Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1906-1908, 1908-04-03
MINE UNION FOE
BLOWN FROM BED
FORMER ADJT. GEN. BULKELY
WELLS, COLORADO, HAS RE
MARKABLE ESCAPE.
DYNAMITE WRECKS HIS HOME,
Leader in Movement Against Miners in
190405, However, Is Not Seri-
ously Injured.


TELLURIDE, Colo, March 2S.-For-
mer Adjt Gen. Buckley Wells narrow
ly escaped death at his home here at an
early hour this morning from a well
planned effort to assassinate him with
dynamite.
Despite precautions against such an at
tempt as patrols and arc lights about
the house, stick of dynamite or a pre-
pared bomb was placed under or near
Gen. Wells bed.
Home Is Wrecked.
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. The side
of the house was torn completely out.
hardly a stick of the bed remained, and
fragments of wood were scattered over
the neghbOrhcod. Though badly shaken
up and bruised to some extent Gen.
Wells escaped without serious injury.
Helped Suppress Trouble.
Gen. Wells took a leading part in the
suppression of labor troubles i'll this state
in 1904-OJ, and was prominently identi-
fed with the recent prosecution OF Off
GERS of the Western Federation OF Min
ers at Boise on the charge of completely
III the assassination of former Gov.
Frank Steunenberg. lie had been active
also in securing the eXtraditlon from
Idaho of Steve Adams, who is to be
tried here on charges of murder IN con-
nection with the miners strike in 1904.
Mr. Wells is general manager OF the
Smuggler Union mine and his home
where the explosion occurred is located
on that property, at Pandora, several
miles from town.
The general appeared in town this
p1ornIDU with his head handDpp6 hllt
otherwise apparently none the worse for
his experience.
Suspect Is Arrested.
One suspect has been arrested The
entire city and county police forces are
working on the case and more arrests
were expected.
i have formed no opinion concerning
the affair, and perhaps will not until
the matter is fully investigated said
Gen. Wells. ut is all strange to me-.
| was in town last night and did not
return home until midnight or there
abouts. l noticed nothing out of the
ordinary about the house and retired
as usual in the sleeping porch which l
use almost the year around.
Awakens in Air.
The next | remember was being
awakened by a loud report and found
NY St'I1 nN lily lIIOuSH jle ar. lluSI
have been hurled against the roof of the
porch When | had fully regained my
senses | was buried under Il mass of
wreckaGe. the bed having been reduced
to kindling and the porch badly dam
aged.
at first I did not realize what had
happened. As soon as / could eXtricate
myself | made a tour about the house,
but saw no one. | then notified the sher-
if by phone. | could not say whether it
was a bomb or stick of dynamite
that was placed under the bed
When news of the explosion reached
Telluride. the sheriff with a corps of
| DEPUTIES hurried to the scene. The
neighborhood for miles around was
| thoroughly secured, but no trace of the
/ dynamiters was found.
! Discharged by Clockwork.
The bomb or dynamite stick had evil
| IDENTIFY been placed under the bed some
| tine yesterday 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 machinery of some sort
| aud the failure to discover anything of
/ the kind has caused the officers to be-
! lieve that an OdOrleSS fuse had been at
! tached to the explosive.
That Wells had a most miraculous es-
cape is evidenced by the damage done to
| the room and its contents. Every win
! dow was blown out. Il huge hole was
torn in the floor. plaster was Jared from
| the ceiling and sidewalks and nearly
every window light in the house was
cracked. The wire springs of the couch
| on which the general slept were twisted
and broken.
Predecessor Was Shot.
Gen. Wells predecessor as manager
III 4 7
! Collins an EnglshmaE. was shot tC
| death at Pandora several years ago
| Steve Adams. the alleged accOmpice OF
| Harry Orchard. the murderer of ex,
| Gov Steunenberg of Idaho. is now in
! Jail at Telluride awaiting trial for that
! crime.
Gen. Wells is a graduate of Harvard
| university and is prominent clubman
! He was alone in the house last night.
SENATE IS CENSURED.