Young Man Dies of Exposure, Farmer Turned Him Out of the House

Stout, Iowa, 1903

FOUND DEAD IN BUGGY SHED

Unknown Man Turned Out of Farmer's Home at Stout Dies of Exposure.

Dike, March 3. — A case of alleged inhuman treatment resulting in the death of a young man and subsequent developments have aroused considerable indignation at Stout, a village seven miles north of here, near where the affair took place.

A young man whose identity is not known appeared in that vicinity and secured employment as a farm hand on the farm of Claus De Vrise. Friday night the farm hand and De Vrise's son went to the town of Stout and the farm hand became intoxicated. It is not known whether the son had been drinking, but the two had some misunderstanding and when they arrived home, it is stated, De Vrise turned the hired man out of the house, he now claims, because of his intoxicated condition.

The young man was attired only in his overalls, shirt and a thin pair of socks. The young man was drunk and wandered to a buggy shed, where he fell asleep in a pool of water. The next morning De Vrise noticed the man lying in the shed and sent to Stout for the constable to arrest him. When the constable arrived, however, the man was dead.

De Vrise by this time had evidently become alarmed and a hurried consultation was held. No official inquest was held, and after the conference the body was carried to town, placed in a binder crate and taken to the depot, where they asked Agent Walker which would be the cheapest way to ship the corpse to Iowa City, by freight or express.

The agent refused to ship the body until he had a physician's certificate as to the cause of death and the body was properly boxed for shipment. It is said that this was done and that the remains have been sent to Des Moines, presumably to a medical college.

Nothing can be learned as to the young man's identity. The case has excited a great deal of talk. The treatment he was accorded by De Vrise and the haste exhibited in trying to get his remains out of the way has aroused the indignation of many and it is probable an investigation will be set on foot.

—Davenport Daily Republican, Davenport, Iowa, March 4, 1903, page 2.


It May Be Manslaughter.

Stout, March 7. — Claude De Vrise, a farmer of this community is likely to have to answer to the charge of manslaughter. De Vrise employed an unknown man as a farm hand. The hand went to town and became intoxicated and when he came home was turned from the house by his employer. In his drunken condition he lay down in his buggy shed in the cold and died. He was found by his employer who placed the body in a binder box and shipped it to Des Moines supposedly to a medical college. The neighbors have asked the coroner to investigate.

—Dubuque Telegraph-Herald, Dubuque, Iowa, March 7, 1903, page 5.


Inhuman Treatment of a Young Man at Stout.

From the New Hartford Review we glean the following ghastly details of a strange case near the new town of Stout, in the southern part of Butler county. The Review says:

Excitement has been running riot in the little town of Stout since Friday night, over the alleged inhuman treatment of a young man, which resulted in his death. At the hour of going to press the Review is unable to say what the final outcome of the affair will be.

A few days ago a young man, whose identity is not known, appeared in that vicinity and secured employment...

[From there the article repeats the details above, with DeVries' name having this more likely spelling.]

—The Iowa Recorder, Greene, Iowa, March 1, 1903, page 1.