The bee., 1901-01-24
FIRED o.
ThTE SHERIFF +
More Than One Hundred Marching Miners Re-
fuse to Obey Proclamation and
Precipitate Battle.

pected a cOlored man TO come
from that city with three or four
laborers, received telephone
message saying the men declined
to come because they had been
told that ''four hundred armed
men" would visit Hopkins county
that day and take hand in the
strike effort.
Deputy Sheriff j. b. Indie,
with Deputy Lucien Bassett and
three men from st. Charles,
Wade Mcintosh, Scott Penrose
and Ed Johnson, colored, consti-
tuted the plucky posse who
visited "Boxtown" that day to
investigate the purpose of the
meeting and the subsequent
movement Of the agitators and
their followers. They remained
sitting quietly by during the
meeting which was held in the
hall. When the meeting was
over the men filed out of the hall
three abreast and started march
ing in the highway in the direc-
tion of the mines of the Crabtree
and Carbondale companies. There
were more than one hundred of
them. One of their number said
afterward that there were one
hundred and ten in the line.
Sheriff Indie with his men over
took them and approached agita-
tor w. B. Kissinger, of Central
City, who was toward the rear of
the company, and read to him
the Sheriff's proclamation pro-
hibiting the assembling and
marching Of bodies of men
through the county. Kissinger
directed him to go on to the front
and serve notice on those in the
lead and not to come bothering
him with his proclamation. Lin
die then proceeded to the front,
calling the attention Of all the
narchers to the proclamation
as he passed by the crowd.
Upon reaching the front rank. he
again read the proclamation, and
called on all to obey, cease their
marching and dispeFse. This
was after the head of the pro-
cession had entered the road
leading to the Carbondale mines.
John Henry Taylor, Bill Cook
and Wes Cook were side by side
In the lead. All had halted.
Deputy Bassett and Ed Johnson
had not dismounted from the
horses they were riding, and
Scott Penrose, another of the
posse, who was afoot, had not yet
reached the head of the column.
The company showed no disposi-
tion to obey the sheriff's procla-
nation. Johnson had now dis
mounted and Joined Indie, and
Mcintosh was holding the horses.
Indie told the men they must
obey the sheriff's proclamation,
or consider themselves under ar
rest. The only answer he re-
ceived was that Bill Cook drew a
large revolver, exclaimed, "I'll
kill the G-d-s-o-b-," thrust
the revolver almost against Lin
dies face and fred. Taylor
drew u pistol and began firing
also, as the deputies were return
ing Cooks fire, and Wes Cook
also got his gun into action.
Some seventy-iive or a hundred
shots are reported to have been
fired, one man emptying two bar
rels of his shotgun at the depu-
ties from cover of a fence.
The posse was armed with re-
volvers only and only fired twelve
shots. Penrod came running up
through the crowd in the face Of
the fire, but did not reach the
front in time to take part. Nc
Intosh held three horses, one of
which was killed, but managed
to get in three shots at the
possess assailants. Cook was
shot three times, but Taylor re-
ceived only one wound, that in
the side of his head which pene-
trated to the brain. He fell near
the front. Cook ran some dis
tance before falling. Deputy
Bassett's horse became wild at
the first shot and ran with him,
depriying him of the opportunity
to take part. When the fight was
over Indie and his little posse