The Cook County news-herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Cook County, Minn.) 1909-current, 1921-09-01
5 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 Halts
Men Just As They Were About
to Enter Death Snare.

Ethel, w. Va.-Armed miners who
clashed with state troopers have cap
tured Fulton Mitchell, justice of the
peace, and three deputy sheriffs Of
Sheriff Don Chafin's Logan county
forces. The men are being held as
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 at
Clothier, Boone county, just across the
Logan county line. In street fighting
here woman was killed. According
to a statement she had fired on state
troopers from a house window and the
fire had been returned
Five men fell in the encounter while
prospects for another battle on an un-
precedented scale loom with armed
bands at sharples growing FESTIVE.
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 a 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 1000
miners waiting for us to walk into
trap" Captain Brockus said, land if we
had advanced it seems assured very
serious situation would have devel-
oped."
All along the way, state police off,
GERS explained, "pot shots were being
taken at the officers by men hidden in
houses and in ambush.
Fallen Men Carried Off,
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
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. 1t was this detachment,
comprising II 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 shotgun, he said.
1--WE 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.
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 in
reply volley Of shots.
"Our men returned the fire and in
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"