Norwich bulletin., 1922-06-24


 men.
 Story of Wounded Man. Sodter, his back full of buckshot and suffering from the effects of hunger and exposure, lay in bed today and told his story.
 We were driving from Carbondale in a truck when we encountered a car about eight miles from the mine,' said Sodter "I was suspicious. An occupant of the car fired a gun into the air and immediately a hail of bullets came from the shrubbery along the roadside.
 Deserted by Armed Guards.
 Two armed guards riding in car be- hind us turned their car around and de- serted us.
 We speeded up and reached a river where all but Sidney J. Morrison, who was wounded by the firing, jumped in and swan for life. The shot in back gave me much pain and the wounds were bleeding freely, but I managed to make the other side and hid in the brush. Walking all day, I finally made the camp where my pals took me in
 Bertrand. the cook, told of the sur- render of his gang, yesterday, how they were herded together and shot in cold blood, and how he himself escaped by using a fraternal pass word.
 Besieged All Night.
 "We were besieged all night, with the boom of dynamite and the crack of the miners rifles keeping up continual racket said Bertrand here today. Tn the morning the union miners came across and the white~hag went up.
 q returned to the camp cook house to get some papers and when l came out carried a white sheet to show l would give up.
 'The first man I saw fired point black at me The bullet grazed my temple. Then they lined us up and marched us into the country about four miles We came to barbed wire fence and they ordered us to climb through, warning us that they were going to shoot as we did so. Just as I saw the guns go up, dived into some bushes.
 Saw 14 Men Shot. Three Hanged.
 Lewis Bert, the second cook. was with me. We saw fourteen men shot down and three hanged. Then they be- gan locking for the rest of us. When ,, they stumbled over us, I thought my time had come but gave the pass word of my lodge of Elks and a brother mem ber stepped forward. l showed him my | union card and told him I had just come
  ! to his home. gave me something to eat and paid my fare back to Chicago" l Bert was almost miraculousy spared 1 from death under the whitening rifle fire when he crawled to a safe hiding place beneath a clump of blackberry bushes where he lay three hours
 The second cook was one of the gang of 52. most of whom met their death al the barbed wire fence.
 Two men. members of a gang which reached the troublesome mine country the first of the week. today rode into Chicago on the rods. after beating theil way back from Little Egypt" | "srekie Duty" Understood. According to a book signed by all the men who made the trip. recruited through an employment agency here, al knew they were going for strike duty officers of the agency declared today F. W. Wilkie. superintendent of thu agency, said when he opened the caml on June 12, there was no trouble bu that apparently the citizens of the towl I resented his coming.
 He said his wires were tapped on lon; distance calls, his automobile was stop ped in the street, and in several instance men sought to pick quarrels with him The stores in Herrin. he said refused t sell him meats and supplies, so that pro visions had to be sent from Chicago.
 Wilkie laid the cause of the disturb ance to moonshine liquor and radica speeches.
 The damage to the mine, he said could scarcely be estimated. although S11o.OOO steam shovel was blown u and supplies valued at $10ooo were con fiscated by the raiders.