The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1909-07-30
WAS HIT IN THE JAW.
MYSTERIOUS SHOOTING OCCURRED
SATURDAY NIGHT.
Man Named Harkee Is Victim of a
Hold-up, According to the Story
Told the Police; Shooting Took
Place in Box Car; Officers Make
An Unsuccessful Search for the
Fellow Who Handled the Gun.
From Mondays Daily.

From Mondays Daily.
A somewhat mysterious shooting
affair took place at about midnight
Saturday night, in an empty box car
IN the Omaha freight yard, and Frank
Harkee of this city is laid up in con-
sequence, with smashed Jaw, and is
thankful to have escaped with his life
Three local men, Harkee, Joseph
Deitl and William Eigesdorfer, all re-
siding in the lower part of the city,
undertook to 60 to st. Paul on a
freight train, for the purpose, as they
SAID, OF striking west to work in the
harvest fields. They entered an empty
box car, that was already occupied
by two men, and lay down gin one
end.
Ordered to Throw Up Hands.
According to the story subsequently
told the police by Harkee and Deitl,
they had been lying down but few
moments, when one of the other two
men suddenly arose and advanced to
where they We're, with the aid of a
flashlight, and pointed revolver at
them and ordered them to throw up
their hands. Before they could make
move to comply with the order, the
men began firing, and fired two shots.
One of these struck Harkee on the
center of his lower jaw at the base
of the teeth, taking out piece of
the bone and knocking out several
teeth. The weapon was so close to his
head that he was powder burned on
his face.
Harkee then managed to jump or
roll out of the car, and the two
strangers leaped out after him and
made their escape in the darkness.
Deitl followed, but Eigesdorfer re-
manned in the car until it reached
kasOta, and then returned to Man
kato yesterday morning. Harkee and
Deitl reported the occurrence at the
police station at about one o'clock
in the morning, and search was at
once made for the two strangers, but
this was unsuccessful.
Secured But Slight Description.
1t was so dark that the Mankato
men got but slight description of
their assailants. One was fairly tall
man, and the other rather short. and
it was the tall man who did the
shooting. The shorter one did not
take much part in the proceeding.
Whether they were hoboes or not is
not known. They may have been the
parties who robbed Odiard g. KNOTS
store the afternoon before, and were
seeking to leave the city.
Harkee was treated by City Health
Officer Dahl, who succeeded in extract
ing the bullet in sections. 1t appears
to have been a twenty-five calibre
missile, and after striking the front
of the lower jaw it lodged in the
mans neck within half an inch of the
jugular vein. A slight variation of
the course taken by the bullet might
have meant death Harkee was able
to be about yesterday, but was re-
ported quite sick today. One eye was
badly powder burned The second bull
let fired by the stranger went wild.
Police Sent Out Word.
When the police were notified, they
at once called up the police depart
ment of St. Peter and asked that the
freight train upon which the shoot
ing had taken place be searched for
the assailants. This was done by the
st. Peter police, as the train had not
yet left st. Peter when the message
was received. The men were not upon
it, however.
A freight train came in from the
east about the time the shooting took
place, and two men got off of it and
were found by the police eating lunch
at the .Saulpaugh lunch counter. They
were questioned but proved that they
were not the parties wanted. They
gave the names of Dennis Moriarity
and James Rogers, and said that they
had boarded the train at Waseca and
were laborers. They were allowed to
90 A search of the city failed to
find men answering the description of
those wanted.
Harkee is single man, about thirty
years old, and Deitl is also a young
man. They and Eigesdorfer were un-