Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1921-09-02
war RESUMED IN
MInC0 Mine Zone
s Killed, Judge and 3 Deputy
Sheriffs Captured by, Miners
as New Battle Opens.
SOLDIERS ESCAPE TRAP.
Heavy Loss Of Life Among Troopers
Averted When Commander HATS
Men Just A. They Were About
TO Enter Death Snare.

Cd oil persons engaged in "unla~t-
.fuI and Insurrecttonary proceed
inos'' In the West Virginia coal
fields to disperse and retire peace
fully to their homes. Unless there
10 prompt compliance, the id.
ministration let It be known that
| martial law will be declared and
Governor Moroan's appeal for
Federal troops granted.
Ethel, w. Va.-Armed miners who
clashed with state troopers have cap
tured Fulton Mitchell, a justice Of the
peace, and three deputy sheriffs OF
Sheriff Don Chains Logan county
forces. The men are being held az
hostages by the miners who are mo
bilized at Sharples, Bone county, in
tent on carrying out their invasion OF
Mingo county.
Advises to state police headquarters
are that the hostages are being held al
Clothier, Boone county, just across the
Logan county line. In street fighting
here a woman was killed. According
! to a statement she had fred on state
troopers from house window and the
fire had been returned.
Heavy Loss Of Life Averted.
Heavy loss of life among state troop
ers was averted when Capt. P,
Brochus, commanding, halted his band
as it was about to walk into trap
laid by the armed bands. Captain
Brochus said that the state police
played in luck" in stopping where
they did.
I'VE learned from Sharples that
there were between 1900 and 1900
miners waiting for US to walk into q
trap" Captain Brockus said, "and if we
had advanced it seems assured a very
serious situation would have devel
oped.'
He added that after his men had
seen three who had fallen picked up
and carried away by their companions,
the state troopers and deputies retired
because some of their number were ID
civilian clothes and it was difficult to
distinguish them in the darkness from
men comprising the armed band.
The clash was at close range, &C.
cording to Captain Brockus' report, the
men firing at each other when but eight
to 10 feet apart. Prior to the fight.
Captain Brockus said, II prisoners had
been taken by the patroling party
which set out from Logan, ostensibly
toward Blair and Sharples. Four OF
the prisoners escaped during the en-
gagement, it was said, and one of them
is believed to have been killed.
IL Troopers In Fight.
Captain Brockus was at the head OF
the advance guard of troopers and
deputies. It was this detachment
comprising IL men, then engaged the
armed band. The patrol while pro
ceeding toward Sharples, Captain
Brockus reported, ran across five men
on foot. All were armed with rifles
and one had a shotgun, he said.
I'VE called upon these men to dis
arm, which they did," the captain con
tinued. I'VE placed them under ar
rest and proceeded down the road
Further on, we met two automobiles
and placed six additional armed men
under arrest. 49,. -.
with the II prisoners we marched
on toward Sharples and came upon an
! other squad Of five armed men. Some
one called to us that we would not be
allowed to pass. We called upon them
to surrender their arms but received IL
reply a volley of Shots
::!"Our men returned the fire and ii
the fight five men fell to the ground
We waited until we saw that they
were picked up and carried away, and
then decided to discontinue. the ad
vance for the present. It was very
dark and some of our deputies were
in civilian clothes, hampering our dis
tinguishing them" -.