The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-04-14
ZEKE D0ZIER
 IS SET FREE Verdict of Acquittal at
 Tuskegee. THE SLAYER OF CHAMBLESS Final Chapter in Tragedy at :. Warrior Stand. Wife sf Defendant, . Well Known Farmer, Embraced Her Husband
 when She Heard the
 Verdict.

Tuskegee. April 1a.-(special Cor rsspondence )--zeke Dozier, the sur vivor of the bloody pistol duel of last October at Warrior Stand was this af- ternoon acquitted of the charge of murder in the Circuit Court of Macon County.
 The verdict was rendered by the jury at 4:S0 o'clock after five and half hours deliberation and the wife of Dozier, who had sat at his side through the long trial, threw her arms about the neck of her husband, as the verdict which restored him to freedom and to her, was read.
 The duel which resulted in the death of George Chambless and of the am- prisohment and trial of Zeke Dozier, grew out of trivial quarrel over 8 few pounds of cotton. The two men had been the warmest of friends. In the village of Warrior Stand they were looked upon as the warmest of tws men in the community were. Out of an unimportant quarrel over a few pounds of cotton the deadly quarrel resulted. In the settlement of that quarrel Dozier and Chambless fought duel in which both men emptied their pistols. DoEier at the time the duel began. was surrounded by his chil- Idren. He was caring for his children on that day for his wife was yisitt1,S & netghboring friend.
 Had Children Around Him.
 The quarrel had occurred earlier in the day. but 1t left an anger and a re- sentiment that demanded and had blood shed. As Dozier sat on his front porch with his children about his knees the quarrel was resumed and the two men, with deadly intent. emptied their pistols at each other But one shot took ef- feet It struck Chambless near the heart and he died a few minutes later
 The jury today had to decide whether Dozier's part in that difficulty was verdict was a declaration of the jury that 1t believed Dozier fired the shot that killed in self defense
 Two sons of Dozier. aged twelve and seventeen. were vital and important witnesses in his behalf. They took the stand to testify that their father was on tbs front porch with. his youn ger children in his lap when Chambless ap- proaohed and demanded that the quar- rel of the morning be settled with the death of one or the other. Their tes- tfmony was most valuable to the cause of heir father. It helped him more than anything else to the verdict which re- turned him to his family. On the other hand, witnesses for the State testified that Dozier was waiting for Chambless and that he was responsible fo.. the last and tragic chapter of the quarrel. But there were discrepancies m this testi- mony. and there were many conflicts in the evidence.
 Aggressive Legal Contest,
 The case was one of the most az gressively fought that was ever tried in the Circuit Court of Macon County. The town of Tuskegee, as well as a large portion of the county. took a deep Interest in the trial and the Court House was crowded at every session of the court Dozier was defended by Mayor Oscar Lewis of Tuskegee, c. W. Hare and Senator Henry P. Mer- ritt. In his prosecution Solicitor w. B. Bowling was assisted by R. H. Powell of Tuskegee and Hon. c. G. Whitson of Talladega
 The closing arguments. to which A large crowd listened. were made Fri day afternoon and this morning. For the State Solicitor Bowling and MT. Whitson spoke" The arguments for the defense were made by Mir. Lewis and Senator Merritt. The conflict in the testimony. conflict which was so pre- nounced that 1t attracted comment. gave the attorneys a fine opportunity for argument and for oratory.
 The men had remained the best of friends until a few hours before they mee edcn Otler' pIStOl Tn hand, and tried to take each others life. One ran 6 gin. The other bought cotton seed from a negro who had it stored at the gin. The two men quari eIed over the time in which the cotton seed ought to be removed. That was all :. But one of the men, as a result of that trivial quarrel. was snatched from his family, and the other has since Oc- tober remained Tn the Tuskegee jail fYf nA foI with the awful charge of murder over his head.
 Testimony of Boys.
 The most valuable testimony for Do- Eier was given by his two boys. Will lard Dozier. twelve years O: age. They swore that at the hour of the tragedy their father was on his front porch with his two younger children ip his lap. He was caring for the children that day as their mother was visiting a friend and neighbor. The sons swore that MT. Chambless came up saying:
 I'm going to kill you. Zeke De- zier."
 One of the boys swore his father said:
 George Chambless. don't you come any further"
 Whatever was said, the two men, pistol in hand, began firing at each other. When the firing was over Doziers pistol was found to be emp ty. By the body of Chambless was found his pistol. He had fired every cartridge in 1t. but one chamber of 1t was empty when the duel to the death began. In the fusilade of shots only one had taken effect. A shot from the pistol of Dozier had struck Cham bless near the heart, and the Circuit Court of Macon county was called up. on to say whether his death was murder or the justifable staying done in self defense.
 There were State witnesses who con tradicted the testimony of the sons of Dozier as to what was said just prev ious to the killing of Chambless. This testimony conveyed the idea that Dog fer was waiting on his front porch with the firm purpose of renewing the quarrel that had started in the early morning. The testimony in part had it that as Chambles approached. Dozier said:
 You drew a pistol on me this morn ing. I am ready for you now"
 But there were some discrepancies G., H1 xuh