Several citizens of Northfield narrowly escaped with their lives during
the encounter. A Norwegian, Nicholas Gustavson by name, was struck with a
bullet at the right side of the head, just at the ear, the ball running
under the scalp and out at the top of his head. He says when he was
struck, and for several minutes after, his whole left side was paralyzed.
But after a few minutes of unconsciousness, he was able to reach his
boarding house, but the next day he was unable to rise from his bed. It
was evident that the skull was fractured, and depressing upon the right
lobe of the brain, and if the patient was not opportunely relieved by
trepanning the skull, the man must succumb. Subsequent events proved the
correctness of this view, for the operation was not performed, and the
poor fellow expired on the eleventh—four days after the dreadful tragedy,
thus adding another victim to rekindle the fire of indignation in men’s
minds.
Illustrative of the dangerous nature of the weapons of the lawless
ruffians carried, it should have been stated that balls fired from one
side of Mill Square struck and completely riddled buildings on the other
side of the square, a distance of one hundred and fifty yards.