The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-06-09
DEFENDANT LEE
TELLS HIS STORY
Says He Did Not Stay
the Fountains.
HIS OWN LIFE THREATENED
MOB VIOLENCE ADVOCATED AND
SHOTS FIRED AT HIM.
The Accused Calmly Narrates the Pur-
suit of Officers and Admits
That He Killed One of
Them, kearney.
MOB VIOLENCE ADVOCATED AND
SHOTS FIRED AT HIM.
Special Dispatch to The Call.

HlLLSBORO, N. Mex, June 8-The de-
tense In the Fountain murder trial
strengthened the alibi this morning, when
Albert Blevin, Texas and Pacific fire
man. who worked near Dog CANYON testi-
ned that he was with Lee and Gilliland
at Lees ranch, sixty miles from the mur-
der scene, during the very time Colonel
fountaln and his son are said to have
been killed. Blevin arrived there at 2
p. m. on Saturday, February /, and re-
manned until Monday. Maxwell was also
there. The latter had said the defendants
were not there. The witness also said
the cattle the prosecution claimed to have
been used to obliterate the trails were
under contract to be delivered and that
Lee was with him the day he met the
herd. He refuted the statements of sus-
picious actions in the presence of the
SearcherS.
The prosecution held the witness nearly
three hours, vainly trying to confuse him
The defense has discharged half it's wit
nesses, as they are not considered neces-
Sary
Mrs. Lee, the widowed mother of the
defendant Lee. told a straightforward
story of the presence of her son at the
home at the time Colonel Fountain and
his son are supposed to have been muir
dered
Oliver Lee repeated the defense's story
of his whereabouts at that time and said
that he first heard he was suspected sew
eral days later He then went to Las
Cruces and found warrant had been
issued. He offered to surrender and stand
trial then but was refused. An extra
issue of a Las Cruces paper suggested
mob law and openly accused him of the
Fountain murder. He learned that a posse
was searching for him and that among
it's members was Ben Williams, who was
said to have a mania for murder, and
others known to be his $sfseTnles. Then he
returned to his ranch -
The prosecution objected to the intro
dCctiOn of the newspaper as evidence. In
the argument Attorney Fall said he could
point to the man who wrote the article,
and he was not the editor. The prOSeCu-
ton cOntended that newspaper editorials
ere simply statements of editors and not
public opinion. The court admitted the
comments, but no statements of alleged
facts.
Continuing, the witness said that. fear
ing the officers would Kill him, with a
warrant as an excuse, he hurried home
but visited Las Cruces several times
afterward and learned the warrant had
been withdrawn. The matter was espe-
Cially rife at election time. When the last
warrant was issued he did not surrender
because of mob talk and of information
that certain persons had said they would
dc him violence If he came in. Suisse
qrently he agreed with Judge Parker, who
is now trying the case, to surrender on
condition that he be not committed to
Jail, and did Regarding the killing of
Deputy Kearney last July, he said he
slept on the roof because he feared he
would be killed by threatening parties
witness. "Kearney fired twice and Gar
rett also fired before l fired. I heard no
command of hands up, but Garrett was
talking while shooting. 1 killed Kearney