Southern Utah Where the World Comes to See America
Posted on 04/19/2011 6:01:33 AM PDT by Utah Binger
The Kane County murder got national attention in 1954. The Geiger Counter Murder was a featured article in Time and Crime magazines in May of 1954, as well as in numerous other publications throughout the country.
Commercial grade uranium had been discovered 10 miles east of town – uranium fever mounted! Over 1200 mining claims were filed on land near the area.
One Leroy Wilson, an excommunicated Mormon (for defending polygamy, and being the leader of a strange band of men and women), was found dead. Six .45 caliber slugs had been shot into Wilson’s head and back. He had been ‘dry-gulched,’ a reference to men shot in the pursuit of the latest important metal.
Claim jumper Wilson had history to exemplify that he was a force to be reckoned with. With his large six-foot-three height and 240-pound body, he was known for being loud-voiced and belligerent. Prior to his death, he had been considered as the absolute authority over a Bull Valley settlement in the mountains near Veyo, west of Kanab.
Upon learning of a uranium strike, he and some followers moved to Kanab hotels to investigate. Wilson filed claims. Most other prospectors assumed that he’d develop or sell his property. But Wilson went after more claims, since he was educated and had good knowledge of mining laws. He bluffed some prospectors out of their claims, or simply jumped others.
Enter Tom Holland, a jovial farmer from Beryl, who came in a house trailer with a loosely-arranged agreement to work Wilson’s claims. The partners immediately had issues with each other...many of them.
But then a stranger appeared at the Kane County Recorder’s office. In one hand he held a chunk of ore, in the other hand a Geiger Counter...
Southern Utah Where the World Comes to See America
Picnic Ping
That’s a beautiful shot.
As far as I am concerned, it was justifiable homicide. Sooner or later, somebody else would have taken him out.
That’s a beautiful shot.
That is looking east of where I am presently sitting out on the deck enjoying my coffee.
Come on down!
Things that happen in Southern Utah are handled differently, that’s for sure.
Reads like the plot of a Perry Mason episode.
I'm glad the winter is finally over....I hope the winter is finally over.
Beautiful picture, where is the location?
Could be. You know they made lots of movies down here.
That is the view from my deck where I am sitting right now.
Thankfully the snow has finally melted.
We are in Mount Carmel Utah, just twelve miles on the east side of Zion National Park.
Good story.
Reminds me of some of the old stories from Nebraska during the cattle craze days.
I try to watch the reruns, however I usually get up at 5:00 and those play late at night down here so I doze off. I do remember that one about the gold mine though.
Very different from New York. Mount Carmel, looks very peaceful and relaxing.
We have an annual spring occasion called ‘Ditchin’ in which anybody with shares on the irrigation ditch comes out with a well sharpened shovel and cleans the ditch from one end of the valley to the other. About three miles. There are usually fifteen or twenty of us. I always take the occasion to ask a few questions about the history of the ditch.
The stories about water and water thievery always come up. Any outsider that doesn’t follow the water rules has occasionally ended up the same way as that guy in Kanab.
Come on down! Jet blue has lots of specials from NY to Las Vegas. We're only about 200 miles from Vegas.
Very interesting read, thanks for posting it.
I was so tired of hearing about the Messiah incessantly that I thought this might be interesting for a few minutes.
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