LaMonte and Ganz made their way to the Vater house where they were met by Mr. Vater, they asked him if he had a rifle, he said he did but had no ammunition for it. As they returned to the road a bullet was fired from the direction of the Krueger house, and a bullet whizzed past LaMonte's head very close. The officers ran north to get out of range of fire, and took refuge in the first house north of the Vater house. A little later Kidd and Rassmussen returned with six men. Ganz ordered them to circle the Krueger house and to go into the woodlot to the east of the house. He feared that the Kruegers might attempt to escape through the woods.

As they made their way across the open pasture toward the fence some, 60 rods east of the road shots came at them from the house. The second shot hit Page in the leg, and he dropped. Another shot hit another man in the leg and he too dropped to the ground. Page started to crawl toward the fence but as he moved a shot struck the ground in front of him. As he moved again another bullet went over the small of his back cutting his suspenders in two and cutting a gash in his shirt. The other man lay where he had fallen and during the afternoon was hit several more times by bullets fired from the Krueger house both men were forced to lay there until darkness fell, when it became safer for the men to come to their rescue. When the two men were dropped the federal officers went to Withee, where they telephoned their superiors at Eau Claire for instructions. They were ordered to get help from the Owen-Withee area and to go out and capture the Kruegers. They enlisted the help of a crowd from Owen and Withee and some from Longwood area and returned to the scene. Cars gathered in a line from the Vater farm north.

A crowd of about 100 men gathered along the cars on the roadway in plain sight of the Krueger house. Among them was Harry Jensen the Withee depot agent. As the crowds gathered a volley of shots came across the cars and men from the Krueger house. The men scattered to the ditches to take cover. Jensen stood in the back of an automobile looking out at the Krueger house. Two bullets from the volley put holes in the brim of his hat, one bullet struck him in the neck and passed the length of his body. He dropped and witnesses quoted him shouting I've got it in the neck, and asking for a doctor.

At the same time another man from Owen called out they got me in the leg, at the time both men were approximately one half mile north of the Krueger residence. And up until that time members of the posse had not fired at the Krueger house, so the testimony tells the story.

During the time Jensen and the other man was hit, Mrs. Krueger paced back and forth along the north side of the house in full view of the posse. She did not have a gun. With one killed and one wounded the posse began to return fire. They say there were 57 bullet holes in the siding on the north side of the house and 9 more in the door frame. There was a lot of firing there that afternoon.

Frank was hit in the leg and was losing a lot of blood. Mrs. Krueger tried to get a doctor by telephone to come to the farm and dress his wound but of course no doctor would risk going to the house. Mrs. Krueger then went outside the house and signaled to the posse that they should quit firing. During the truce she exchanged words with the Federal Officers trying to prevail upon them to come to the house and give aid to Frank, and they trying to prevail upon her to come to the Vater house and give herself up.

Nobody in the crowd wanted to go to the Krueger house, and she refused to go to the Vater house, but she did come down the road a ways. Where she was taken into custody, as she was taken to the Vater house she cursed the Officers long and loud. Then after her rage subsided she told the men that Frank had been shot in the leg and she feared he would bleed to death if he didn't get help.

The Federal Officers tried to get assurance from her that there would be no firing but this she either would not or could not do. Mr. Vater upon hearing that Frank was wounded hitched up the buggy and drove to the Krueger house. There he picked up Frank and was permitted to return to his place without incident. In, the Vater house Frank was treated by a doctor from Owen who was in the crowd. Lots of blood was spilled before the bleeding was stopped.

KRUEGER HOME AT WITHEE - THEN AND NOW