The San Francisco call., 1896-01-10
She Virtually Admits Their
Authenticity, and Says They
Were Stolen.
GRAPHIC STORY OF THE CHASE.
Mrs. Davidson Subjected TO a Severe
CroSs-Examination on the
WitneSS-Stand.
Mrs. TunneII has been found.

MIS-. L uullCll HAS DGtA lOuIlUs
The chief witness in the Brown-David-
son scandal, the woman who for two weeks
has evaded the officers of the law and sue
cessfully ran the gantlet of press repre-
sentatyes. was yesterday located by The
CALL at Visalia.
She tells a graphic story of her fight
from DR.. Browns house, 1903 Geary street,
San Francisco, at II 80 o. clock on Sunday
night, December %; how she caught the
last boat that night for Oakland; how she
was traced to the residence Of Mrs. Hayes
in the city across the bay and was again
obliged to take flight for Grangeville,
Kings County, where she was a guest of
Mrs. Hayes.
There she was again located by THE
CALL, and in order to escape the reporter
she started bright and early the next
morning to walk to Hanford. There she
took the train for Tulare and then drove
to Visalia, with the newspaperman still on
her trail.
Mrs. Tunnel gives as a reason for her
flight from the City her desire to escape
notoriety in connection with the church
scandal. When finally found at visalia,
however, she threw up her hands and
freely told her story to The CALL repre-
sentative
The preliminary examination of Mrs
Davidson on charge of extortion, pre-
ferred by the Rev. Dr. c. 0. Brown, was
continued before Judge Campbell yester-
day. The aged defendant was on the
wi:ness-stand all the afternoon and was
subjected to severe cross-examination.
The days proceedings were enlivened
with tits between opposing counsel and
Judge Campbell. At one time Attorney
GuilfOile excited the ire of the court to
such an extent as to be threatened with
commitment. 1t all came about over the
admission of testimony relative to the
prisoners character
Judge Campbell bad decided during the
early part of the discussion that unless it
could be shown Mrs. Davidson had been
convicted OF a felony it was not proper to
ask her questions on such an interesting
episode OF her life. Later he reversed his
own opinion. to the great disgust OF the
attorneys for the defense.
Il cannot understand it," said GuiIfoile,
'but your Honor seems to be ruling diff
ferently in the case of Brown and the
present witness. 1t may be"
Now, see here" interrupted the Judge.
a dan
according to the law and the evidence, and
do not want any insinuations from YOU
to the contrary. AS it is, you are almost
in contempt OF court
Then Attorney GuilfoiIe begged his
Honor's pardon and said he would not ior
the world intimate the possibility of his
Honor's acting in any but a fair manner
to all.
Mrs. Davidson was on the witness-stand
for four hours. She gave most remarka-
bic exhibition of lapse of memory.
She recalled with perfect distinctness
the date of her birth, the fact that she was
Bible class and Sunday-school teacher
for long period and that she nursed the
sick and wounded during the Civil War.
But from 1873 to 1888, a period of ten
years: Der mind was perfect blank.
Under oath she swore that she could not
tell one single event which transpired dur-
ing that time-what she did or where she
was.
1t was wonderful exhibition of forgetful-
ness-clever in its way, because it pre-
vented the Introduction of evidence damag-
ing to the witness credlbility. True, it
was all brought out that Mrs. Davidson
had at one time been an inmate of a reform
school, but of this she swore she had not
the slightest recollection or knowledge.
Mrs. Davidson was asked to identity
picture taken at Lynn ten years ago.
rs that your picture ?" asked Louder
back.
81 do not profess to be Judge of nv
pictures, hence I VIII not say whether that
is my picture or not" came the unex-
pected answer
The prosecuting attorney was somewhat
disconnected at this, put resumed the at
tack by asking if he knew a man by the
name OF Shaw at Lynn, Mass. She re-
piled in the negative.
DO you mean to tell me that you do
not know Shaw?"
81 have no recollection of the person
named"
Then ex-Judge Louderback started off on
a rev tack. He asked where she was and