The Sentinel=record., 1914-04-19
ONE RAGWEED VALLEY FARMER DROPS OVER MULE AND
 SHOOTS AT ANOTHER.
INJURY IS NOT SERIOUS
Young Man m County Jail Tells Story of Persecution at the Hands of other-WhIe Other Refuses to Make Statement

After Charles Stevens of Ragweed Valley, dropped over on the side of the mule he was riding, and placing
 his pistol across the horn of his saddle, fired three shots at Jim Doris, 8 farmer of the same locality, one would have expected a spirit of bravado to have been shown by the shooter when seen in the county jail. Instead, the eyes of Stevens welled with tears as he tried to tell of the injuries he had received at the hands of the man he had shot.
 The shooting took place o1 Qua afternoon. Jim Doris and Stevens were both coming towards the city on this avenue. Stewart was riding a mule and says he was overtaken by Doris, who started the trouble Doris was riding in a buggy, and they came along probably two blocks in argu- ment, when just opposite the McCaf. ferty morgue, Stevens pulled his pis- tol and fired three shots at Doris.
 Only one shot struck Doris, that passing through the upper por@on of the left leg, and doing no serious damage.
 Sheriff Williams and Deputy Dow nen were in the vicinity of the shoot ing. and though both were at the time unarmed, they started after Stevens, who had passed about one block south of the scene of the shooting, and who was standing on the curb with his pistol in his hand.
 The sheriff called to Stevens, who immediately recognized him, and said: Here's my pistol, Uncle Bob"
 Jim Doris is a large man, 43 years of age, is married, and has eight children. Stevens looks about 30, is married, and has four children. All parties connected with the affair are farmers.
 Doris was rather disinclined to make any statement of the affair eX- cept that he was coming towards the city when they met and they had few words, and Stevens shot him. Doris stated that the trouble had it's beginning when he caught Stevens wife stealing meat, and prosecuted the case against her, but in Justice McCalrds court a verdict of not guilty was returned.
 Stevens tells a different story in many respects. He said that he only came to this county few years ago, coming from Dalville, Ark. He said that he and his wife settled on a place near where Doris lived. and that Doris made trouble for him, and that after consultation with the neighbors, he feared trouble. and took his family and left the farm near Doris home.
 'I had not been in town in a long time" said Stevens, for fear l would meet Doris and we would have trou- ble Yesterday l was told to come after some things. l never owned a pistol in all my life until I got this one, after having trouble with roris, and when I believed | had to have itl to protect myself and my family.
 "I' was riding my mule along to- wards town on Ouachita avenue when Doris drove up in his buggy and overlook me. He said to me: Well, is Addie stealing much meat now? He was talking about my wife. They had charged that she had been steal ing meat
 "I said No about the meat. Then Doris said nothing for a minute or two. I said nothing more. Then he tried to make me admit that my wife had sworn to a lie in the case against her and that he had told the truth
 "Then Doris said to me, Well, she is damn good thief You can't con yict her
 q refused to agree with him that my wife had sworn the lie and re the truth, and he turned in his buggy and picked up a hickory and waved that at me, and then reached for his hip pocket and said, T ought to kill you yet T
 q dropped off the other side os the| mule, put my pistol over the horn Of the saddle, and shot three times.
 That seemed to be about al Il e| story Stevens had to tell except that he was very solicitous about how bad Doris was hurt, and appeared glad toI know that he was hurt no worse than