THAT KILLED SHERIFF G.W. ALEXANDER;

FIRED TWO SHOTS AT ORRELL DELLINGER
Earl Damron, deputy sheriff of Hartley county, says that he saw Orrell Dellinger fire the shot that killed Sheriff George W. Alexander and I precipitated a gun battle whose final toll was three men dead and one woman badly wounded. This occurred between 1:30 and 2 p.m. Saturday about five miles south of Dalhart.
According to Mr. Damron's statement to a Texan reporter, shortly after dinner, Sheriff Foust came by his home and asked him to go with him to arrest Lon Dellinger, who, according to information they had received, was staying at the Gunnell's farm home, about five miles south of Dalhart, in Hartley county and Mr. Alexander mentioned that he had a felony warrant for Lon Dellinger.
On arriving at the designated place, they stopped their auto outside of the yard enclosure. Mr. Alexander went to the front door of the farm house, while Damron and Foust walked around outside of the yard on the north to a gate on the west side, and while making this circuit when they were about at the northwest corner, Damron says he could see through the north window in the small house, southwest of the larger house and noticed a woman standing in the south door looking southwest toward two outbuildings and he thought he heard her give a low whistle or signal of some kind as if a warning to some one. In the meantime, Sheriff Alexander had come out of the rear door on the west side into the back yard, while Damron and Foust entered the yard through the rear gate. Foust poked into the small house and Sheriff Alexander looked into a dugout in the yard, and then Damron told him about the woman in the small house.
They then started out of the rear gate toward the outbuildings then a man, apparently Gunnells, asked Sheriff Alexander if he had a search warrant. The Sheriff replied that he did not, but that he had a felony warrant for Lon Dellinger which was sufficient authority for him to conduct a search for that man, and that he had information that he was on this place. The reply to this was that Lon had been there but had left an hour or so before the officers arrived, it was claimed. Sheriff Alexander replied that he thought Lon Dellinger was in the little outside toilet and that if they woud go and induce him to come and surrender there would be no trouble, but that if he didn't, they intended to get him anyway. Gunnels replied that if the sheriff thought he was out there to go and look for himself, it is said. The sheriff then started for the toilet and Damron for another outbuilding beyond it, but before getting to this building, he saw Alexander open the door of the other one and saw Lon Dellinger step out and the two shook hands and then started back toward the small house while Damron followed along a short distance behind. About the time the sheriff and his prisoner got close to the small porch on the south side of the small house Damron says he first noticed Orrell Dellinger on the porch with a pistol leveled on him (Damron), and that Orell said, "I'm going to kill both of you." Just about that time Lon Dellinger broke away from the sheriff who was hoding him by the arm and then Orrell Dellinger moved his pistol from Damron and fired at the sheriff, who crumpled and fell in a heap. By this time, Damron had his gun out and fired a shot at Orrell Dellinger, who responded by a shot at Damron who was only ten or fifteen feet from him. Damron was edging over toward an old Ford truck standing at the southwest corner of the small house and while making this maneuver, fired another shot at Orrell Dellinger, who replied with a shot that shattered the windshield of the old truck within a few inches of Damron's head. Damron states he could not tell whether or not any of his shots took effect on Dellinger. While this shooting was on between Orrell Dellinger and Damron on the outside, there was also shooting on the inside, and after the last shot from Orrell Dellinger was outside his line of vision. A bullet from the inside of the house acme out through the west window; Sheriff Alexander was lying on the ground apparently dead or dying, and Damron says he thought both Foust and Alexander had been killed, and that the best thing he could do would be to return to town for assistance, so he ran to the road and caught a ride

The Dalhart Texan