Arizona weekly citizen., 1888-03-24
SHOCKING MURDER
Of Superintendent Gribble. and Tom
 Johnson.
lPhenix Hersld.I

lPhenix Herald
 At midnight last night Sheriff Hal
 bert was aroused from his bed by Assist
 tant Supt. Turnbull, who had just ar-
 rived from tbe Vulture mine with the shocking news of the murder of Capt. Cyrus Gribole, Superintendent of the
 Nulture mine, and Thomas Johnson, his
 driver. The bodies had been found ly-
 Ing ou the stage road some twenty miles
 thls side of the mine, and the sheriff i'm
 medistely dispatched Deputy Murphy
 with posse to the scene of the murder,
 with instructions to take the trail ss soon as possible, and 10 leave signs
 which could be followed quickly by an addition posse which would follow this morning.
 As the spot where the crime was com nltted IS forty miles from this city DO full particulars can be attained until the return of the coroner, Judge Richards, who hRstened thither early this morn ing.
 At ID o'clock a, m & posse composed ot Frank Cox, Tom Davenport and George Wilder also started out. The ground IS so soft owing to the recent rams that there should be no difficulty Tn following the trail of the murderer or tLe murderers, II there are more than one
 THE DISCOVERY OF THE CRIME.
 At 10 o'clock yesterday morning. Ra- mon Olea, who was on his way from the Nulture pump to Phenix, was met by s Mexlcan nun and woman in great eA- cltement and slsrm who told him they had L~ miles back. From the description given hlm he suspected that the corpses were those ot GrIOble and Johnson, who had passed the pump hat morning before l daylight, and without going to see, he | hurried back to Vulture ahd gave the | alarm.
 Ramon Oles is ID the employ of the | Nulture company, and the man and | woman ~ho informed him are two old people who drive little rickety ped inng wagon between Phenix and the vs- r,ous inning camps.
 Assistant Superin tendent Luke Turn bull, making all haste to the spot indi- 'ated by the Informers, which IS about .hree miles beyond the old "nigger well" the scene of the Barney Martin mur- ier-found both odiss piled together Eith the body of one of the horses and he smashed up wagon. Had 1t not )een tor the bullet marks on the bodies he scene might have been taken for c runaway smsshup.
 The horses had evidently started and un some distance of the road, Gribble Sas shot ID the back of the head and lso h the arms and lower part of the Jack, but DO wounds were seen on John on. The horse had also been shot, but D the hurry to inform the authorities as Oon ss possible, no very particular ex- animation was made, nor were any racks searched for.
 The bar of bullion winch MT, Gribble vas transporting to Phenix WAS missing md was no doubt the incentive to the rime. Its exact value IS not divuIged, mt II Is known 70 have been between 5000 and Sl0,0O0.
 MULvESoS ON THE ALERT.
 Sheriff Halbert received thls morning he following telegram from Mulvenon. SheT q of fsvapsi county:
 PRESCOTT, March 20-How far from Fulture werN they killed? Which way lid trGil lead? Answer quick"
 THEORIES OF THE CRIME.
 As the buggy IS smashed up and the bodies have every appearance of being ouRhly tumbled out, 1t Is thought that be horses took fright, pr1bsbly at the irst shot fired at Gribble and that the murderer then shot the horse in order to top the tesn. The the sudden stop page pitched out Johnson, who falling ID his head broke his neck.
 Some ssy that the deceased superin- endebdtnt was hated and feared by many Ot the men working under him, md had frequent trouble with them. From this fact they deduoe theory hat the murder was partly of revenge. )n consideration, however, ,hls supposl- ron does not appear plausible. Miners IS class do not furnish many murders O swell tbe calendars of crime, and any gao had been having 8 personal quarrel yi'h their superintendent would scarce 7 resort to s crime of which they would ,e the first Co be suspected.
 Another theory. and a much more lstursl one, is that the murder vas
 nmitted by he same gang who were ,uilty of the Barney Martin massacre learly two years ago. and of the Stanton aurd-r which followed. This gang has lever been drought to justice, though here are several parties who claim to now them. and say that they could ring them In at any time if the county TOuld only put up a lIttle,