The Colfax gazette. [volume] (Colfax, Wash.) 1893-1932, 1906-03-30
PBTTIBONE'S "DOPE'
Steve Adams Tells Story OF
Awful "HeIl Fire..
Is Taken to POcRteIIo to Find Ex
pIosive He Declared Had
Been Buried There.

Following up the confession OF Steve
Adams, one of the men arrested with
Meyer, Haywood and Pettibone on
charges of being implicated in the
assassination Of former Governor Steu-
nenberg, a party OF officers, headed by
Governor GoOding took Adams to POca
tellO Tuesday to dig up a red fire ex-
plosive he confessed to burying there
The building had been changed and only
portion of q tin can and a glass
stopper was found. The belief is the
stuff had exploded.
Detective Mcfarland made the fol
lowing statement regarding the Adams
confession:
ION February %, while taking down
the statement of Stephen W. Adams
relative to the numerous Outrages and
murders committed at the instance of
the inner circle Of the executive board Of
the Western Federation of Miners, and
while talking about certain high explO-
eives, he informed me that George
FPttibOne made an explosive known as
hell fire. or 'Pettibone dope that in
his opinion was the most dangerous ex-
piOslve that was made, on account Of
the fact that a fire started by this ex-
plOslVe could not be eXtnguished by
water. 10 other words a building set
on fire By this explosive would he burned
to the ground, regardless Of efforts to
pat it out. This explosive was made OF
stick phosphorus, bisulphide Of carbon,
alcohol, beDzine and spirits of turpen-
tine. These in rodents being properly
mixed were placed in bottles with glass
shoppers, the shoppers being properly
sealed In order TO explode these bottles
and start fire, you simply threw the
bottle against a substance that would
cause the same to break, which would
cause a frightful explosion and fire, FIRE
that could not be extinguished by water
The great strike in Cripple Greek
commenced in August, 1903, and during
the fall the mine owners were Shipping
in nOnuniOn miners from the Occur
d'Alenes and other districts. 1t was at
this time that MOyer approached
Adams, in the presence Of Pettibone, in
the latter's store in Denver, and in
formed bin that he wanted him to meet
him again at the store 10 the early part
of the evening, when be would go with
him down to the train. He said he
wanted him to go to POcatellO, Idaho,
and carry with him some 'PettibOne
dope, which be was to throw into any
train that was supposed to be loaded
with nOnuniOn men and set the train on
fire as it passed through to POcatelIo
He went on to state that according to
appointment. he met Meyer at Petit
bones store, where Meyer provided him
with telescope gripsack. In this grip
sack was a tin can which, az he thoaghs,'
contained two quart bottles and three
pint bottles Of he PettibOne dope.
"MOyer bought him a ticket for POca
telIo and told him to get a berth in the
sleeper, 50 that he would get a good
nights rest, and to watch every train
that came through POcatello, and il he
could find out the train that was loaded
with nOnuniOn men he was to fill it full
of this 'Pettibone DOPE, or hell fire.
and throw the bottles through the
windows and they wOu explode.
"On arriving at POcatellO, Adams
made some inquiries relative to the sup
posed wOrkmen that we're to pass
through, but so far as be could learn il
there were any being transported
through the town they we're scattered in
through the cars; therefore, he concluded
he would not take any chances in burn
ing up a train of innocent persons, and
did not use the dope
Having been informed through Meyer,
Haywood and fettibODe that the mine
owners OF Cripple Greek we're shipping
men through from Arizona by way Of
Ogden, he went there and found that
such was not the case.
Notwithstanding the fact that this
he'll fire, or 'PettibOne DOPE was secure
Iy sealed in bottles, be found that it was
smelling strongly, so he took the tele
scope containing these bottles Of ex-
plOsive along the railroad track, be
thought a little distance east Of POca
teliO. 1t was quite a little piece out of
town, something near q mile, where he
planted the bottles in a little trench in
front of an old building. which had no
floor in it, and looked as though it
might have been an old mill at some
time. The bottles were still in the tin
can when be planted them there and
covered them with a little dirt He tore
the telescope up and threw it back into
this old building. While he remained
some time in POcatellO, be can not give
the location of where these bottles of ex-
plosives were buried, but said that be
could walk to the same place if in POca
teilO, and he believes that the explosives
are still there, because if they had been
disturbed it would have caused an ex-
pl0sion that would have been published
in the papers. He then went to Ogden
and subsequently came back to Denver
and reported to Moyer, Haywood and
Pettibone that it was simply impossible
for him to execute the work he was de-
tailed on without taking innocent per
sons lives"
Later dispatches state that four bottles
Of tie ''hellfre' were dug up by the chief
Of police at POcatellO, substantiating
the story of Adams. The horrible
deadliness Of the stuff was demonstrated
when two men tried to stamp out one
fire and had their shoes burned from
their feet.