Massacre at Ludlow: Murder and Arson
Monday, April 20, 1914: Mrs. Alcarita Pedregon, huddled in a pit under a burning tent, watched as two of her children were suffocated by smoke and heat. Nine other children and two women died with them.
Militiamen and guards had set fire to the Ludlow (Colorado) Tent Colony, where striking miners and their families lived.
Five striking miners and one boy were also killed that day. Frankie Snyder, 11 years old, was killed when, allegedly, he ran from safety to get a drink of water for his mother and little sisters who were ill from fright. Militiamen shot him through the head.
Louis Tikas, leader of the Greek contingent of strikers, was killed while he was held prisoner by the militia. Tikas had worked to save many of the women and children, helping them to safety. When the task seemed hopeless, he arranged to meet with militia representatives, hoping to end the slaughter. He didn't return from that meeting. Lt. K. E. Linderfelt shattered his rifle stock on Tikas's head; then militiamen and mine guards shot Tikas three times in the back.
James Fyler, secretary of the Ludlow union, also was murdered after he was captured by the militia. He had spent his time on the telephone, sending out news of the massacre. Militiamen shot him with an explosive bullet; it blew off his face.
Charles Costa, another of the miners, died defending the women and children. He was shot through the head. Witnesses said he died smiling. Walter H. Fink, chronicler of the tragedy for the United Mine Workers, speculated that perhaps Costa was smiling in "anticipation of meeting his wife and three little children in Heaven." Fink wrote, "While Costa was breathing his last, his wife and three little children were lying dead in the "Black Hole," their bodies burned almost beyond recognition by the oil-fed fire started by [the] murderers."
One militiaman was killed early in the attack, shot through the neck.
The day before the massacre, Greek residents of the Ludlow Tent Colony celebrated their Easter, and in the afternoon men, women, and children watched and cheered as striking miners competed in a baseball game. It was a peaceful spring day.
As the game neared its end, five horsemen, armed with high-powered rifles rode out of the hills, coming to break up the baseball game and intimidate the colony's residents. Confronted by the huge crowd, they changed their minds. As they rode away, one gunman shouted back, "Have your fun today; we'll have our roast tomorrow."
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