The San Francisco call., 1896-06-06
Wounded and Bleeding, He
Crawls to a Ranchhouse
Two Miles Away.
ATTACKED WHEN UNARMED.
The Tragedy Follows Quarrel Over
Grazing Rights in the Noun
tainS.

FRESNO, CAL, June 5-Lee A. Bias
ingame was shot and wounded to-day in
Big Sandy Valley, in the mountains about
thirty-five miles northeast of this city. The
shooting was done by young man named
Claude Corlew, who is q resident of Big
Sandy. Blasingame was on his way to the
meadows of the mountains with large
band of sheep. He was riding horse
when shot.
Corlew used n shotgun, which was
loaded with buckshot. Blasingame re-
ceived one bullet in the right thigh and
one entered his right cheek, knocked out
a mum Der of his teeth and lodged in the
jaw. The wounds are not considered to
be of a dangerous character. The bullet
was extracted from his jaw tonight.
The shooting occurred some time before
noon. Corlew shot twice, and the buck
shot disabled the horse which Blasingame
was riding. In his wounded condition
Basingame succeeded in crawling to the
house of Joe Medley, which is two miles
distant. He arrived Just as the Medleys
were at dinner. A physician vas sum-
moned from Pine Ridge.
Blasingame is well connected in Fresno.
He is quite wealthy and manages the ex-
tensive interests of his mother. He acted
prominently in the prosecution OF Richard
Heath for the murder of Louis B. Nc
Whittier over three years ago. Mrs. Nc
Whirter is a sister of Lee Blasingame.
Blasingame is popular young man in
Fresno, and is known throughout the
county, having been in the sheep business
on an extensive scale for many years. The
town was thrown into excitement tonight
over the eporls of the shooting, which are
in many cases exaggerated.
A strange coincidence of the shooting is
that Cliff Corlew, q brother and neigh Dor
of Claude Corlew, created sensation in
the second trial of Heath. A re ident of
the Big Sandy Valley, named Hall, had
been accepted as juror in the case, when
Cliff Corlew notified the attorneys for the
prosecution that Hall had previously told
him that there was no evidence upon
which Heath could be convicted"
Corlew went upon the stand and swore
that II all had made the statement to him.
Hall fatty contradicted Corlew's state
ment. Hall was retained as juror.
When the report of the shooting first
reached Fresno this afternoon it was sup
posed that the tragedy grew out of this
incid ent in the Heath case, but it appears
that the trouble was over the wanderings
of Blasingame's sheep. In travelling
feed which is very valuable to the ranch
ers.
Many shooting affrays have resulted
from this in the mountains.
According to the best information OBJ
taInable tonight Blasingame's sheep got
on to Corlew's range and Corlew shot some
of them. He and Biasingame met after
ward and quarreled. with the result that
CorIew fired. Blasingame was unarmed.
He is considered very plucky man, and
would undoubtedly have returned the fire
if he had any firearms. 1t is reported that
Corlew jumped behind a cabin and fired
shots from this point of vantage.
If Corlew does not come down and give
himself up some time during the night,
Deputy Sheriff Be1ford and Deputy Con-
stable Henry will leave for the mountains
in the morning to arrest him.