Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1908-03-31
WOULD ASSASSIN
SEEKS Wells LIFE
FORMER ApJuTANT GENERAL
Is NEAR DEATH AT HANDS
OF DYNAMiTER.
LABOR ACTIVITIES
GIVEN AS REASON
Explosive Skaters His Bed, But
Leader Escapes Unscathed-Re.
newai Of War Is Said to Be In
REPRESENTATION Taken.

Telluride, Col, Mar. 3O.-Former
Adjt.-Gen. Bulkeley Wells narrowly es-
capped death or serious injury at his
home here Saturday, from a we'll
planned effort to assassinate him with
dynamite.
Despite precautions against such an
attempt. such as patrols and arc lights
about the house. stick Of dynamite
or prepared bomb was placed under
or near Gen. Wells bed.
Gen. Wells was sleeping, as was his
habit, on an outer porch of the house
and he was hurled with the debris
many feet from the wrecked house.
Side Of House Torn Out.
The side of the house was torn
completely out. hardly a stick Of the
bed remained. Gen. Wells took a lead
ing part in the suppression of labor
troubles in this state in 1sO4-O5 and
was prominently identified with the
recent prosecution of officers of the
Western Federation of Miners at Boise
on the charge of completely in the as
sasination Of former Gov. Frank
Steunenberg. He had been active also
in securing the extradition from Ida
no of Steve Adams, to be tried here
on charges of murder in connection
with the miners strike in 1904.
Gen. Wells is general manager of
the Smuggler Union mine and his
home where the explosion occurred
is located on that property, at Pan
dora, several miles from town. The
general appeared in town Saturday
night with his head bandaged, but 9TH
erwise apparently none the worse for
his experience.
One Suspect Arrested.
One suspect has been arrested and
Is held in the city Jail pending thor
ough investigation relative to his al
legged connection with the explosion.
The entire city and county police
forces are working on the case and
more arrests are expected Saturday.
Il have formed no opinion concern
ing the affair, and perhaps will not un-
til the matter Is fully investigated, !"
said Gen. Wells. "It is all strange to
me. was in town last night and did
not return home until midnight or
thereabouts. noticed nothing out Of
the ordinary about tho house, and re-
tired as usual in the sleeping porch
which use almost the year around.
Awakened by Loud Report.
The next remember was being
awakened by loud report and found
myself flying through the air. must
have been hurled against the roof Of
the porch. When had. fully regained
my senses was buried under mass
OF wreckage, the bed having been re-
duced to kindling and the porch bad
ly damaged.
"At first did not realize what had
happened. AS soon as / could extri-
cate myself made a tour about the
house.
II saw no one. I then notified the
sheriff by telephone. l could not say
whether 1t was bomb or stick of
dynamite that placed under the bed"
Posse Hurries to Scene.
When news of the explosion reached
Telluride the sheriff with corps Of
deputies hurried to the scene. The
neighborhood for miles around was
thoroughly secured, but no trace of the
dynamiters was found. The bomb or
stick of dynamite had evidently been
placed under the bed some time Fri
day and set off at the time desired
by the use of clockwork or a time
fuse. Every nook and corner about
the house and in the vicinity was
searched in an effort to find machin-
cry of some sort and the failure to dis
cover anything of the kind has caused
the officers to believe that an odorless
fuse had been attached to the ex-
plosive.