var Win = window, Doc = document;
var selection1 = Win.getSelection ? Win.getSelection() : Doc.selection.createRange();
var range = Doc.createRange();
function El(id){ return Doc.getElementById(id); }
var ul = El("ul1");
var idspan = El("span1").firstChild; // Note the Node element
range.setStart(idspan, 0);
range.setEnd(idspan, 4);
selection1.addRange(range);
http://www.quirksmode.org/dom/range_intro.html
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/range.setStart
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/range.setEnd
https://dvcs.w3.org/hg/domcore/raw-file/tip/Overview.html#dom-range-setstart