The San Francisco call., 1897-06-24
At LAST THE
CRASH COMES
Mrs. Craven Collapses
Under the Long
Strain.
Ordered to Bed by Her Physician
and the Great Trial Has
to Stop.
An Effort Will Be Made, However, to
Resume To-Day With Other Wit.
nesses if She Continues III.

The tremendous strain that Mrs. Craven
has been undergoing on the witness-stand
during the past fortnight has at last
proved itself too m uch for her shattered
physical condition and has overpowered
her. She succeeded in staying through
two more hours of the ordeal yesterday
and then collapsed. AS the result there
was an early adjournment and the e1-
preston of a grave doubt a 8 to whether or
not to-day would find the lady in fit con-
dition to resume the stand.
Mrs. Craven's friends have all along
marveled that a woman in her present
feeble condition could hold up under such
enormous nervous pressure as long as she
has, and attribute the test alone to her
wonderful will power. They are congrat-
ulating themselves and her, however, on
the fact that she did not succumb while
she was undergoing the grilling fire of the
at torneys for the Fair heirs, for then,
they say. it might have cen said by her
en- emies that she only sought her bed to
e scape the torture-rack and feared the
o utcome OF the batting. True, there were
ii mes during that ordeal when she seemed
to be sinkin and that a collapse was i'm
minent, but, by what was obviously a su-
Dreme effort, she would pull herself to-
gether and bravely stick 1t out.
1t was at the opening of the afternoon
session yesterday that Mrs. Craven's ill
ness was announced. She did not put in
an appearance when court convened, and
there was wait. Then note W as handed
to Mr.. Delmas, the lady's leadin 2 counsel
which he, alter reading, passed to the at
torneys for the heirs and then to the
court. The missive was as follows:
SAN Francisco. June %, 1897.
Hon. c. " SIdct-DEAR SIR: Mrs. Craven has
been seized with sudden illness during the
noon recess to-day, and viii be utterly unable
to attend court this afternoon. l am in L
tendance on her aud have caused her to be
T. A. RoTTANzI, MD.
II don't suppose there is anything to be
done but to adjourn" sa id Mr.. Mitchell
of the Fair side.
Nor l, either" rejoned Mr.. Delmas.
Judge Slack asked the counsel ior the
heirs If they bad another witness whom
they could place on the stand, but they
replied that they were unprepared to do
this.
Nv ELL l will say now, then," said his
Honor, THAT if Mrs. Craven Is not able
to be here to- M orrow this case will have
to go on anyhow-that is, with some other
witness"
1--WE will have other witnesses here.
VERY well, then," said Judge Slack,
"we will take an adjournment" And
such was the order.
The examination of Mrs. Craven during
the morning session was directed to the
line heretofore pursued by Mr.. Delmas,
namely, the bringing out OF the details OF
the conversations she had with the attor-
neys for the heirs when they were negotl-
ating so zeaIously with her for the pur-
chase OF her deeds.
Mr.. Wheeler made one of his usual long
speeches in the hope of coaxing Judge
Slack into putting the brakes on Mr.. Del
mas cross-examination, when the latter
asked the lady if she had a conversation
with Messrs. Wheeler and Lloyd on the
Sunday after her return from the East re-
garding deeds.
The court said it was proper, though,
and Mrs. Craven said that the fact that
Senator Fair had provided" for her was
discussed, bu; she did not think the ex-
act word deeds" vas used. By PRO
viding," however, reference was being
made to no other documents than the
deeds.
Mr.. Delmas now produced a scrapbook
containing newspaper clippings. and as
he walked toward the witness slowly he
turned over the pages in search for some
particular page. When he had found il be
had reached Mrs. Craven's side. He placed
TO frame question.
During the pantomimic part of this
little occurrence Attorney Wheeler's anx-
iety was comical to behold. He did
not want Mrs. Craven to see the book
before being asked a question regarding
its contents for fear her memory would
be thereby refreshed, and he squirme ed and
bobbed up and down in his seat like
boy who was suffering from an overdose
of green apples in his efforts to attract the
courts attention.
II show you some newspaper articles, >"
said Mr.. Deimas, 'and ask you if
you"
Il obiectl IobiectI 1 objectp' shouted
Mr.. Wheeler. 1.-The witness has got the
book in her hand and is reading il. She's
reading before ] can get ruling on my
objection. | obJectl / objectp
Judge Slack, in his wonted calm and
deliberate manner, was proceeding to
give ruling, but was far too slow to suit
Mr.. Wheeler.
Why look. your Honor" he walled,
she 8 still reading that book-reading il
this very minute. That's the very thing
I'm objecting to-"
Mr.. DelmaS, who was enjoying Wheel
er's discontinue immensely, finally re-
lieved that gentleman's mind of its tor
ture by smiiIngly directing Mrs Craven
not to look iur:ber at the scrapbook
d
be permitted 10 identify clippings OF such
articles printed in the local papers in 1895
as had had a tendency to influence her 10
keep the fact of the existence of her deeds
partially a secret. These articles con-
tanned interviews with Attorneys LLOYD
and Knight and Others in which all of
these gentlemen declared them selves MS
being in favor of probating the pencil will
Dropping the subject of clippings Mr..
Delmas asked Mrs. Craven TO tell what her
first source of information was regarding
the existence OF proposition to com pro-
mise with heI for $500, 600.
OF course this was objected to-and so is
everything else these days-but the court
ruled the que stion proper.
The first | ever learned of the existence
of the contract, she replied, twas when
my agent, Stephen Roberts, told me about
it,"
when was that?
The very day that l got back from the
East"
Continuing. the lady said that she sim
ply ascertaiIed from Mr.. Roberts, her
agent, the fact that there was such a con.
tract but she did not learn every thing re-
gar ing Its exact provisions until she sub
interviewed Russell ]. Wilson.