On This Date in Minnesota History: June 10

June 10, 1904 – When Hennepin County Deputy Sheriff John Wall regained consciousness at 9 this morning; the last thing he could remember was the crashing sound of broken spokes and the relentless chuff, chuff, chuff of a powerful automobile.

How he wound up on his home porch was a mystery to him.

In the dark of the early morning Wall was driving on Calhoun Blvd. near Lakewood Cemetery. He was bound for Edina Mills to serve papers. Somewhere behind him was an automobile coming rapidly. He thinks it must have been a powerful vehicle from the sound. Suddenly there was a crash; Wall’s buggy was demolished and all was blank to him until he regained consciousness.

Wall was found unconscious on his porch about 6 a.m. His papers lay beside him. The man had two broken ribs and looked as if he had been through a tornado. Numerous cuts and bruises were on his head and his clothes were torn.

About 5 a.m. his family heard an automobile pause for a moment near the house. Neighbors sleepily noted the auto containing two men and two women. They saw one man alight and assist the other man to the curb. This second man stumbled and wavered in his walk and leaned heavily on his companion. Thinking the incident marked the end of a “night out,” the witnesses paid no more attention to the party and did not notice where the stumbling man was taken.

So far as known this is the only clue to the “chuffing” party responsible for Wall’s injury. It seems probable that after running him down, the driver noted his names on his papers, looked up his address and took him home. His papers were also carefully gathered up

Feeling among the sheriff’s staff and Wall’s friends is running high and every effort will be made to identify and prosecute the operators of the automobile.

The Minneapolis Journal; “Hit by an Auto on a Dark Road. Mysterious Chauffeur Carries Wall Home Senseless. Deputy Sheriff Heard an auto Coming Behind Him and Lost Consciousness in the Crash—Unknown Automobile Party Brought Him Home and Left Him on His Porch.”; June 10, 1904; p. 6.

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