access to cross through French's land. French was at the gate working a cattle drive that day. Olivier was witnessed colliding horse to horse with French as French yelled at Olivier. French was seen swinging his hand the way one swings a whip although witnesses testified they did not actually see a whip perhaps because of the distance between them. Olivier continued westerly toward his home behind French as French had turned his horse around. Olivier drew his gun and pointed it at French's head. French ducked. Olivier lowered his gun and when French turned his head back to look at Olivier, Olivier raised his gun again and fired. French fell from his horse. Olivier stopped, looked down at French dead on the ground and rode away in the direction of his home. Olivier's defense hinged on the purported belief that he feared that when French turned his head away, it was to buy time to draw a weapon and finally "fix" Olivier. French was not armed with a gun but was carrying his horse whip. One of the seven witnesses that testified for the prosecution was Burt French, Pete French's brother, employee and resident of P Ranch. He testified "Never saw my brother strike Olivier with anything." Over twenty witnesses testified to Olivier's defense. One was a man by the name of J. P. Kennedy who testified that he saw Burt French in Portland, OR, on January 2, 1898, little more than a week after Pete French was killed. Kennedy testified that Burt French told him, "I don't like to say anything against my brother, but I can't blame Olivier for doing as he did." A jury found defendant, Edward Olivier, not guilty. Controversy If you wanted to know what happened to Pete French, you would have heard a different tale depending on where you lived. The San Francisco Chronicle received their sourcing through channels biased toward French's largesse. The Portland news accounts were no exception. It seemed the faraway cities feigned sophistication and sanctimony over the incredulity of the death of such a nobleman but the real story lay among those that lived inside of it. A story published in the Oregonian newspaper in Portland on December 28, 1897, two days after French's killing read, "Peter French Dead - Shot and Killed by a Man Named Oliver reported to be a cold-blooded murder-affair occurred at Canyon City." An