The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-10-09
His Assailant Thought to Be the
Man Who Robbed Conductor
Richardson.
Tho Officer Attempts to Arrest G
Suspicious Character on
Eighth Avenue.
He succesds in Getting One Revolver
Away hut ths Fellow Had An
other and Used 1t.

and no doubt with one OF the
weapons used then, shot and badly
wounded Policeman John j. Grogan. The
affair took place at Eighth avenue and
Ewing street. Following 80 closely on the
heels of the other, IL has aroused feeling
in the community that will make it 90 hard
with the highwayman il the police succeed
in catching him.
Policeman Grogan was patrolling his
beat on the east side last night, when,
shortly after ten o'clock, he noticed q
man standing ON the north side of
Eighth avenue. just a little east of Ewing
street. The mans presence in that place,
where it is very dark, aroused the officers
suspicions. Grogan went toward the man,
not hnrriedly enough to friRhtsn him
away, but leisurely. The man made no
effort to get away, but waited until the Of
ficer was close to him. Giving the man
searching look, Grogan asked, "What are
you doing here?" -
The fellow made no answer. In fact, If
he had meant to, the succession of rapid
events Of the next few seconds would have
made any reply unnecessary. For even as
the officer spoke he saw the butt of re-
volver protruding from the mans trousers
pocket, and grabbing the weapon,
started to take hold Of his prisoner. He
had, unfortunately. not calculated on the
man having more than one gun on his per,
son. Almost at the moment the officer had
snatched away the one weapon, the mans
right hand flow up with another revolver in
it, and before GroQan had time to d. aw his
own, the would be assassin had fred and
started to run. The officer .elt sharp sting
in his right breast and could feel the warm
blood running down inside his clothing. He
pluckily drew his own revolver. and
began firing at the rapidly retreating form
Of the footpad, who was cutting across
Eighth avenue in diagonal direction
toward an alley between Rodney and Ewing
streets. The officer also attempted to fol-
low, but found hin strength would not en-
before the man disappeared into the alley
sawSsho fellow gtagger. Then Grogan,
feeling that he was badly wounded and
must have help started ,y down
Eighth avenue toward Warren
boarding house at 217 Eighth avenue, lit
up, he staggered across to that place and
fell into the doorway. Charles X. Ander
son. ono Of the boarders, had heard the
shoe, and seeing the officer coming across
the street, opened the door for him.. Once
in the house, Grogan was divested of over
coat. undercoat and vest, and made as
comfortable as possible with pillows on the
hall floor, where he had fallen exhausted.
The news spread rapidly, and soon
Policemen Vanasse and Lloyd were on the
scene. A priest was sent for and Rev.
Laurence Palladino. of the Catholic
cathedral, responded at once, and kneelln2
beside the wounded man began administer
ing the consolation of religion. Messengers
were also dispatched in various directions
for doctors. DR.. E. S. Kellogg was the first
to reach the house. His first glance at the
wound convinced the doctor that it would
be inadvisable to have the patient moved
that night. Miss Carpenter kindly placed
the large front bedroom on the lower floor
at the disposal of tho wounded officer. He
was carried in there and placed on the bed,
where DR.. Kellogg made a more thorough
examination of the wound. He found that
the bullet had entered the right breast just
below the nipple, taken al outward and
slightly upward course through the lung,
and lodged under the shoulder blads There
was no internal hemorrhage, and only
slight splitting of blood. The doctor said he
would make no attempt to cut the ball out
from under the shoulder blade for awhile,
as it was doing no harm there, and in the
officers exhausted condition it would be
best to keep him as quiet as possible, and
allow the wound to clog up. He thought
Grogan's chanaes of recovery were favor
able, unless something unforeseen should
happen. Mrs. Grogan was brought to the
place in a carriage. and after being assured
by the doctor that her husband was not
necessarily fatally hurt. was allowed to go
to his bedside.
When the first excitement of the affair
was over, the policeman who had been sum
moned made hasty search In the locality
of the shooting, including the alley into
which the supposed highwayman had gone.
No trace Of him could be found. There was
no organized search of the yards and other
places into which it was likely the man
would have crawled had he been
badly wounded as Grogan thinks. he
was. This was due to the fact that there
was no one in authority around to direct
things. and the policemen who were there
had to undertake the search each after in
the way that occurred best to him. That
the fellow who did the shooting is still in
town there appears to be no doubt, es-
pecially il he was hit by one of Grogan's
shots. That he is the same man
that held mp Conductor Richardson on
Tuesday night mona of the ,policsme en-
of him. Richardson described his high.
wayman as being short and thiok-set and
dressed in dark clothes and black slouch
hat. He had two guns. The man who shot
Grogan was also short and thick.set, and
was dressed in dark clothes and slouch hat.
| H0 NLhO uuu TWO SuNSs luV HiuA WIN
stopped Richardson had = small mousta che
though in the darkness the conductor
could not tell much of its color. Grogans
assailant had q small dark moustnohe.
The hiGhwayman was no doubt laying for
n victim to hold up when Policeman Gro.
gan ran across him. Some one suggested
that he might ever have been waiting for
Conductor Richardson to relieve
the conductor OF that roll of bills
which he said the robber had overlooked
Tuesday night Anyway, If the officer had
not happened along whom no did. it ia pos
sihle that gentleman who was visiting
at Miss Carpenter's would have fallen into
tho robbers clutches, as ho was preparing
to leuve the house about the time the shots
were fired. .r
Charles X. Anderson, who boards at Miss
Carpenters, says he was prepared to- go to
bed when he heard n pistol ahot OH Eighth
avenue not far from the house. He has u
front oom. Throwing up the window ht
SAW three fashes and heard three more re.
ports from the direction OF the corner oi
Ewing street. Theso were the shots fired
bv Policeman GroHan. few mamentf
later hs saw Grogan coming across the street
The officer exclaimed, "fm shot" and made
toward the house. Mr. Anderson hastily
put on a few clothes and ran down Rtairt