Wellknown New Ulmite Found Dead in His Home by Neighbors and Official, Monday Morning.

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FURNITURE

DISARRANGED-FOUL PLAY SUSPECTED

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Deceased Became Afflicted With Violent Fit During Sunday Night, Belief.

-Had Been Ill.

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CORONER JURY’S VERDICT. “We, the jury, find that John Bluehm came to his death by

natural causes.”

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Considerable excitement was caused in this city, Monday morning, when rumors were spread to the effect that John Bluehm, wellknown local resident for many years, had become the victim of foul play in his home on South Minnesota street during the previous night. From first appearances, the topsy-turvy disarrangement of the furniture and other household goods in the modest home would indicate that murder, with intent to rob Mr. Bluehm, had been committed, but upon a thorough investigation of all conditions surrounding the matter, the fallacy of this theory soon became apparent.

After hearing the testimony of several witnesses, including Mr. Bluehm’s neighbors, officials and others, at the inquest conducted by Coroner Dr. G. F. Reineke, the coroner’s jury, composed of F. W. Johnson, F. J. Backer, John Brey, Frank Niemann, Sr., Charles Grussendorf and C. O. Weilandt, returned the above verdict. County attorney T. O. Streissguth and Coroner Reineke questioned the witnesses, and Court Reporter W. T. Eckstein made a stenographic record of the proceedings, which were held at the Buenger undertaking rooms, Tuesday morning.

Suspicious Circumstances.

When Mrs. Joseph J. Ubl, who re-sides directly across the street from the Bluehm home, arose Monday morning, she noticed that the door of a shed near the latter structure was open, although it had always been Mr. Bluehm’s habit to lock it every evening. The absence of smoke ascending from the chimney of the Bluehm home was another circumstance that aroused Mrs. Ubl’s suspicions, and when she saw her next door neighbor, Mrs. George Polta, go out to feed her chickens, at about 9 o’clock, she called the latter’s attention to the matter.

Sheriff’s Office Called.

Mrs. Polta told her husband and he went across the street to investigate. Mr. Polta found the storm door on the entry unlatched and the inside door was unlocked. Upon opening the latter, he saw the kerosene stove and a table overturned on the floor and other articles scattered about. Walking through the entry, he wrapped on the door leading into the kitchen, and, receiving no response from within, entered. Everything was topsy-turvy, and Mr. Polta decided to call the sheriff’s office,which he did from his home telephone.

Body Crouched in Corner.

Deputy Sheriff Wm. H. Gieseke responded, and with Mr. Polta and other neighbors entered the house,searching every room without finding anyone, until upon returning to the kitchen, they discovered the dead body of Mr. Bluehm, crouching on the floor in the south corner between the cupboard and a couch. He was fully dressed, except for his coat and vest. The corpse was frozen stiff from exposure, as there was no fire in the kitchen stove, the only heating appliance in the entire house.

Coroner Reineke Notified.

Coroner Reineke was called and engaged A. J. Meyer, local photographer, to take views of each of the four downstairs rooms, showing their disheveled contents. A detailed description of the condition of each room was also carefully noted for the coroner’s record.

Slight Marks on Head.

The upper part of Mr. Bluehm’s body was lying on a gentleman’s coat, while his feet were covered with a like garment. The only marks on his body were a slight flesh abrasion just above his right eye and another on the right cheek, while a similar injury was found on his left knee. These marks apparently, were caused by bumping against furniture and the wall where the body was crouched. All were of a superficial nature, according to the findings of Drs. Albert Fritsche and O. J. Seifert, who performed an autopsy, Tuesday morning, under direction of the coroner, and none of them could have proved fatal.

Cerebral Sclerosis.

During the autopsy, all of Mr. Bluehm’s vital organs were carefully examined by the surgeons. The stomach and both kidneys, as well as sections of the lungs, spleen and brain, were removed for pathological analysis by Dr. W. C. Ross of this city. The surgeons found a marked condition of cerebral aclerosis, which is a hardening of the blood vessels of the brain, and this condition would be sufficient to cause death, in the opinion of the medical men. The skull was not fractured,nor were any bones of the body broken.

Might Have Caused Fit.

Drs. Fritsche and Seifert both testified that the sclerotic condition in the dead man’s brain might have caused a fatal epileptic fit with attendant spasms of stomach griping of sufficient intensity to render the patient violent before death ensued. This would account for the disarranged contents of the rooms, and it is believed that Mr. Bluehm became so violent as a result of his affliction that he overturned furniture and other articles in his home. The doctors testified that violent fits and spasms could also be caused by strychnine poisoning, but the pathological analysis of the contents of the viscera showed negative, so far as poison of any kind was concerned.

Blood Spots Explained.

The blankets on one of the beds, as well as portions of Mr. Bluehm’s clothing, contained blood spots, but these were satisfactorily explained by the nature of a physical ailment with which the deceased was afflicted. The evidence submitted by the surgeons who had performed the autopsy, as well as by neighbors of the dead man and others, was sufficiently convincing to dispel all doubt as to the real cause of death. Both the murder and the suicide, theory proved unfounded upon a careful analysis of the case.

All Timepieces Varied.

Four timepieces were found in the Bluehm home, no two of which showed the same hour, although all of them had stopped running. A gentleman’s and a lady’s watch, lying near Mr. Bluehm’s vest beside the kitchen stove, and frozen to the floor by ice which congealed from water spilled out of the tea kettle when the latter was upset, had stopped at 9:15 and 2:12 o’clock, respectively, while a mantle clock found lying on Mr. Bluehm’s bed indicated the time at 11:53, and a like timepiece in the front room had stopped at 9:02o’clock. This variance in time indicates that some of the chronometers had not been running, so that the exact time of the unfortunate man’s tragic death cannot be determined from that source.

Wrote Letter to Son.

A. A. Alwin, long-time friend of the deceased, is probably the last person who visited Mr. Bluehm before his demise. Mr. Alwin met the latter down town early last week,and consented to visit him later for the purpose of writing a letter to his son,Herman Bluehm, of Minneapolis. Friday afternoon, between 2 and 3 o’ clock, Mr. Alwin went to Mr. Bluehm’s home and noticed that the latter was not in his usual robust health, evidently suffering with a cold. He was very restless and discouraged,and continually paced the floor, but talked rational and dictated the fol-lowing letter, which Mr. Alwin wrote for him:

No Christmas Cheer.

“New Ulm, Minn., Dec. 26, 1924.”Mr. Herman Bluehm, “Minneapolis, Minn.

“Dear Son Herman:

“Christmas is here again and I thought to drop you a few lines, wishing you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year. I regret that I could not send any gifts to the children, as Mr. Pfaender (Mr. Bluehm’s guardian) is not liberal to give me enough money to spend some for Christmas, so it has to go without it .I was a little under the weather, but am recovering so slowly again. Please let me know how you are getting along. With best wishes to you all.

“Your father,

“JOHN BLUEHM.

“P.S.-Have you got a car? Please let me know.”

Heard Quite a Racket.

Mr. and Mrs. John Fussner, whose home adjoins that of Mr. Bluehm on the north, both stated that they had heard quite a racket between 11 and 12 o’clock, Sunday night. It sounded to them as though furniture was being thrown around the floor, but they did not investigate. The noise continued for 15 or 20 minutes with intermittent interruptions of a minute or so, and Mrs. Fussner testified that she heard a human voice say “Oh!” in sort of a moaning way. Thereupon all noise ceased. The distance between the Fussner and Bluehm homes is about 16 feet.

Couldn’t Keep Help.

Attorney Albert Pfaender, who has acted as Mr. Bluehm’s guardian since shortly after the death of the latter’s wife some three years ago, as well as Chief of Police Alwin Harmening and others, testified that the deceased had experienced considerable difficulty in retaining the services of several housekeepers, whom he had employed. They would stay at his home for short periods and then leave him. A number of letters from women, received by him in reply to advertisements which he had inserted in a St. Paul German newspaper, in search of housekeepers, were found among the dead man’s effects.

Mind Was Affected.

Although perfectly harmless and peace-abiding, Mr. Bluehm, nevertheless, suffered from a mental affliction, which can be traced back to the Indian massacre here in 1862, when his father, mother, brother and two sisters were brutally slain while fleeing from New Ulm to St. Peter. The attack occurred between the two cities. Mr. Bluehm himself was struck a severe blow over the head, which, together with the effects of his harrowing experience, partially unbalanced his mind. Later he lost his parental farm near Iberia, as well as other property, which, it is claimed, were secured from him for little or nothing by unscrupulous persons, who are said to have taken advantage of his mental incapacity.

Lived Here Many Years.

Mr. Bluehm was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, some 77 years ago, and came to Brown county with his parents at the age of about five years. The family settled on the farm in Iberia, later removing to New Ulm. Some 44 years ago, deceased was married in this city to Anna Maria Glauser, who preceded him in death July 13, 1921. Four children were born to their union, two of whom survive, namely, Mrs. Arthur Keller of Kerrville, Texas, and Herman Bluehm of Minneapolis. There are also fourteen grandchildren. Mr. Bluehm, the son, arrived here early Tuesday morning, to attend the inquest and make arrangements for the funeral, which was held from Buenger’s undertaking parlors, Wednesday afternoon at 2 o’clock. Rev. Emil H. Sans of the Ev. Friedens church officiated Interment was made int he City cemetery. Mrs. Keller was unable to attend the obsequies, due to the serious illness of a son.

Brown County Journal,

January 2, 1925