Year: 1877

Fellow Laborer Into . Furnaee.

 At the head of Culver canon, about thirteen miles from Eureka, in desOlate and forbidding country, is a tumble. down shanty, evidently built by some coal burners. Some four months ago 8 man in search of stray stock happened to look into this shanty and found the body of man, dead, in a rude bunk against the side of the cabin.

 A week ago James Thornton while out hunting sought shelter under the roof of the shanty, and found book from which the following is transcribed:

 NOVEMBER r, 1876.

 My name is Lee Singleton. I was born in Litchfeld county, Maryland, in 1S4l. I lived there until the breaking out of the war, when I enlisted in the southern army, and served until the closing of the war. was wounded twice, once at Yorktown, and again at the siege of Petersburg. Both my parents died, and after the war was over came out west and followed the Union Pacific Railroad until it was completed. then went to White Pine, and in 1871 to Eureka, where went to work as feeder at the - furnance. My companion, John Murphy, was very overbearing and insulted me on several occasions, but as he was much stronger man than myself took no notice of it until one day he struck me. He did not know that he signed his death warrant with that blow, but he did.

 While feeding the furnance the thought often came to me that it would be an easy matter to stun him w ith blow and throw him into the stack, and l knew that if it was once accomplished no one could ever detect any traces of the crime. The principal difficulty was the continued presence of the wheelers, but as they worked ten hours and quit at six o'clock, there was an interval of an hour during which me and Murphy were alone, save the occasional visit of the night boss. l had to wait nearly two weeks before the shifts changed, so that we came on at the same time. When the opportunity finally presented itself l stepped behind him and struck him a blow on the head with my shovel as he was stepping to get a scoOpful of char coal. To drag him to the feed-hole and throw him on the charge was but mo- ment's work. l do not know whether he was dead or only stunned, but it made little difference, as the fumes would have suffocated him in a moment. By working hard I succeeded in covering the body with ore and charcoal, and as the charge in the furnace sunk he was soon out of sight.

 went into the charcoal business, and, forming a copartnership with the two other men, built the cabin in which l slt writing this statement. We burned coal here for two years, when, the wood becoming exhausted, took my share of the profits, $2,O0O, and went east, but after four years wandering, returned to Eureka.

 As soon as finish this shall take the poison, and lay down in the bunk. ] don't suppose that any one ever passes this way, and I shall probably lay here and rot, or the vermin will feast on me. I cannot go to a worse hell than what l have been in for the last six years. If any one finds this statement they can verify the truth of it by looking over the books of the smelting company, and they will find mine and John Murphy's names on the payroll, and if R M. Wallis is still in Eureka he will remem- Der the fact of Johns disappearance, for he was the night foreman at that time.

 LEE SINGLETON.

 We have inquired into the matter, and find that John Murphy mysteriously disappeared about the time mentioned. MT. Wallis recalls the circumstances, and says that when Murphy disappeared he had eighteen days wages due him, and the money was never called for.- Ewekd Sentinel.