Great Falls daily tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1895-1921, 1920-04-30
When Bullet Sung Past
His Head, Under Sheriff
Shouted to Mine Man
ager to Shoot in Air.
Deputy O'Connor Climb
ed Fence, Saw Bunch of
Men Flee From Board
ing House; Riot Tale.

Butte. April Testimony of Tn
Dr. Dheriff Jack Whelan that the first
sAOts in the strike riot on Anaconda
road the afternoon of April "a. came
from the Simons boarding house, with
the corroborating testimony of Chief
{ Deputy Dave OConnor. that he saw
men run ont of the boarding house after
the trouble started. featured the first
day of the coroner's inquest in conpec-
ton with the death of Thomas Manning,
victim of the shooting.
Both 6f these officers testified that
the only person they saw using saw
ed-Of shotgun was John Berkin. a mine
manager. although they said probably a
dozen mine guards were armed with
these weapons and that fusilade of
shots was fired by the guards after the
house.
Shet To Scare Them
Under Sheriff Whelan said that after
the second shot from the boarding house
narrowly missed his head, he ran toward
Berkin and shouted:
Fire in the air to scare them off"
u He declared Berkin complied and
shouted back:
That will scare them
Twenty minutes before the first shot
n was fired. Deputy O'Connor stated. a
at the south end of the crowd. There
was considerable confusion, then shot
and almost instantly several others,
which the witness said he believed were
pistol shots.
''As these shots rang out" said the
witness, "Whelan, who stood close by,
said to me, They almost got me that
time A minute later Templeton, q
special deputy. came toward US and said
- Ahn
window Of that house over there'-indi-
eating with his hand.
One Man in House Was III.
Il ran back of the house and climbed
up on a high fence and saw bunch OF
men run out of the hall onto Anaconda
road. I got back down from the fence
and ran to the Parrot mine gate. around
It and down to the boarding house and
went inside and through the rooms on
the upper floor. There was oily one
man there then, man by the name Of
Cronin, who, I believe. is an engineer
or fireman. He was lying or bed and
/ believe he was sick"
The witness stated that one Of the
windows on the upper floor was open
and he was of the impression that a
second window also was up.
Chief Deputy O'Connor was on the
stand approximately five hours and was
cross examined exhaustivelv. The un-
der-sheriff followed and had testified
about an hour when adjournment was
taken until o'clock Friday afternoon.
Justice of the Peace John Doran. acting
as coroner is conducting the inquest.
Other witnesses who were called were
Drs. p. E. Kane. r. ]. r. Stanley, C. e.
Emery and the undertaken who prepar-
ed the body Of Manning for burial.
Their testimony was to the effect that
Manning died from the effects of a gun
shot wound which entered the right hip
and, ranging upward, pierced through
almost to the skin and lodged near the
stomach.
Mob Of 400 on Hill. q
Both sheriff's officials testified that
when thev arrived, on Anaconda road
about 80 o'clock in the afternoon,
they found disorderly mob of between
400 and 500 men. Sheriff O'Rourke,
they stated, several times ordered the
crowd to disperse, but on each occasion
they disobeyed. although two or three
times the strikers moved off a pace only
% return when urged to by the pickcts.
Strikers Urged To Make Stand
II 1--WE might a. we'll take stand now
as later Deputy O'Connor testified
one Of the leaders shouted when call
ing on the mob to remain against the
orders of the sheriff. Both declared
Sheriff OROurke made a talk to the
the assemblaEe. stating that it was un-
lawful for the men to congrezate in
(Csntinusd On Page Two.)