The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1877-11-24
NOT DEAD, But A PRISONER.
How NJ. Joseph Potts. Bachelor. wcccivcs
burglars = Charge that wns wen Kept
In a Mans Netk The a eIt.tnic Egnt.


| In ~ Mans Netk The teIi.tnlc Hat
The ghost excitement in Bordcntown. N.
j.. has been rotlncrd 10y an exciting tale Of
/ lead burglars, confessions Implications and
the search fof iuricd bodies. In parlor and
harroom stori,s are told Of Oliver Coogan S
death in the Mount Holly Jail. and of his hay-
| ing confessed short time before he died that
he, with two others. attempted tho Potts burgln-
| nv. According To the widely spread story one
| OF his pals was wounded 81 fatally by the load
/ OF shot from old man Potts's gun that he died
| In a few minutes and they dragged him of into
the woods and buried him under the leaves 4
| burlington hack driver was. according to the
| story. the other companion OF Coogan. With
| irons on his ISIS he is supposed to be assist
/ ing the Shcr.ffs posse in their search for the
body under the leaves.
Oliver Coogan who, notwithstanding tho eto-
RIGS 81 his death In Jail IL alive and well. bar
ring few shot in his neck was much amused
yesterday morning when n reporter for THE
! Sun visited him in the Mount Holly Jail and
! told him that he was believed to b. dead man.
and gave him n resume Of the confessions he is
said to have made
Well. sir" he said you Sec am worth n
dozen dead men yet and as for dcathbod con
! iicssions. haven't made any yet and can't
/ mink Just now 81 ANYTHING To confess
Tel the gentleman your story said Sheriff
| lcr;.
| hut II he's anyways Interested | spu-e might
! ne well tell IL AGAIN. said Coo gan. " You SOC
! WIS out. shoot NJ with the other fellows. nonr
! gun. and 1t went OF and got shot in the mock
When they sec was shot they ran oil and len
me there in tho woods all night. In the morn
ing | walked to the road and got a lift i'm a
wagon mn then on tho cars. and 80 got to
inlH4olrrn gud went 10 the Episcopal Hos.
ll,hl IN W II lniladclrh.a, e. gt liked up. |
was there fin. or siN days whom .tn officer came
70 tho bedside and looked at me and said he
! Thought ! WIS ono OF the burglars who broke
! into the house OF a man named Potts, Then
they examined mo before Alderman Carpenter
and ait'rwHrd brought me here
No. sir; | never WIS in Jail before. and |
hopg never will be- again.
Why didn't pick np my hat7 We'll. II you
was snot NE ! wac reckon you wouldn't be
It's .prctIy thin story. said sheriff Loo.
after he had again locked Coogan up, and /
haven't much doubt that he was one II thnm.
an that they meant 10 Kill the old man too
ID" You think he has ever been locked W
Yes. do because hadn't much more than
put MN IN the cell when he b-ean scratching
,yers.,s on u. walls. Scripture quotations aud
ne lisc. and that's generally the sign VI an old
Tho burglary of which Cooran IL ancusrd wns
quite remarkable one. and there il still murh
o1 m,ys 'iGy hansing ov,r H. Joseph Prus is an
&s d hmnIqr y9r IN ar MHs a, H. near
Burlinpton. lie j. very deaf and talks With
great din ,ulty He lives all alone in ns farm
his fellow men. has heretofore hoarded his
money and kept II with him in the house,
rather Than trust IL in "a bank. The house IN
winch he lives is forlorn imprinted two aud a
nall story build nS standing on hill and re-
mote from any neishhqrs Tho I'D man sleeps
III room IN | !e second story; lie has invented
primtiN" burglar alarm. when he shuts his
door at night he places Il brick on the door
Knob and the long brass door kcy. 4 turn Of
IN" key sends TIE brick Gathering into "A lin ban
on the floor. Under the door knob be BRACES "A
chair. Every night he place, hosi,les ms bed "A
double barre He'd -llpti.lu usuNily is
No. shot. q lii,hiork. and "a Iona. had.d knife
~ - 't,wG.n IL and o'clock On tho morning II
VI i. three masked men effected an entrance
INTO tins Lonesome house and softly crept up
the creaklns stairs Teaching the bedroom
and down went the brick with crash into the
I'm pan. Further Secrecy WIS useless and two
,ni ''n VIM ill., u'"n S'rs ihr AZ axe. wh c tue
moan Time Mr.. Potts. awakened 10y the noise Of
his alarm. hal sprung from his bed. struck a
I.sht. and seized his gun. knife. and pitchfork.
Armed with these he crouched at the foot OF
IN. bed and awaited the attack.
In a Few minutes the door trcmhlcd beneath
the heavy blows of an axe. A panel crashed in.
and masked face appeared at the opening
There wac a loud report from the Old shot gun.
a yell Of anguish. and then nothing was hDari
but the hurried iootit,.rs Of two Of IN. robbers
as they Dragged IN. ihird heavily down the
stairs. Then "a wagon drove rapidly away. ana
AZ soon as daylight came the old man aroused
hs nrighh, r.. and nulni"r II them accom-
panied him TO the scene Of the night attack. A
back window. and an inner door, were found
was broken and spliniered. and an down the
sd" OF the stairs. and out into the road w"re
lnrg" spots II blood, that had spurt"d ont with
such force aud regularity Us to denote the sew
erlng Of an artery. A physician. who saw IT,
sny- mat ~" man who lost that blood could not
hay" lived long
On thc floor outside tho door wore n silver
mounted revolver with all the cham b, In loaded
tW' rhircls and amask Outs side the house was
nat. IN tue sid" Of which were thirteen shot
holes. Two mil = up the road two more hlnak
masks wrre picked NJ. When Cooean was ex-
hWin.d. the lat was tried ON his houd and
found 10 III exactly. The hat had been shot on
m. left side, and 50 had the man
Mr. Potts had ia his room, on tho night Of the
attempted burglary, $500 in money, but he has
since placed II In q bank.
Tho general impression is that ono Of the
purR ars either was killed or died from loss NJ
blood. and was buried in the woods. Mon are
still hunting Tor the body.
Coogan is an lrresoute, hnGgard- looking
man. with u tuft Of hair on his chin. His ra2e
II wandering and his movements nervous. lie !
IL thin and pale with suffering. his mock ia
terribly swollen. and his wounds very painful.
He says tho doctor has nearly Killed him. dig
ging out the shot, and he'd rather die anyway
tiian suler such pain. He IL 20 Toe tried on
Dec Is
the EIJ.IL WING SHOIS