Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1872-01-17
AN INTERESTING CASE IN THE FED.
ERAL COURT.
Lady Sues for Breach of Marriage Con-
--.--.- - =. tract.
SECOND DAYS PROCEEDINGS. =

| QuIIe numDef OF spectators were az
tracted to the Federal Court room yester-
day morning, to hear the testimony in the
celebrated breach of marriage contract case
now in progress. Mrs. Putnam was
promptly on hand accompanied by her
counsel ready to go on with her testlmO-
ny, but the defendant has not yet made
| his personal appearance. The examination
was mainly conducted by Maj. Camp, as
sisted by Judge Nelson and S. L. Logan,
the other counsel in the CASE The plain
tiff testified that she first met Mr.. Davis.
the defendant, at Harmonic Hall inWash-
! ington, in the month of March, 1869. He
was introduced by a Mrs. Hull, with whom
| she had become acquainted through her
daughter. a Sunday school scholar. She
went to Cincinnati according tothe request
| she had received from Davis, and stopped
there with hersister When Davisarriyed
there, he called upon her at her sisters,
and they had conversation about the
| letter he had written her from BulPs
Gap. He expressed wish to nave
| invited her to dine at the Burnett
House, which invitation she accepted.
His reason for writing to her to go to the
| hotel was that they would have better
| opportunity to converse without Interrupt
| ton. They had long conversation in
which she expressed her feelings, and told
how she had acted upon receiving the
news of his unexpected departure from
Washington. He then told her that
sc0n101l was in the way, with whom he
had lived, but that he would never live
with her again. He urged her to forget
the injuries he had unwittingly inflicted
upon her, and carry out the marriage con-
tract with him as if nothing had happened.
This was OH Monday, and it was arranged
that he was to 20 on to the Cherokee Ma
ton, settle up his affairs there, and then
return to Cincinnati, when they would be
married and return to Tennessee. He left
and did not return for four weeks, but
wrote letter from Lafayette, Indiana, and
from Springfield, Illinois, each of which
had a postscript, and told of love. He
wrote a third from Fort Scott, i'll which he
wishes good luck and thousand kisses
to YOU" These and other endearing terms
are of frequent occurrence in the letters
which were read in the Court. BY this
time he had been removed from office and
was expecting his successor to relieve him.
He wrote another letter from Baxter
Springs, and still another on the 10th day
of June from Fort Gibson. Another one
followed, from Fayetteville, Arkansas, on
the 18th of June, 1869. In this letter the
woman that was in the way" was referred
to act at some length. She had written
him concerning 'the woman" and felt that
she would wrong her in carrying out the
contract. After returning from the In
dian Nation to Cincinnati Davis stayed
there three days, during which time they
conversed freely on their proposed mar
riage, and it was agreed that the marriage
was TO be private. Here the plaintiff, at
the request Of her counsel, gave the names |
of persons in Washington before whom |
they had talked about the marriage. Itwas |
first spoken of in the presence of Miss Rit- |
ter, her roommate. 1t was also mentioned |
in the presence of Mrs. Archibald. She |
had shown her wedding dress to a friend |
of Mai. Davis, Mr.. Cunningham, who had I
been introduced to her by him. She bought |
a 500 dress in Cincinnati. She had sold
her furniture at Washington for $l75 when
it was worth $500. She understood that |
they were to go to Tennessee from Cincin-
natl in carriage after their marriage.
In few days after he came to that place
the last time, the time for the marriage
having been fixed, he left without telling
her. Upon hearing of this she became so
nervous that she went into spaSms. Her
brother-in-law, with whom she was stay
ing then, talked about shooting, but she
requested the privilege Of attending to
that matter herself She understood that
he had gone down into Kentucky, and she
went to Lexington. Here she hired q car
rage and drove out fourteen OF fifteen
miles on the Covington pike, and met Da-
Wis in the road. He was also in q carriage
She got into his carriage and took a seat
beside him. He looked blank and did not
speak for some time. He asked what she
was going to do. She said she did not yet
Know but she expected to go to Tennessee
with him. They then drove on to LeXing-
on the same evening, where they took
supper.
Here Davis offered her any amount of
money if she would go back to Cincinnati,
which she refused to do. He then pro-
posed that she should 60 to Tennessee by
-ail, as the drive through in the car
This she also fatty refused to do,
mo doubt, that q bird in the hand
S worth two i'll the bush. nShe declined all
to come to Tennessee by rail,
md he finding that she was sticking
closer than a brother" gave up. She said
he would never see him again if she lost
sight of him there. They left Lexington
hen and came on toward Tennessee.
Three days after they left that place, they ;
net a man whom Davis introduced to her {
Is Mitchell, and whom he seemed 10th to ,
meet. He told her that this was that ;
brother. Afterwards, in CONVEX /
ation, he admitted to her tlEt he was
married man. This was the first time he
lad made such an admission. She resolv-
ID to come Oh to Tennessee, when she !
would go to Davis wife and unbosom all,
)ut her fortitude failed her, and at his per-
uasion she did not, but went to the
Springs near Rogersville, kept by Mr.. .
Hunter, where she remained six weeks
She was unwilling TO return to Washing
on or ty her sister, at Cincinnati, but de-
lred to go to a kinsman in Oregon, pro-
7Ided she had the means, and she inform t
ID Davis, who visited her three times while /
It the Springs, of her wish in this
aspect. He promised her the means, but
lever complied with his promise. He
wrote her another letter from Sneedville, !
which he sent by Mr. Seal. III this he ex- '
pressed the kindest regards for her and q
lOped that they would meet again. Mr.. /
seal drove her to Roge1sville where he i
gave her fifty dollars as Davis had said he
would in the Sneedville letter, and pur- G
hased her a ticket to Cincinnati. She had L
lever seen Maj. Davis since she left Ten {
lessee. She had always been ready topper ;