Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1881-05-24
THE COLORADO MASSACRE.

Further Particulars Of the Murder
Of John Thurman, Dick May ans
b. smith.
Frank Anderson Saturday received 9 let
ter from his brother j. H. The latter ha,
been sick at Durango since the killing o
his men and the stampeding Of his stool
by the Indians. He is just getting vel
enough to travel and look after his inter
ests. The following account Of the mas
sacre appears in the Durango Record o.
May -. 1t is the fullest and possibly tht
most correct description that has yet beer
given. The letter bears date, Pine Springs
Colorado, May 8, and is written by Albert
W. Puett. The writer says:
On Sunday. the LIST instant. a party Of
Ute Indians visited the horse ranch Of
John Thurman at Pine Springs, and most
party Of stock men living three miles
north went to Pine Springs on Sunday
evening and discovered the cabin Of Thur
ma in ruins. They Immediately gath
cred their stock 10 small band Of horses)
and started for the Big Bend OF the Do
lores, reaching the roundup camp Of
Goodman, Fisk and others about 10 A. NJ,
Monday the I'd inst. At 2 P. M. Of the
same day q party of seventeen men broke
camp and started for the scene Of the trag-
edy, arriving on the ground at Q A. M.
Tuesday.
They soon commenced the removal Of
the debris Of the burned cabin. On the
south side. and lying parallel with the
south wall, was found the body Of Dick
May, which was SO badly burned that his
two brothers, George and William Nay,
could only identify the body by q small
piece of clothing that lay under the body,
a silver ring, and lastly, but surely, by two
old copper cents, that some time ago VIM.
May gave him. No other bodies were
found in the ruins. Upon further exam
ination of the surrounding country the
body Of Thurman was found three-fourths
Of q mile in q southerly direction from
the house. He was shot in several places,
one ball entering just above the left nipple
and passing directly through the body.
which must have caused instant death.
His head was horribly mutilated, being al
most cleft in twain by an ak or Ratchet.
His body was inferred near where il lay.
The body Of Smith was not found.
The party returned to the Dolores with
the charred body Of Dick May, where he
brother George May.
orado, l desire to say that John Thurman
was q Woodworking man, laboring for an
honest living. He had accumulated some
means, and hailed from southwestern Mis-
souri,. He vas the owner of q band of
horses in charge of a hired man ct San
Francisco Mountain, Arizona. Dick May
was an old inhabitant and well known to
the people of La Plata County. He had
gone to Thurman's ranch to purchase
horses, and was accompanied by B. Smith
as an assistant. He had on his person
something over $500, which was destroyed
by the flames or taken by the Indians. l
was one of the seventeen that visited the
scene of murder, and q more horrible
sight is seldom seen. The people may be
prepared to hear at no distant day of re-
venge complete. We must protect our
own homes. Our Government, 80 far as
sending protection to the pioneers and
frontier settlements is concerned, is Q
failure.
This crime will not pass by unnoticed.
but it will no doubt be fully avenged
though it involves us in q Ute war.
There are some that cry i" Peacei peace!"
but there is no peace. The war has actu-
ally begun. Let those who do not wish to
fight to protect the homes they have worked
hard to build up in the wilderness, get out
of the way, for the crack Of the rife in the
hands Of the frontiersman will be heard
from the highest hills and lowest wales to
avenge the untimely death Of May, Thur
man and Smith.