Mayor Fleming, who recently returned…
source date: 1889
availability: public-domain

Mayor Fleming, who recently returned from Solomonville, Arizona, states that the feel- ing there is very strong against the cowboys who killed Sol Luna’s sheep herders. Fleming says there is no question but what it was an unprovoked and cold-blooded murder. All of the men were shot in the back, and powder burned, which is a mute contradiction of the statement made by the cowboys that the Mexi- cans fired on them first. The circumstances go to show that the men were sitting around their fires, when they were assassinated. Two of the bodies had not been found, but the cowboys said that they were all killed but two boys aged 7 and 9 years. The boys were spared, and finally made their way into Camp Apache almost dead with hunger, fatigue and exposure. The sheep were 18 miles from the ranch of the Chiricahu cattle company, and were being moved towards Springerville. If there is any law in Arizona these murderers will be hung. They are worse enemies to a country than the Apaches. If jus- tice is not done in this matter the officials of Graham county will be to blame, and capitalists will be pretty apt to give that county a wide berth in the future.