 See also this page. The Dallas Weekly Herald
Dallas, Texas Thursday May 5, 1885 pg 1 The Fight at Lee's Ranch Sherman, May 4. - (Special) - The town is full of rumors concerning the fight on Saturday last with the desperadoes. The message from Whitesboro reported the fight as being at Stein's store, which in on the line between Cooke and Grayson counties. It now appears to have been in the nation, at Lee's ranch. Whether the officers sent from here will go to the Nation is not known. Bob May, the deputy under whose charge they are, will undoubtedly go into the Nation if the force there is under lawful authority; but if it is only an organized body of men, under no lawful officer, he will have nothing to do with it but will await in Delaware Bend the outcome of work of other desperadoes from this side. At this writing nothing more definite is known. PARTICULARS FROM GAINESVILLE. Gainesville, May 4. - (Special) - Further particulars of the killing on Saturday last, in the Nation, have been received. The HERALD gave several days ago an account of the theft of 18 head of beef cattle from a man in Delaware Bend. This was one of a series of depredations committed not only on the citizens on this side of the river, but also on those in the Nation. There is a gang which infests that region composed of 15 or more, who are engaged in cattle and horse stealing and murder, and some whiskey peddlers. These are banded together to resist arrest unto the death. Jim Lee is the leader of this band and their rendezvous and the place where they kept their ill-gotten stock is called Lee's ranch. At this point they have erected a block house with loop holes all around and are prepared to defend it to the last. This is where the disastrous fight occurred, at the mouth of Round hole in Caddo creek. A posse was formed in this county and was joined by several of the Indian police. They tracked the thieves to Lee's ranch, approached to arrest them, but they took refuge in their fort and behaved in a most treacherous manner. Officer Guy was perfidiously induced to believe they would not resist if he would promise not to hurt them, and when he approached to speak to them they fired on him with six winchesters, riddling him with bullets. One bullet killed Andy Roff, two were fired into Jim Roff, and Mathes was shot several times. Just as soon as the news reached here the sheriff organized a posse and went to join another posse which was forming in the upper part of the county. The bold murderers will be met by 200 men, and if they are captured, there is small hope of mercy for them. The Lee boys are connected with many of the best citizens of Cooke and Grayson counties, and Jim Lee's mother, who is over 70 years of age and a devout Christian, has often pleaded with her son to abandon his wicked course.  Fort Worth Daily Gazette Fort Worth, Texas Tuesday May 12, 1885 pg 5 SHERMAN On the Trail of Some Members of the Outlaw Gang Sherman, Tex., May 11. - Elijah Sacro came to Sherman from his brother's ranch on Glass creek in the territory to-day, and says that Jim and Pink Lee of the outlaw gang were at Halford's ranch Sunday evening and exchanged their jaded horses for fresh ones. They told a hand on the ranch that they would not leave the country, but would leave the horses where the owner could get them. They said also that they were going to stay there, and for him to tell all parties who wanted them to come and get them. There is now no doubt that these men were in Sherman Friday. They left before the next day for the Nation. They contemplated surrender, but were advised not to risk it. Our officers got a hint of their presence, but they were too sly to be caught. They have threatened the lives of John Washington and Streeter Brown, who were foremost in hunting them down, and these men will not rest easy while they are running around loose. Fort Worth Daily Gazette Fort Worth, Texas Tuesday, June 2, 1885 pg 4 GAINESVILLE The Lee Boys Still on the War-Path in the Nation Gainesville, Tex., June 1. - The Lee boys have been heard from again. A gentleman returned from a business trip in the Nation Saturday night and brought news of their whereabouts and a trying experience of his own with them. This gentleman, in company with another, was driving cattle on Caddo creek, when he saw a horse tied in the bushes which both recognized. They approached the horse to get the brand, when they were surprised by Jim and Pink Lee springing out of the bushes with Winchesters leveled at them. The Lees charged them with belonging "to the Roff outfit," while the men pleaded not to be shot, as they belonged to no crowd. One of the Lees shoved his Winchester in the face of one of the men and said, "Look down there and see if you can't see a corpse," and threatened to kill him on the spot. The men pleaded earnestly for their lives, and, after a while, Tere permitted to go. The Lee boys told them they were still on the war-path. The gentleman who brought the information is engaged in business here, and is entirely reliable. The Dallas Daily Herald Dallas, Texas Friday June 12, 1885 pg 1 Without Bail Sherman, June 11. - (Special) - The United States Commissioners' Court is still engaged in the examining trail of Ed Stein, Tom Lee and William Bourland. Ed Stein testified for himself. He testified to having left the house with Tom Lee and Jim Lee's wife before the shooting and returned after the shooting, and that Jim and Pink Lee were the only ones in the house at the time of the killing. He also testified that he came over to Texas in company with the accused and returned with them to the Nation and remained with them several days before he came to Denison and surrendered. He gave no reason for not informing the authorities when in Texas as to who did the killing, and assigned as a reason for remaining with the Lee boys that he was afraid of being mobbed. The murder was committed on the morning of May 1 and he surrendered on May 7. Rachel Lee, a full-blooded Indian, the wife of Jim Lee, corroborated Ed Stein in every particular. Bourland was discharged and Stein and Lee held without bail. Fort Worth Daily Gazette Fort Worth, Texas Sunday, June 28, 1885 pg 4 SHERMAN Hunting the Lee Boys. Special to the Gazette. Sherman, Tex., June 27. - From a gentleman just down from the Delaware Bend country, we learn that several squads of officers are hunting Jim and Pink Lee among the hills of the Territory, and one of the parties has three trained blood-hounds to put on the trail as soon as it becomes necessary to do so. Jack Duncan of Dallas is with the party and if anybody doubts that it means business he doesn't know Jack Duncan. Fort Worth Daily Gazette Fort Worth, Texas Saturday July 11, 1885 pg 3 Jack Duncan, who is employed by the Roffs to run down Jim and Pink Lee, the terrors of Delaware Bend, has returned, His party consists of eleven men, who are in the neighborhood where the Lee boys "run". He says he has been frequently near the desperadoes and has received messages from them. They say they will never be taken alive and are armed to the teeth. Each carries two Winchesters, two revolvers and three belts of cartridges. They say they have no place to go to and intend to stay where they are, killing as many of their pursuers as they can, or selling for the best price. They declare that they have no hope of escape, and that in the long run they will be killed. Duncan left his men in the bend and will return to them immediately. The Dallas Weekly Herald Dallas, Texas Thursday August 13, 1885 pg 2 Gainesville, Aug. 9 - (Special) - Parties from Delaware Bend bring the information that the outlaws, Jim and Pink Lee, had crossed to this side of the river and gone to the home of Ed Steen, a former "pal", who is now in the clutches of the law. They interviewed several parties and expressed a determination to die rather than surrender, and repeated their threat of extermination upon all who have endeavored or shall endeavor to secure their capture. Horses were stationed all along the route traveled from their hiding place to Delaware Bend, and friends placed on watch to prevent any possibility of capture. They cut a number of pasture fences so that there should be no obstruction in case they were compelled to flee to avoid capture. The Dallas Daily Herald Dallas, Texas Thursday, September 10, 1885 pg 4 JIM AND PINK LEE KILLED THE CORPSES AT GAINESVILLE A Desperate Fight With Detectives Who Came on Them Unawares Near Delaware Bend Gainesville, Sept. 8. - (Special) - To-day has been the most exciting one ever witnessed in Gainesville. From early morn till late to-night there has been but one subject of conversation, that of the killing of the Lee boys, the notorious outlaws. This morning, about 3 o'clock, a wagon containing Hook Thomas, general manager of the Fort Worth detective association; Jim Taylor, of Dexter, Cooke County, Jim Shattel, of Cooke county, and the lifeless bodies of two men, stopped on the public square. A crowd soon gathered around the wagon, and in it, lying side by side and COLD IN DEATH were Jim and Pink Lee, the outlaws who had so long been a terror to the people of Delaware Bend and vicinity. The vehicle containing the dead men was drawn to the jail, where they were taken out and carried inside. The news spread like wild fire, and a large crowd soon gathered in front of the jail. CORONER'S INQUEST The coroner was summoned, a jury empaneled and the following proceedings had: Heck Thomas being sworn testified as follows: I live at Fort Worth, Texas; about 10 o'clock yesterday morning I was informed by John Strother that the Lee boys were near his house, and he thought they had cut his pasture fence; I tried to find the Lee boys then, but failed; between 12 and 1 o'clock, while at dinner, a runner came and told me that the Lee boys were riding through Strother Brown's pasture; Jim Taylor and Jim Shattels commenced looking for them at once; about 2 or 2:30 o'clock we saw them half a mile off; they were off their horses and on the ground, and we could tell what they were doing; we hurried in that direction, but we couldn't see them; after we had got over the hill and when we struck the lane between Strother Brown's and John Washington's pastures we saw they had cut Strother Brown's pasture fence, and were cutting John Washington's pasture fence across the lane; we had a spy glass; we got as close to them as possible - about 40 or 45 yards away - and ordered them to surrender. They dropped their nippers and fired at us and missed us; as Pink tried another shell on his gun he was killed; we all then were shooting at them and could not tell which killed him; about a second or two later Jim was shot by one of us and about 16 shots were fired; we kept shooting till Jim quit; don't know how many shots struck the Lee boys; no one did any shooting at the Lee boys except Jim Taylor, Jim Shattels and myself; Jack Brown saw part of the shooting, but didn't do any of it. (Signed) Heck Thomas IDENTIFIED A witness was then sworn who identified the dead bodies as those of Jim and Pink Lee. After the conclusion of the testimony the jury retired and returned the following: VERDICT: We, the jury, empaneled and sworn to inquire into the cause and manner and time of the death of Jim and Pink Lee, find that they came to their deaths on September 7, 1885, from gunshot wounds inflicted by Heck Thomas, Jim Taylor and Jim Shattel, J.T. Harris, Foreman. By the time the investigation was over the crowd outside had increased to several hundred, and, becoming impatient, had managed to get in at the doors and windows until the room was filled. The bodies of the dead men, which were covered with blood, were washed and ordered carried to the court house where HUNDREDS CALLED DURING THE DAY to take a look at the lifeless forms of the men who had terrorized a whole community, and bid defiance to the law and its officers. An examination of the bodies showed that Pink Lee had but one wound.The ball went in at the right side of the neck, ranged upward and came out behind the left ear. Jim Lee was shot twice, once under the chin, the ball coming out in the back of his neck. The lower part of the right ear was shot off. DESCRIPTIVE The men were very much alike in appearance - Jim a little the taller, Pink Lee had sandy whiskers, light hair and weighed about 135 pounds, was about 5 feet 5 inches high, and was 23 years old. Jim Lee had sandy whiskers, light hair, was about 5 feet 6 inches, weighed about 150 pounds, and was about 35 years old. The faces of both would indicate they were mean, desperate men. AN ACCOUNT OF THE FIGHT Mr. Heck Thomas gives the following account of the fight: "I have been after the Lee boys since June 10. Jim Taylor has been out since about May 5. We would have taken them sooner, but the country through which they were accustomed to run is full of thieves and lawless characters, and besides, they had friends on the outside who kept them posted as to our movements. At times we were in close places and could not tell whether the Lee boys were after us or we after them. To come down to the fight: After we demanded their surrender not a word was spoken. The fight was in the grass, in the open prairie, and was as pretty as one as I ever saw. As soon as we called on them to surrender they dropped their nippers and fired on us. We returned the fire and Pink Lee fell forward, dead. Jim then KNELT IN THE GRASS beside his brother and continued to shoot at us. He had on a red shirt, which was a splendid mark. We were all separated and Jim made a triangular fight. He died game, fighting as long as there was breath in his body. Even after he was fatally hurt he fired several shots. None of our party were hurt. It was raining hard all during the fight, and this is why we caught them off their guard. After we were satisfied they were dead we approached them and found Jim on his knees with his head down against the ground, just as he had fallen. Neither of them spoke a word after they were shot. My testimony before the coroner tells the rest. Among other things found on the persons of the dead men were newspapers clippings giving accounts of their many crimes and telling what ought to be done with them. They were killed on the side of Red river, about six miles from the town of Dexter. The public generally breaths a sigh of relief that these desperadoes are no more. THE AGED MOTHER of the outlaws has been notified and is expected to-night to take charge of the remains. ANOTHER ACCOUNT. Dexter, Sept. 8. - (Special) - Last night about sundown Mr. H. A. Thomas, of Fort Worth, and one Mr. Shattels, a hired hand on the farm of J. S. Brown, some nine miles north of here and near Delaware Bend, passed through this town with the dead bodies of Pink and Jim Lee; J. T. Taylor, of Dexter, was with Thomas also. They found the Lee boys cutting J. S. Brown's wire fence in broad, open daylight. They had already cut about half a mile of John Washington's fence and commenced on Mr. Brown's when the parties named crept silently along through the grass and weeds till they were within a few paces of the outlaws. Mr. Taylor called to the Lee boys to "hold up," where upon the Lee boys opened fire on them, but the nerve and marksmanship of the officers soon brought Pink to the ground, then Jim, though they rose and fired again several times after they were shot dead. Wise County Messenger Decatur, Texas Saturday, September 12, 1885 pg 7 Jim and Pink Lee, noted desperadoes, were killed by some Fort Worth officers in the north part of Cooke county on last Monday. They fought to the last. The Lee gang is now entirely broken up, the balance of the gang being in the U.S. jail at Fort Smith. Fort Worth Daily Gazette Fort Worth, Texas Sunday, November 29, 1885 p. 3 SHERMAN Friends of Jim and Pink Lee, the Delaware Bend desperadoes, have given notice that the vendetta will be renewed, and have warned their enemies in advance of what may be expected. The following letter was sent by them a few days ago which speaks for itself: "John Young and Bill Borland, you are hereby notified to hunt your holes, as soon as possible,: If you don't do it you will be put out of the way." (Signed) FRIENDS OF THE LEE BOYS The parties warned are of the opinion that this threat means mischief and they have taken every precaution for safety except fleeing from home. Lee Brothers of Cooke County, Texas Grayson County
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