The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1914-11-20
AN INTERVIEW WITH
THE MECHASIS

Grover and Laurie Mecham, the
people who raised such a stir at
Blackfoot on the morning of the 21st
Of August, by holding up Sheriff
Jones, had their trial this week and
were pronounced not guilty, and
we're discharged. They were again
arrested and taken to Pocatello on
Thursday to be tried again in the
federal court on the same charge,
grand larceny While they were at
the depot waiting for the south
bound train, the Republican writer
received some statements from them
that will be of interest to the public.
The conversation was about as fol-
lows:
Trego: "Tell me, did you hide in
the lavas after riding away from the
sheriff"
Mechams, laughing: "Oh, we never
went near the lavas. We rode out
that way and went west to Moreland,
and then came back. While they were
chasing us up the country we were
down the other way. We came back
to Blackfoot the same evening"
Trego: Where did you stay that
night?"
Mechams: I'VE rode all night to
Pocatello, and then to Malad. We
visited there with relatives for two
or three days and then went on to
Lucin, sold the horses and went to
Ely and were married. We would
have been married in Blackfoot If
Sheriff Jones had left us alone. That
is what we were coming here for in
the first place" ,r.
Trego: How was it about that
saddle that Jones went out to seize?"
Mecham: well, now I'll tell you
just how that was. had traded for
saddle on Lost river, and it be-
longed to Ed Jones, but I didn't
know it. Ed telephoned down here
to Jones to find me and see if / had
such a saddle. That was all. Me
and Ed were good friends and he
knew that if I had the saddle he
could get things Strengthened out.
Jones started in to be insulting to me
before understood about it. He told
me ] would go with him, and that he
knew me all right and knew my
brother; that he had my brother in
Jail and that was where l belonged.
He didn't have any a.rant for me,
and got sore at his talk and the way
he treated her, nodding to his wife,
and just told him to get. We was
headed for the court house to be mar
ried then, and she didn't hold him up
and abuse him as they say she did.
She just covered him with her gun
while l got on my horse, and when
Jones asked her who she was she
said it was none of his business who
she was, and it wasn't. That Mr.. Rice
was on our side and wouldn't take
the stand against u.s.
Trego: did Jones file a com
plant against you for resisting him
or drawing guns on him."
Mecnam: mo, ne don'J nolu InaL
against us now. He says he was in
the wrong, starting in on us the way
he did. If he had just made his
business known like man ought to,
we would have come up to town and
fixed things up about the saddle so
that James could have got what be-
longed to him and so could l. There
wasn't any use in all this trouble.
Then we traded horses with the In
dian and got something that didn't
belong to him, and all this other
trouble came on. We have come
clear in this court and now we have
tc go to Pocatello and be tried again
for the same thing. We have been
in your old dirty Jail since the 14th
of September, and we have nearly
starved; then everything was SO
dirty and lousy"
Trego: us 1t true that Mrs. Nee
ham had a gun on her when you
came here from Nevada in the hands
of the officer and that Jones dis
covered it when you got here?"
Mrs. Mecham: ~ had a gun on
me all right, but he didn't find It.
When we got to the court house
said to Jones, Nov Mr.. Jones. Just
to show you that am all right, I'll
hand you my gum and then he was
going to search me, and / said, mo
you don't. If I have to be searched,
you get woman to do it. No man
has got any right to do that"
Trego: did he respect your de-
mand?"
Mrs. Mecham: "Well, they put me
down below and searched him, and
then afterwards a. couple of men
came down and saorchod ma copoo