The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-11-07

was attacked. The miners, with deputy
sheriffs on the Kentucky side raked the
hillsides where the attacking force was am
pushed. Fake telephone messages were later
sent to the deputies to throw them off of the
trail i'm their search for the men i'm the hills.
Three days later a case OF dynamite was
exploded near the power plant of the mine
and partly wrecked the mine buildings.
Men concealed in the mountains in West
Virginia near McCarr, one mile from Mate
wan, battled for an hour with the militia
and the deputy sheriffs in Kentucky. \
short time before the fight started the
miiltiamen encountered a man i'm the road
who asked the border question: What is
your business and where you going?'
The mllitiamen told him. Soon afterward
the man crossed to the West Virginia side
and climbed the mountains.
Thirty minutes later rifle fire from three
points on the West Virginia side opened on
the Kentuckians. 4 horse was shot from
under Ransom Hatfield, deputy sheriff A
bullet passed through the hat of militia
sergeant.
Federal soldiers were fired on for four
nights i'm succession at Thacker and two
nights i'm succession at Chattaroi.
Men were slugged and beaten In the roads
A farmers boy near Williamson, going for
n physician late at night, was dragged from
the road into a tent colony and compelled at
a pistols point to Join the union" The boy
had never worked i'm a coal mine. Innocent
passersby i'm wagons on the roads were fired
on from the hills and mountains. The homes
of miners who continued at work were sub
jected to fusillades OF bullets with both the
miners and their wives returning the fire
The Killing of "Anse" Hatfield
Soon after the men in Matewan who were
bystanders when the Felts men were killed
had appeared before the Grand Jury called
by Judge Damron they received death let
ters." A letter to "Anse" Hatfield, hotel
proprietor who was a Grand Jury witness,
told him that he had only rev days TO
live" Within a week while sitting on the
porch of his hotel i'm the evening with his
wife and Dr. Edward Simpkns the lights of
the town were suddenly turned off, a rifle
cracked and Hatfield was instantly killed
The bullet passed through his body, and
striking Dr. Simpklns in the jaw wounded
him seriously.
prof Genoa. principal of the Matewan
School received a similar death letter.
Others were sent to r. NJ Stafford, justice
of the peace at 1hacker, and TO Leonard and
Edward Hatfield officials Of the Thacker
Coal Company.
The death OF "Anse" Hatfield. and the
death letters to others caused Gov Cornwell
to appeal to the War Department at Wash
ington for Federal troops for the region
IL have seen more than a score of letters
in the last day or two received by residents in
the Williamson field. especially in the Mate
wan section in which the recipients arc
warned that they are shortly to share the
fate OF 'Anse' Hatfield, who was shot from
ambush i'm the town OF Matewan few days
ago" said Gov. Cornwell I'm public state
ment when ne asked for the Federal troops
In his closing paragraph Gov Cornwell
added: eve are not getting proper coopera-
lion from some Of the authorities in Mingo
county"
Major w. VI. AshbroolS and four hundred
Federal soldiers were sent into the valley
from Camp Sherman. Major Ashbrook es-
tabished headquarters i'm Sycamore Hollow,
near Williamson, and began systematic
patrol of the strike region The soldiers
found camps in the woods that had been
deserted on their approach by the feudists
and gunner. They also found sketches and
outlines for a concentrated attack on all OF
the mining towns in the valley. Major Ash
brook placed machine gun squ7ds on the
mountains overlooking The mining towns