The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-05-13
GUERILLA WARP ARE IS STILL RAGING
 INMINGO COUNTY
All Available State Police and Deputies Rushed to Scene, But Are Unable to Check
 the Battle
By Associated Press

Williamson, w. Va, Guerilla war fare, with all odds apparently favor ing the forces opposing the state, was being waged tonight in the grim mountains of the strike torn Mingo county coal field.
 Beginning soon after dawn this morn- ing at the little mining town of Mer- rimac four miles up the Tug river from this city. fusillade of shots was poured from the mountain side success sively into Merrimae. Rawl Sprigg and Matewan w. Va, and McCarr Ky.
 All available state police and deputy sheriffs eentered In Williamson. were rushed to the scene by train and auto mobile, but according to reports they mad been unable at 8 late hour to check the shooting. Harry c. Staton a state prohibition officer and merchant at Sprigg was killed by a bullet from the mountains and Noah Phillips and a young man named Calvert, employees of the White Star Coal company commits sary at Merrimac, have been seriously | wounded. Rumors of other killings and woundlngs have been received at head quarters of the state police here. but at
 
 TRY TO OUTFLANK FOE Tonight little handful of state po- | lice, about 20 in number, were reported 10 be working their way over the moun- tains between Merrimac and Rawl, seeking to get above and outflank their hidden foes.
 This force was led by Capt J. R. Brockus, commander of the state police In the Williamson district. score of deputy sheriffs under Chief Deputy John s. Hall were CO., operating with captain Broekus and his men,
 Today's outbreak, the worst since the Matewan battle of last May 19, in which 10 persons were killed. including | the mayor of Metewan, had all the ap- pearance of prearranged attack.
 The towns visited with the hail of lead are within seven miles of esri | other, and lie In narrow valley uH he banks of the Tug river which h Sep- arates West Virginia from Ktaluekv. The firing today and tonigh oama 1 from the mountains on both As 3s the river, according to state po1iea l They concentrated therefore ia tie l mountains on the West Virginia sl8s while county officials here got II t5ach with the officials of Pike county Ksn. tucy in an attempt to obtain co-asses4 ton In routing the attackers fro tr as l Kentucky side.
 | INV VlS0 lEhfNOA-o MUM iZW Terror reigned in the towns in 4ss zone of fire as night fell, and it &sS iaas.Irru tfr-.i ii ar tresAs tfaiit tn I apprehend any of the attacking
 The bulk of shooting heretofore ea been done at night when lighted heaSls | afforded easy targets for the hiNHeu riflemen. Virtually all lights were tinguished tonight and residents lEsDt 1 close under cover.
 The outflanlSing expedition, led by Car l tain Brokus despite it's extremely lag ardous character, was declared by as authorities to be virtually the only hsps of routing or capturing the attackers.
 The state police were virtually helpless during the day, as the attacking forces r the mountains were completely screened by foliage and boulders. while the police in order to attempt a direct attack, would have been obliged to cross the open valley and climb the rugged slopes in view of the hidden marksmen.
 Sergt. David Peterson of the state po- lice who led squad of men to Sprigg this afternoon, told tonight of the plight in which several hundred passens CTS on a monday train found tn -~f1AsAe when they reached the battle zone.
 Bullets were peppering down from the mountains when the train got in,' he said "Women and children screamed and cried in terror, while virtually sIH pas- 
 of the coaches for protection. e's t know whether any shots were aimed at 1 the train. None of the passengers was l injured
 Sergeant Peterson. who alighted at Sprgg with his squad, said his men were | subjected to hail of bullets before they could gain shelter in a nearby cabin.
 200 MEN ENGAGED Captain Brockus returned to Will l a a a ! that the shooting had been general all i the way from Williamson to McCarr, Kentucky distance of about l D miles, | following the windings of the river. He estimated that less than 200 men made up the attacking parties. Bullets fairly rained from the mountain sides, he said, and some of the attack CTS were using automatic rifles. These were met by four or five machine guns which the state police had stationed at various points in the valley. The shooting was still in progress as Cap tain Brockus drove into Williamson. l So heavy was the fighting from the Kentucky side that the police replied | and just before nightfall, according to reports reaching here, men hidden in the vicinity of McCarr shouted to their l friends across the river that one of their number had been killed l It was also reported to headquarters | here that the force of state police sent into the mountains to outflank the att | tackers had returned to the valley, the | men they sought having slipped 1 through their thin lines and escaped. | David Phillips and J. C. Mccoy were arrested by the state police at Sprigg and brought to the county Jail here to- night Captain Brockus said they were being held in connection with the kill- l ing of Staten early in the day. He said charge would be entered against them tomorrow.
 Reports from the fighting area at 1 10 o'clock were that the firing on Sprigg Matewan and Merrimack had died down but was continuing from the | vicinity of McCarr Captain Brockus scattered his 40 men among the towns on the West Virginia side and he would do nothing further until morn- l ing.
 FEDERAL TROOPS READY
 Indianapolis May 12.-Federal troops at Camp Sheridan. O.. are being held Tn readiness to depart for Mingo county, West Virginia, 1t was announced tonight | at Fifth army corps headquarters at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Ind. I Maj. Gen. George B. Read, Fifth army corps commander. was in conference with officials of the war department at Wash ington, it was said. regarding the re- quest of Governor Morgan of West vir- ginia for troops to control the dlsturb- ances in Mingo county.