The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-06-07
A Union Miner Attempting to Explain
to a Crowd the independence Dis
aster is Shot Dead and in the Riot
that Follows a Number of Others
are Wounded. Soldiers Fired on
from Miners Union Hall Take the
Building by Assault. More Des-
perate Fighting Expected.
(By the Associated Press.)

Cripple Creek, Colo, June G.
Twelve men were killed and seven
we're severely wonded today by the
explosion of an internal machine at
the railroad station in Independence.
Eleven were killed outright, being
blown to pieces. and one died later
from his wounds. All the killed and
injured, with the exception of two men
from the. Deadwood mine were nom
union miners employed on the night
shift OF the Findley mine.
The internal machine with which
the murder was committed consisted
of a quantity of dynamite, probably
300 pounds, a loaded revolver and a
long fine steel wire attached to the
trigger The revolver was fastened so
that the pulling of the trigger would
not draw it away. The wire ran from
under the station platform to the crib
ming of the Delmorffeo property, about
400 feet away, where its end was fas-
tened to rung of a chair. The dyna-
mite was placed close to the muzzle of
the revolver, which was discharged by
pulling the wire. The ball from the
revolver and the resultant conclusion
exploded the dynamite.
man was seen running down the
hill from the Delmonico property after
The explosion. Victor troops, who were
ordered out by Mayor French, were so
stationed as TO keep people from pass
ing over the path taken by this man
and bloodhounds were sent from Can
yon City and Trinidad to trail the as
sassin
The Internal machine used today
was similar to the one exploded in the
Vindicator mine on November Il,
1903, killing two men.
Story of the Crime.
The men quit work at O'Clock this
morning and were waiting to board
suburban train on the Florence and
Cripple Cree kRailroad to return to
their homes in Cripple Creek and Vic
tor.
Just after the engineer of the APP
Droaching train blew the whistle as
signal to the miners, according to- Gus
tom. a terrific explosion occurred un-
dtrneath the station platform, on and
rear which twenty-six men were gath
cred The platform was blown into
splinters. the station was rocked and
hole twenty feet in circumference, and
twenty feet in depth was torn i'll the
ground. Fragments of bodies We're
hurled several hundred feet.
Several bodies dropped into the pit
made by the explosion, but heads.
hands. ears. legs. arms and trunks
" ere strewn about on all sides. Pieces
Of flesh were found on buildings 500
feet away, while splashes of blood
were found on everything within a
radius of fifty feet.
The force of the explosion was felt
II roughout the camp and the crash
awakened everybody. The approach
ing train was stopped and the train
men rushed ahead to the scene OF the
disaster. They were Joined in few
minutes by hundreds of persons and
relief work was begun at once. A
special train was sent from Cripple
Creek carrying physicians. nurses, Of
ficers and many others. but when it
reached Independence the injured had
already been placed on board 4 subur-
han train and removed to a hospital in
Victor The man.led bodies of the
dead, piled together as we'll as pos
sible, were removed to the coroners
office.
The dead.
Gus Augustine. aged 3.
Arthur MuIleise, relatives in Ger
many,
Henry Haa@.
Alexander M'Lane.
CnaPieS H.. bdfDcf.
Herbert Mccoy.
j. II. HartSeI.
William Shanklin.
f.. keISO.
w. wv. Delaney.
Edward Ross.
T. III. johnson.
The injured: Phil Chandler J. A.
Brooker Edward Holland, John Pol
lice, Tom Sinclair, Dan Gainey, Clar-
ence Allen.
Amputations have been performed
on a few of the wounded. and it is
almost certain that several of them
viii die.
Most of the dead and wounded were
unmarried.
By order Of Major H. A. Naylor,
of the National Guard, the bodies
were removed from the coroner's es-
tablishment to an undertakers rooms
This action was taken on request of
j. S. Murphy, superintendent of the