Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1922-01-10
A Mountain Tragedy.

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The death of John Gore, and the
suffering his family went through in
August, was one of the big tragedies
of the armed invasion.
Gore had for years az a deputy
sheriff in Logan county under Sheriff
Don Chain. He was possibly the
most hated and feared man of the
sheriff's forces amoong the small
band of union miners who had sue
ceeded in driving their organization
into small strip of Logan territory
in the Blair Mountain pass section.
In his utter fearlessness, he had
established his home in this section,
and when the "mine war" broke out,
his family of two sons and his wife
were living in the district which was
occupied by union forces during the
first days fighting. Gore himself
was with the forces of Logan county.
A day or so before he was killed,
Cores two sons were taken prisoner
by opposing forces. One was wound
ed; both were handled roughly, and
bob narrowly escaped death, for they
were said to have been non-union
sympathizers. Then. came the hard
est fighting along the Blair Noun
tain sector" and the very heart Of
it throbbed about the Gore home.
Inside, Mrs. Gore covered at a
window, saw the fighting, heard the
whiz of bullets, felt her very home
shake under the onslaught. What
happened in that home has never
been learned, blu when Mrs. Gore
finally brought out of the zone, some
untold horror had taken her mind
from her, made her a physical
wreck, wiped out all memory of q
former existence, and will ultimately
take her life, physicians say. She
has since been adjudged insane, and
physicians assert she will not live
long.
In that same battle, her husband
was killed when a bullet entered his
brain. In the arrests by the state
troopers, it was asserted, the mer
who had been taken into custody hac
determined to "get" Gore after they
had heard stories of how he was
looked upon by the union miners Of
the section in which he lived
On the return trip to Charleston
with their prisoners, the State Police
stopped along the roadway long
enough to pick up two men whom
they charged with having nine pint:
of moonshine, and third, a peddlel
named David Solomon, charged will
carrying a gun, which he asserted he
carried as defense against the rowing
band of outlaws that is said to infest
the roads about Charleston. AL
three were locked up.
On the following day, Andy C
Porter, president of Sub-district No
of District II, United mine Work
ers of America, was arrested al
union headquarters in Charleston OF
capias from Logan county for aid
ing in the killing of Gore. He was
taken into custody by Lieutenant
Lilly, Sergeant Driver, and Private
Cook and Martin and turned over tC
the Logan county authorities, along
with the seven men arrested the
night before.
About the same time these arrests
were being made, all of C company
was together for the first time since
its organization, having been called
to state headquarters when threats
to lynch Leroy Williams, negro
who is said to have confessed tt
criminally assaulting a Mrs. H. w
Stephens, at her home in Charleston
became general over the streets Of
| the capitol city. Large crowds Of
irate citizens gathered around botl
the city and county jails after Viii
liams' arrest by Charleston's polio,
chief, John Britton, but the crowd,
were not certain which Jail William!
was confined in and no effort wa:
made to storm either of them
Later, Williams was spirited to Hunt
ington, in an adjoining county, tc
await trial, and the assistance of the
state troopers was not required
They returned to their respective
stations in the mining regions of the
southern part of the state, but not
before Lieut.. Mack B. Lilly had call
ed in photographer to take a pic.
ture of the company en- masse.
c. E. Lively, Buster" Pence anc
William Salters, charged with the
killing of Ed Chambers of Matewan
Mingo county, on the courthouse
steps at Welch, last August, were
freed by the jury at WEIGH after 81
minutes of deliberation. The defen.
dants we're held under the indictment
charging them with the killing of Sic
Hatfield and gave bond with the
same bondsmen as had been security
on the first charge.
Chambers and Hatfield were killed
on the steps of the same courthouse
in which the trial was held, at WEIGH
August 1, and two of the defendants
Lively and Pence, claimed that they
did not draw their pistols until after
Hatfield and Chambers had begun
firing, while Salters denied that he
had fred at all. The prosecution
presented witnesses who testified the
first shots were fired from the top of
the steps, where Lively, Pence and
Salters were, and some of these iden.
titled Lively as the man who fired
the first shot.
The trial opened Monday and the
verdict of the jury came the follow
ing Saturday night, and state troop
ers were on guard throughout.
Sergeant Jennings and Private
O'Brien, of B company, were the
personal body-guards of two impor-
tant women witnesses all week.
Gunner is Killed.
Hatfield was on his way to court,
to answer to charges that he had in
cited a shooting at Mohawk, mining
camp in the Mingo coal-tield, but in
Mcdowell county, about year be-
fore. With him were his wife, Ed
Chambers and Mrs. Chambers, and
the widows of the two men were
among the important witnesses called
by the state. They declared neither
Hatfield nor Chambers were armed,
and Mrs. Hatfield testified thu. when
the shooting began she ran to the
office OF Sheriff William Hatfield of
Mcdowell couny to demand protec-
ton which she said he mad promised,
but found he was not In his Office.