 Witnesses to the depot explosion saw what may have been explosive powder being carried by CCMOA detective Al Bemore from the Vindicator mine to the depot.One source reported a meeting between Bemore and Orchard the day before the explosion.p.229

Orchard testified that during the Cripple Creek strike, when he thought that the union was not rewarding him enough, he had contacted railroad detective D. C. Scott and warned that some men would try to derail a train.The detectives paid him $20, and arranged safe passage for him through the National Guard lines where union men were not permitted.