Mining Camp Tragedy in Roslyn
A payday quarrel leads to a fatal shooting in the coal mines.
Abe Wright shot and killed Al Lewis at Roslyn Wednesday. The murderer escaped to the woods, and although the officers were in hot pursuit, he had not been captured at last report. Both parties were colored, and were employed in the mines. The men had just been paid off, and the quarrel which led to the shooting was due to an over-supply of whisky.
“The men had just been paid off, and the quarrel which led to the shooting was due to an over-supply of whisky.”
The rapid growth of coal-mining towns like Roslyn in the 1880s created volatile, transient labor environments where violence often flared. Today, Roslyn is a historic destination, its industrial origins largely replaced by tourism and its dark, violent history relegated to the local archives.
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