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Winneshiek County IAGenWeb
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Elgin Echo, Thursday, 5 February 1896. Robber Killed at Calmar. At a late hour Tuesday night Jan. 28, burglars made an entrance into J. A. Giesing's hardware store in Calmar, by forcing a window in the rear of the building The store has been entered several times and as a precautionary measure, two of Mr. Giesing's sons have been sleeping in the room over the store. An opening in the floor afforded an opportunity for anyone in the second story to watch the operations of another in the room below without being observed. The boys had not gone to sleep Tuesday night when they heard the crash of broken glass and then the footsteps of a man making his way through the store. Presently he reached the case where revolvers, scissors and fine cutlery are kept and appeared to be busy helping himself to its contents when Fred Giesing took a shotgun he had in the room above, passed it through the hole in the floor and fired at random in the direction of the noise. A moment of silence followed, and then a voice either at the farther end or just outside of the store called: "Slim ! Slim ! Can't you answer me ?" Opening the window the boys called for help and a company of men standing on the corner scattered. Christ Jaeger, the butcher, came along in a moment and on learning the trouble went to Peter Meyer, Jr.'s, who came down with a rifle and with the others started to investigate. They caught a man going away from the shed back of the store, and he was arrested on suspicion. On entering the store the burglar was found partially leaning on the shelf back of the case he was looting, with a wound on the right side of his neck. He was dead and death was instantaneous. Coroner Gibson was sent for and arrived in Calmar at 4 o'clock that morning. A jury was impanelled. Dr. Heflin was sent for and his examination showed that the fellow's neck had been broken by the shot. The jury returned a verdict in accordance with the evidence introduced and also exonerated young Giesing from any blame in the matter. The boy feels terribly over the affair, as the store was so dark he could not see the man and only shot with the intention of scaring him. John Burns, the fellow who was arrested in the act of escaping from the shed, and five other tramps, were brought to Decorah next day. Two of them giving their names as Johnson had keys and burglar's tools about them. The six men were given trial before Justice Gibson yesterday. The Johnsons were given thirty days; and the other four were bunched under the charge of vagrancy with a fine of $25 each, which they will work out at 75 cents a day at hard labor if there is any hard labor to do. The coroner instructed the trustees of Calmar to buy a cheap lot and bury the body of the dead man at county expense. They did not want to do this, but he pointed out the provisions of the code in such matters and refused to take the corpse as requested. Wednesday afternoon the Calmar undertaker drove into Decorah with the body, having been ordered by some of the trustees to bring it to Decorah. Superintendent Snyder of the poor farm at Freeport, was instructed to receive the body and bury it, but he sent back word that the people of Freeport would not consent to the burial of a criminal there. What disposition will be made of it will be determined later. |
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