Pine, Cleo

The Ottawa county Oklahoma mining field yielded another death mystery shortly before noon Saturday when the body of a man identified as Cleo Pine, 30 years old, Neosho Missouri, was found at the bottom of the shaft of St. Louis Mine No. 11, at Zincville Oklahoma. Claude Smith, 30 years old, Zincville, and uncle of the dead man, was arrested late Saturday afternoon by Sheriff E. E. Simpson, and brought to the county jail to be held for investigation in connection with Pine's death. Smith is a miner employed at St. Louis Mine No. 3. Pine's body was discovered by workmen who had gone down into the mine to look after a water pump. They notified Sheriff Simpson and county Attorney A. L. Commons, who immediately began an investigation. An inquest to determine the cause of the man's death was begun Saturday afternoon at Picher Oklahoma before Justice of the Peace Hattie Henderson, but was stopped at 5 pm at the request of Commons, who said he wanted the testimony of several witnesses who could not be reached then. The inquest will be resumed Tuesday according to the prosecutor. The arrest of Smith followed the conclusion of the request session. Smith's testimony was conflicting, according to Commons, who said he was led to believe that perhaps Smith knew more about Pine's death than he chose to tell on the witness stand. Pine is said to have arrived at Zincville Friday afternoon to visit a brother, Roy Pine, a machine man employed on the night shift at St. Louis Mine No. 3. So far as can be learned, Pine was last seen alive shortly after dark Friday in a pool hall at Zincville. At that time he was under the influence of liquor, witnesses at the inquest testified. He was well dressed, according to several witnesses, and had a considerable amount of money in his possession. No money was found on his dead body, it was testified. Dr. D. L. Connell of the Picher hospital staff, who viewed body, said it was his opinion that Pine had been dead 12 to 24 hours. The physical said he believed that Pine was killed when he fell down the shaft. He said there were no marks of violence on the man's body. The mining shaft is 6 feet square at the top, it was testified, and is enclosed. Testimony tended to show that it was impossible for a man to walk into the shaft, indicating that Pine either had been thrown into the mine or had crawled or rolled under the riling of the enclosure while in an intoxicated or dazed condition. According to officers, Pine was in Smith's company Friday night. Both men were believed to have been drinking, officers said, advancing the theory that the two men may have had an argument which led to violence. On the other hand it was pointed out that Pine may have been too intoxicated to know what he was doing and fallen into the shaft after leaving Smith. Besides his brother, Roy Pine, Pine leaves his father, E. M. Pine of New Mexico, two sisters, Mrs. Clifford F. McGilver and Miss Ethel Pine both of Neosho Missouri, and two younger brothers, Ivan Pine, 12 years old, and Eugene Pine, 10, also at Neosho. Funeral arrangement have not been made. The body is at the morgue of the Todd undertaking company, Picher.