Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-09-22
FOUGHT WITH DYNAMITE
Fierce Battles in and Around
LeadviIIe Yesterday.
STRIKEhATTACK THE MINES
Two Mefs |ere Killed Outright and Two
hS Others viii Die.
ONE SiALKED INTO A DEATH TRAP.
lE
p sSsAdded to the Terror of the Situation.
Three Companies of Local Military
on nGuard-Reintorcem Are
Hurrying Forward.


Leadville, Col, Sept. 21.--Leadville Is a
battle ground today and the Coronado
mine is the scene of desperate engage
ment between strikers and the twenty
men who were working in and living at
the mine. The bloody hand of lawless-
ness and anarchy by the use of dynamite
bombs burned the Coronado shaft house
and made forced attack on the miners.
but the attacking parties were driven
from their ground with three of their
members mortally wounded and two Sc
riouSly injured.
The most atrocious crime committed
during this lawless attack was the shoot
ing and mortally wounding of Jerry
Okeefe, who was doing his duty as a
frema in trying to extinguish the blaze
that, despite the efforts of the fire depart
ment, consumed four dwelling houses as
well as the Coronado shaft house and
out-buildings.
But the bloody work of the strikers Uas
not confined alune to the Coronado mine
lawless mob gathered around the Em-
NETT, little after the attack on the Co.
ronado, but the mon at the Emmett were
ready Tor the attack and when the crowd
appeared they fired such vollev Of hul
let's into them that they found it unsafe
TO go turther in their nefarious work Not
one or their number was killed but Jerry
Mahoney, miner, living near the Res
direction, who happened to be coming
tween the strikers and the men on the in
side and with the first volley, was shot
probably fatally.
At the Ell Paso also the men were at
tacRed py strikers, but they left that
shaft house and sought cover under
bushes close by. Here they were await
Ing the attack of the strikers but the lat
ter dld not come near the property con-
tenting themselves with firing about A.
hundred shots into the shaft house.
a lon
Ram mine at about the same time and
ired several shots into the shaft house. ,
put did not come close enough to throw
dynamite bombs and fire the buildings.
a great quantity of giant powder was
burned outside the fence of the Emmett
mine, but no harm was done by it. This
powder was brought to blow up the En-
NETT shaft house, but the resistance
made to the attack by the men on the
inside foiled the strikers plans and fear
ing being caught with the powder in their
possession they burned 1t
The men who were killed at the Coro-
nado are:
Berry Wier.
James Benson, union striker.
Jerry OKeefe, fireman, mortally
wounded.
viii Higgins.
No one is able to identify either Benson
or Weir their names being known by
letters in their pockets.
wounded in the affair, has four bullet
wounds in his right arm and one, which
Is pronounced dangerous, in his abdo-
mon. This, DR.. Jeanette says, will pre-
vent his recovery. Higgins is not more
than 20 years of age.
John Mahoney is not dead but the doc
tors say he cannot live and will probably
die tonight. Mahoney is not striker,
although he is union miner. He was
working lease with two others, and
i'm uyha 1a eInt
but none Of the men knew they had
walked into death trap until Mahoney
was pierced by ball and fell from his
horse.
O'Keefe and Mahoney are single men,
and it lis believed that Benson and Weir
are also single.
Under orders Of the governor several
companies of state militia are on the
way to Leadville from Denver, Colorado
Springs and Pueblo, to strengthen the
local military force of three companies.
The miners were organized recently by
the Western Federation of Miners, and
almost every mine worker was in the un-
ion when their demands were made. The
miners ask SO a day for all classes of
workmen, including surfaee and UNDER
ground men. The employers declared at
the beginning of the trouble that they
were wiling to continue paying the
wages which had prevailed in Leadville
to that time. Under that scale surface
workers were paid only $3.50. and practi-
cally the only change the union proposes
is the advance of the wages of this class
OF men to SO.
The mine owners have refused to listen
to any proposition from the employees.
They insist that the governor. the courts
and the newspapers are with the miners
and 1t would be impossible for them to
manage their own property Il they made
any concessions. The courts say they
are powerless unless the sheriff brings
offenders within their jurisdiction. The
mine owners explain that the sheriff
holds the key to the situation, and Is in
league with the strikers.