El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-04-24
Witnesses And Prominent
Citizens Attend the Nc
New Trial
IN LARGE NUMBERS
A Desperate Effort Will Be Put Forth
By the Prosecutors Lawyers To
Gain Further Delay, But 1t Is
Probable That They Will Be Fore
ed To Come To Time By the .AttOr-
ney For the Defense.


Sheriff George Curry of Otero county
and about dozen Witnesses were in
the city yesterday on their way to at
tend the trial of William McNew for
the murder of Colonel Albert j. FOun-
tain and his eight year old son who
disappeared in 1896.
The trial of McNew is scheduled to
begin this morning, but the prosecu-
ton will make a desperate effort to
have the case again continued and If
it's motion is Overruled by the court it
well, it is alleged, permit the case to be
dismissed rather than go to trial A
great battle between the attorneys will
take place at Silver City today.
The prosecution was anxious that
Lee and Cilliland be tried first as the
territory did not wish to show its hand
until the alleged leader, Oliver Lee,
could be brought to trial. On the con-
trary the defense has been extremely
anxious to force the trial of the Nc
New case and has launched the argu-
ment that McNew has now been in
Jail for more than year and to hold
him longer without trial would be g
rank injustice to the prisoner. In
answer to this the prosecution urged
that the three men be tried at once and
that McNew had not been already
tried because Lee and Gilliland had
been at large until quite recent
ly.
The court decided that McNew
ought to be tried without longer delay
and set April 24l as the last day.
MYSTERY CLEARED.
It Is believed that the celebrated
Fountain murder mystery is about to
be cleared up at last and that the muir
derers will either be brought to justice
now or the mystery will become even
deeper than before and all effort to
solve it will cease. The sensational
disappearance of Fountain and chill
has been retold SO often that it is not
necessary to repeat It again. So far
as is known neither body has ever
pered about that the officers have in |
their possession the skeleton of q hui
man being which will be produced at |
the;trial. It is alleged that this is |
skeleton.
The cry of the defense and the
friends of Lee, ct al, has long been
that Fountain is not dead but that he
departure in a sensational and drama
tic manner for the express purpose of
leaving the presumption that he had
been murdered and that several of his
political enemies might be charged
with the crime and prosecuted for it.
Ii has even been notsed about that
Fountain is salive in Mexico and one
man claimed to have seen.letters there
addressed to the missing colonel.
ANOTHER MURDER.
The disappearance of Fountain caus-
ID Lee and Gilliland to become fugi-l
ives from justice and the most promi-
lent men in the territory. Pat Garrett :
.lso sprung into even greater promiu-I
,nt than he had already attained as
he slayer of BILLY the kid" In his
Efforts to round up the fugitives one {
1 his deputy sneriffs7 was killed and
Lee and Gilliland will answer for that d;
rhine after the Fountain case has been
disposed Of.
The Fountain disappearance and the
ubsequent events connected there Z
With have attracted widespread at
ention throughout the southwest and z
he progress of the trial about to begin
t Silver City will be watched with
lose attention by the public.