The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1895-11-18
John Smith of West Hobo
ken Encounters a Rob-
Der in His Home Upon
His Return.
NOW DYING IN CHRIST HOSPITAL
The Thiefs Accompllee jun ped
from a Second Story Window
Left His Shoes Behind,

west 1ODOKen was V1S1Leu Dy Jul
glars last night, one of whom shot and
n1ortally wounded John Smith, of No.
274 Spring street. The wounded man is
now lying at Christ Hospital, and the
physicians in charge say he cannot re-
cover.
Smith lives with his father, Henry
Smith, in the two story basement and at
tic frame house, No. 274 Spring street,
West Hoboken. The second floor and at
tic is occupied by Herman Otsinger and
family.
Smith and his father went to a near
by restaurant late Saturday night. 1t
was nearly two o'clock yesterday MORN
ing when they returned home. They en-
tered by the rear of the house and no.
ticed the basement door open, but
but thought that Mrs. Smith had left it
open by mistake. Smith, who carried a
pail of oysters, waited in the rear hall
until his father lighted the gas in the
dining room, intending to place the oys-
ters in the refrigerator, which stands in
the hall.
In the dim light which came from the
dining room after the elder Smith lit
the gas the younger man saw dark
object beside the ice-box. He stepped
towards it, when a man suddenly jumped
up with revolver in his hand.
Smith tried to grapple with him and
the fellow pressed the revolver to his
right side and fired. Smith staggered
and the burglar fed through the rear
door and into the yard of soloman Moser
who lives in the next house.
CHASED THE BURGLAR. THOUGH
WOUNDED.
The wounded man gave chase, shout
ing for help. Moser reached out and
levelled a revolver at Smith,
Hold on, Smith yelled, i've been
Moser started to search for the Dur
glar but he had gone. u.
Aroused by the noise, Herman Otsin1 n
ger, who slept on the second floor OF
Smiths house. got, UP, but as he stepped
another burglar, who covered him with
a pistol and ordered him back to his
room.
Otsinger took the burglars advice.
The men then climbed out of the window,
dropped to the top of the porch, thence
to the ground and disappeared.
ed Smith seated on the porch coolly
smoking a cigar He was taken to
Christ Hospital, Jersey City, where it
two of his ribs and had lodged in the
lower part of the right lung. 1t could
not be extracted yesterday. The doctors
have sFg sEf fGRss IFS 81 SHoMs Sc rs8fHgGy BGHND
One of the burglars left mis- shoes be-
hind. They are No: rs, and were pur-
avenue Jersey City. He does not know
TO whom he sold them.
The burglars entered the house by pry-
ing open one e. OF the front I4[ " WINDOWS 90, VS.
and his father left the house about IL
o'clock, to go to the restaurant, Mrs.
Smith,. her daughter and son, retired,
afra0fJ ft1n 1fn lam
in the rear of the house, which is gener-
ally used by the family, and which is
reached by an alley way from Spring
Miss Smith slept in the back parlor
parlor The burglar passed into the
Of a bureau, close to Miss Smiths bed.
They then went into the hall, one going
upstairs and the other downstairs.
The latter took with him an overeoat
of Mr.. Smiths and a box of trinkets
from Miss Smiths bureau This man
found bunch of keys, with one of
which he opened the basement door, AT
this time Smith and his father. came
through the hallway and the burglar hid
behind the refrigerator in the basement
hall.
low shot him without saying a word.
and as Smith staggered into the yard
the burglar followed him. passed him
on fna ru5hf 81 e oaae the ever yTay e 9
through another alleyway into Moser's
yard. Then he escaped into Traphagen
street.
During the excitement the other man
jumped from a window on the second
floor to a stocp on the alley side of the
house. He was not seen afterwards.
There have been very many burglaries
in town during the last year, but this
is the first attempt at murder made by
the thieves.
The thieves left no clue, except the
pair of shoes. This morning Charles j.
Chanless, Chairman of the Town Board
of West Hoboken. and Police Sergeant
Walter Usher took the shoes to. Police
Headquarters at Jersey City, and made
report of the case there
The Hobolen police have taken the
case in hand. Chief of Police Donovan
has three detectives upon the trail, and
it is said that assistance has been pro-
cured from the Central Office, New York.
Up to noon today, however, no trace had
haer1 obtained of eith hlrp.lar.