The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-09-20
VICTIM OF THUGS
CARRIES BULLET
]. R. Coon Comes to Salt Lake
After Thrilling Experience
in Box Car.
FIRED ON AT CLOSE RANGE
AWAITING OPERATION FOR RE-
MovAL or LEAD FROM NECK.


With a 32-caliber bullet Embedded in
his neck and his entire left side par
alyzed from a shot which scared his
left arm and breast. John r. Coon. %
years old, single, who halls from Nor
field. Miss. is in Salt Lake awaiting a
surgical operation to remove the lead
from his body He was the victim Of a
cowardly attempt by two highwaymen
to kill him, and arrived here in a pitia-
BILE condition.
Intense suffering has been undergone
by Mr.. Coon since his sensational en-
counter with the two desperate char
acters over one month ago. He has car
ried the bullet in the base of his neck.
at the top of the spinal column. ever
since. He win be operated on in day
or so.
DR.. II. P. Kirtley, who is treating the
victim. will probe for the bullet. He
is of the opinion that Mr.. Coon will re-
cover, because of the remarkable nerve
and vitality he has already shown.
Coon was seen by a Herald reporter
at the Salvation Army barracks on
Orpheum alley, where he is now being
cared for He applied for treatment at
site police headquarters, where the knife
will be applied to his wounds.
He told remarkable narrative of the
thrilling introduction he had to the
highwaymen. The shooting, he main
tains. was entirely unprovoked. His
face was peppered with powder. so
close was the revolver fired at him, and
is still badly disfgured.
coon's Thrilling Story.
Mr.. Coon related his experience to a
Herald reporter as follows
Il have been travelling and working
in this western country for the past
two years, have had my ups and downs,
but never had such a close call for
passing out of existence as this last
one.
II am from Norfield, Miss, am IS
years of age and unmarried. In my
two years away from home L have
worked in many of the principal cities
and towns of the west. principally do
ing railroad work My last position
was with the Oregon Short Line as a
pump reoairer. l was with that road
from the 18th of last May until Aug. 10
repairing between Granger and Hunt
ington, and L left them in good stand
ing and of my own free will.
81 intended to go to Needles. Cal.
to accept a position as pump repaireI
for the Santa Fe railroad. / worked
there in that capacity all last winter
and was going to resume my old occu-
patton with them.
81 left Pocatello on Aug. II with
s24.77 in my possession. AS l was I'M
able TO secure a railroad pass to Cali
fornia, because / left the Oregon Short
Line without their approval and my
33.fAx 70
transportation. | took passage in box
car of lumber. ! entered the car al
Pocatello and supposed that l was the
only human occupant of that particu-
lar car.
TWO Shots Fired.
at was about twelve miles out of Po-
catello. on the road to Ogden. that
heard a noise in the car. ! struck q
match and. by it's flare. l was aston
ished to see two other men lying or
top of the lumber. They were only a
| few feet away from me. The match
went out and I was almost blinded the
next moment by having a bullseyt
| flashed in my face.
"One of the men yelled. Hands up.
Before I could comply with that com
mand or utter a word, two shots were
pumped into me. One went through m!
|
the back of my neck. The other tor
through my left arm, tearing the mus
cles and blowing on across my breast
was stunned instantly. as the shot!
were fired only a few feet from me.
My face was filled with the burnin,
powder, and my eyes blinded. l sool
recovered semi-consciousness and re
member hearing the men crawl through
the door of the car, bolt it on the out
side and drop off. All this happened oil
a railroad siding where the train ha,
sidetracked to allow a passenger trail
to fly by.
amazed to find that they had not gon
through me. as my money and othe
things were all intact. / can only fig
ure it out that they must have imag
ined that / was a railroad spy or SOM
other official who was after them. 9th
erwise, there was absolutely no reason
or occasion for the shooting.
81 kept my senses and when tn
freight train went twelve miles furthe
on and stopped at McCammon, / starte'
yelling in the hope of attracting tn
train crew and gaining my release
They heard me. for 1 was carried on
| into the depot there. The McCammol
doctor was out in the country on sicl
NalA, oO tliCy put liiC Oii II gill ANo. ~, III
Yellowstone park train, and ! was hur
ried back to Pocatello for medical treat
ment.
In PoeateIIo Hospital.
81 was taken to the Pocatello genera
hospital about 1:30 on the morning o
! the shooting. / was in bed there TO
eight and a half DAYS and. as I fel
pretty well and my money was nearl,
all gone paying for the treatment, wa
released. l was out one week when m,
arm started to bother me again, and TIL
pain grew so intense that I went bacl
to the same hospital.
II was there nine days that time
They cut my neck to reach the bullet
but couldn't find IL. They treated it a
best they could, bandaged up m