Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1885-10-06
FROM WYOMING.

A Green River special to the Cheyenne
Sun says that some evidence of a very
startling nature was given before the
Grand Jury there yesterday. The start
ling testimony is given by the Rev. Tim
othy Thirloway, the Congregational min
lister at Rock Springs. This startling tes-
timony says that the Chinese themselves
set fire to their own houses on the day of
the Rock Springs massacre, for the
purpose of saving them from pillage,
and to prevent the dirt floors from
being dug into for the purpose
of finding any hidden treasuse that the
Chinese may have buried there Well,
and what of all this? Ii it be true it will
relieve the miners Yho massacred the
Cinnamon of the charge OF arson, but in
no way mitigate their crime of murder.
Ii a man sees mob of murderers ap-
preaching his dwelling for the purpose of
killing him and plundering his house, is
it any crime for that man to set Ere to his
house and flee to the hills for safety?
Among the heinous crimes charged
against the inofensive Cinnamon at Rock
Springs is the fact that in one instance
when the ruins of the Chinese dwellings
were being eXcavated after the massacre,
some six thousand dollars were dis
covered. The accumulation OF such
sum clearly proves that its owner
or owners had been industrious
and frugal. 1t is very doubtful whether
the white miners at Rock Springs had so
much money in store on the day of the
massacre. If the Cinnamon burned
their dwellings to save the money hid
within them, they are to be commended
for their act, and not condemned. Miss
Eleanor Thirloway, the daughter of the
Rev. Mr.. Thirloway, testified that
Chinaman, Ah Quong by name, said,
"China boy no likee American boy catch
him things, and China boy set fire to
houses" China boy showed his sense. But
how does it come that the evidence that
the Rev. Mr.. Thirloway and his wife and
daughter gave before the Grand jury
is made public? Such proceeding
seems little queer, does it not? Are
the Rev. Mr.. Thirloway and his wife and
daughter given a special indulgence to
dlvulge to the public the evidence which
they gave to the Grand Jury that preiu-
dice against the murderers of the Chi
nese at Rock Springs may be removed
and the old hatred and dislike of the |
Chinese be renewed? The next thing to |
DO to relieve the Rock Springs assasins
OF the odium attaching to them and their
crime, is to prove, and doubtless it ca...'
- done, that the Chinese hired men to
assault their part OF the town and drive
hem into the hills and kill some twenty
II thirty of them merely for the purpose
# creating public sympathy in
heir behalf. Such theories find
eady credence in Utah, and
We have it 'son authority that
certain Federal officials committed, or
aused to be committed, some most
'eastly outrages upon their dwellings
merely for the purpose of creating public
in their behalf and to create a
rejudice against the community. We
commend this method to our Wyoming
eighbors, believing that they will be
BILE to convince the majority OF their
eople of the correctness of the theory.
ne same as the majority of the people of
jtah are convinced of this theory in re-
ard to the outrage upon Dickson, Varian
nd Mckay. 1t will do for home con-
but don't try to export it.