The Elk Mountain pilot., 1901-04-30

| struction had been wrought. Strong
got out of the buggy. Miss Lewis sat
in the buggy and held the horses.
Strong came back sick and faint. All
the way back to Colorado Springs
Strong was sick and Miss Lewis
drove. Arrived at Colorado Springs,
Strong went home with Miss Lewis
and remained there, i'll, for four or five
days, refusing to see anyone or to talk
| of the destruction of the mine"
Attorney Sleeper then went on to re-
view the affidavit of John Il. Allen,
who swore that Strong hired him and
a man named Munford to blow up the
mine. He said that he would produce
witnesses to the fact that Strong paid
Allen $500 n few days after the mine
was blown up. He said the actual
damage was $4,000. The remainder
of the damage, S1JO,OO0 in ALL that
the plaintiffs asked, was for the neces-
sary suspension of work in the mine
and exemplary damages.
Attorney Waldron made the opening
statement for the defense
II have no hesitation in saying"
said he, that this claim you are now
to investigate is the most astounding
ever made in n court in the West.
| propose to show that instead of Sam
Strong having any motive in blowing
up that mine, that he sold out his in
terest in short time to Mr.. Giddings,
one of the plaintiffs in this suit for
less than S14, 600.
II will show by reputable witness,
n business man, and whose word l
would rather take than that of all the
witnesses for the plaintiff, and who
was within n short distance of that
mine when>it was blown up, just who
did blow up the mine, and it was not
Strong who did it.
"One of the greatest labor wars in
the history OF the country was in
progress mt that time. The miners
We're opposed by the mine owners.
and the whole district was afiame.
Sam Strong was Mt that time popular
ly supposed to be the owner of the
Strong mine and was one of the most
hated owners OF the district. His man
ager Sam Mcdonald, was also bitter
ly hated.
ION the morning of May %. 1894,
when this mine was blown up, an
army OF men gathered in the streets Of
Victor and defied the law and dared
the officers of the law to arrest them.
1t was rumored that seventy-five dep
uties, employed by the mine owners,
We're congregated at the Strong mine
with arms and ammunition. prepara-
tory to gaining n foothold in the dis
trict.
'On that morning large army OF
| miners crossed the hill on their way
to the Strong mine. When n short
distance from the mine, Sam McDon-
aid was seen running toward the
Strong mine shaft house. When the
union miners saw him they yelled
n l. nm ~.
ing at this man fleeing for his life.
over 100 shots We're fired and 1t was
n miracle that he escaped. These
union miners went to that shafthouse
TO wreak their vengeance upon Nc
| Donald. and found that he had taken
refuge In the mine. They found arms
and ammunition in the shaft house,
and they put powder in the house, and
blew it up. Further the men who
blew up the mine warned the persons
who We're standing near TO get back,
this we will show by respectable wit
nesses. The grand jury investigated
and found Nat Tully and Robert
Lyons Were the guilty men.
Sam Strong would never have been
in this court room on this charge II it
had not been for his unfortunate con-
nection with one woman, Miss Lewis
of Colorado Springs
Attorney Waldron then proceeded to
detail Strong's affair with Miss Lewis
and the much-to-beregretted breach
of promise suit she brought against
him and won in the lower court,
where she was given 100000 dam
ages. He said that it was still before
the Supreme Court.
He said that Miss Lewis and J. Reed
Crowell, who assisted Senator T. NJ.
Patterson in the defense of Tulley
and Lyons, were the main persons i'm
plicated in the conspiracy against
Strong.
Attorney Waldron then went on to
say that three of the defendants, Gid
dings, LennoX and Claburn, attempted
to trick the American National bank
of Denver out of n one-fifth interest in
| the Strong mine.