Saloons, Space Aliens, Cold Cases by William Ward

Saloons, Space Aliens,Cold Cases

Dassel Stories  1855-1920

by William Ward Storyteller

DAHS has published a new book of historic stories of Dassel pioneers and early citizens.  The book focuses on short stories of the people of Dassel and the surrounding townships.  

Here is just a sample of the writing.

Louis Larson, The Wolf Hunter

The Grey Wolf (Timber wolf) was quite common throughout the woodlands of Minnesota in the early days. In fact, they were such a nuisance that in the 19th and early 20th centuries, various government agencies offered bounties on them, ranging from $20-$50 dollars per wolf.

Louis Larson, who lived one mile southeast of Dassel (on the County Road 6 curve) in February 1914, may have been seeing either dollar signs or experiencing anger, perhaps both, when he found a large wolf causing a loud commotion in his pig pen.

The wolf had attacked a pig weighing about 200 pounds. The pig was scratched and bitten but not seriously injured.

Mr. Larson retrieved a revolver and chased the wolf for about two miles, hitting it with gunshots several times by the time they reached a point just south of Butternut Lake. Having had enough of the persistent Larson, the wolf turned on him to attack. Mr. Larson had run out of bullets by then, so used the pistol as a club, to no avail. He was having a hard time wrestling with the wolf when Mr. Bergquist came along with a hammer, and with his assistance, the wolf was killed. (Olaf Bergquist, Axel Bergquist and Frank Bergquist all lived just south of Butternut Lake. The Anchor does not include which one had the hammer.)

It all sounds like an epic adventure tale from the likes of Davy Crockett or Jeremiah Johnson, except it happened to an ordinary pig farmer on the outskirts of Dassel.

Information from Dassel Anchor & US Wildlife Service.