In the spring of 1891 W. S. Stratton persuaded Leslie Popejoy to grubstake him in the Cripple Creek District in return for half the profits.

Stratton quickly sold his house and two lots, one in Denver and one in Colorado Springs, so that he could buy out Popejoy's share.

[3] Stratton developed a theory that the gold veins in the Cripple Creek District converged at a great depth, roughly in the shape of a goblet.

[4] The mining companies became concerned about ore theft, and in 1897 they began hiring the services of Pinkerton agents.

The Venture Corporation incorporated the property as Stratton's Independence Ltd and sold shares on the London stock exchange.

Mine Superintendent Summers talked the non-union men into joining the union in order to promote harmony in the workforce.

Five hundred miners met at Victor's Armory Hall, and they decided that while they would help stop ore thieves, they refused to work under the stripping rule.

Under the agreement, any miner suspected of high-grading could be searched by a fellow union member in the presence of a watchman.

Shipman also announced that he would support membership in the WFM by miners in return for the union's help in stopping the practice of high grading.

[7] In 1902 the miners at the Independence mine bought diamond rings for Shipman, who had negotiated the closed shop, for Superintendent Sam Lobb, and for Assistant Manager R.J. Grant.

On the night of January 26, 1904, non-union replacement workers were coming off shift in the Independence Mine when the cage that they were riding in had a serious mishap.

I seen a piece of timber about one foot wide, and I grabbed hold and held myself up there and pretty soon the cage dropped and I began to holler for a ladder to get down.

I again reversed the engine and sent the cage back about the same distance and stepped over to the other side and took hold of the other brake, and it was in the same condition.

"[13] The coroner's report stated that the engineer had lost control because of management's negligence, having failed to properly install a safety device to prevent overwinding.

[9] Just a few months later, after several violent incidents occurred in the district, the WFM was driven out by force of arms in a struggle that came to be called the Colorado Labor Wars.

"In many places ore occurs in phonolite dikes, nearly always as calaverite in very narrow fissures associated with fluorite and quartz as gangue".