When

an armored train brought in a hundred, 90 more mercenaries armed with machine guns and rifles, it was intercepted by a group a group of armed minersand gunfire was exchanged and one of the mercenaries was killed. This was at least a fourth such engagement, and so far nine men had been killed, all but two of them miners. On the ridges high above the tent colonies were

placed high

powered searchlights to light up the tents at night and machine gun nests that stayed trained on the men, women and children in the colony below. At the end of the month, october, the governor declared real martial law, official martial law. He forbade the company from importing any more strike breakers from out of state, and he ordered the colorado national guard into the striking areas to restore order. This was intended to placate both sides a bit in order settle things down and bring about a settlement. But in practice, the governor only had the power to keep up his end to the company, namely by reinforcing their mercenaries with government soldiers. And he had no power at all to keep the company from bringing in out of state scabs or more gun thugs. Rockefeller's man in colorado wrote back to new york to assure the boss that he'd rallied the unanimous support of all the bankers in the area, who met with the governor and agreed to fund the national guard operation. Heh'd also insured that the chambers of commerce, the real estate brokers and all the other important business men, as well as all the editors of all the major papers in the state of colorado were busy pressuring the governor to support the company and end the strike. Well, the miners welcomed the arrival of the national guard. They suffered, at this ont five weeks of terror under the company's gun thugs, that's what they called hem back then. And they expected relief, or at least fairness, from the government troops, who were ordered into action by a governor that the u m w had actually supported in 19 12 at ludlow, the tent colony at ludlow. Hats were passed around to collect any spare change, pennies and nickels that might be used to purchase a big american flag. And a using men in their families, half starved and exhausted, but dressed in the very best clothes they had, lined the road to greet the guardsmen as they came in, several of em held up the big american flag that theyh'd purchased, and the children, all dressed in white, waved smaller american flags. They even managed to cobble together a band from among their number, and they played the union forever as the troops marched by. The people sang and sang until the last of the troops were out of sight. But their hopes were misplaced. The national guard officer, soon after their arrival, caught a tinagor on the road outside ludlow and beat him unconscious. A parade of wives and mothers in trinidad was dispersed by guard cavalry. And a 16 year old girl was kicked in the chest while trying to run away by the guard commander himself, general chase. The ludlow colony's leader, a greek man named luticus, was beaten down and taken to jail multiple times that winter. That cold and hungry winter, a hundred and 72 people were arrested. One was a mother of two, mary thomas, and she was put in a vermin infested cell for several weeks. One striker was made to sleep bare on a freezing concrete floor and died from it after nearly a month. A 19 year old pregnant woman was assaulted by guard troops until she went unconscious. When four soldiers busted into a miner's home looking for the striking father and husband, they found only his wife and his four children. And so they tossed the place up, harassed his wife, took all their money and valuables, and then broke his little girl's nose by kicking her in the face. The soldiers fired over the miners tents at night to terrify them and keep them awake. They abused their women and children.