Page:North Dakota Reports (vol. 48).pdf/394

 my cow. Wolff then told me to leave his yard and go away. This conversation took place while I and Wolff were standing in the doorway leading from the storm shed into the house proper. I then told him not to get mad, and he (Wolff) got the gun, a doublebarreled shotgun, out of his front room. I then tried to take this gun away from him, and in the fight between Wolff and myself for the gun one shot went off, and then another in quick succession; one of the shots killed Mrs. Wolff. I did not see her fall, but saw her lay there. I then got the gun away from Wolff and then got more shells out of the bureau drawer in the front room, where I saw Wolff take two shells at the time he (Wolff) got the gun and then I reloaded the gun and began shooting. I do not remember at whom I shot first but I believe I shot at Jacob Wolff, who by this time had run out of the house across the yard towards the cow shed, and.hit him, and I saw Jacob Wolff fall. I then went out of the house where Jacob Wolff lay, and fired another shot into Wolff’s body. I then went into the cow shed, saw there Wolff’s two girls, and shot them where they stood, in the northwest corner of the shed. I then returned to the house and there shot and killed the rest of Wolff's family. I then returned to the yard, carrying Wolff’s coat, dragged Wolff’s body into the shed, first covered the bodies of the two girls with hay, which I took out of the manger, threw Wolff’s body on top of the pile, and the coat over Wolff's body, and then also covered his (Wolff’s) body with hay; then returned to the house, opened the trap door leading from the kitchen into the basement, and threw the bodies of the dead laying about the kitchen, one after another into the basement, then put down the trap door. The reason I did not kill the baby was, I believe, because I did not go into the room in which the baby lay. I then pulled loose the telephone wires froin the instrument. I then left the Wolff house, carrying the gun, closing the doors behind me as I walked out.

“Before leaving the house, I picked up all the empty shells, carrying them with me also. I then broke the gun, carrying the same, walked south through Wolff’s yard towards the slough which I knew was there. When I got to the slough I threw the broken gun and shells I had. in my pocket into the slough, and then turned east on the north side of Brekken lake until I came to the draw leading north, and following this draw to the hills, and then crossed the hill and cut over towards the road north of Wolff’s farm, and then followed this road to my