The Portland daily press., 1895-04-30
CONFLICTING STATEMENTS.
Made BY the Delean Brothers of Ray
mOnd.

That Seem Significant to RAYMOND Peo-
ple-sheriff PIummer's Midnight Greet
ing.
Last Friday, when Sheriff Plummer
learned of the fact that Cyrus Decker
of Casco, had seen the light on Panther
Pond, referred to in yesterdays PRESS,
he started that evening for Raymond.
He reached that village about 101o'clock
and securing another horse ana the
companionship of Leonard Plummer, he
kept right on for eight miles more to
Casco in order to lose no time in learn
ing Decker's story from his own lips.
They reached Decker's house about
midnight. When the sheriff knocked the
person who finally came to the door
opened it and disclosed the form of a
woman in her mig hJ dress.
At the same time that she opened the
door she said in an affectionate tone:
=" Is that you, old honey -bunchs"
This apparition and its greeting rather
took the sheriff by surprise, to say the
least, but he pulled himself together and
managed to answer "yes."
1t was now the woman's turn to be
surprised and to pull herself together,
which she accordingly did. She finally
explained that she expected her husband
and thought it was him, of course.
He was away at Lewiston and was ex-
pected home any minute. The sheriff
mond and see him the next day and
drove back to Raymond, where he ar
rived at about 8 a. m.
He was up at 7.30 the next morning
and was occupied during the day in
| making arrangements for the dragging
of Panther Pond the next day, which he
directed and took part in and which re-
suited as stated in yesterdays PRESS.
There have been some conflicting
statements by the Delean boys which
are talked of among Raymond people
as certainly significant, if nothin G
more.
Mr.. Henry Harmon's son Fred, wen t
to Britton's house the Thursday before
the stormy Sunday in order to borrow
rife to shoot some wild geese. He
found Britton lying on the sofa in an
Intoxicated condition. The room was very
much disordersd and there were un-
pleasant traces that somebody had been
| i'll and had vomited. Britton explained
to young Harmon that Joe Delean had
stayed with him the night before and
they had drank together, and that "Joe
had got awfully drunk and had puked
all over the floor"
Contrasted with this story told to the
PRESS reporter by Mr.. Henry Harmon,
and the truth of which there can be no
reason to doubt, is the statement Of Joe
Delean that he hadn't been at Britton' s
house since last fall, and that he didn' t
drink himself, and that he didn't know
that Britton W as accustomed to drink.
Other conflicting statements have
been made by Henry Delean, the old
est of the two brothers. In the store of
Erastus Plummer in Raymond village, on
the Monday following the stormy Sun
day, two weeks ago today, he stated to
Erastus Plummer in the presence OF
George Leach ana others that his broth
er Joe and Henry Britton had duff
up at the house the day before. Since
then he has denied to Messrs. Plummel
and Leach that he ever mode any such
statement.
Lewellyn Weloh says that two or three
days after that stormy Sunday, he
was at the Delean houase and Joe told
him that he got very wet when he &C
companied Britton to the corner of the
road in the driving rain. He said thai
he had on leather jacket and got it wei
through, and that he had hung it up to-
day on the line and it wasn't dry then
He pointed it out to Welch and the lat
ter saw the coet hanging ON the line.
In contrast ito this.is Joe's statement
to Deputy Sheriffs Firth and Buchanan.
They asked him if he didn't get wet or
that walk and he said that he didn't
except the bottoms OF his trousers, be.
cause he had his mbrella whith him.
Both Joe's brother Harry and his mother
have stated that Joe did not take al
umbrella with him.