The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-10-24

fore the pistol was wrested from his
grasp.
Wounded Man Seized His Pistol.
With the flash of the pistol Collins
staggered and the color left his face He
threw his hand to his right side and
unbuckled the holster in which he car
ried his own pistol. AS the weapon was
leaving the leather holster. Superin-
tendent of Police Garfunkel threw his
arms around Collins waist. With his
hand covering the muzzle of the re-
volver, and pushing it downward, the
superintendent forced the wounded man
out of the room and into the office of
the Clerk of Council. He was fast
losing strength, and in a moment was
exhausted.
There were ten people in the room
when the shot was fired and although
the excitement was intense for a few
minutes, there was hardly a WORD
spoken until Greene had been disarmed.
But for the overturning OF two chairs
during the scuffie for Greene's weapon.
the silence for minute was oppres-
sive. Mayor Myers stood by the chair
IN which he had been sitting, dazed
He scarcely realized what had happen
ed. Like flash the man had been shot
within three or four feet of him. and
almost within reach of the superin-
tendent and lieutenant of police.
Shot without Warming.
There had not been the slightest in
oicatlon that anything of the sort
would happen, and had a mine ex-
ploded under the City Exchange the
surprise could not have been greater.
1t was a nerve wrenching experience
to those who were in the room. The
blow had fallen suddenly, and the wit
nesses were startled and almost
speechless. While the scutfie was go
ing on in the corner of the room, and
Collins was being backed out of the
door, Mayor Myers recovered his com
posture and gave orders to send for
physicians. No one appeared to have
realized what had happened; that a
tragedy had been enacted in the pres
ence of the highest municipal authori-
ties.
DR.. G. H. Johnson. acting health Of
hcer, hurried across the hallway to
Collins, who had been placed on the
floor in the clerk of Councils office.
AS white as a sheet, cold and suf-
fering intense pain, the wounded Off
Ger begged those who stood around to
let him return Greene's shot before
he died. His clothes were torn away.
and his breast was laid bare The bull
let entered the right breast. passed
through the upper. part of the lung.
and lodged in the lower part of the
back.
Wound May Not BE Fatal.
DR.. T. p Warning arrived minute
later and made an examination of the
wound, which was at first believed to
be fatal. A more complete examina-
ton warranted the physicians in ex-
pressing the opinion that the wound
was not necessarily so. The police
ambulance was summoned and the
officer was taken to the Savannah Hos
pital. During the night his condi-
tion was encouraging. He rested quiet
ly and did not suffer as much pain
as during the early part of the even
ing. 1t was stated at the hospital
that unless blood poisoning sets in
he viii recover.
Greene did not see Collins after
the shot was fired although he was
taken from the City Exchange and
placed in the patrol wagon before the
arrival of the ambulance. He was on
the floor in the Mayors Office when
the weapon was taken from him by
Lieut.. Fleming and was handed over
TO Alderman Dixon. 1t was a 32-cali-
Der Smith & Wesson self-acting pis-
tol. and all of the chambers were