The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-06-11
VERDICT OF THE
C0RONER'S JURY
Federation Of Miners Held Re.
spOnsibIe for DyHamitiHg.
TESTIMONY WAS NOT DIRECT
STORY OF A CARPENTER WHO
LIVED CLOSE BY

~ ICTOR, Colo. June 10.-The jury
y empanelled by Coroner George r.
Hail has commenced hearing tes-
timony on the Independence explosion.
Engineer JAMES D00ner, I'M charge
of the engine of the Golden Circle
train, which was just pulling in at the
Independence station at the time OF the
explosion. testified as follows.
AT 2:27 on the morning OF the 9th
we were pulling in with the train when
an explosion came. was slowing
down to make the stop. We stopped
about seVenty-hVe feet from the depot
and men ran up and informed US tnat
the depot was blown up. We lighted
some torches and went down and Lound
cousidera bic debris on the tracks and
one dead body. ] then moved the en-
CINE nearer TO the depot, and we
picked up what wounded men We could
find and backed i'm 90 the Victor depot.
We got telephone message there Jndt
there We're more wounded men, and the
dispatcher gave orders for us tO return
to Independence for them
Took the Dead to Victor.
ct think we took eleven dead men to
Victor ON the two trips, ] did not
make any examination OF the depot
p
time. Then Conductor Watson went
through the depot and something like
seventy-ive yards up the hillside. We
cid not have sufficient time TO make
thorough examination. and we did not
see signs of any Internal machine"
The testimony of the remainder of
the train crew was practically the
same as that of the engineer.
Several witnesses testified as to the
finding of the wire with which "A re-
VolVer was discharged, exploding the
dynamite under the depot platform.
Arthur Beard. a boy, told of finding
bulldog revolver near the scene Of
the crime.
Sensational Testimony.
A sensation was caused by the testi-
m9Hy Of G, O.. Hathaway, a carpenter
who lives within 800 feet of Where the
explosion occurred. He said ne hurried
to the place. He met man and asked
him what was the matter to which he
received the reply: ooh. nothing. Only
a lot of 'scabs' gone To hgii'
AT THAT instant witness i'm stepping
over a gully fell directly onto one OF
the victims. He did not know WHO the
man was who had used the Language.
as it was still dark, but later ON had
heard him use about the same words
to another person. He inquired the
mans name and was told that it was
Joe Craig.
Verdict Of Coroners Jury.
The following verdict was rendered:
"An inquisition held al Cripple Greek.
fin Teller county, state of Colorado. on
the 9th and 10th days Of June, A D.,
1904. before George r. A. HAN, coroner
of said county, upon the bodies of Gus
Augustine, Arthur Nuhleise, Henry
Haag, Herbert Mccoy William Frank
lin. Edward Ross and others. there ly-
ing in death by it's jurors whose names
are hereto subscribed. said jurors, upon
their oaths, do say that said persons
came 10 their death by an explosion
OF dynamite or other explosives at the
Florence q Cripple Creek depot at or
near the town of Independence, Tel
Ter county, Colorado, ON the morning
of June 6, 1904 about 2.30 a. sos
I'VE further fud that said explo-
siVe was exploded by an Internal ma
chine purposely and 8rtfuily set and
discharged 10y some persons TO jury
unknown for the purpose of wilfully,
maliCiOusly and feIOniOusly killing and
numbering said persons and Others;
that said crime is one of similar crimes
designed and committed in the Cripple
Creek district during the past few
months and perpetrated for the pur-
pose OF killing ana Illuminating non
union miners and thereby preventing
them from working and that said
crimes are the result of a conspiracy
entered into by certain members of
the Western Federation of Miners, and
known, melted and furthered by cer-
tain officers Of that organization