Martinsburg journal. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1920-1977, 1922-09-07

] - l..
| r. Brockus, of Williamson, COM
handing a company of state police,
! testified this morning in the treason
case of Walter Allen regarding the
| fatal clash between his command
and the party of armed miners near
/ Sharples on August 81, 1921. Capt.
| Brockus said he was ordered from
| Mingo county with seventy-one reg
ular state policemen and twelve vol
unteerS, to Logan county where he
( conferred with Sheriff Chain and
was Joined by a body of approx
mately $50 deputy sheriffs. The
| party proceeded to Beech Creek, for
! the purpose OF arresting two score
individuals charged with having par.
, ticipated in a holdup of state Off
GERS earlier in the month. He said
! he instructed his forces before they
entered the valley as to what should
be done in case they were attacked.
| He told them any fire on the front
would be taken care of by an advance
| guard, that there should be no FIR
! ing from the rear but that firing
| from either flank should be return
ed. On their march he said they
were challenged by a small detail
of armed men who surrendered and
who were taken prisoners and put at
| the head of the column with the
| instructions that they should answer
| further challenges in order to syoid
! trouble. They continued and met
two other parties in cars whom they
also disarmed and made prisoners.
| Near Sharples they were stopped by
another detachment, challenged,
Capt. Brockus advising the men that
| they were state police and on pa
| troll and asking the challengers what
their business was. One man de-
clared it was none of his business
and Immediately. Capt. Brockus said
fire was opened from the armed
party upon the state police body
About the SANE time shooting began
from doors and windows Of houses
in the vicinity. The state police re-
turned the fire, and fell to the
ground and later escaped after a
20 minute fight. He understood that
several Of the armed men had been
hit. The state police retreated to
the mountains where they remained
until early in September with the
Logan defenders.
Prisoners Escape.
or the nine prisoners taken by
the officers before the attack Capt.
Erockus said four or five escaped dur
ing the darkness and fighting. He
q . a nH bn{
fired from the houses in all direc-
tons and shower of rocks came
down on the officers. He said the
police had been warned of the pres
ence of much larger body of armed
men at Sharples by a boy whom they
took into custody. Cross examina-
ton Of Capt. Brockus was deferred
until this afternoon.
Another angle of the shooting was
presented through ]. H. Miller Of
Monclo, on Beech Creek. He said
that his telephone rang shortly be-
fore the clash and he was requested
to get union man to the phone
which he did, calling Clifford Will
liams. He overheard the converse
ton and afterwards Williams told
him the man on the other end was a
Mr.. Baldwin and that he had been
advised a large body OF deputies
were headed down Beech Creek and
had passed Camp No. 4. Williams
went outside and told waiting min
ers what he had heard A few shots
were fired into the air and within
20 minutes a body OF armed men
had gathered. Mr.. Miller advised
the men not to proceed up the road,
discounting the rumor regarding the
state police and deputies and he
said most of the men did return to
their homes but few went up the
road. A few minutes later some 9TH
-, gathered and he tried to dis
suade them also but they walked
on up the road and shortly after the
encounter occurred, he saw the
flashes OF the guns but could not
testify in detail as to the clash. He
estimated between IS and 100 shots
were fired.
Same Thing Occurred Before.
Asked on cross examination why
he had discounted the rumor regard
ing the coming Of the deputies, Mr..
Miller said the same thing had hap
pened the night previous, that men
had been called from their beds and
mad rushed to arms, spending the
night on the road and being unable |
to work the following day.
The state continued today to put |
on further evidence regarding the I,
presence of Allen in Logan county. /
Sam NARROW was recalled and testi- |
fed that while he and Allen and |
friends were on Hewitt's Creek they /
were asked where they were going. |
Allen. he said, replied that he did /
not know where they we're going but
he knew where he was going. Later
they all went to Blair which was |
their original destination, NARROW |