The herald., 1898-02-20
1T WAS A FAIRY TALE
THAT BATTLE OF DoMINGUEz
AND THE YTURALDES
WAS. NO LACK OF INGENUITY
But Its veracity Was Disbelieved by
Justice Young-Thc Defend
ants Discharged

The examination of Vicente and Juar
Yturalde the two Basque sheepmen ac
cuscd of having assaulted Manuel Domin
sue. Mt Calabasas on February 9tn witt
the inten. 10 murder him, vas begun yes
terday before Township Justice Young.
Manuel Dominguez, with the LEFT side OF
his face sweiled UP, the right side wei
bruised ard the rest OF the head swathed
in lint and cotton batting, was on hand to
tell his story Of the battle. Vicente 1tu'
ralde, the elder Basque. who received tive
bullets In the melee, and was reported al
the time to be badly wounded. was in court,
too. seemingly little the worse for his eX-
perence with the alleged bad marksman-
ship of either his son Juan or Manuel Do
minguez.
In fairly good English DomnGuez told
how old man Vicente during the dispute
about permitting his sheep to pasture on
the witness land, had suddenly struck him
upon the head and face with heavy stick
knocking him down. He next took away
Dominguez's pistol. thus deprving him of
the means of defending himself. When
witness got up again from the ground Vi
cente was behind him, who pinned his arms
to his body while Sheepherder Juan ap-
preached with his revolver. Shouting to
Juan to shoot Manuel, Vicente kept dodg-
ing the way that his relatives pistol point
ed, without loosening his grip upon the
Mexican or relinquishing the gun Manuel
was somewhat groggy from the blows
which he had received previously from
the old Basque. but he wasn't so dazed as
to allow himself to forget that he had to DO
plenty of lodging himself If he wanted to
escape the bullets that were popping out OF
Juan's gun.
1t may have been due to Nuestra Sonora
of Calabasas or to Manuers superior vi
vacity in jumping as compared with the
slower and more elephantine movements
of the older man behind hm-quien sabe?-
but the bullets intended for the Mexican
imbedded themselves in the fleshy tissues
of Vicente, to his great damage and dis
comfort. That was Manuels story.
Reyes Chavez, the housckeeper of Man
uel Domnguez corroborated in Spanish,
through the medium of an interpreter,
what Manuel had said. This Mexican lady
had all idea that she was on The stand prin-
cipally to be pert with the attorney who
cross-examined her. but Notwithstanding
her "sassiness." which gave the audience
q chance TO laugh occasionally. she stuck
well enough to the story. Other witnesses
for Domlnguez ;o!d a similar version to
that of Manuel.
The two defendants, when they had their
innings on the stand, positively denied that
the affair had passed off as outlined by the
imaginative Mexican. but that, on the
contrary. he had been the aggressor and
that they Hred Two intellectual shots at him
Only after he haa used his own pisto! with
unerr!ng aim upon Vicente.
Justice Young was OF the opinion that
Maauels story was iEtalligently concocted. !
but that l. had one essential fault-that of
being entirely improbable. The court would
not believe it, and ordered the discharge of
the defendants. Deputy District Attorney
James will decide tomorrow whether the
complaint issued against Dominsuez al
Fernando for assault 10 murder may be
dismissed 100