Testimony Of Mary E. Bledsoe

The testimony of Mary E. Bledsoe was taken at 9:30 a.m., on April 2, 1964, in the office of the U.S. attorney, 301 Post Office Building, Bryan and Ervay Streets, Dallas, Tex., by Messrs. Joseph A. Ball, David W. Belin, and Albert E. Jenner, Jr., assistant counsel of the President's Commission. Mrs. Mary E. Bledsoe was accompanied by her attorney, Miss Melody June Douthit.

Mr. BALL - Will you stand up, Mrs. Bledsoe , please will you raise your right hand. Do you solemnly swear that the testimony which you are about to give before this Commission will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I do.
Mr. BALL - State your name, please.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Mary E. Bledsoe.
Mr. BALL - And your residence?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - 621 North Marsalis.
Mr. BALL - Mrs. Bledsoe , you received a letter from the counsel for the Commission asking you to be here today, didn't you?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL - And you received that what date? March 26, or was it March 27?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - When? This first time?
Miss DOUTHIT. - No, back.
Mr. BALL - I mean the letter your attorney just showed me. Seventeenth of March?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Mr. BALL - And you have come down here in response to that letter, haven't you?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. BALL - And you are here appearing with your attorney, who is present at this time?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. BALL - You've been asked to give testimony in this matter which concerns an investigation into the assassination of President Kennedy, and certain facts which you have, which I believe that you knew of, and we are going to ask you questions about it. That is the general subject of the investigation.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Mr. BALL - And you are willing to testify, are you not?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. BALL - And give us as much help as you can?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. BALL - What is your---you have given us your address, haven't you?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. BALL - Can you tell me something, briefly, about your past life? Where you were born and what your education was and what your occupation has been?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I was born in the country. Town of about 12 miles from Corsicanna, Tex. My father was a doctor down there, and I was a second child; I have a brother older than I am. And then I moved to Ennis, and then come to Dallas and lived here until I was a little girl, 4 or 5 years old, then I went back down to Ennis and my father practiced medicine in Ennis, Tex., and then about---I married then when I was 17, and then I moved around quite a little while I was married, but-and then my husband and I, we had trouble, and I divorced him in-oh, about in 1925, and I raised my two children by myself, and I have been in the place where I live 24 years, and over on the back, I was--I have been here 43 years in the neighborhood, and I raised both of my boys, and they are grown.
Mr. BALL - Your occupation has been that of a housewife?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes. Well, I had rented rooms, but I had some money my father had given me. I had some money from him.
Mr. BALL - Your present address, you rent rooms, do you?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes; I do, now. I have just started in September again. My son left home, you see, and I started---
Mr. BALL - That was September of 1963?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. BALL - How large a house is that?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, it is all on one floor. And I have four bedrooms, but I rent three.
Mr. BALL - In September of 1963, you were living there alone, were you?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; my son was living there.
Mr. BALL - And he left?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Mr. BALL - Did you rent rooms before your son left your home?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, let's see, now, oh, yes; uh-huh, in September I----
Mr. BALL - Except his bedroom?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes; uh-huh.
Mr. BALL - When he left you rented another bedroom, did you?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well yes; I am trying to. Haven't got it rented.
Mr. BALL - Now, did you ever rent a room in your home to Lee Oswald?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes; uh huh.
Mr. BALL - Can you tell me about the first time that you ever saw him. What the date was?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - The first time I ever saw him or heard of him, I was in the backyard doing a lot of yardwork. I come around the house and he was standing on the porch, and he said, "Do you have a room for rent?"
I had a "for rent" sign out. I said, "Yes" and he said, "May I see it?"
And I wanted--"Yes"; and then I was trying to size him up to get in that room, and--in the house, and I said, "Are you married?"
And he said, "Yes; I am married. I just want this for a short time. My wife lives at Irving."
And then we got inside the house and he had a thing where this---pictures of his wife and baby, and he said he was in the Marine Corps, and I tried to be nice to him, and so, he paid me $7, and---
Mr. BALL - Then did he tell you what his name was?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Oh, yes.
Mr. BALL - What did he say?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - His name was Oswald, and he put it on this thing, and my son took it and sold it.
Mr. BALL - You said he put it on this thing?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - This right here.
Mr. BALL - What is, "this thing"?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Calendar.
Mr. BALL - Well---
Miss DOUTHIT - Mary, why don't you pull up your chair and be comfortable while you are doing this. Now, you are all right.
Mr. BALL - Now, you have a calendar here?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - That is my calendar.
Mr. BALL - That is the calendar for December 1963, and I notice it has dates and names and dates. Is that the way you keep books on your rooms?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes; but I don't now. I did then, because I just had started. The first one I got was in September.
Mr. BALL - September of 1963?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Mr. BALL - He put his name on the calendar?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, got it in September. He got it, my son sold it for $5, and I didn't even know that he tore that out.
Mr. BALL - Now, let me see here in this calendar. It runs from January 1963, to December of 1963, but October of 1963, has been torn out?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh. And he said his name was Lee Oswald was what his name was, and I said, "Well, I can't think of that name Oswald, I will call you Lee."
So, he put it down on the 4th. Just rented for a week, you see, the 7th.
Mr. BALL - You said the 4th?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - On the 7th.
Mr. BALL - On the 7th of October? That is the first day you ever saw him?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Ever saw him.
Mr. BALL - On the 7th of October you rented the room to him, didn't you?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Mr. BALL - And is that the date that he put his name on the calendar?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes; that is the day.
Mr. BALL - He paid you $7?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - $7 in money.
Mr. BALL - That was the rental?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - For one room.
Mr. BALL - For one room for 1 week?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL - When did he move into the room?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Right then.
Mr. BALL - Did he have his things?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Had his things on his hand and had his bag, but after he paid my $7 he went out---I don't know, I think this YMCA, but I am not supposed to know where, and brought back another bag, and then he said, "Well, where is the grocery store?"
Well, I said, "It is down that way," but I didn't want him to use the kitchen, so, he said, "I'm going to get some milk," and so, I didn't like that much, but I didn't say anything about it because I wanted to get along with him.

Mr. BALL - Let me ask you some questions before we commence the grocery store part of it. When you first saw him, did he have his luggage with him?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. BALL - What did he have with him?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - A bag.
Mr. BALL - Will you describe the bag?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I don't remember where---seemed like it was a kind of a duffelbag.
Mr. BALL - The kind the men in the service put their clothes in?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes; and had some on his arm, these coathangers, you know.
Mr. BALL - Had some things on a coathanger?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - And had a clock.
Mr. BALL - Had what?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - A clock, wrapped up.
Mr. BALL - What color was this duffelbag?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I think it was blue.
Mr. BALL - That was the only bag he had with him?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No, he went off to town and got another one.
Mr. BALL - Then he went off to town and brought another bag back, would you describe that?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No, I didn't pay any attention to it.
Mr. BALL - Was it leather or---
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I couldn't say.
Mr. BALL - Could you give me any idea of the size of it?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, it was big. About like that [indicating].
Mr. BALL - About like that, you mean, oh, 8 feet long, 2 feet, 2 1/2?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; about like that.
Mr. BALL - About---
Mrs. BLEDSOE - As well as I remember.
Mr. BALL - About 2 feet long? Was it brown?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I just couldn't remember. I didn't pay any attention to it.
Mr. BALL - Do you remember the color?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. BALL - Do you remember him carrying it into the room?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes; I remember he went in.
Mr. BALL - Now----
Mrs. BLEDSOE - But, I didn't pay any attention. He rented the room, and I didn't pay any attention.
Mr. BALL - Did he carry it by a handle, or in his arms?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I guess he carried it by a handle, but I don't know.
Mr. BALL - He brought 'two bags into this room?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes; wasn't but one when he come in, but next time he went off----
Mr. BALL - He brought another one back?
How did he come out there, do you know?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I don't know. I don't know whether he come here---he come and just knocked on the door. I was in the backyard.
Mr. BALL - After he moved, after he put his bags in his room, did he leave?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; he said---
Mr. BALL - I mean, did he leave to go downtown to get the other bag?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh, and come back.
Mr. BALL - Did you see him leave?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; I didn't see him.
Mr. BALL - The time he went to get the other bag, did you see him?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. BALL - Do you know what kind of transportation he had?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; I guess I didn't pay any attention to him.
Mr. BALL - Did you ever see him drive up in a car?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No, always took a bus.
Mr. BALL - How do you know that?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, I saw--one time he stopped over there across the street and get the bus that is the only time I didn't I didn't watch what he did. Of course, I had no idea he was the kind of man he was.
Mr. BALL - You say that he asked you where the grocery store was?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Mr. BALL - Is that when he came back with this second bag?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes; uh-huh, I got him something to eat.
Mr. BALL - Did you talk to him anything about his using your refrigerator?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well---
Miss DOUTHIT - One question. Ask her how long he was gone and you will know how far he went. That is what I wanted to know.
Mr. BALL - When he left to get this second bag, how long was he gone?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, not over an hour. About an hour. It wasn't a long---- I wondered then where he went, but it wasn't none of my business.
Mr. BALL - You say now not over an hour. Do you think it might have been less than an hour?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes; I believe less than an hour.
Mr. BALL - How much less?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, I'd say 40 minutes, anyway, at most.
Mr. BALL - This was in the afternoon, was it?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes; started at 3 o'clock.
Mr. BALL - At 3 o'clock he came to your home?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. BALL - And then he came back the second time with the second bag before 4, did he?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes; I'm sure he did.
Mr. BALL - Did you talk to him any about the use of the refrigerator?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, he said he was going to put something in there, and I said--I didn't have anything to say, and I hemmed-and hawed, I said, "Well, no; I don't have a very big refrigerator."
Well, he said, "I won't use it after this time." He was very, very congenial.
Mr. BALL - Did he go down to the grocery store?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. BALL - What did he buy?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - He bought some peanut butter and some sardines, and some bananas and put it all in his room, except the milk, and he ate there, ate in his room. I didn't like that either.
Mr. BALL - He was there how many days.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - He was there 5 days, just 5 days.
Mr. BALL - He was there---what day of the week was the day that he came?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Monday and Tuesday he stayed home and went to bed, and stayed I didn't pay any attention to him---
Mr. BALL - Monday night he stayed home?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes; after he went to the grocery store.
Mr. BALL - What about Tuesday?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Tuesday he went out at 9:30 and come home at 2:30. He was looking for a job, and called on the phone, wanted different ones, and I got the book, and papers, and tried to look for him a job, because he was a nice looking boy, and wanted a job.
Mr. BALL - Now, he went out at 9---9:30 in the morning and came back at 2:30?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Let's see. 1:30. I have my nap then, and it kind of interfered, but I didn't say anything.
Mr. BALL - You say you have a what?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I have a nap then.
Mr. BALL - You take a nap in the afternoon?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes; I had a stroke, you see.
Mr. BALL - And it interfered with your nap when he came back?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes; but I didn't say anything then, but then the next day----
Mr. BALL - Let's finish Tuesday.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - All right. That's all.
Mr. BALL - Did he go out again after he came home at 1:30?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. BALL - Stayed in his room?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - All the time, and stayed there that night, too.
Mr. BALL - All the time? What about Wednesday?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - He left about 9 o'clock, and went off dressed. Had a white shirt and white tie and white---white trousers, and looked very nice. Went off Monday about 2 o'clock.
Mr. BALL - This is Wednesday.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Wednesday. Then he got back at 1:30.
Mr. BALL - Let me see, he left at 9?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Mr. BALL - Come back at 1:30?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. BALL - And did he go out again that day?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; but then he talked to somebody on the phone, and talked in a foreign language.
Mr. BALL - You mean when? Wednesday?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - On Wednesday, I guess it was Wednesday, but I am sure it must have been Wednesday. I was in my room, and the telephone is over there [indicating], and I didn't like that, somebody talking in a foreign language and, so I told my girl friend, I said, "I don't like anybody talking in a foreign language."
Mr. BALL - What time of day did he call on the phone and talk in a foreign language?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - He come home at 1:30 and talked about 2 or 2:30, talked like that.
Mr. BALL - Did he go out again that day?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; went to bed.
Mr. BALL - Went to bed that night and stayed there?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - And I didn't fix his room either, that is why I didn't see his luggage. I didn't go in his room at all because they take care of their own rooms.
Mr. BALL - What about Thursday?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Thursday, he went out at 10 o'clock or 10:30, and I was out in the yard, and he come out and I said, "Oh, I thought you had gone."
"Oh, no," he said, he didn't go, but he came home a little bit early, and after I said he got into my nap, he come home at 2 o'clock, or 2:30, you see, and didn't leave until 10.
Mr. BALL - And did you tell him that he interfered with your nap?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. BALL - What day did you tell him that?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I told him that, I guess must have been Thursday. Thursday and then he---
Mr. BALL - You mean Thursday morning?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Mr. BALL - Well, then Thursday morning is when he left a little later than usual?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Mr. BALL - And you told him that he had interfered with your nap before that day?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; I think it was---it must have been---no; it was that day. It was after I had that call. I didn't like that and he never said a word, and then I interviewed him when he first came in and thought he was all right, and he never spoke---I had one boy on the back. He never saw him and he would run to the bathroom and go to the icebox and get some ice, and didn't like that. Went too much to the icebox, but----
Mr. BALL - Well, now---
Mrs. BLEDSOE - That was a Thursday.
Mr. BALL - When he went away on Thursday, then had you told him prior to that time that when he came in at 1:30, in the afternoon, he interfered with your nap?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. BALL - Do you think you might have told him that on Wednesday or Tuesday?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; I didn't tell him until after I had that call.
Mr. BALL - When was the call?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - On Wednesday.
Mr. BALL - And who called you on Wednesday?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - He called somebody, you know.
Mr. BALL - You mean the day that he called someone and spoke in a foreign language?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. BALL - After that, you told him.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I didn't like that.
Mr. BALL - That he interfered with your nap?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh. I didn't like it, and the next day he fussed with somebody on the phone, I don't know whether it was his wife or who it was.
Mr. BALL - That was Thursday?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. BALL - About what time of day?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - About 2 o'clock or 2:30 when he come home here and---
Mr. BALL - Did he go out again that day?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. BALL - Stayed in all day?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Stayed in all day, and it was Friday he stayed in his room all day. Didn't eat. Ate what he had in his room. Stayed in his room all day long.
Mr. BALL - When did you next see him?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Been--then Saturday, he started out and had his bag.
Mr. BALL - Started out with his luggage?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Saturday morning he started out with his bag and
Mr. BALL - Which bag did he take?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I don't know.
Mr. BALL - Was it the duffelbag?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I don't know.
Mr. BALL - Like you see the servicemen carrying?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I guess it was. I didn't pay any attention.
Mr. BALL - This was Saturday morning about what time?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - About 10 o'clock, or 9:30 and I thought he was going to move and I---"Oh---" I said, "You are going to move?"
And he said, "No; I am just going for the weekend."
Well, I said, "Well, I don't know."
But he said, "And I want my room cleaned and clean sheets put on the bed." And I said, "Well, I will after you move because you are going to move." He said, "Why?"
I says, "Because I am not going to rent to you any more."
Mr. BALL - Not going to what?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Not going to rent to you any more. He said, "Give me back my money." Now, $2.
I said, "Well, I don't have it."
So, he left Saturday morning and, in the meantime, I think his wife was going to have a baby----
Mr. BALL - How did you know that?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, I found---I read it in the papers.
Mr. BALL - Did he ever tell you?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No, no; he didn't ever tell me. Didn't tell me anything.
Mr. BALL - You told him you weren't going to rent to him any more on that Saturday morning about 10 o'clock. At that time did he have his bag? Was he carrying a bag?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes; going out with it again. Going out to Irving.
Mr. BALL - How did you know?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, said he was.
Mr. BALL - He told you he was going to Irving?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes; said he was going to Irving.
Mr. BALL - Did he tell you he was going to Irving for any purpose?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; just said he was going to Irving. No; he didn't tell me anything.
Mr. BALL - Why did you tell him you wouldn't rent to him any more?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Because I didn't like him.
Mr. BALL - Why?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I didn't like his attitude. He was just kind of like this, you know, just big shot, you know, and I didn't have anything to say to him, and--but, I didn't like him. There was just something about him I didn't like or want him-- just wasn't the kind of person I wanted. Just didn't want him around me.
Mr. BALL - When he left on Saturday morning do you know by what transportation he took?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Didn't pay any attention.
Mr. BALL - Is there a bus stop near your home?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Right in front of the house.
Mr. BALL - Did you see him take the bus.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; I didn't see him.
Mr. BALL - Did you see him wait for the bus?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; I just saw him go out the door. Didn't pay any attention. And when he left I said--oh, he was going to come back and get his things Saturday. He took it out and said, "Well, it is 2 dollars," and, I---"Well, I don't have it, so, he went off."
Mr. BALL - Well, wait a minute. Did he say he would come back and get the things Saturday?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; he didn't say a thing.
Mr. BALL - Now, wait a minute. Saturday morning you told him you wouldn't rent to him again. What did he say about getting his money back?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, he said, "Well, give me my money back and I will move now." And I said, "I don't have it."
Mr. BALL - Then what did he say?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Didn't say anything and went on out the door.
Mr. BALL - Was there anything said about whether he would come to get his clothes?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; not a thing.
Mr. BALL - Did he come back Saturday night?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. BALL - When did he come back?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Monday morning.
Mr. BALL - And from Saturday morning until Monday morning you didn't see him?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Mr. BALL - What time Monday morning did he come back?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Between 8 and 9, 9 and 10, I mean.
Mr. BALL - When he came back did he have anything with him?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. BALL - Have his bag?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; didn't say a word to him. He--I didn't say a word to him.
Mr. BALL - When he came back did he have anything in his hand?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. BALL - Did you see him leave?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes; I did.
Mr. BALL - What did he take with him?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - He had that bag.
Mr. BALL - What bag?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - The bag, you see, he had two.
Mr. BALL - Yes.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - But, I never noticed it. I don't know what kind it was or anything.
Mr. BALL - When he left, he had one bag when he left?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - One bag.
Mr. BALL - Do you know whether it was the duffelbag?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; I couldn't say for sure.
Mr. BALL - Do you remember what color it was?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; just navy blue. I don't know which one 'he carried, or what they were or what. I didn't pay any attention to it.
Mr. BALL - You don't know whether both bags were navy blue, or different colors?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. BALL - You know one was navy blue?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - That's right.
Mr. BALL - When he left, did he say anything to you?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. BALL - Or did you say anything to him?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No. I said, "Good luck." You know, I thought to myself, "That's good riddance," and I looked in his room and it was all right, and nothing was disturbed.
Mr. BALL - Had he cleaned it up?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; it was dirty.
Mr. BALL - Did he leave anything around the room?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; somehow I saw a map. I believe he left that map.
Mr. BALL - What map?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - A map of Dallas where he could get around to get some places, jobs.
Mr. BALL - What did you do with that map?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Throwed it in the garbage.
Mr. BALL - Threw it away?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. BALL - Was it a map, kind of a map put out by the service stations?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes; one of those kinds. I just threw it away and cleaned up the room. Just threw it away.
Mr. BALL - Did the map have any markings on it?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. BALL - You know--do you know what the markings were?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; didn't pay any attention to it.
Mr. BALL - Now, did you ever see him again?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. BALL - When?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, I thought, "Well, he is gone," and forgot it.
Mr. BALL - But, before you go into that, I notice you have been reading from some notes before you.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, because I forget what I have to say.
Mr. BALL - When did you make those notes?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - What day did I make them?
Miss DOUTHIT - When Mr. Sorrels and I were talking about her going to Washington, he made the suggestion that she put all the things down on paper because she might forget something, and I said, "Mary, you put everything on a piece of paper so that you can remember it and you won't forget anything, you know, what happened," and that's when she started making notes.
Mr. BALL - You have made the notes in the last week?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Miss DOUTHIT - At my suggestion and Mr. Sorrels.
Mr. BALL - You didn't make any notes during the week he was there?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; I didn't pay any attention to him.
Mr. BALL - Your address, make sure that we have this. The address where you were living on the 7th of October was 621 Marsalis--North Marsalis, Dallas. Tex.?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - That's right. Marsalis.
Mr. BALL - And you are still living there, aren't you?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. BALL - And the foreign language that you heard Oswald using over the telephone on this Wednesday afternoon, do you know what the language was?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; I didn't.
Mr. BALL - Are you familiar with the Spanish language?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; I am not. Not familiar with any of them.
Mr. BALL - All you know it was not English?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. BALL - But, you can't tell what language?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. BALL - Can you make a guess?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; I have no idea. I do, because the girl is Spanish, hut I don't know whether he called her or not.
Mr. BALL - What girl is Spanish?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I mean--his wife was Russian.
Mr. BALL - Russian.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I don't know.
Mr. BALL - Now, when did you see Oswald again?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, I went down to the parade. Oh, when was the parade? The 22d of---the next---22d of February---when was the parade?
Mr. BALL - The 22d of November the President came to Dallas.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - And I first got off at Neiman's and I---the parade didn't come on, and I kept walking on up, and walked in front of Titche's over on that side there, and I saw the parade there. He passed--I saw the President, oh, I was happy I got to see him. And--so then I got on across and went over to the Athletic Club, and caught the bus.
Mr. BALL - What bus did you catch?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, I don't remember whether it was the Marsalis or the Romana.
Mr. BALL - Both go by your house, do they? What was the last one?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - The Marsalis.
Mr. BALL - What was the second name?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Romana.
Mr. BALL - And both go west on Elm?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Right--so, I got on the bus, and while it was awfully crowded there----
Mr. BALL - You mean crowded on the bus?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; outside.
Mr. BALL - Were there many people on the bus?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. BALL - How many people on the bus?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Oh, about 10.
Mr. BALL - And what was the location on Elm where you boarded this bus?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - At the Athletic Club.
Mr. BALL - What cross street is that, do you remember?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - St. Paul.
Mr. BALL - St. Paul? You got on at St. Paul? St. Paul and Elm?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Mr. BALL - And the bus was going in what direction?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - West.
Mr. BALL - All right, now, tell me what happened?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - And, after we got past Akard, at Murphy---I figured it out. Let's see. I don't know for sure. Oswald got on. He looks like a maniac. His sleeve was out here [indicating]. His shirt was undone.
Mr. BALL - You are indicating a sleeve of a shirt?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. BALL - It was unraveled?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Was a hole in it, hole, and he was dirty, and I didn't look at him. I didn't want to know 1 even seen him, and I just looked off, and then about that time the motorman said the President had been shot, and I sit--when I go to town I sit this way on the bus. The motorman is right there [indicating], and I sit right there so that I can get off.
Mr. BALL - You mean--where do you sit with reference to the motorman, one seat or two seats behind him?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I don't--the motorman is here, and I sit across in the seat across the way.
Mr. BALL - Now, on this day when you boarded the bus, is that the seat you took?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I always did.
Mr. BALL - Would that be the first seat on the right-hand side?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. BALL - First seat on the bus?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well----
Miss DOUTHIT - Side seat.
Mr. BALL - Oh, it is a side seat? Was that side seat so that you were facing the motorman?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Mr. BALL - When Oswald got on, you then weren't facing him, were you?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; but I saw that it was him.
Mr. BALL - How close did he pass to you as he boarded the bus?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Just in front of me. Just like this [indicating].
Mr. BALL - Just a matter of a foot or two?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Mr. BALL - When he got on the bus, did he say anything to the motorman?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Oh, the motorman? I think--I don't know. I don't know.
Mr. BALL - Where did he sit?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - He sat about halfway back down.
Mr. BALL - On what side?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - On the same side I was on.
Mr. BALL - Same side
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No, sir.
Mr. BALL - Did he look at you as he went by? Did he look at you?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I don't know. I didn't look at him. That is---I was just---he looked so bad in his face, and his face was so distorted.
Mr. BALL - Did he have a hat on?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. BALL - Now, what color shirt did he have on?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - He had a brown shirt.
Mr. BALL - And unraveled?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Hole in his sleeve right here [indicating].
Mr. BALL - Which is the elbow of the sleeve? That is, you pointed to the elbow?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, it is.
Mr. BALL - And that would be which elbow, right or left elbow?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Right.
Mr. BALL - Did he have anything on. Was the shirt open or was it buttoned?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes; all the buttons torn off.
Mr. BALL - What did he have on underneath that?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I don't know.
Mr. BALL - Do you know the color of any undershirt he had on?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. BALL - Notice the color of his pants?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes, they were gray, and they were all ragged in here [indicating].
Mr. BALL - Around where?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - At the seam.
Mr. BALL - At the waist?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - At the waist, uh-huh.
Mr. BALL - Was the shirt tucked beneath the belt in his pants, or outside the belt?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; he had it in.
Mr. BALL - Had it tucked in?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No: it was tucked in.
Mr. BALL - So, that the belt of the pants was outside the shirt?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes; uh-huh.
Mr. BALL - Now, you say the motorman said something?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Motorman said. "Well, the President has been shot," and I say--so, and the woman over--we all got to talking about four of us sitting around talking, and Oswald was sitting back there, and one of them said, "Hope they don't shoot us," and I said, "I don't believe that--it is--I don't believe it. Somebody just said that.
And it was too crowded, you see, and Oswald had got off.
Mr. BALL - How far had he been on the bus before he got off? Until the time he got on until the time he got off?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - About three or four blocks.
Mr. BALL - Did he say anything to the motorman when he got off?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - They say he did, but I don't remember him saying anything.
Mr. BALL - Did you ever see the motorman give him a transfer?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; I didn't pay any attention but I believe he did.
Mr. BALL - Well, what do you mean he---you believe he did? Did you remember seeing him get on or are you telling me something you read in the newspapers?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; I don't remember. I don't remember.
Mr. BALL - Did you pay any attention at that time as to whether he did, or did not get a transfer?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I didn't pay any attention to him.
Mr. BALL - Well, did you look at him as he got off the bus?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; I sure didn't. I didn't want to know him.
Mr. BALL - Well, you think you got enough of a glimpse of him to be able to recognize him?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Oh, yes.
Mr. BALL - You think you might be mistaken?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Oh, no.
Mr. BALL - You didn't look very carefully, did you?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; I just glanced at him, and then looked the other way and I hoped he didn't see me.
Mr. BALL - Now, are there two exits from the bus?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Mr. BALL - The middle of the bus, and front of the bus?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Mr. BALL - Which exit did he leave?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Front.
Mr. BALL - By the motorman?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh, by the motorman.
Mr. BALL - Did anybody else get off at that time when he got off?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No, not then, but there was a lady sitting right across, she wanted to go to the train station.
Mr. BALL - To the what station?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Train station, and she was worried about trying to get off, you know, trying to get there, and then we were hearing her, and I said, "Well, why don't you walk over there. It's just a little ways." Because the crowd was so bad we still didn't know the President had been killed, and finally she got off, but I think it was---it was before---I mean after Oswald did.
Mr. BALL - Did she ask for a transfer?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes; she had the man give her one, because she caught the bus before she got to the train station.
Mr. BALL - How do you know that?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, I saw her.
Mr. BALL - You saw her catch another bus?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - She got on when we did. She rode a block.
Mr. BALL - Did anybody get off when the lady got off? Any body that was going to the train station?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. BALL - Was there traffic? Was the traffic heavy?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Oh, it was awful in the city, and then they had roped off that around where the President was killed, shot, and we were the first car that come around there, and then all of us were talking about the man, and we were looking up to see where he was shot and looking---and then they had one man and taking him already got him in jail, and we got----"Well, I am glad they found him."
Mr. BALL - You were looking up at where?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - At where the boy was shot.
Mr. BALL - You mean the Texas Book Depository?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes, uh-huh.
Mr. BALL - School Book Depository?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh, because we were right four blocks from there, you see.
Mr. BALL - Can you tell me the location of the bus with reference to a cross street on Elm where Oswald got off?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; I can't, because they have changed that street, so, they have torn down things and I don't go town very much now and so I don't-----
Mr. BALL - Was it in the middle of the block, or at a regular bus stop?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, they said it was.
Mr. BALL - I want to know what you remember.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; I don't remember.
Mr. BALL - Do you remember whether it was a regular bus stop or not?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; I didn't pay any attention.
Mr. BALL - Did Oswald get on at a regular bus stop?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I didn't pay any particular attention to him.
Mr. BALL - Do you remember anyone knocking on the door, and as a result, the motorman opened the front door?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. BALL - You don't remember that?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I don't remember.
Mr. BALL - You are not able to say whether Oswald got on at a regular bus stop, or at a point between blocks?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. BALL - And you are not able to tell us whether he got off at regular bus stops, or between.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - That's right.
Mr. BALL - Now, had the bus gone as far as Lamar Street, when Oswald got off?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes. No; I think before we got to Lamar Street.
Mr. BALL - How far?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well---
Mr. BALL - Close to Lamar?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes, close.
Mr. BALL - How close?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, I couldn't say.
Mr. BALL - Within a half block, or block?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; within a block.
Mr. BALL - About a block from Lamar, you think?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Mr. BALL - It was approaching Lamar, wasn't it?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Mr. BALL - When did you first notify the police that you believe you'd seen Oswald?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - When I got home, first thing I did I went next door and told them the President had been shot, and he said, "Why, he has got killed." Well, I turned on the radio--television--and we heard ambulances and going around and there was a little boy came in that room in the back and he turned it on, and we listened and hear about the President, only one I was interested in, so, he went on back to work and they kept talking about this boy Oswald and had on a brown shirt, and all of a sudden, well, I declare, I believe that this was this boy, and his name was Oswald---that is---give me his right name, you know, and so, about an hour my son came home, and I told him and he immediately called the police and told them, because we wanted to do all we could, and so, I went down the next night. He took me down, and I made a statement to them, what kind of---Secret Service man or something down there.
Mr. BALL - Where?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - At the police station.
Mr. BALL - Uh-huh. Now, did you ever see Oswald in a lineup?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. BALL - Never did see Oswald after he was arrested?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Not after he got off the bus; no.
Mr. BALL - But, you looked at the pictures of Oswald?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. BALL - Showed you the pictures of Oswald?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - The man down at the police station, he had a picture of him with a gun, and said, "Do you recognize him?"
And I said, "Yes; it is Oswald." That is the one that I remember him.
Mr. BALL - Do you know the name of the man who showed you the picture of the man with the gun?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I am so bad about names.
Mr. BALL - Was there one man or more than one man?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Oh, about a dozen.
Mr. BALL - Oh, a dozen men?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - There sure was a lot of them. Two Secret Service men, and two to do this, and oh, I had interviewed about 9 or 10 or 12, plenty of them.
Mr. BALL - Now, I have got a piece of clothing here, which is marked---
Mrs. BLEDSOE - That is it.
Mr. BALL - Commission Exhibit 150.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - That is it.
Mr. BALL - This is a shirt.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - That is it.
Mr. BALL - What do you mean by "that is it?"
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Because they brought it out to the house and showed it.
Mr. BALL - I know. What do you mean by "that is it?"
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, because I can recognize it.
Mr. BALL - Recognize it as what?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes, sir; see there?
Mr. BALL - Yes. You tell me what do you see here? What permits you to recognize it?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I recognize---first thing I notice the elbow is out and then I saw---when the man brought it out and let me see it?
Mr. BALL - No, I am talking about---I am showing you this shirt now, and you said, "That is it." You mean---What do you mean by "that is it"?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - That is the one he had out there that day?
Mr. BALL - Who had it out there?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Some Secret Service man.
Mr. BALL - He brought it out. Now, I am---you have seen this shirt then before?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. BALL - It was brought out by the Secret Service man and shown to you?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. BALL - Had you ever seen the shirt before that?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well---
Mr. BALL - Have you?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; he had it on, though.
Mr. BALL - Who had it on?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Oswald.
Mr. BALL - Oswald had it on?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Oswald had it on.
Mr. BALL - Now, what is there about the shirt that makes you believe that this is the shirt that Oswald had on when he was on the bus? What is there about it?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, let's see the front of it. Yes See all this [indicating]? I remember that.
Mr. BALL - Tell me what you see there?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I saw the---no; not so much that. It was done after---that is part I recognize more than anything.
Mr. BALL - You are pointing to a hole in the right elbow?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. BALL - What about the color?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, I---What do you mean?
Mr. BALL - Well----
Mrs. BLEDSOE - When he had it on?
Mr. BALL - Yes.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Before he was shot? Yes; I remember it being brown.
Mr. BALL - You remember the shirt being brown. Was it this color?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes; it was that color.
Mr. BALL - In other words, when you remember that you have seen something before---
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Mr. BALL - In order to convince me that you did see it before you've got to tell me what there is about it that is the same, you see. Now, you try to convince me, or tell me why it is that you believe that this is the shirt that Oswald had on when you saw him on the bus?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, I would say it was. That hole---
Mr. BALL - Mostly the hole in the right sleeve?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. BALL - What about the color?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes; I remember the color.
Mr. BALL - That is a similar color, isn't it?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; same color.
Mr. BALL - Same color?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Mr. BALL - You think that is the shirt?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes; it is the shirt.
Mr. BALL - Had you ever seen him wear this shirt before, when he was around your house?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. BALL - First time you ever saw the shirt was when you saw him on the bus?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Mr. BALL - I have two exhibits here. One Commission Exhibit 157, Exhibit 157, and Commission 156, both pants. Have you ever seen either one of those before?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Now, is that long pants?
Mr. BALL - Yes; this is 157.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, that is not the ones he had on.
Mr. BALL - That is not?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; it was ragged up at the top.
Mr. BALL - This other pair of pants, 156, does that look like any of the pants he had on?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - That must have been it, but seemed like it was ragged up at the top.
Mr. BALL - But, you think 156 may have been the pair of pants he had on?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. BALL - You think 157---don't pay any attention to the fact that it is cut up does 157 look anything like the pants he had on?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; I don't---
Mr. BALL - You don't think so?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No, sir.
Mr. BALL - I have no more questions to ask you now, Mrs. Bledsoe , but Mr. Jenner will ask you some questions.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - All right.
Mr. JENNER - I will get up here close so you will hear me all right.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - All right.
Mr. JENNER - I would like to go back to the day that he came to your home on the 7th of October?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Mr. JENNER - You were out in your backyard?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Mr. JENNER - And did he come back there?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. JENNER - Did you have a bell on your house?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - He knocked at the door.
Mr. JENNER - He knocked at the door and you heard him knock at the door?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - And I went around the front.
Mr. JENNER - And your home is all at one level?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. JENNER - So, you walked through your house?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; I went through the yard and come around from the back to the front yard.
Mr. JENNER - And you saw a young man at the door?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Mr. JENNER - How was that young man dressed on that occasion?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I don't remember what he had on. Didn't pay any attention. He was clean and that's all you see, but I didn't know what color the pants were and what kind of shirt it was.
Mr. JENNER - Well, did he have a suit on or sportscoat, or just his shirt?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Just the shirt. It was hot weather. October.
Mr. JENNER - Do you recall--did he have a tie on?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. JENNER - The shirt, that was open at the front?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes, it wasn't those short shirts. I don't know what kind it was. I didn't pay any attention to him.
Mr. JENNER - And this was a Monday morning.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Monday afternoon.
Mr. JENNER - Monday afternoon. Did he have a hat on?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. JENNER - Was he did he have any luggage?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes; had one bag, I don't know whether it was a duffel or what, but then he went on and got another one.
Mr. JENNER - Well, if you will permit me to stay with what he had when you first saw him---
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Mr. JENNER - You call on your recollection and tell me all you can tell me about the bag he had at that time, its size, its shape. In another connection, Mrs. Bledsoe , it is prior events that are important to us. If we can possibly find out or get as accurate a description as you can give us. Sit there relaxed and tell us what you remember about this bag, what size it was; what shape it was; whether it was hard; whether it was soft, what color it was.
Was it zippered? How was it fastened?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I don't know whether it was zippered or not. But seems to me like it was, though.
Mr. JENNER - Just start from the beginning and tell us what you remember about the bag that he had when you first saw him at the door.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, it was just a blue---like a canvas bag.
Mr. JENNER - Canvas?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - And, I don't know whether it was zippered or not.
Mr. JENNER - You don't recall a zippered sort of bag?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I didn't even look. It was about that long, I guess [indicating].
Mr. JENNER - You are indicating about 26 inches?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. JENNER - About that long.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Then, he had some things on his back.
Mr. JENNER - Now, would you mind if we stuck with the bag?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, that's all.
Mr. JENNER - Well, it was 26 inches long and you think it was canvas, and you think it was blue in color?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. JENNER - What was its shape? Was it a round sort of soft kind of bag or was it--did it have firm, stiff sides? Was it rectangular?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, I couldn't say. Couldn't say. Didn't pay any attention to it.
Mr. JENNER - Your recollection does serve you that it was not what we would call a suitcase?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; looked like an inexpensive bag of some kind.
Mr. JENNER - And your memory doesn't serve you that there was any sort of zipper thing, and you do seem to have a reasonably firm recollection that the color of it was blue?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Mr. JENNER - Did it have a handle on it?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. JENNER - When he picked it up
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, that is---
Mr. JENNER - I was trying to get an idea, and well--I have a coat here, and using it for purposes of illustration, when he picked up the bag by the handles did the bag sag, or was it firm?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I didn't pay any attention. Didn't pay a bit of attention.
Mr. JENNER - Now, I notice from your testimony that he also had, on this occasion, at this time, in addition to the canvas bag, blue in color, he had some things over his arm, or over his shoulder?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - On a coathanger.
Mr. JENNER - He had some articles of clothing?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - On coathangers.
Mr. JENNER - On coathangers?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. JENNER - And were those draped back over the shoulder or arm, or was he holding them by the hooks or hooks on the hangers?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I think he had them on coathangers, just--I guess--I don't know--he was standing there. I don't have no idea.
Mr. JENNER - Just how he was carrying them, you are uncertain, but you are certain that he had articles of clothing on hangers?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - On coathangers.
Mr. JENNER - Were---would they be wooden coathangers or the metal?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Metal ones.
Mr. JENNER - The type you get when you send clothes to the cleaners and they come back on these wire, metal hangers, what-is that the type?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, I imagine. I couldn't tell. Now, I--no; I didn't pay any attention to him.
Mr. JENNER - Your recollection serves you now that there were hangers, but you cannot recall whether they were the wire type or whether they were wooden?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - When he left, he just carried them off. I never did look at his clothes at all.
Mr. JENNER - You impress me as a lady that wouldn't be fussing around?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I didn't care enough about it. All I wanted him to do was rent the room.
Mr. JENNER - Now, you had a discussion, and you rented the room to him for $7 for that week?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Mr. JENNER - And he paid you then and there?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh
Mr. JENNER - In cash?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes; and I gave him a receipt on this book.
Mr. JENNER - Now, he then left your home?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Mr. JENNER - Did he say anything about why he was leaving?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - He went to the grocery store. No, no ; first he went to get his other bag.
Mr. JENNER - What did he say then?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Didn't say anything.
Mr. JENNER - How did you come to know that he went to get another bag?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - He didn't say--he just went off.
Mr. JENNER - He just turned around without any leave taking?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; because he was not a man to talk, you know, what I got out of him, I had to get it out of him, because it was hard to---because I wanted to see what kind of a person he was, and it was hard to get, you know, to judge him in such a short time.
Mr. JENNER - When you completed the transaction about his renting the room and you got your $7, he paid it to you, so it was agreed he had the room for a week, did he go in and look at the room before he paid you the $7?

Mrs. BLEDSOE - He was in the room, and I was at the door, and he looked at it and I said, $7, so, he took it and give me the money all in ones, $7.
Mr. JENNER - Seven $1 bills?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Seven $1 bills, and then he come over to my room and I---he wrote it down, and it is a good thing I had him write it, because I am kind of nervous, and I don't write so well, see, and he put it down on that, and that---

and so, that is---this is in September, but anyway---
Mr. JENNER - Yes; I appreciate that.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - October
Mr. JENNER - Well
Miss DOUTHIT - Let me ask her this question about that bag, if it was puffed out, or approximately what shape it was, also, as to any further conversation that she had as to his background, .how much she knows., If you are interested. You might not be.
Mr. JENNER - Mr. Robert Davis of the attorney generals office of Texas has come in, and I am not seeking to press you, but we have some problems of the highest degree of exactitude that we can obtain. And at the risk of boring you, I would like to go back to that bag again.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Oh, that; I didn't pay much attention to it.
Mr. JENNER - When you first saw him at the door at your front of your home, he had the bag?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. JENNER - Was it resting on the porch, or was he standing before the door with bag in hand when you first saw him?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I come around the house, you see, and I don't know. I didn't pay--I don't know, couldn't tell you whether he was carrying it or what, but he did have these things on his shoulder, on his hangers. It--maybe had it sitting down, I don't know. I guess he did. I didn't pay any attention to it.
Mr. JENNER - And at that point you were asking why he was there?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; he asked me if I had a room for rent.
Mr. JENNER - Yes.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - And I said, "Yes," and I thought, "Well, are you married?"
And he said, "Yes," and
Mr. JENNER - You asked?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Mr. JENNER - You inquired of him as to his history?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. JENNER - What did you inquire of him, and what did he say?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, I wanted to find out something about him, and he said, "Well, I just want the room for a week or two, because I am going to get a job and then I will have my wife here."
Mr. JENNER - He told you at that time and informed you that he was unemployed?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. JENNER - And he would be seeking work?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. JENNER - And he said that he was going to bring his wife?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. JENNER - And--when and if he obtained employment?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - And so, that give me a lead, something to talk about, and I said, "Well, what kind of work do you do? "Oh, I do electronics," he said, and I said, "Well, there is some good jobs because you are young, and you can get a good job a young man like you."
And then went on. Then something about him being in the Marines, and I said, "Well, that is wonderful. My son was in the Navy." And talking about him, you know, just getting to know him, and--but, "here is a picture of my wife, and picture of the girl, and the baby." And I said, "Oh, she has got a baby, hasn't she?" And he said, "Yes."
And everything he said, I had to pull it out of him to talk about something for him to say what it was.
Mr. JENNER - But, he volunteered the picture of his wife and child?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes; he did that. Showed me that picture.
Mr. JENNER - Was that an ordinary snapshot picture?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh. It was in his billfold.
Mr. JENNER - Took it out of his billfold?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No, sir; it was in the billfold. just showed it in the billfold.
Mr. JENNER - I see. I have a billfold here. Was it this type?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; it was something else. Don't seem like it was like that.
Mr. JENNER - This?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes; I think it was like that.
Mr. JENNER - Did he carry it in his trouser pocket, coat pocket?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I didn't pay any attention where he had it.
Mr. JENNER - What other inquiries did you make of him to become better acquainted and find out about him?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - He said he had been in the Marines and I thought that was a pretty good recommendation, and I said, "Well, you won't have any trouble at all getting any job."
And so, the next morning I was helping him looking for a job.
Mr. JENNER - Now, pardon me, if you will just stick to while you're at the door now.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well---
Mr. JENNER - And---
Miss DOUTHIT - Just one interruption. but find out if this conversation took place at the door, or after he got in the room. They are in this room, you see.
Mr. JENNER - You went inside the house almost immediately?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes; I did.
Mr. JENNER - When he first made an inquiry?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. JENNER - And you took him to show him the room?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. JENNER - And your inquiries were with respect to his history were in the room?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes; uh-huh.
Mr. JENNER - And he showed you the picture while you were in the room?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I think so.
Mr. JENNER - And I take it, am I correct, when you went into the room he had that bag, and he had the articles of clothing?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. JENNER - And had them with him, didn't leave them on the porch?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. JENNER - What did he do with the bag when he entered the room? Did he put it down on the floor?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Didn't pay any attention.
Mr. JENNER - Didn't pay any attention? What did he do with the articles of clothing on the hangers.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I wasn't paying any attention to it. I guess he hung them up. Just a young boy, and I was trying to see if he was clean, and if he' was very intelligent, and he was going to go to work, so, I didn't have too much to work on. Told me he had a nice wife, so, I. didn't have anything to say.
Mr. JENNER - When your son was in the Navy, did he have a duffelbag?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No. Now, it was so long ago--it was--I don't know whether he did. I don't think he did. He didn't. He was an instructor at TI.
Mr. JENNER - Was he stationed here in Dallas?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No, TI. Treasure Island.
Mr. JENNER - Oh, Treasure Island. How long did this discussion with him in the room take?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Oh, I guess 10 minutes because those he was--you know, old people, they want to get you out of the way. They don't want to listen to you, but I wanted to find out, so, I think I maybe asked him too many questions, but I wanted him to say something to me and he said something about his--I said, "Do you have a family here," and he said, "Yes, my family lives here."
Well, he wouldn't say his mother or anything, and I didn't ask him everything.
Miss DOUTHIT - Well--
Mr. JENNER - All right.
(Discussion off the record.)
Mr. JENNER - Did you notice anything in addition to the hangers with respect to these clothes? Were the articles of clothing enclosed in any kind of a bag or paper, plastic, or otherwise?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No, just on hangers.
Mr. JENNER - Just on hangers.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - But I didn't pay any attention to what kind of--I think maybe a coat. I don't know what it was, a sweater or something.
Mr. JENNER - Did you see how many articles of clothing were there?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Oh, about four.
Mr. JENNER - And none of them was enclosed in any kind of a container, plastic or otherwise?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. JENNER - Was he pleasant during all of the conversation you had with him?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Was the first day. Next day didn't talk any more. I didn't talk to him.
Mr. JENNER - As soon as he--recalling to mind that he paid you the $7.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. JENNER - Did any further conversation take place after he paid you the $7?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes; that is when he asked where the grocery store was.
Mr. JENNER - I see. What else?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, he didn't say anything about going to get the rest of his things. I think that he must have been-said that after he came back with the other bag.
Mr. JENNER - Must have said what?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Where was the grocery store, after he come back and got the other----
Mr. JENNER - So, your recollection presently serves you that he paid you the $7 and no further conversation took place?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. JENNER - He turned and left the room?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I--he was--I was in the room, I just walked out.
Mr. JENNER - You walked out after the transaction, financially, was complete?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I went and he paid--he had already paid me but I wanted him to put his name on here.
Mr. JENNER - On your register?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - On this [indicating].
Mr. JENNER - He did that
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. JENNER - In your presence?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes; in the living room.
Mr. JENNER - Your recollection was that he wrote the words "Lee Oswald"?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Lee Oswald.
Mr. JENNER - Then did he leave your home?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes; huh.
Mr. JENNER - Without saying anything to you?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. JENNER - And he was gone--did he return?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes; within about 40 minutes, I guess.
Mr. JENNER - And he was gone about 40 minutes?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - And got the rest of his things.
Mr. JENNER - When he returned did you see him before he entered your home?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I don't remember.
Mr. JENNER - Do you have a recollection of having seen him before he entered his room?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. JENNER - When did you become aware of the fact he had returned?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, I must have heard him, or he might have come in and put his milk in the icebox.
Mr. JENNER - Well, he didn't get the milk, as far as I recall, until you'd advised him where the grocery store was.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Mr. JENNER - That was after he had returned from the----
Mrs. BLEDSOE - From the---
Mr. JENNER - After this 40-minute interval? I am just sticking for the moment to the time that he returned to your home after 40 minutes.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Mr. JENNER - He had put his name in your register and in your presence, in the living room, and turned and left your home and returned in 40 minutes; now, is that right? It's that point that I am concentrating on. When did you become aware that he had returned on that occasion and how?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, I don't know--I guess he come and put the things in the icebox. I don't even remember where I was.
Mr. JENNER - I see. So, that you didn't see him return to your home?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I didn't see him come in.
Mr. JENNER - Didn't see him come in?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. JENNER - And you didn't know what he had with him at that point?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. JENNER - To the best of your ability where was he in your home when you became aware of his presence on his return after that 40 minutes?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I must have been in the kitchen and he came back there and put the milk in, I guess.
Mr. JENNER - Did he have milk with him after he returned that 40 minutes?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No, not the 40 minutes. That was the bag.
Mr. JENNER - See, this is what I'm trying to concentrate on for the moment, before you get the milk. And I am trying to take it sequentially. He paid the $7 and signed the register in your living room?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. JENNER - And without any further words to you he turned and left Your home, is that accurate?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes; that's about right.
Mr. JENNER - He returned in 40 minutes?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Mr. JENNER - Now, sticking right to that point, when did you become aware of the fact that he was then back ,in your home, that is, at that point?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - That he he hadn't gotten the milk yet?
Mr. JENNER - No; this is when he first returned.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, I don't know. I was just around the house. I didn't pay any attention to him.
Mr. JENNER - So, I take it, then, when he made that first trip back, you didn't see him?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. JENNER - You don't know what he had with him on that occasion?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, I guess he had the bag, didn't he?
Mr. JENNER - I want to stick with what you knew at that instant of time. What you found out afterwards, I'll go into that in a moment. You didn't see him return?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. JENNER - You don't know what he had with him when he returned?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. JENNER - At that instance, because you didn't see him?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. JENNER - But, you were aware; now, you became aware of the fact that he did return?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. JENNER - Did you have a conversation with him at that point?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. JENNER - When did you become aware and I gather from your earlier testimony you became aware that he had brought that into your home, or there was in your home some additional luggage. When you first saw him he had this soft canvas bag, or canvas bag, whether it was soft or not that is uncertain.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. JENNER - And then you became aware later that day that there was another piece of luggage, and, am I correct about that?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Now, I think he said he was going to get some more. He was going to get some more and he had some boots, too, in his hand maybe he brought those the last time. I don't remember.
Mr. JENNER - What kind of boots?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, they looked like they were about up to here [indicating].
Mr. JENNER - Up to the knee?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; about there [indicating].
Mr. JENNER - Oh,----
Mrs. BLEDSOE - There.
Mr. JENNER - Just a little above the ankle?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Mr. JENNER - About 3 inches above the ankle?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I don't know what they used them for.
Mr. JENNER - Were they cowboy boots?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; it wasn't cowboy boots.
Mr. JENNER - Were they canvas, leather, or rubber?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; just leather
Mr. JENNER - Heavy-soled?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Heavy-soled.
Mr. JENNER - Heavy-soled. Rubber soles?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Oh, no; leather.
Mr. JENNER - Any hobnails in them?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. JENNER - Hard heel or fiat heel? I mean, flat sole and heel?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Oh, they had a heel, too. I remember them having that. He must have brought those in when he brought those the last time.
Mr. JENNER - You do not recall his having the boots at the time you first--at the first time you talked to him?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; I don't believe he did.
Mr. JENNER - But, you became aware of the boots afterward?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Mr. JENNER - At, or about, or after the time he returned from this 40-minute absence?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Mr. JENNER - And was it at the time you noticed the boots, did you also notice that he had additional items of luggage?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, he went to get the luggage.
Mr. JENNER - Did he say that?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; I don't know whether he did or not. I know he I don't know.
Mr. JENNER - Did you have a thought in mind when he left after he paid you the $7 and signed your register that he was going somewhere to obtain additional articles of clothing?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, I thought that.
Mr. JENNER - You thought that? He didn't say anything to you about that, however?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; he didn't say anything. Didn't talk much.
Mr. JENNER - It is clear in your mind that he Just turned around after you finished the transaction and left and returned in 40 minutes?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I thought he said he had to get some groceries, but maybe that was after he got the luggage, I don't remember.
Mr. JENNER - You had become aware that afternoon that he had additional articles of luggage?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Come in about 3, about 4 he got the rest of the luggage.
Mr. JENNER - Now, this additional article of luggage, would you describe it, as compared with----
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I didn't pay any----
Mr. JENNER - Please. As compared with this canvas bag, blue in color, that you just told me about?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; I didn't pay no attention to it at all. It was just a piece of luggage.
Mr. JENNER - Well, was it a---
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I don't----
Mr. JENNER - What I would call a suitcase or what you might call a suitcase?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; it wasn't a regular suitcase, but just something inexpensive, just something the boys have, and I didn't pay any attention to him.
Mr. JENNER - Was it hard-sided?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; it was a--you know, it was weak, you know.
Mr. JENNER - Uh-huh. It was weak. Was it strong enough so that it had a rectangular shape?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. JENNER - You know what I mean by suitcase?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. JENNER - It is reasonably firm and hard, and has a handle on it?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; it wasn't that way. One of those inexpensive kind of things, but I don't know whether it was canvas or what.
Mr. JENNER - Was it firmer in shape than the canvas bag you have described to me that he had earlier?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No. Well, I think it was chuck full.
Mr. JENNER - You how it was?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh. It was, I remember. I don't---
Mr. JENNER - Do you remember the color?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No. One of them was blue, and I don't know which one or anything about it.
Mr. JENNER - I See.
Miss DOUTHIT - Let me ask her something.
Mary, would it help you to remember this if you would just begin, you were out in the yard, and you went around and interviewed this man there, did you stand in the yard, or go in your room and talk? Did he put up his things then before he came across the hall to talk to you? When did he ask you about groceries? After he signed your register did he go back in his room and hang his clothes up, or what happened? Would it help if you just sit here idly without anybody asking you questions and see? Did you go back out in the yard after he paid you the money, and while he was gone---if you can, just retrace your steps without anybody interrupting you. Could you begin and go again out in the yard, and went around and saw this man here, and he told you he wanted to rent a room, whether you stood on the porch and talked to him, or whether he brought his things and you went on and showed him the room? How far is the room from where your front door was? If you go down a hall, how far? Did you go over there and talk to him and make arrangements about the rent of the room? Did he hang up his clothes while he was in the room?
Did he if you can just trace your steps and give it to him. I ask you to do that, and I know it is confusing, but that's all he wants.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, I am getting tired.
Miss DOUTHIT - All he wants is the truth, and I thought maybe you might, for the sake of the record, you know----
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, I would have---we have said most everything.
Miss DOUTHIT - I know it, but just do it one more time. The man was standing at your front door----
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I am getting tired, because I have had a stroke, you see.
Miss DOUTHIT - Did you go back out in the yard?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; I stayed in.
Miss DOUTHIT - Did he leave your house twice? Now, you said he went and got a bag and brought it back?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes; he did, brought back the bag.
Miss DOUTHIT - Then he went back again?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Miss DOUTHIT - How long was he---all I want to know is just, if you can just tell that in your own words without any questions. Could you just do that?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, I'd rather they asked, because---
Miss DOUTHIT - I know, but it is hard for them to ask these particular questions, because they don't know exactly what happened. All they want to do is to say that you were in the room with him, and put this little bag down and hung up his clothes, and came across the hall and signed the register, see.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, that's all. I don't know whether he put his clothes and what in the other room. I don't know whether he put his bag---
Miss DOUTHIT - Was there a closet in there?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Miss DOUTHIT - Well, were you with him when he put the clothes in the closet, or did you go on across the hall and leave him?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Oh, no; I didn't pay any attention to him.
Miss DOUTHIT - Did you leave his presence---Mary, pardon me, I am not--- this is not for the record.
Mr. JENNER - No; that's fine, leave it on the record.
Miss DOUTHIT - All right. When the man was on your front porch.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Miss DOUTHIT - He had a blue bag in there?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Miss DOUTHIT - And you don't know whether it was round or bulging, you just don't know?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Miss DOUTHIT - You don't know whether it had a long strap or a little handle, do you?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I think it had a handle.
Miss DOUTHIT - But, it wasn't one you sling over your shoulder?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Miss DOUTHIT - All right, can you go ahead?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Clothes were sort of hanging over here [indicating].
Miss DOUTHIT - Uh-huh. Not covered or anything?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Miss DOUTHIT - You couldn't tell anybody about what color the clothes were, could you?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Miss DOUTHIT - Did you stand in the yard and talk to the young man? Or immediately go into the room?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, I immediately---I was talking to him, but I had to go in immediately, because he wanted to see the room.
Miss DOUTHIT - All right. How far is it, Mrs. Bledsoe , from where you met this man at the front door until you showed him the room?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, it is about 25 foot, and all that time I had to size him up, you see.
Miss DOUTHIT - You were talking to him as you went down the hall?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes; getting----
Miss DOUTHIT - Is that where you learned that he was married, as you were walking down the hall?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; he told me he was married before we went in the house.
Miss DOUTHIT - All right, then, when you got to the room, did, you both walk inside the room, or stand in the door and talk?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I stood in the door, and he went in and looked at it and took it.
Miss DOUTHIT - Did he keep his clothes?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I didn't pay any attention.
Miss DOUTHIT - When he was talking to you, you don't know what he did, just stood and talked to you?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Miss DOUTHIT - Did you leave his presence before he came into your room and signed the register?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Now, that, Melody---
Miss DOUTHIT - Were you with, him? And took him into the room, and---
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Says, "I'll take the room."
Miss DOUTHIT - Did you leave him in the room and you go on across to your room? How far is your room from where you rented his room?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Right next to it. No; he came on in, he came on back behind me.
Miss DOUTHIT - He never left your presence from the time you went in this room until he came over here?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Miss DOUTHIT - All right, did he put his things in your room---or bring them with him?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; he left them in the room.
Miss DOUTHIT - All right, you don't know where he put them?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; didn't pay any attention to him.
Miss DOUTHIT - Is there a closet in that room?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Miss DOUTHIT - You don't remember whether he hung his clothes in the closet?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Miss DOUTHIT - But, he left and came over where you were and signed your register, and then did he go back into his room or go down the hall and leave. the house?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, went back in his room.
Miss DOUTHIT - All right. You don't know how long he stayed in his room?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Miss DOUTHIT - Now, before he left your room, did he tell you anything about going and getting additional luggage, or did you know when he was leaving the room?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, I didn't know. He said he was going to get some groceries but it might have been that he said that he was going, I don't know. I don't know.
Miss DOUTHIT - Was it when he signed the register that he asked you about the grocery store, or later?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Later.
Miss DOUTHIT - All right. Then you were in your room when he went back in his room. Did you see him leave his room and go out of the house?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Miss DOUTHIT - Then where did you go?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Lord have mercy. I don't know.
Miss DOUTHIT - Did you go back out in the yard?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; I don't think I went into the yard. I was fooling around the house.
Miss DOUTHIT - All right, how far from your room is your kitchen?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Oh, Lord. It is a long ways. It is clear across the living room and dining room and the kitchen is right there [indicating].
Miss DOUTHIT - All right, but your room is right next to the room you rented to this man?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Miss DOUTHIT - When did you have knowledge that he was back in his room?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, when---I guess when he brought these---brought the milk in.
Miss DOUTHIT - How could he go to the grocery store and get milk unless he had already asked you where the grocery store was?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, I. guess he did, he had already.
Miss DOUTHIT - Okay, then, it was on his return from getting the bag that he asked you about the grocery store, is that right? Or do you remember?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Oh, yes; it wasn't anything said about this when he rented--- about eating. Just--he just rented the room, and not to eat in there.
Miss DOUTHIT - Now, when you had some kind of knowledge, as you just said, could you hear him back in his room, or could you see him back in his room after he left the first time?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, I heard him.
Miss DOUTHIT - Did he come in and talk to you before he left your house the second time?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; he never did talk to me at all. He didn't talk.
Miss DOUTHIT - The only conversation you had with this Mrs.----with this Mr. Oswald was when he came and rented the room and signed the register?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - And what I got out of him. That's all I could get.
Miss DOUTHIT - Now; did you get any information out of him after he signed the register?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, the next day.
Miss DOUTHIT - I am talking about this one day.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; didn't get much.
Miss DOUTHIT - Then all of your conversation that you had this Monday that he rented that room took place at one time, is that correct?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - That's correct.
Miss DOUTHIT - Now, he came back, and for some reason you knew he was in there. When did he leave your house the second time?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - When he went to get the groceries.
Miss DOUTHIT - Well, when?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, I don't know.
Miss DOUTHIT - Was he 'when he went to leave, did he come in and say, "I'm going to get some groceries." Did he?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Miss DOUTHIT - You evidently told him about the grocery store the first time when he signed the register and your conversation with him---
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; I didn't either.
Miss DOUTHIT - Well, you just said you had one conversation with him, and you had no other conversation with him. Now, just remember these facts that you had no conversation with him after he paid you the money and signed the register.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, I wouldn't say, because I don't know what he did. I don't remember.
Miss DOUTHIT - All right, how long after--when he brought his bag back and put it in this room, how long did he stay in that room until he left to go to the grocery store, if that is where he went?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Was that the first when he went and got the other bag?
Miss DOUTHIT - Uh-huh.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, 20 or 30 minutes.
Miss DOUTHIT - Did he go and use the telephone, or just stay in his room all that time?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No, didn't use the phone until--I think he used it after.
Miss DOUTHIT - Did he use your telephone on Monday?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - After the, yes; after he got everything settled, I think he did. Two or three times every day. Called his wife, supposed to be.
Miss DOUTHIT - You don't know who he called?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; I don't know who he called.
Miss DOUTHIT - But,: 'you don't know anything at all about when you gave him this information about the grocery store? We are just trying to get the order here in which this happened, Mrs. Bledsoe , is all, if you can just remember?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Oh, Lord.
Miss DOUTHIT - That is the reason I asked you if you could, to write these things down.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well---
Miss DOUTHIT - I am sorry, but I thought in--I might help you.
Mr. JENNER - Did he make a telephone call after he became settled?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Mr. JENNER - On the 8th of October?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I wouldn't say for sure, but I guess he did, because he called his wife, supposedly--supposed to have been all the time, but in the morning he called some people about jobs.
Mr. JENNER - Yes.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Because he talked on the phone and talked gruff, talked gruff to those on the phone, and talked about a job. I heard that.
Mr. JENNER - Then, one of the occasions when the gentleman interviewed you--were Secret Service and FBI people there is a notation that you recalled that on Monday afternoon that he did call his wife?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Mr. JENNER - Now, does that refresh your recollection, that he did call her the same day that he moved in here on
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, I guess he did, uh-huh.
Mr. JENNER - And, were you aware of the fact that he was using the telephone?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Oh, I told him he could use the phone to get him a job and call his wife.
Mr. JENNER - And were you aware of any occasion on Monday when you had your own mental conception that he was actually talking with his wife?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, it didn't---I wasn't interested at all. He---I wasn't---I didn't think about it at all. When I got interested is when he called, talking in that foreign language.
Mr. JENNER - Now, the first time you heard him talking in the foreign language was when?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - As well as I can guess, it was a Wednesday.
Mr. JENNER - Wednesday?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Wednesday afternoon, but he came on----
Mr. JENNER - Now, so you assume that the other calls he made on Monday, since he did not, I take it, did not speak in a foreign language, or you didn't hear him speak in a foreign language on Monday?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. JENNER - And you didn't hear him do so on Tuesday?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. JENNER - First time you heard him to do that was Wednesday?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. JENNER - Well---
Miss DOUTHIT - Ask her if she ever heard him talk to anybody on the telephone in English. That is what---
Mr. JENNER - Well, I have assumed that you did hear him talk with people on the telephone using the English language?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, was about jobs, about getting a job. He called People to get jobs, and then he would become almost mad, and sometimes he was mad.
Mr. JENNER - What did he say?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, I don't know, but he was mad.
Mr. JENNER - About what?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - About what they were talking about. He would get in a bad humor, and then the day he made that call, he----
Mr. JENNER - Which call?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - That call.
Mr. JENNER - Wednesday? The call in which he spoke in a foreign language?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - He was real mad.
Mr. JENNER - He was angry with the person to whom he was speaking over the telephone?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Mr. JENNER - But, you couldn't understand what he was saying?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. JENNER - So, you don't know whether he was angry with the person, or angry with someone else and explaining it to the person on the phone about something in anger?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I know he tailed in a---he tailed in a, I guess it was a foreign language, and I don't know what it was.
Mr. JENNER - Just sounded irritated?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Mr. JENNER - Was there ever an occasion when you saw him in possession, either in his room, or carrying a long object wrapped in paper or a blanket or---
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. JENNER - Or something as long as 45 inches long?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. JENNER - Seven or eight inches wide?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Didn't have anything like that with him.
Mr. JENNER - Anything that you thought could be curtain rods or----
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Mr. JENNER - Or shades that are on the spring, did he ever have any package that looked as though that sort of thing might be contained in it?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. JENNER - You saw nothing of that nature in his room?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. JENNER - Now, would you describe the room? Was it tastefully decorated or-shades, curtains? There was no need for him to have any---bring anything in to decorate that room, was there?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. JENNER - Did he do so?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. JENNER - Brought nothing in of that nature?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. JENNER - And there was no discussion with you on that subject?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. JENNER - You do have a distinct recollection, do you, that he was there on Friday, that would be the 11th, I think?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Friday. That is the day that he stayed in his room all day.
Mr. JENNER - Stayed in his room all day long?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Just went to the bathroom and came back.
Mr. JENNER - That was Friday, October 11?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.
Mr. JENNER - On the 12th, that would be Saturday the 12th of October, did he receive any phone calls?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. JENNER - Would you tell me about that?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, I think he called somebody--somebody called him, and I judged it was his wife.
Mr. JENNER - Did you answer the phone, or did he?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; my son answered.
Mr. JENNER - Your son answered the phone?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - And he called him to the phone, and seemed like that she was going to have a child and---
Mr. JENNER - Did you gather this from what you heard him say?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - From what they said.
Mr. JENNER - From his end of the conversation?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - From him, and then I thought he was going to move, and you see, I was tickled to death, so, then said, "Well, I will meet her," or, said that he would meet her, said he would go to the hospital and meet her, see, but he didn't never get to it, I Judged that is what he said.
Mr. JENNER - You heard enough of the conversation that you have the recollection that he said something about his wife possibly having to go to the hospital?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. JENNER - For the delivery of her child?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. JENNER - Was this the first time you had any knowledge that his wife was with child?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. JENNER - Did you say anything about that to him?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; I didn't mention it. I never did mention about that man talking to him either, because it wasn't any of my business.
Mr. JENNER - Which man?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - This man who called and talked to him in the foreign language. I never did see him.
Mr. JENNER - How did you know it was a man?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, I just judged that it was.
Mr. JENNER - You heard his end of the conversation? He was talking in a foreign language?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. JENNER - You assumed from that that whoever was on the other line was likewise talking in a foreign language, and you assumed a man, though you didn't know?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I don't know, so, I didn't say that, because I don't know, but I never did say anything about it.
Mr. JENNER - I believe that's about all I have.
Mr. BALL - All right.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - What time is it? I'm tired.
Mr. BALL - It is 5 minutes until 11.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - I guess he is going to ask something, too, and I will be up here at 12.
Mr. BALL - Mrs. Bledsoe , this deposition will be written up by the reporter, and you can take it and look it over if you wish and change it in any way and sign it, or if you wish to waive the signature we will have it written up and send it to the Commission as it is.
Do you have any preference that way? Do you want her to waive the signature?
Miss DOUTHIT - I think she can waive it. I don't see any reason for her to sign it.
Mr. BALL - Then can we, on the advice of your attorney, will you waive the signature?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. BALL - Fine. You will know that you won't be bothered any more then.
Thank you very much, Mrs. Bledsoe
Mr. JENNER - We do want you to know that we appreciate your coming in.
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