Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1917-06-21
GUN VICTIM HOLDS
ASSA|LANT AS he
WAITS 'F0' De LAW
DEAN, FIRE PRooFING BOARDING
HOUSE KEEPER, OVERPOWERS
WOUlD-BE ASSASSIN WHILE
FOUR BULLETS WERE IN HIS
BODY.

An hour after he had been shot by
Charles Copee, negro employe OF the
National Fire Proolng Co, Dan Green,
the victim, set on chair in the com
panys boarding house for cOlored
workmen, describing to county Off
cials how he rushed his assailant,
grapped with him, dsarmed him,
threw him to the ground then pinned
him there until help arrived while
suffering from four bullet holes in his
leg and body.
His leg badly swollen caused Green
only slight discomfit. But for and
: occasional wincing the authorities
would have doubted his story that he
was the man COpee tried to slay. He
deported himself much as tho being
nearly murdered was an ordinary oc-
curence with him.
The shooting occurred at o'clock
after Copee, who is now prisoner at
the La Sale county Jail, came up
town" and purchased second hand
Colts 30 caliber target pistol, with
the avowed purpose of assassinating
Dean He barely returned when he
started to make good his threat and
opened fire on self-elected foe. Deans
= own story of the shooting in his own
: way, graphically recounts his expert
ences of tense five minutes in which
: he faced a bad niger" with bad
= eye and equally as bad aim without
tremor while shots were being pour
ed into his body.
He said:
"'This we're Copee came to ma
II bo'din house about three weeks
a ago and asst for lodgins, which ah
l. gave him. He was broke and ah
a treated him like brotha and this
haow ah get treated for ma kind
ness.
: Several days ago Chollie COM
1 menced to kick about the board
which he says was too much. All
S was only cha'ging him five-fifty
y per, like all the other mems around
s heah pay and ah finly pesuaded
e him dat dat won't excessive and
n. he seemed to sibside back into
IS calm agin.
N "Durin' de noon ouah he comes
to me and begins rasin de debil
r and says he was gwine to quit and
At ah jest perlitely says 'Chollie If
ID youse does not like this heah
1t place va can 60 and he says to
re me 'Ahm goin' up taown, get gun
and Ahm comm back to shoot
st you
ne well, | didn't think no noah
IN aboud dat until Cholie appealed
ne at de dooah and opened fire on me.
" Ahm sitting at the table when he
sticks his head inside de room
& and bang! bang! All relied he
es meant what he had sade. All
me to do, but try to get him All
jumped out of my chaiah, right
g heah where ahm sittin' now, and
stahted for him He backed up
and ah followed him All tho
time that ere gun was spittin' frs
and ah could feel ma knees get
tin wobbly, but ah kept on COM
in at him All got him right hero
outside the shack by grabbin him
around de kneck Den ah tr5W
him down and pinned him to the
ground telling ma wife to get the
law and dats all dere is TO 1t"
Witnesses to the shooting we
Francis Coles and Westley Gaine
both colored They corrobOrated Il
boa din house mastah in all his stat
ments TIE Coles woman said 81
, heard the first shot and started to ru
: Gaines was alening over the tai
when shot just missed his head,
said he dropped down and got out
q the range OF Copees barage.
q All denied there had been any b
!. words between Dean and Copee q
the possibilities that there was je
ously between the men over the 10
and affections of one of the negress
at the house, was derisevly Taught
out of the possibility CLASSIFY the
groes themselves, and the authorit
,r had to take their word for II. De
~ denied he called Copee bad ma
and said Copee was using some pre-
who foul language himself when he ord
vo,s ed him out of the house.
ded None of the shots IN Deans be
roo will prove fatal unless complicati,
,ine arise such as blood poison or pm
.ore mona. He appeared to be big
,ank bust fellow and physically fit to vi
and stand the shock his wounds \
cause. one bullet passed clear q