The distance from where I was to the rear of the bank, is about 25 feet, and the rear door of the two hardware stores adjoin the rear door of the bank. I thought if I could make my way out in this direction, [pg 21] I would have a chance of giving the alarm, so that the citizens would come to the rescue. In making this movement, I should have to pass where Mr. Wilcox was sitting, and I made a slight motion for him to move so that I could get past. He saw my motion and shifted his position. The man who stood over me having his attention directed to the proceedings of the others, I started, but was immediately followed by Charley Pitts, who fired at me, the ball going through the blinds of the door and lodging in a brick chimney, but not striking me. There was a stairway leading down, and Pitts standing on top of that, fired down on me, I having reached the bottom at the time, fired again, the ball just striking me below the scapula, passing through the thin portion of it, and down, passing out about half an inch below the collar bone, the course traversed being about seven inches, and narrowly missing the sub-claviel artery, where the wound would have been fatal.
I think it was James that said, while keeping us down, “don't one of you move; we have fifty men on the street, and you will be killed if you move.” The safe was not locked at all, but there was only about $15,000 in it, which they might easily have secured.
Mr. Bunker said he recognized the body killed at Madelia, as that of Charley Pitts, and also identified Bob Younger, by the likeness published herein.
NICHOLAS GUSTAVSON.
Several citizens of Northfield narrowly escaped with their lives during the encounter. A Norwegian, Nicholas Gustavson by name, was struck with a bullet at the right side of the head, just at the ear, the ball running under the scalp and out at the top of his head. He says when he was struck, and for several minutes after, his whole left side was paralyzed. But after a few minutes of unconsciousness, he was able to reach his boarding house, but the next day he was unable to rise from his bed. It was evident that the skull was fractured, and depressing upon the right lobe of the brain, and if the patient was not opportunely relieved by trepanning the skull, the man must succumb. Subsequent events proved the correctness of this view, for the operation was not performed, and the poor fellow expired on the eleventh—four days after the dreadful tragedy, thus adding another victim to rekindle the fire of indignation in men's minds.
Illustrative of the dangerous nature of the weapons of the lawless ruffians carried, it should have been stated that balls fired from one side of Mill Square struck and completely riddled buildings on the other side of the square, a distance of one hundred and fifty yards.
THE INQUEST.
Friday afternoon the coroner, Dr. Waugh, from Faribault, held an inquest upon the bodies of the two scoundrels who met with such a richly deserved end, and the following gentlemen were sworn as a jury: A. H. Rawson, S. L. Bushnell, R. Silk, J. L. McFee, R. [pg 22] Plummer and C. W. Gross. The jury were not long in arriving at the following verdict: “That the two unknown men came to their deaths by the discharge of firearms in the hands of our citizens in self-defense and in protecting the property of the First National Bank of Northfield.”
The same jury, with the coroner, held an inquest over the remains of the lamented victim of the raid. The witnesses who gave evidence were E. Hobbs, ex policeman J. S. Allen, F. Wilcox and E. L. Fuller, whose statements were similar to those the same gentlemen made to the writer, and recorded elsewhere in these pages. The verdict found was: “That J. H. Heywood came to his death by a pistol shot fired by an unknown man attempting to rob the First National Bank of Northfield.”