The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1907-10-12
SECOND FATALITY
John o'Donnell Accident
Ally Killed With the Same
Pistol Which Ended Life
of Another Man Last May
In Same Manner.

Shortly before the noon hour yester-
dav the dead body of John O'Donnell
was discovered near the second gateway
a, the Evans ranch on Bear creek by J.
" Edwards of this city. II was thought
a, the time that he had fallen from the
wagon sustaining injuries which caused
death, or he had died from hear.
lure. 1t was not until Coroner Smith
and Undertaken Trathen examined the
body at the morgue in this city that 1t
was found that the cause of his death
was bullet wound in the back.
o Donnell left here yesterday morning
with wagonload of provisions and feed
for the summer resort being built by a
man named Rogers in Camp Rock val
lev. In order to reach his destination
ii was necessary for him to drive through
the Evans ranch, where there are sew
eral gateways on the wagon road. He
had gone through two of the gates,
and it is thought that in jumping from
the wagon to open the third gate his re.
yolver caught either upon the edge Of
the seat or wagon and was dis
charged.
The bullet entered his back just above
the right hip and ranged upward through
the liver causing an internal hemorrhage
O'Donnell wore pair of cowboy chaps,
and a belt aud holster in which the re
volyer was carried. The latter was a
y caliber Colts on .38 frame. The
bullet passed through the top of the
holster, which was powder burned, and
through the chaps aud clothing. The
revolver was found by Bert Wright be-
tween two bales of hay on the wagon
where it had either fallen or was thrown
BY O'Donnell after he was was shot.
No one at the ranch house saw the accl-
dent or heard the fatal shot. O'Donnell
4 t have walked some distance back
toward the ranch house before he fell by
the side of the road where he was found
by Edwards. The latter and Dan Witter
carried him into the barn but conld dis
cover 10 signs of life.
When O'Donnell was about to leave
the Curnow barn in this city yesterday
morning he went to the Office, taking
the revolver and holster down from the
wall, with the remark that the gun had
already got one man; that there was
bear over near the camp which he in.
tended to kill
The strange feature of the fatality is
L. r. Al. Al, ~, &c
weapon with which c. B. Jeffries, an em-
ployee of the Singer Sewing Machine
company. of this city was accidentally
wounded under almost the identical
circumstances, near Morrison on May 30
of this year and from the effects of which
| he died two days later in St. Lukes hos
pital, Denver. Jefries was alighting
from his buggy when the revolver fell
from his pocket, struck a rock snd was
discharged, the bullet penetrating his
stomach and intestiues.
. Donnell was 22 years old, and leaves
three grown sisters in this city, married
sister, Mrs. Nora Bunker, residing in
Elizabeth, Ill. and a brother, Maurice
U Donnell, travelling salesman for the
Lawrence Henslev Fruit company, Den
4vd Mrs Marie o 'Donnell, the mother,
Adled In this city July s, 1907.
The funeral will be held Monday
morning at 10 O'Clock at the family home
and the services will be conducted by
Rev. Father McCabe of St Paul's church.
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Druggist H. A. Elliott returned last