‘The Log Cabin Murders

By G. M. RUTHERFURD

War-time Passions Flare Among Trio of Trappers in Northern Cabin—Bergsen

Found Murdered—His Money Missing—Hanson Has Disappeared—Clark

Moves to Omineca Trading Post—Crime Remains Unsolved—A Jesting Accu-
sation—Fear Preys on Murderer’s Mind—Mystery Finally Cleared Up.

WILLIAM CLARK, a small, wiry man,
usually known as “Nobby,” slammed the
door of the log cabin and reached for his
snowshoes. Anger had made him speechless,
but he’d show him, the swine. Run down the
English would he, he’d find out now that
the Germans were beaten and England :
A hearty laugh cut across his thoughts, as
Hans Hanson continued to enjoy his suc-
cessful aggravating of the Englishman’s ex-
cessive patriotism.

The cabin on the banks of the Peace River
near Breenen Flats was used as headquarters
by William Clark, Hans Hanson and Carl
Bergsen. Each had his own trap line and
for several years they had shared the same
cabin. As they were all away a great deal
of the time, their arrangement was that who-
ever got in first, would go for the mail. On
this day, January 16th, 1919, Clark had
been preparing to start on the twenty-mile
trip over the snow to the settlement when
Hanson arrived. He was big and fair, an
American-born Scandinavian and an in-
veterate bully. Dumping his packs on the
floor, he began at once his endless, ill-
natured teasing about the British. As usual,
it resulted in Nobby Clark flying into a rage.

Bap NEws FROM HOME

Coming into the postoffice late that after
noon, tired and cold after the long trek,
Clark collected the mail and read a letter
which had come for him from home. In it
was news of his brother being killed at the
Front, just a few days before the Armistice,
November, 1918. His insane patriotism
flamed anew and turning to the Postmaster
he shouted:

“They've killed my brother. Those
damned Germans have killed my brother.”

Back at the cabin the next afternoon,
January 17th, he found that Carl Bergsen
had not yet returned. Hanson took his mail
and Clark angrily told him of his brother
being killed. Showing no sympathy what-
ever, the big foreigner remarked, that an-
other nogood Englishman was well out of
the way. Once again Clark, with his highly
strung nerves prodded beyond endurance,
slammed out of the cabin. The cold silence
of the northern night and heavy silhouettes
of the mountains about him gradually
calmed his anger. The lighted window of
the shack gave the only touch of human con-
tact anywhere to be seen in the white ex-

SUMMER EDITION

panse and he hoped sincerely as he turned
towards it, that Hans would leave the sub-
ject of nationality alone for the rest of the
evening.

Two days later, on the evening of January
19th, a trapper known as Shorty Schmidt
called at the cabin. He was a nervy, erratic
little man and hoped that Hanson or one of
the other men would be there to spend a
sociable evening and then he would go on
next morning. The place was in darkness,
so he pushed open the door and, going
in, struck a match to find a lamp. In the first
flare of the match he saw something on the

Hans Hanson and some of his fur pelts.

floor at the far end of the room. Half way
across to it, he stopped suddenly in horror.
Lying on its face in front of him was the
body of a man. The light dropped from his
shaking fingers and he rushed from the place,
not staying a moment to investigate. Start-
ing, as he thought, for the settlement, he
travelled all night. “I should have looked
to see who it was,” he kept telling himself,
“the Police will think I’m afraid of a dead
man.”

At daybreak, he found to his amazement
that he was only about a mile from the cabin.
His snowshoe tracks later showed that in his
excitement he had gone in circles round and
round it.

A few hours after Shorty Schmidt’s hur-

ried departure, the mail carrier from Fort
Graham came along. He also found the
body and being a practical person he investi-
gated and recognized it as Carl Bergsen, then
left immediately to notify the Provincial
Police at the settlement.

ARRIVAL OF PROVINCIAL POLICE

The Police arrived next day and found
that Bergsen had been shot a number of
times in the back and determined that he
had been dead at least 36 hours. Careful
investigation of the 10 x 14 ft. cabin pro-
duced no clues to the identity of the mur-
derer. The man had evidently been getting
breakfast and the uncooked meal was still
on the stove. There was no sign of a struggle.
He was known to have kept his money, about
$2,000, in a tin can in the root cellar. The
empty tin was found under the table on the
floor. Clark came back the day after the
Police arrived. He had left to see another
trapper on business as soon as he got back
from the postoffice, he said. He couldn't
understand Hanson doing such a thing and
offered his assistance in finding him. He
seemed very upset about his friend’s murder
and did everything possible to help the in-
vestigation. Hans Hanson, however, was
nowhere to be found. His description was
widely circulated and several Hansons were
picked up in different parts of Canada. One
Hans Hanson seemed to fit the case, but care-
ful checking of his alibi established that he
was not the wanted man. Clark, of course,
was closely questioned and a certain amount
of suspicion rested on him, but his untiring
efforts in helping the Police and his evident
distress over the whole matter, forced people
to the obvious conclusion that Hans Hanson,
whom no one had seen for some time, had
murdered Bergsen and taken his money.
Clark’s story of seeing a trapper on business
proved true when the other man was ques
tioned. There was, however, no way of de-
termining what time he actually left the
cabin. Though it all seemed logical enough,
the Police were not quite satisfied, and rec
ords of that time show that the case was not
considered closed.

MURDER STILL UNSOLVED
Several years passed. Nobby Clark had

opened a small trading post up the Omineca
River. He had grown more and more ner-
vous, and couldn’t stand any mention of the
Breenen Flats Murder. People still talked

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