Los Angeles herald., 1908-10-10
DOUBLE MURDER
AND SUICIDE IN
MINE TRAGEDY
LOS ANGELES MAN KILLED
FOR REVENGE
TWO WITNESSES SEE MINER
FIRE FATAL SHOTS
Or. Nathaniel kuns and Rudolph
AIbers, His Employe, Ambushed
and Shot as They Drive
Past Desperate
Especial to The Herald. !

C AN BERNARDINO. Oct. 9.-Detalis
of the tragedy at the Rose mine'
~ northeast of Little Bear valley,
in which DR.. Nathaniel Kuns OF Ia
South Soto street. Los Angeles, was
killed, which have come In here piece
meal over badly connected telephone
wire, prove the crime TO nave peeh
q double murder and suicide.
Not only was DIR. Kuns shot, put
Rudolph Albers, his employe, was also
killed, and Bill Mckee, the poruer s's ues-
perado, who committed the murders,
cheated the Jaw by blowing ou' ms
own brains.
Two men witnessed the murders ana
heard the shot of the suicide Iney
were Albert Watts, superintendent oI
the Rose mine, and miner haiheo
Willard.
driving down the road toward the NC.
Ree shack when suddenly the report
of a, rifle rang out and DR.. Kuns rell
from the wagon, followed quickly by
his companion as the second shot came;
Mckee then came nito the open ana
poured several additional shots INTO
the bodies which were already imp an
death. He then disappeared down the
road, the horses in the meantime run
ning away
After committing the double muir
der the aged miner returned TO ms
cabin close by and blew the top of his
head off with a winchester, where he
was found in pool of blood an hour
alter the murder by d miner named
Willard and Mrs. Watts. wife of the
superintendent of the Rose mine.
Witnesses Double Murder
Willard was a witness to the double
murder. He happened along the road
when DR.. Kuns and companion ana
Mckee were engaged in an angry con-
versation over the mining claims NOT
caring to mix in the trouble he passed
on and had gone but a short distance
when he heard a shot ring out and,
looking back, saw Kuns fall. Other
shots followed and ne saw Mckee fill
the bodies full of bullets after they
had fallen from the wagon.
Not caring then to face the wrath
of Mckee, he hurried away from the
scene to the Watts home and there
FOLD Mrs. Watts what no had seen and
heard. Arnfing themselves they starred
back and heard another shot. They
found the bodies in the road and then
trailed Mckee to his shack close by.
The door was found locked, but they
burst II in after calling on him to sur
render and getting no response En-
tering they found his lifeIess body, the
last shot probably being the one which
took his life.s
Sheriff Ralphs was net today at
ArdStra creek SeVefdl illicS lioii tliC
scene, by Willard, to whom he told
the above story, and 1t was telephoned
to this city from Bear valley. The
scene of the murder n more than
twenty miles from the telephone.
Coroner C. d. Van-Wie and Under
taker Dean left here tonight after the
three bodies, but they cannot feturn
before Sunday night at the earliest
as the drive Is more than sixty miles
over the toughest of mountain roads,
which have been made much worse
because of heavy snowfalls in the
past week.
Trouble Over Claims
A row over a number of mining
claims Is said to have been the cause
of the trouble between the men, the
claims being owned jointly by them.
Mckee some time ago offered TO seli
Kuns his share in the claims, put
backed up on the deal after the doc
tor had prepared the transfer detaiis
at considerable expense. McKee's part
ner later sold to kuns, which greatly
embittered Mckee against both or
them, and he warned them he would
kill both of them If they ever attempt
ed to go on to the claims.
Early in the year Kuns put num-
ber of men at work on a couple OF tne
claims. but Mckee drove them on at
the point of his gun, and as a result
Kuns had retained Attorney F. b.
Daley to take the matter into the
courts with quiet title suit which had
been commenced. Kuns took the sum-
mons but had been warned against
attempting to serve 1t personally
owing to the threats that Mckee had
made.
Mckee is an old-time frontier des-
perado Ten years ago he got into
quarrel over mining properties and
shot and killed r. r. Staples. He was
tried before a jury in this city and
was convicted of assault, paying fine
of 5000, Owing to- some question In
the evidence the murder charge could
not at that time be made to stick
He has frequently been In trouble
with neighbor mining men and is said
to have been possessed of a violetn
temper.
The two claims which caused the
trouble were the Buckthorn and the
Mckinley Bill, and both are said to
be valuable. DR.. Kuns some weeks
ago. just previous to the filing of the
quiet title suit, asked the sheriffs Of
flee to give him protection at the
claims, as he wished to survey them.
but the sheriff could not do that, so
the action In court was taken inSead.