The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 25, 1904, Page 7

THE . SAN FRANCISCO CALL, ARCH 25 1904 One Woman Is in Tears, Another Defiant. Ruoff, a trained bright particular in the trial dn ok’s court of Cordelia Botkin, with murder for the alleged f a box of polsoned chocolates s city to Mrs. John P. Dunning . Delaware, from partaking of Mrs. Dunning and her sister, Mre. Joshua D. Deane died. Mrs. Bot- kin is now on her second trial for the urder of Mrs. Dunning. Ruoff has been intimately con- nected with the incidents of the ca from the beginning of the liai- veen Mrs. Botkin and John P. Dunning, husband of one of the mur- dered which is supposed to hed the motive of the crime WAS A CONFIDANTE. € at Mrs. Ruoff's house that | Mrs. Botkin took refuge when the | € published the fa t her with th was th sh e custody of the la Mrs. Botkin r 1897 accompaniec the home of tkin's brother-in-law, Rev. N. , then a t of Oakland. Here Ruoff made her home for - e t nd on two oc ions admit- ed I ng to the house, when he vis- Botkin the knowl- bers of the house- most important witnesses juring the day by the pros- . Dr. T. W. Stone of Stockton, who gave testi that in J the defendant evinced unu- = iatter of arsenical ed from him a ful and effects. He former trial the features Mrs. Isaac Tuch the cross-exam a Knight and sobbe Paris he handker- | character the one | nside box of & S L DEFENT JANT IS CHEERFUI spent th t soon joine sits beside Thr ADVERTISEMENTS. Our Special Offer for SATURDAY «+ +sAND... MONDAY Only. We have just re- ceived 350 new and nobby up-to-date patterns, and we will put them on sale Saturday and Mon- day for one uniform price. Suits or Over- coats made to order for 154 NO MORE—NO LESS. Scach Plaid Tailors 1009 Market Street OPEN SATURDAY EVENING UNTIL 10 O'CLOCK. |.the o s nABA day she was and amiable, ex- cept at Mrs. Ruo! testi- mony a and then she Wwould utter a protest and whisper to her at- torney, Frank McGowan. Frequently she smiled at the statements of her for- mer nurs nd was ever ready with | suggestions to pert questions E ent to be asked of the witness. Both morning and afternoon sessions there was a constant turmoil dered by the spats between cou pposing sid Byington | ral ere on their feet f times to protest at the insulting tones they claimed Knight used in his cros ion of witn Knight came and denun- with der everybody e dily ! Jud, repri fo apt He ice and finally to is questions at T vas then on the stand, t lowered his voice ent more smoothly But 1d eforehand I deny voice is o an should be inly 1 ne one of those | ices from the oth s is like a rusty hinge 1 between the yowl of iaca ant Distri Attorney Ferral antime. What 1ight’'s tones for protegt from him f this tin thunder x the whirl- found rest in the st part, but ¢ t “any more as J. Lennon of Judge Cook dur ssion and follow th much interest. BREAKS INTO TEARS. Mrs. Isaac Tuchler was the first wit- S ay. In July, 1898, she was race Harris and clerked at the Paris store. She testified to two handkerchiefs to Mrs. Bot- characte similar to the one whic E" poisoned candy received by Mrs. Dun- was contained in the box of ning at Dover. She was positive that the defendant was the woman who purchased * the handkerchiefs. Mrs Botkin stood up during the identific: tion at the t of Attorney Knight and gazed de - back into the e of the woman who v testifying t he It was during the cross-examination that Mrs. Tuchier gave way to tears. | Attorney Knight was going into her varied matrimonial ventures. After certaining the time and place of her birth the attorney asked her if she had been expelled from Notre Dame con- in San Jose. Judge Cook sus- | tained an objection to the question. The attorney then drew from the wit- ness that she came to this city and en- gaged in the millinery business. What did you do after asked Knight. “I was married.” that?” a man “Is he alive or dead?” named Thomas Pierce.” “I don't know him.” 1 was divorced from hler was plainly on the verge and Byington was pro- testing against what he’ called the in- sulting tone of the counsel. “After Pierce what was your name?” persisted Knight remorselessly. “Harris,” answered the witness. “Where is he?" He died in 1896.” “Were you living with him then?” A torrent of tears burst from the wit- ness. “Mr. Knight,” she sobbed, “you are taking the advantage of me as a witness in this case. You know I can't protect myelf and I think it is cowardly mn you.” ENIGHT IS UNMOVED. Byington and McGowan were on their feet, shouting at each other, and Knight was flouting the show of emo- tion on the part of the witness. “Th tearful plays don’t buy anything with me,” he exclaimed. “I've seen too many of them. Don’t appeal to me for pro- tection; appeal to the court.” Order came about some way and the witne relieved by her outburst, went through the remainder of her exam- ination aridly. The remembrance of Mrs. Botkin was particularly impressed on the witness because of the re- semblance the defendant bore to the witness’ mother and this resemblance had been a subject of conversation be- tween the two at the time of the pur- chase. Dr. T. W. Stone of Stockton follow- ed the candy makers and told of hav- ing been called to treat Mrs. Botkin for grip on July 28, 1898, at the home of Mrs. Ruoff in Stockton. In addition to his visit that evening, he called twice the following day and at all three interviews the defendant ques- tioned him concerning the effeets of the administration of arsenic. He said he thought she was joking and told her that if she contemplated suicide, she would better take morphine, as it was less painful. She persisted in her queries concerning arsenical and strychnia poisoning and under her questioning he detailed the effects of the two poisons and told her the amount that would prove a lethal dose. appealingly toward | bore the insinuation complacent | answered that ordinarily he was not, but in this case he said he felt entirely justified. William Rosello came to:the stand for a moment, but was excused. He | occupied the room vacated by Mrs. Bot at the Victoria Hotel in June, 11898, and is said to have found on the r a lump of what is claimed to be | arsenic, which was turned over to the | police. ' The prosecution was not ready | to introduce proof of the character of ‘(h' ubstance at this time and Rosel- | 10's testimony.will be recorded late | NURSED MRS. BOTKIN. | Mrs Almirah Ruoff was the nextand last witness of the day ook up the remainder of the morning | session and all of the afterncon. Sh | 1 made the intimate acquaintance |of Mrs. Botkin in 1897, when she d her during a three weeks’ , although she had been intimatel house without letting other members of the family know of it. Dunning called and was admitted and went to Mrs. Botkin's roo He called subse- quently and was admitted in the s manne | ning and Mrs. Botkin together was at 927 ( ry street. She had made ar- | rangements to spend the Mrs. Botkin and on going to the room 1 1dant that she could not enter then. he waited in the hall and eventually was called by Mrs. Botkin/ In the room she found Dunning and Mrs. | Botkin, who was | wrapper. | ky There was a bottle of whis- on the table. Once Dunning and Mrs. Botk 2 Geolden Gate Park and once on the street. On July 28, 1898, Mrs. Botkin came to witness’ home in Stockton early in the morning. Witness said that the de- fendant told her she had some dia- monds in pawn, and came to see if “‘the governor,” meaning Botkin, would re- | deem them her. That night Mrs. Botkjn complained of feeling very ill, and Dr. Stone was summoned to attend her. S8he heard the conversations that night and the day following between the doctor and Mrs. Botkin regarding a and related them with much more minuteness of detail than had the doctor himself. She told what he had said to Mrs. Botkin re- garding the symptoms of arsenical poi- soning =o thoroughly and readily that Dr. Downs of Dover, with all his medi- cal knowledge, was outdone, INQUIRED ABOUT ARSENIC. The witness also testified that the defendant had spoken to her about arsenic in relation to poisoning mice, and asked her if she had any of the poison. Previously in a room at the Victoria Hotel, then occupied by Mrs, Botkin, the witness said that the de- fendant had asked her about bleaching a straw hat and whether or not arsenic was used for that purpose. Mrs. Bot- kin also asked how’ could be ob- tained, according to the witness. Dur- ing the stay at the Stockton home of | witness the defendant inquired about sending a package through the mails and what it cost. The witness informed her, and told her that no package weighing over four pounds could be sent that way, whereupon the defend- ant said that the package would weigh | about a pound. Mrs. Ruoff said that she advised Mrs. Botkin to have the package registered, and that the latter Under cross examination Dr. Stone | then inquired if she would have to sign said he had never narrated these con- her name in order to register the pack- versations until after the conclusion |age. Defendant told her, according to of the first trial. tried to embarrass the witness by ask- ing him if he was in the habit of dis- Attorney Knight | the witness, that she wanted to send a parcel up north. Mrs. Ruoff was also interrogated at closing conversations with patients, | length regarding Mrs. Botkin's hand- held professionally, but the doctor | writing, with which she clalmed to be Her testimony | in- | tinted with the defendant's sis Fanny, for many years. MWhen s. Botkin was convalescent, witness | | accompanied her to the home of Rev. Mr. McClure in Oakland and remain- ed there n inmate of the house- hold. Some days after their arrival Mrs. Botkin told the nurse that John P. Dunning would call that evening | and asked her to admit him to the | The next time Mrs. Ruoff saw Dun- | night with | | at 10 o’clock she was told by the de- | dressed in a pink | DAY'S PROCEEDINGS IN BOTKIN CASE _PRODUCTIVE OF TEARS AND TURMOIL DTS AL AT RAS Ruo i TESTIFYING BEFOR THE TURY- | . f familiar, having received l\\mny-lh'e“ | or thirty letters from her. She de- scribed the handwriting as “very Eng- lish.” She identified the note contained in the box of poisoned cs the writing of Mrs. Botkin, more espe- | cially the signature, ir C.” This latter she was particularly positive | about, the C was framed in | quotation m which were set diag- | onally, the first at the top of the letter | and the second at the bottom. She said ! this was an invariable i -+ | | ndy as being | because T | Botkin. Another to Dunning written on the letter addressed to read, “Would that I could see The witn claimed to have | ¢ s. Botkin write this, and it was | xemplar of the defend- | NOT ADMITTED. Two anonymous letters addressed to | Mrs. Dunning at Dover and postmarked San Francisco were also recognized py the witness as in Mrs. Botkin's hand- writing, but when the prosecution { sought to introduce them in evidence as exemplars Judge Cook refused to admit them. This was an.unexpected | setback for the prosecution, and Dis- | trict Attorney Byington wa dismaved. All other exemplar: endant’s handw; rejected, but some at a future time by additional proof. The anonymous letters, which are| | supposed to have been written by Mrs. Botkin, inform Mrs. Dunnin f the re- | lations existing between husband | and the defendant. Tn one Mrs. Botkin ting were f them may get in is described as “an interesting and pretty woman,” “interesting to a de- | and education.’ | ir are “leading a | | auiet bohemian life,” and abjures Mrs. g to break with her husband | entirely, as he is no longer worthy of her regard. The letter is signed “Your | friend.” The other explains that lhe} “financial _embarrassments of your husband during the winter were not due to his speculations on the race- track,” but because he was showering his gold on “an English la who is de- | cidedly good-looking and interesting.” ‘When Mrs. Botkin came to the Stock- ton home of Mrs. Ruoff on August 18, after the story of her alleged crime had been printed in the press, she threw her arms around the nurse's neck | and besought shelter in the name of | her sister Fanny, “For Fanny's sake,” | said the witness, “I will care for you.” According to Mrs. Ruoff, Mrs. Botkin | promptly went off into hysterics after | asking her to send for Dr. Stone. | ATTACKS HER CHARACTER. Attorney Knight took the witness | in hand for cross-examination with a | large outburst of sound and after a | tremendous commotion among coun- sel he finally was ordered by Judge | Cook to modulate his tones. | “Mrs. Botkin ‘came to you on Aug- | ust 18, 1898, did she not, and you took her in he asked. | “I did,” said the witness. | ““Yes, you took her in. You're par- | ticularly interested in this case, aren't you?” E Not particularly. I'm a witness |and I came here to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the | truth.” i “Didn’t you come into the court- | room with John P. Dunning when the | jury was being selected and sit here |and tell the District Attorney what | jurors to select?” : “No, sir. The District Attorney asked me a question and I answered Didn’t you tell the District Attor- ney to excuse Mr. Mossford because he was an Englishman and might vote to acquit?” \ “I never said anything about. Mr. Mossford.” fi “What was the cause of the tro ble between you and Mrs. Botkin |, “There is no trouble. "I have no un- friendliness for her.” “Wasn't it because she spoke to you about Dbeing discharged from the Stockton Insane Asylum for cruelty | to a patient?” | “No, sir; we never i that.”” ‘“You were discharged as an attend- ant at the insane asylum for cruelty ! to God’s insane, were you not?” “No, sir; I was discharged because had trouble with the laundress.” “You say that you admitted Dun- | ning to the McClure home clandes- | tinely on two occasions and kept the secret?” ““Yes, sir.” “At that time you were a member of Rev. Mr. McClure’s church and an inmate of a Christian home and still made yourself a party to this unholy liaison " “I didn’t know that there was any- thing wrong with them.” “How large was that house?” “It was a two-story frame build- lnt." spoke about | I ! the lines of intoxication until the wit- Din of Tongues Re- sounds in the Courtroom. “I mean by that, if it had fallen on you would you have known it?” QUESTION IMPROPER. Byington protested’ and the court ruled that the question was highly improper. “Did you drink anything on the night you found Dupning and Mrs. Botkin together in a room at 927 Geary toddy ¥ I drank some whisky with them.” “How many packages had you had| before vou reached the room?"” | Again Byington protested at the language, and Knight changed his phraseolog: {‘How many drinks did you take be- fore you reached the room that nighl?"‘ “Not a drop,” said the witness ex-| citedly, “not a single dr-op—not a sin- gle dr-r-r-op—not an eighth of a dr-r-r-r-cp. ““As a matter of fact, are you not a habitual drunkard? When you ran | a millinery store in Stockton were you | not in the habit of locking up the| place for ds at a time and going on! your.drunk: { The witnes: denied these accusa- tions, saying that she had never been intoxicated in her life. She denl»d| that she had ever become so drunk in Mrs. Botkin's apartments that the latter had to put her to bed. “l have been under the influence of | liquor, but I never got so far over | the bay that I didn’t know what a bed | was." p { Knight continued to pound along on | xclaimed: Knight, if T were a man you| wouldn't dare ask me these insulfing question Some well-gowned woman in the rear of the courtroom started to ap- plaud, but the bailiff promptly sup- pressed her. Before this there had been hissing at Knight's method of al-i tack. | Mrs. Ruoff was finally allowed to step down, and court adjourned until! 10 o’clock this morning. During the afternoon Rev. Mr. Me-! Clure of Healdsburg. brother-in-law of | Mrs. Botkin, and his wife occupled | seats within the bar railing, and after the adjournment went over and spoke | encouragingly to the defendant. i —_————— ! Y-TWO TOW Promotion Committee Reports Names | of Those Who Are Registered to Make Southern Trip. It is reported by the California Pro- | Committee that twenty-two are making preparations to re- entertain those who go s men’s excursion from this Southern California, starting The San Franciscans will be tained, but will in turn entertair, ing a party of Los Angeles peop! th them from Los Angeles. It is proposed to limit the number of ex cursionists to one hundred, and thos who expect to make the trip shou noti the committe= this week.' he following have registered ta go motion on | on the excursion: | w, M. Antron, Ames, U. Brandenstein, andenstein, H. F. Band, i W. Boole, Harry Babeack, David Bush, Bernard, | 4 Bley, W. A. Beard, R Crothers, | Den W. W. Deamer Dur; AR o Charles H. Ham, R. E. L. Heuter, R. B. Hale, Harry Howell, Da- vid Starr Jordan, Rufus P. Jennings, Charles W. Johnson, J B. Lyman, | nstant aught Norton . Na- ndolph, Rich, fus M. G Carl H. | hiiat, Chastes Sbarboro, | arles ' Stallman ymmes, Cari N. Schmidt, Thomas S. Smythe Turn, A H. Vail, | Parker Whitn . Wheelan, Wil- ustave Wormser, | Ilis Wales, Benjamin Ide | . Wheeler. J. Wetmore, R. —————— | HEARS SUIT INVOLVING | TITLE TO BIG CANYON MINE Judge Scawell Takes Under Submis- | sion Action of Mrs. Knox Against John Lee. John Lee is the defendant in a suit | for an accounting brought by Annie Knox, widow of John A. Knox, which was heard and taken under submis- sion by Judge Seawell yesterday. The suit involves the sale of the Big Can- | vyon mine, of which at the time of his death Knox was part owner. i Lee, who was a stockholder in the | Big Canyon Mining and Milllng Com- pany, which owned the mine, and of whose stock Knox owned 42,975 shares, besides holding a note of the company for $15,718, sold the mine to Charles | D. Lane. Prior to the sale Mrs. Knox | was dissuaded from foreclosing on the note by the statement of Lee that he | would see that she did not lose any- | thing by her forbearance. 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