The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-06-09
oa,cer Elmer Mop herson Puts
Tn q Brave Fight Against
Big odds and Gets the
Worst Of Battle.
FuslLADE IN AN ALLEY
BURGLAR Was at Work at Rear
window Of Clothing Store
When Flash Light Dis
closed Him.

closed Him.
:. (, hot fusiIade of shots between
noliceman and two burglars, Offi-
80 Elmer Mcpherson was shot twice
early Sunday morning.
-. NAV recover, but will be per-
u.nentIy lame in his left arm.
=. is new member Of the keo-
t,,k police force, having been aP-
ns;a,ed only a few weeks ago.
II was 2 o'clock Sunday morning
when officers Mcpherson and Ilgue'
On their regular patrol, reached tne
.llev between Fourth and Firth
street south of Main street. Ofilcers
renort to the station every half hour,
and Tigue went to the telephone,
while Mcpherson started through the
alley. ,su 80
tbe block, when he flashed his cleo
trio torch for the first time and
suune It over the rear of the store
buildings.
shed roof and saving at the bars OF
a window of the Ewers-McCarthy
clothing store.
Both Burglars Shot Him.
simultaneously with the flash OF
tbe light upon him, the burglar fired
at the officer, evidently aiming by
Tho electric torch which Mcpherson
held in his left hand.
The first shot hit the officer In the
left arm between the elbow and the
shoulder and shattered the bone.
Mcpherson instantly shot back,
and instantly there came another
shot from the ground somewhere, ne
does not know where, from the gun
of a second burglar hid In the dark
ness of the alley. This shot hit Nc
Pherson in the front Of the chest.
and the bullet stopped in the muscles
of his back.
Policeman was Brave.
81 emptied my gun AS fast as
could fire It," says Mcpherson, "and
as fired at the flashes Of the guns
fusilade of shooting that / really
don't know much about the details
of. We were all shooting fast, and
! guess all three or US stopped when
our guns were empty"
In the meantime Mcpherson was
calling for Tigue who was hurrying
back from the Grand hotel office
where he had been telephoning head
quarters the half hourly report for
the two.
MCPHERSON, bleeding profusely from
the wound in his arm, met Tigue at
the Fourth street end of the alley
less In minute he tainted on the
sidewalk from loss of blood. There
was a big trail of blood from down
the alley to Fourth street and later
to Main street, where Mcpherson was
carried.
Shot Straight but Missed.
MCPHERSON shot very straight dur
Ing the fusilade. for his bullets were
later found lodged all around the
window sash where the burglar was
working when found.
1t Is believed that the burglar at
once dropped fiat on the shed roof
on which he had been standing and
lay there during the shooting.
motorist with a large automo-
bile in front of the Hotel Iowa re-
fused to loan it to take the wounded
and bleeding policeman to the hos
pltal, saying it would be soiled by
McPherson's blood, but another auto
mobile was secured and the police.
man was hurried to st. Joseph's hos
pital. Drs. Dimond and Dorsey got
~ MN very soon and started the
enorts to save his life, despite the
large amount of blood he had lost
and the wound in his chest.
Army Officer Sees Them.
me TWO burglars ran up the alley
70 fhth street, down Fifth to the up
Town switch and then into the rail-
1oad yards toward the river.
ohe was a tall man and one q
. .noit man, and 1t was believed that
.ney could be identified, when
sausat' Lieutenant John Bentley
vas IN nearby restaurant and ran
W, yae ln'o Fifth street at the sound Of
NJ e shooting. He saw both men run
i lug, and close enough that he said
a .a.ef ne could identify them when
m met ne saw them. At the time, he
p hs one of them for Officer Nc
son Tor an instant
t IN tneir flight, the burglars dropped
fou for TOOLS. AT the scene the police
NJ Anu crowbar with a nail puller
m,a Tne end, a sectional jimmie, a
fn a'n ! !, hacksaw and a cartridge
Tho Colt revolver, .3S caliber long.
cd dc 'oois while excellent ones, lack
" the finish of professional burglar
Sna and are not the remarkably
Of Of cr ones carried by the aristocracy
y. rad Not Worked Lonu.
stora "hilhation OF the window of the
sS :, after the affair was over. show
Iidt the man nj fbo ,,,todo,xx 49,