dahl and daughter w raf missing, and wont with Rood « f Creokston, Dabl’s son-in-law, 10| the shanty, and found thingsin as if they had jast gotten un. ard was ‘urned to the wall, Went there again next Jd g with [Talvorson and Lo que. Not ¢ slats ia frant of wil's bad broken. Uad <iaceed make search for their bodiax before Mr. Rood came, as he b lieved they had been kill-d Vegetation grew fast and s-areh n the woods and the swamp be came more difficult daily. Oa th 25th of July went cutt: hunt for missing cow with Owen French. Found cow on Dahl's hon es'ead with remains of hemy clothes lire snared arcucd ho i+, which held ber tied. In gomzt cow stepped over bzlsam stump and got streng smell. French’s dog began to rose around the stump, and seeing bugs and vermin crawling out of a hole in the ground they roo‘el up the earth with a stick, and brought out a piece of skull and hair Dug up -the shirt and other pieces of old man’s wear- ing apparel, and being satisfizd they had found the remains of old man Dahl, Caldwell left French to watch the body, and went 1o Blackduck himself to notify the authorities, and was placed under arrest. The stump under which the remains were found wasa large tree uprooted during a storm Continued on last page. great disorder. The b-ds looked |! a large oval shaped looking slass || B e e WAS MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR! N. 0. Dahl and His Daughter Aagot of Crookston Took Homestead in Northern Minnésota--- 01d Man and Young Woman Ruth!lessly Slain. The killing of N. O. Dahl and his adjoining that of her father. daughter Aagot was one of the! most cold-blooded and brutal mur-}in shacks on their claims, and were ders in the annals of crime in apparently on very friendly terms northern Minnesota. 1with all their neighbors. Miss Dahl An almost helpless old man,ivisited in Crookston during the white-haired and past 62 years of; month of September, 1903, with her age, weighing but 150 pound z\ndi‘ relatives, and that was the last time a young woman, 23 years old, she was seen there alive. She re- sickly, frail, and without suspicion turned to her claim, and was never as to danger of any kind—the vic-'seen again outside the home of tims of unknown murders who shed neighbors in the vicinity of Quir- blood in the hope of obtaining a'ing. . - few paltry dollars, believing that; - Mr. Dahl was seen in Crookston their identity would never be dis-!during the month of January, 1904, covered, and, knowing well the iso- having sold'the timber on his claim lated condition of the country, were whil¢ he was in that city, realizing confident that the bodies of the old,$1,800 therefor. Mr. Dahl returned man and his ghter would never to Quiring, taking only about $80 be found. |of the sum realized by the sale of N. O. Dahl was for many years a!his- timber. ) resident of Polk county, and was in; +The Dahls mingled with their Crookston for months at a time. He ncighbors quite freely, in the neigh- had three daughters, two of whom|borhood of Quiring, and were often were married to Crookston businessiseen at Quiring postoffice, until the men—C. C. Strander and O. C.imonth of March, 1904, when their Rood—the other daughter (Miss| visits to the postoffice ceased, about Aagot) being a school teacher who 'the last of the month. No mail ad- taught various schools in Polk!dressed to the Dahls was called for county. at the postoffice, and letters ac- Mr. Dahl, whose wife was dead,}cumulated until a suspicion was decided in 1902 to file on-a claim in{aroused that the continued absence northern Beltrami county, the de-jof the old man and. his daughter sire to own a clabm being the result!was due to-their having either left of many whom he knew taking|for Crookston on a visit, or had claims in other parts of the county.:been. inade away with. He came to Bemidji, and later filed| Letters. of inquiry addressed to on a claim about a mile and a halfjthe- relatives -of: the Dahls residing cast of Quiring Postoffice and fif- at Crookston brought replies to the teen miles northwest of the village,effect that neither the father nor of Blackduck. At that time there|daughter had been in that city for were very few scttlers in the .vicin-[some time. ity of Quiring, and the aged Dahlj O. C. Rood and C. C. Strander decided to induce his -daughter|of Crookston, sons-in-law of N. O. Aagot (who was in poor health) 'Dahl, went to Quiring, and from to come from Crookston and take there to the claims of Mr. Dahl and a claim near his, in the bracing air! Aagot.. They found no trace of of the pines, where she could re- ither of the missing relatives, and gain her strength. Miss Dall came packed the effects .of ecach and from her home and filed on a claim 'shipped the " stuff to Crookston. Mr. Dahl and his daughter. livcdl The county attorney of Beltrami county (H. J. Loud) was consulted at Bemidji, and the unraveling of the mystery surrounding the disap- pearance of the Dahls was placed in the hands of Mr. Loud and Sher- iff Bailey, who at once began a searching inquiry as to the where- abouts of Mr. Dahl and Aagot. The efforts of the officers to find a trace of the missing ones was without avail, and rewards were offered to anyone who would find the body of either. This resulted in imany detectives from different parts of the country aiding in the search, with but poor success, and the mysterious disappearance of the Dahls became a much-discussed matter. Nothing in the form of a clue as to the whereabouts of the missing Dahls was unearthed until the ev- ening of July 26th, 1904, when Eu- gene Coldwell and Owen French, two homesteaders living near the Dahl claims, came to Blackduck and reported that they had found the body of N. O. Dahl under the roots of a big balsam tree near his shack. The county authorities at Bemidji were notified and the county attorney, sheriff and coroner visited the scene. The body was in a bad state of decomposition, but was brought to Bemiidji and an au- topsy held, resulting in locating a wound in the skull, made by a rifle bullet, which had caused death. The body was shipped to Crooks- ton and buried there, and an at- tempt was made to detect the perpe- trators of the crime of having killed the old man. Eugene Coldwell and Paul Four- nier were arrested, charged with killing Dahl, and both men were bound over to the grand jury. The grand jury returned indictments against Fournier and James Wes- ley, the latter having lived at the home of Coldwell, and suspicion was directed against him, connect- ing him with the crime. Fournier was held in the county jail, await- ing the finding of James Wesley, whose whereabouts were unknown. On October 11, 1904, County At- torney Loud had the indictment against Fournier annulled, the evi- dence not being considered strong enough against the prisoner to war- rant trying him on the charge of Continued on Page 2 Your | Money's Your Money Back i (’Learyand Bowser i The Greater Department Store Splendidly Prepared With the Malil Orders Prime of Easter 1907 Fashions ‘!_T HE trend of | this court I FRENCH HAIR VASS $15, $18, $20, $22, $25 FANCY FURNISHINGS New idens in Fancy Dres Shirts, Tees, Gloves, Oxfords. Ladies’ Suits, Coats and SKirts, They find here, besides the tested clays, serges, tweeds and soft worsteds; those new club clecs and plain interwoven fancy plaids. SHAPE-RETAININ LINEN CAN- Shozs, Bemidji Gentlemen leads to of fashion i men’s clothes. CLOTH AND ABERDEEN INTERLINING. S the city has ever known. Specializing the ‘-Palmer” Suits the prestige of best dressers. 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