Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1921-09-08
Southern Part Of
West Virginia
Noted for Its F'euds

Logan, W. Va, sept. ~ nc
southern section o. West Virginia,
scene Of the present conflict between
miners. residents and public author
tiles, has been noted for it's bloody
conflicts, feuds and lawless:.Cas for Il
century.
The picturesque mountain section
comprising the counties OF Wyoming,
Logan, Mingo, Mcdowell and Boone
has rarely been without some sort of
warfare or smouldering quarrel, like
ly at any moment to burst into the
fame OF rife fire.
Hemmed in by rugged mountains,
the early settlers were cut of from
the outside world and succeeding
generations have 50 remained to
more or less extent. Roads are few,
travel is slow and tedious and the
advance of civilization has skirted
this mountainous region until today
it has gained the reputation of being
one of the most primitive sections
east of the Mississippi river.
From the early period when the
hardy mountaineers fought the In
dams until today, the inhabitants
have had tendency to take the law
into their own hands and to mete
out justice according to their own
ideas. This. no doubt, has been due
in part to the fact that law and order
have had a hard struggle to gain a
foothold in a section sparsely settled,
almost impossible during the winter
months and often almost entirely
cut off
Except for the small towns. the in
habitants for the most part are
mountaineers. Many live in log
cabins, and combine farming on a
small scale with fishing and trapping
Schools and churches are few and
far apart. Many. children do not at
tend school, others have the advan-
tage of a six months term.
Probably one of the first affairs of
the section to gain the attention of
the outside world was the Hatfield
Mccoy feud which continued inter-
mittently for the greater part of half
a century.
Few of the many feud killings re-
suited in prosecutions and fewer
still in convictions. In many cases
it was found almost impossible to
obtain juries as practically every in
habitant knew the feudists or was re-
lated.
The section, like some other noun
famous regions, also became known
years ago as a stronghold for moon
sinners. Revenue agents and state
prohibition officers had almost innu-
merable clashes with mountaineers
when they penetrated the region in
search of mountain dew" Often
they We're successful in seizing stills
and Illicit liquor, seldom however
did they bring back prisoners for the
mountaineers, according to the reve-
nue. agents. had an intelligence sys-
tim of their own and their coming
was usually heralded long before
their arrival.
The Mingo coal fields, however,
have proven the latest and most
bloody ground of conflict. This
trouble started with efforts of the
miners union to unionize the Mingo
fields, almost the only coal section in
the state rot organized.
The operators resisted and at first
the miners themselves showed slight
enthusiasm. There were frequent
clashes between union and non-union
miners Many of the mines were
closed down, union miners began to
picket the mines and the operators
retaliated by evictfng union miners
from company houses.
1t was such an affair that resulted
Fin the noted Matewan trigger" fight
in which number of citizens of Mat
evan, including the mayor and sew
cral private detectives employed by
the mine operators. were killed .
Nearly a score of Mirgo men in
Guiding Sid Hatfield, were indicted in
connection with the death of one of
the detectives. Weeks were spent re-
Gently in obtaining a jury and other
weeks in trying the case The ac-
cused were acquitted In the mean
time there had been other acts of vi
olence, miners from outside the re:
gion had been brought in and often
the situation was beyond control of
the state police and the county au-
thorities.
At various times state and federal
troops have been sent to the section
and maintained order under martial
law.