The Kootenai herald. [volume] (Kootenai, Idaho) 1891-1904, 1903-03-13
DEPUTIES Hal No MERCY
OFFICIAL REPORT ON RECENT
TROUBLE IN WEST VIRGINIA.
Marshal's Men Fired into Miners
Homes ana Killed Occupants-Cause
of the roupie-I telegraph COM
panIes he,useo to LeiiVer messages
TO MINERS FROM headquarters.

10 MINERS & rom 7eaStuaftefS.
Indianapolis, ina, MAJ en- 1U.-Ihe
-enL " LAe W esL Virginia cOal neius ~
lnV esusaIe lne hlllInS UI cOIOred nlil-
els al AIAInsyIIIe, LAS Ueen Iecelve,t
at the headquarters OF the UnI.eu
.ulnewOrAers.
Inc report says that General s..
GAR, VINO 10 the attorney Tor the cOal
COMPANIES, created an agitation 10
Charleston, and that Immediately after
woru a4ransenlenLS were maze Win
the United States marshal by the mine
wOrkeIs onclals 20 give bond Tor ali
VINO were arrested, out that later, on
account OF the agitation created w
deputy Marshal Cunningham, the
agreement entered into win the mar
snal was broken anu Cunningham was
sent to arrest the men.
According TO the report there was
great feeling against Cunningham, ana
the men decided not to allow MIN "
arrest them, and he was driven away.
MI Evans says that he sent a telegram
TO the men to submit quietly, but that
the coal companies, who own all of the
telegraph and telephone lines connect
ing with the town, refused to deliver
1t, and before he could get any mes
sage to the men Cunningham and MIS-
deputies, who, he said, were the worst
characters he could collect, went TO
the town a second time and killed the
miners in the nighttime in their beds.
Mr.. Evans says tnat he went to the
scene of the trouble the next morning,
after As men had been arrested for
conspiracy to kill Cunningham, and
found there, in a house occupied by
colored miners, the dead bodies OF
William Dodson, William Clark and
Richard Clayton, all cOlOred.
The report continues: ION inquiry
we found that the wife of the colored
man, with four children, together with
eight colored men, were in the house
and that about daybreak all these in
side were awakened by shots being
fired into the house from the outside
This shooting took place without any
thing being said to those on the inside
and the three colored men l have men
toned were found dead on the floor
Two were in their night clothes ant
the other one was partly dressed, witt
one shoe partly laced, and the othel
foot bare.
I'VE visited another house, where 10
seph Hiser lay in bed MORALLY wound
ed, having been shot through the win
dow as he was STOPPING to put on hi
trousers after getting out of bed. Hise
lived with his sister. and she made
the statement at the inquest that sh'
pleaded with those shooting not to xii
her children, and in reply, Cunning
ham said: Women and children mus
take care of themselves
"In no instance could we find wher
these people had been asked to SUI
render until after the deputies ha
commenced to shoot at the occupant
of the houses named.
I'VE next went to the house of Ii
clan Lawnson, who was cOnsidere
MORALLY wounded. l am led to III
derstand that after the shooting re
, ferred to this man. with others, re
! turned the fire of the posse, and thi
is the only instance where any attemp
was made to return the fire on tn
part of the miners. During the shoe
:, ing, in many instances, the men an
women pleaded with the men outsid
- to have mercy on them, but thei
cries were met with derision an
curses. Our investigation proves COZ
. clusively that no effort had been mad
to shoot or resist except in the on
= case mentioned. but all would hav
- been too glad to have surrendered
4 they had been allowed the opportunit
to do So"
Mr.. Evans says that the coroner
. jury returned a verdict of feloniou
killing against Cunningham for tn
= killing of William Dodson.