fine on each of them; but being a kind-hearted judge, and not wishing to impose a hardship on the poor tramps, he would suspend the fine, on condition that they go to work, or leave the camp. As a majority of the strikers were married men and property owners, it was hoped by the allies that they would give up the struggle in despair.
If only a few dozen men had been involved, the scheme would have worked well; but the strikers numbered about two thousand, and to execute it against such a number of people shocked even the iron nerve of the military, so that it all ended in talk, for a while. We shall have occasion to see how, in an improved and amended form, this plan was successfully accomplished.
The attempted derailing of a train and the explosion at the Vindicator mine terribly alarmed Governor Peabody, for on December 3rd, 1903, he placed Teller County under martial law.