El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-06-01

Fountain SubpOenaed BY the De-
fense.-Theodore Heman's Story
The Mail Carrier Tells His
TaIe.-Sharp Questioning By
Judge Fall.
Special Correspondence of the HERALD.
Ell Paso HERALD Bureau, Hillsboro,
N. M, May 80, Via Lake Valley, May
3l.-The sensations of today were the
testimony of Van Pait)n, an old In
dian trailer and scout, and the issuance
of . subpoena by the defense for Albert
Fountain, to bring him into court as
their witness to assail Van Patton's
evidence.
The fret witness called this morning
was Theodore Heman of White Oaks,
who was at the last term of the Lincoln
county court attended by Col. Fountain
in 1895.
Witness was foreman of the grand
jury which indicted Lee, ct al, for
| that Col. Fountain as attorney for the
| stock association was mainly instru-
| mental in causing the indictments to
be found, when Judge Fall objected,
contending that the witness oath as a
grand Juror barred him under the
ssstute from revealing the secrets Of
the grand jury room. Mr.. Childress
|
overruled the objection, the
defense noting an exception.
"Were there any particular class of
cases that Fountain tOoG a." interest in
prosecuting?' assed Mr.. Child
ress.
Yes, cattle stealing.
| Gross examined by Judge FalD
Is l. no. a fact that the pri-ci pal
prosacu ting witness was Less Dow:
Y :.
l. ii rot 3 fact that the other prose
Mr.. Dow?
No sir.
Did you see these ipdic,me nts
| drawn?
Yes, sir.
VINO drew them?
A J. Fountain.
You are certain, are you? just as
positive about that as any of your
other evidence?
Yes, sir.
Copies of the indictments were
produced and the witness testified on d.
rect examination that Col Fountain
drew up the indictments and the dis
| trict attorney signed them. The GER
titled copies we're read to the jury and
made part of the record.
Cross examined q second time by
Judge Fall, witness thought there were
many indictments found at that term
of court.
Witness thought he WAS in attend
ance on the Lincoln county court at
two previous terms of court, but could
not say whether the stock association
had many Indictments brought at that
time or not.
Witness when excused asked to be
allowed to remain in the courtroom,
but Judge Fall said it would be better
to exclude him, as an attack would be
made on his testimony.
MAIL CARRIERS STORY.
Barrilla, the mail carrier, who was
the last man to see Fountain prior to
his disappearance, was called. He
met Col. Fountain on the road leading
from Las Cruces to Tularosa and is
the last person who will admit seeing
Fountain alive.
He met Col. Fountain near the
Chalk hills. The lawyer was in his
blackboard driving with his little son
toward Las Cruces and the carrier was
going in the opposite direction.
The direct examination was conduct
ed by Mr.. Catron. He asked:
What did you observe when you got
to the Chalk hills?
1 saw a wagon: they were hitching
the wagon to go: it contained one man
l.
saw three horse men coming toward
me on horseback. They were coming
toward me and then on the brow of an
elevation, half or three quarters of q
mile away, outlined against the sky.
l got close enough to the men to see
that one of them wore a black hat and
another a white. They saw me and
veered out OF the road toward the east.
After you passed the horsemen did
you meet any one else?
Three miles further on 1 met Col.
Fountain and his son in their carriage
coming from Lincoln. l told him about
the men whom 1 had seen. The men
had circled round and were coming
back toward the road several miles
ahead of Fountain. Col. Fountain ask
ed me if 1 knew the horsemen. told
hin did not. He said they had been
travelling in front of him for miles and
he didn't know about them. l asked
him to return to the stage station at
Luna's wells and spend the night with
me, but he insisted that he was in
hurry to get home and declined.
met Col. Fountain at O'Clock in
the afternoon. He drove toward Las
Cruces and 1 con tinued to Luna's wells,
returning next day. 1 watched the |
trail made by Fountains buggy and |
observed that it turned off the east |
sid e of the road about q miles south of |
the Chalk hills. 1 followed the trail |
afoot some yards after it left the road
and noticed the tracks of another
horse. I then went back to my buggy
and drove to Las Cruces and reported |
to Albert Fountain my fears and what
had seen. 1 first asked for Colonel |
Fountain and they told me he hadn't |
arrived.
1t was Saturday when [ met Col. |
Fountain near the Chalk hills and |
Sunday when 1 reached Las Cruces.
On my next trip with the mail, the |
following Saturday, in passing the
l..