E. R. Dunsford
(transcriber may have made spelling and punctuation changes)
E. R. DUNSFORD.
Direct Examination
By Mr. Belcher.
Q: What is your name?
A: E. R. Dunsford.
Q: Have you been sworn?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: You are of lawful age?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: Where do you live, Mr. Dunsford?
A: Ottawa, Boone Co.
Q: What is your business?
A: Superintendent of coal operation there.
Q: What is the name of your operation?
A: Buffalo Coal Co.
Q: Were you in Boone County during the latter part of August 1921?
A: Yes, sir, I was.
Q: What, if anything, do you know about the armed assembly of miners that went through there?
A: It is a pretty long statement to make.
Q: Did you see them?
A: I did.
Q: Tell the jury when you first saw them going through?
A: Well, our own men were armed some time the latter part of August about the 20th and were around at night armed, not much in the day time until I think it was the 26th the night of the 26th the first men came in there by a train they had commandeered in Clothier and taken out about 9 o'clock and came back about midnight loaded with men; From that time on continually trains were bringing in armed men until some time the following week the 3rd or 4th of September.
Q: What time in the night did they go by to get there on the 27th?
A: It was about 12:20.
Q: Where had those men come from?
A: Below our operation further down Coal River.
Q: Is that down towards Madison and Danville?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: How far is your mine from Logan County?
A: From the county line about half a mile, I think the county line crosses our property.
Q: The Logan County line is above your mine operation?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: How were your men dressed?
A: Some of them in overalls with red bands and handkerchiefs around their necks, dressed most any way, mostly overalls.
Q: Did you hear these armed men as they came in or would go out say anything as to what their purpose was, what they were doing, where they were going?
A: The general conversation was they were going to Mingo County.
Q: Did you hear them say what they were going to Mingo County for?
A: Nothing definite, no.
Q: What did you hear them say in reference to Mingo County?
A: I could not remember any particular man saying anything, but it was general.
Q: I don't ask you to tell of a particular man, but what you heard in that assembly and crowd of men.
A: They simply talked of going to Mingo, said they were on their way to Mingo.
Q: Did you hear anything, if so what, about Logan County?
A: Several fellows told me they were almost in Logan at different times during the week, one told me they were expecting to fire the court house the following morning.
Q: Did you hear anything concerning the sheriff of Logan County?
A: No, I do not remember anything particular about him.
Q: Did you see any airplanes during the armed invasion?
A: Quite a number of them.
Q: Did you see any firing at airplanes?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: Who was doing it?
A: The armed men along the railroad track.
Q: Were they members of these armed men?
A: I should judge so.
Q: Did you receive any word from there from any of these men as to wanting you to go?
A: Yes.
Q: Tell the jury what it was.
A: Two of the boys came up on my porch with shot guns and said I had been ordered to do guard duty and if I did not I would be taken to the front line on Hewett Creek, I told them nothing doing, I was not going to the front line and if there was any guard duty to do it would be around my own house, I asked who sent them and they told me Harrison Tabler and Noah Green.
Q: Did you know these men?
A: Know both.
Q: Where do they live?
A: Lawrence City, across the river from us.
Q: What do these men do?
A: Tabler runs an independent store and I don't know what Green is doing at this time.
Q: Did either of them belong to the United Mine Workers or not?
A: I don't know if they did at that time, both had belonged when they worked for us.
Q: How long before?
A: Green some time during last year, Tabler not for two or three years
Q: At the time they worked for you they were members of the organization?
A: Yes.
Q: Did you hear anything about a password?
A: I questioned them when I told them I would not go out and I said, "Suppose I do, I would have to have the password." They said, "We will give you the password."
Q: Did they tell you what it was?
A: They did.
Q: What was it?
A: They said the question was, "Where are you going?" and the reply was, "To Mingo."
Q: Who gave you that password?
A: A fellow named Miller.
Q: Did he tell you his name was Miller?
A: He said so.
Q: Had you seem him before?
A: No.
Q: I understood you to say this morning that the train went out on the night of August 26th from Clothier, do you know who was in charge of that train?
A: They told me that the men had commandeered it at Clothier
Q: And you say Clothier is about a half mile from your place?
A: Yes, sir
Q: Do you know what time it left Clothier?
A: 9:30
Q: What time did it return?
A: at 12:20
Q: How far is Danville below you place?
A: 13 miles
Q: Were you there when the train came back?
A: Yes, sir
Q: Who if anyone was on that train?
A: It was loaded with men.
Q: About what number would you say?
A: Well I should judge there were about 200
Q: Where did the train go if you know, in what direction?
A: Up the river.
Q: At the time it went by your place did it stop?
A: Yes, sir
Q: Did you hear any statement made by any one on the train?
A: I heard them call to some of the men to get on
Q: You mean the men around there?
A: Yes, sir, our men on the platform.
Q: Do you know whether or not any of the men got on the train?
A: Yes, sir, they did
Q: About how many?
A: Roughly 25 probably.
Q: Was that train going in the direction of Blair?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: How far is Blair above your place?
A: 9 miles
Q: How far is it from your place to Jeffreys?
A: About a mile and a half, that is below us in the other direction.
Q: After this train went up at 12:20 what did you do?
A: Went to bed.
Q: About how many men would you say you saw there altogether going up towards Logan County during the time of this invasion?
A: There must have been at least 2000.
Q: About what proportion of these men were armed?
A: Practically all of them.
Q: What effect did their going, if any, have on the community in which you live, on the people?
Objection.
Sustained.
Q: Were you close enough to hear the shots on the firing line?
A: No.
Q: You didn't go up to Jeffrey or Blair during the engagement did you?
A: No.
Q: Did you see any nurses along with those armed men?
A: There were two women dressed as nurses in our town.
Q: Who were they?
A: I don't know they were two women living in our town.
Q: Did they accompany these men towards Logan?
A: I don't think so, I think they only served sandwiches.
Q: How were they dressed?
A: In the regular uniform with red crosses on their sleeves and U.M.W. of A. across their chests.
Q: Do you know what U.M.W. of A. stands for?
A: United Mine Workers of America.
CROSS EXAMINATION
By Mr. Houston
Q: In order that the jury might get some idea of the locations in that part of the country will you tell them the different towns you go through going up towards Madison?
A: The first town is Haddleton.
Q: What is the next town?
A: What do you mean by town?
Q: Mining villages.
A: Talcreek
Q: How far is Ottawa from Madison?
A: 12 miles.
Q: Is there any good sized town between Ottawa and Madison?
A: Raining
Q: That is a mining town, is it not?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: Nearly all of the towns along Coal River are mining villages are they not?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: How many people live in Ottawa?
A: Including Laurel City, which does not really belong to us, but that is the same post office, roughly estimated I should say about 1000.
Q: Are there any other mines there except Buffalo Coal Co?
A: No.
Q: Are practically all the men there employees of that company?
A: Well, a number of them are.
Q: That is the principal industry there?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: All that section of country from Madison up to Blair as far as Sovereign on the Coal River is an organized section, is it not?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: Or has been?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: And is yet?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: Practically all of the miners working on that river are members of the United Mine Workers of America, are they not?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: I understood you to say about 2000 men passed on that occasion, I suppose you talked to some of them?
A: Yes, sir, some of them.
Q: Did you gather some idea as to what the objectives of those men were?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: I will ask you to state whether you heard any of them say anything about the mine guards system in Logan County.
A: There might have been some general talk about it.
Q: As a matter of fact there was quite a feeling against the mine guard system, so-called, in Logan County, was there not?
Objection.
The Court: The witness can state anything he heard them say.
A: That talk has been so general that I would not consider it a part of this march.
Q: It was a matter of some history there, was it not?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: It was still existing at the time of the march, was it not?
A: What was?
Q: The feeling that I have been talking about.
A: They talked about it, yes.
Q: With a feeling of resentment, did they not?
A: I did not discuss it with them, I could not say.
Q: And you say you also heard some discussion about the men going to Mingo?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: You mentioned in your direct examination something about seeing an aeoraplane [airplane] or aeroplanes, can you tell us anything about that?
A: I can give you the dates that they were there.
Q: Do you know whether they were Federal or private planes?
A: I don't know, they were flying over my head
Q: Were they flying too high for you to tell the colors of them?
A: They seemed gray to me.
Q: Did you afterwards ascertain whether any of these planes were connected with the Federal troops?
A: I could not identify them at all.
Q: Did you see any gas bombs dropped in Ottawa?
A: Any gas bombs dropped, no.
Q: Did you see any bombs of any kind?
A: No, sir.
Q: Did you hear any shooting there about this time?
A: What time?
Q: About the time of this march.
A: Certainly.
Q: About how many days did you notice the armed men going up and down the river?
A: About a week I should say.
Q: During that time were there any bullets falling in the town of Ottawa?
A: They must have fallen when they were showing at the airplanes.
Q: Did you see any falling?
A: No, sir.
Q: Did anything fall in the neighborhood of the company's store?
A: No, sir.
Q: Did you see any women and children come from the direction of Blair?
A: On one day some came down there.
Q: About how many?
A: About fifteen or twenty.
Q: Did you have any talk with them?
A: No.
Q: Did they say anything to you?
A: No.
Q: Did any of them want to stay at your house?
A: One woman wanted to stay at the house, she was a colored cook from Sharples.
Q: Didn't any of them say anything about getting in your cellar?
A: She did, and some of our own people came to us, but they were from our own town and not from up the river.
Q: Do you recall the day you first saw armed men in that vicinity
A: It was the early part of August.
Q: Do you recall seeing any arms or immediately before the 24th of August?
A: Yes, sir, I was at the store one night and quite of them went by.
Q: Did you see any coming back about that time?
A: No.
Q: You say you first saw some armed men there in the early part of August, do you know what they armed themselves for?
A: I do not.
Q: Did you hear anything that caused them to get arms?
A; No.
REDIRECT EXAMINATION
By Mr. Belcher.
Q: Did you know who these armed men where?
A: Some of them were our own men.
Q: Were the[y] members of the organization?
A: Yes, sir.