The new era. (Walden, Colo.) 1906-19??, 1907-08-15
MURDER WILL OUT"
THREE MURDERS ARE SAID TO BE
TRACED TO MEN PROMINENT
IN "coLoRADo TROUBLE"

~ made within month. Buckley
Wells dug up the human bones. He
says the murderers are known, that
several have already been located, and
that the whereabouts of the others can
not long be concealed.
Wells found the body OF Barney
through clew furnished by Steve Adj
ans in his confession to the Idaho au-
thorities, which confession Adams has
since repudiated.
The skeleton will be introduced as
evidence when the trials of the men
who are to be arrested are called.
Knows Smiths Grave.
Wells also claims to know where the
body of Smith was buried, but this will
not be taken up until the alleged muir
derers are in custody. He says the
skeleton of Barney was unearthed only
to give the local authorities ground on
which to issue warrants.
The discovery of the skeleton was
made In a remote part of Gold King
gulch twelve miles from town. Be-
sides Wells, City Marshal Willard Run
nels and others were present.
The location of the place of burial
was made possible by the visit here in
June, 1906, of Steve Adams. Adams
was brought here by General Wells to
substantiate some matters related in
his confession. He had stated that he
knew where the bodies of w. ]. Bar
ney and Wesley Smith were buried.
The former disappeared in June, 1901,
and the latter in March, 1902.
Adams, in his confession in Idaho.
admitted that he was the assassin of
Arthur L. Collins. formerly general
manager of the SmugglerUnion Min
ing Company. who was killed on No
vember 10, 1902. Asked If he knew
anything about the disappearance of
Barney and Smith and whether or not
he was implicated with their taking
OFF, he replied that he had nothing to
( with their disappearance, but knew
The circurstan ces surrounding 1t ard
where the bodies were buried.
Describes Mode Of Killing.
He said that Barney was assaulted in
the rear of livery stable on Colorado
avenue late at night. He was wounded
with rcvolvers and clubs and during
the ARRAY a shot in gun exploded.
After Barney had been beaten up in
livery stable, according to the confess
sion, by Vincent st. John, then presi-
dent of the Telluride union, and six or
seven Austrians, he was marched to
the railroad tracks 100 yards distant.
They then escorted him, Adams said,
down the railroad track distance of
some three miles to where it crossed
the wagon road leading to the Alta
mines and mill.
Up this road into the mountains he
was taken to near the Alta mill. He
says Barney thought they were going
to escort him out of the country, but
upon arriving near the Alta they shot
him to death. His body was taken
thirty or forty feet below the road,
placed on the ground and big tree
rolled above and alongside of 1t. There
it remained until late in the summer of
1903, when the murderers began to feel
uncomfortable in apprehension of ap-
preaching trouble, and Adams, accord
ing to his own confession, accompa-
MED by o. NJ. Carpenter, then secre-
tary-treasurer of the Telluride Miners
union, removed the remains from be-
hind the tree and buried them in
more secluded place.
They stripped the body, he said, of
The clothing and boots and took 1t
kwn into a little fiat just below, bury
Me it in one hole and the clothing in
another about thirty feet distant. which
was done in order to destroy identl-
fication.
When Adams was down there In
June, 1906, with General Wells they
went up to the little fiat where Bar
ney and his clothes had been buried,
but on account of about four feet OF
snow on the ground at the time they
could not find the places where the
clothes and body had been buried,
though they dug many holes around in
the snow. Adams, however, showed
General Wells marks on trees and
other things by which the location of
the grave could be determined when
the snow had disappeared.
Later in the season General Wells
found the hole in which Barney's
clothes and boots had been buried. The
boots were cut exactly as Adams had
described when they were removed
from Barneys feet. These General
Wells has kept in his possession until
now.
Several efforts were made during
last year to find the grave, but proved
unsuccessful by reason of Adams haV-
Ing given a description of the location
of the grave just opposite to that
where it was finally found.
General Wells says a complete skeie-
ton of Barney was taken up. Only one
or two ribs were missing and they
We're found with the clothes. The skel-
eton shows two bullet holes through
the ribs and another through the bone
OF the arm. The front teeth are
Knocked out and the skull fractured.
The skeleton was brought to town.
With regard to the disappearance of
smith, Adams says he was killed in
me Miners Union hospital in this
lace. General Wells stated that
Tough information obtained from Ad-
ans he was confident of later finding
me resting place of the bones of
Smith.
While here in June, 1906 Adams
presence in the county was kept as Sc