The San Francisco call., 1897-06-09
Plumber Guthrie Opened
the Urn Before the
Jury.
lncinerated Remains Measured
and Weighed by an Ex'
pert Mechanic.
Romantic Developments by Michael
Ryan Prevented Through Legal
Technicalities.
In Indra Coffsn,s court yesterday morn.

In Judge Coffey's court yesterday morn
inq the CONFER urn containing the in
cinerated remains of the late Mrs. Jacob
q. Davis was opened by plum Der. The
work was performed in the presence OF
the Jury. soidering-iron being used for
that purpose. To heat the iron portable
bIowpipe was used by George Guthrie,
VINO was called as a witness on account of
his skill in matters of that kind.
TIE soIemnity of the occasion appeared
to impress court, counsel and jury, and
the utmost respect was shown to the
memory of the departed in the handling
of the ashes.
Mr. Guthrie deity removed the little
circular id that had been fitted on top OF
the urn and at once a lot OF tissue paper
was brought to view. After that was re-
moved the silver plate from Mrs. Davis
coffin was taken out and was found to
com port with the de- cription given of it
by the preceding witnesses in the case.
Measurements were made and it was
found that the ashes in the urn covered
the urn to a depth of Ia inches. AS the
urn is four inches deep, this would allow
enough room for the reception of Mr..
Davis ashes. His request that the ashes
OF himself and bis wife may be com mingled
will, therefore, be carried OUT it being in
evidence that he had such.a disposition in
con tenn plation when he dictated the di-
mensions of the urn that now contains the
ashes Of his wife.
In reply TO Attorney Campbell the wit
ness testified that when he opened the
urn he was not able to see the coffin plate,
and that he thought the urn contained
nothing but paper and ashes. He Judged
specific gravity of the ashes in the urn to
be about the same as wet sand.
Attorney George A. knight suggested
that he would expect to examine Mr..
Ryan, who discovered the will in the nrn,
and that he would make special inquiry
in relation to his ability TO place the paper
in such place, as Mr.. Knight had shown
might be done on the day previous He
did not wish to disturb the ashes OF the
dead any more than appeared to be alb
solutely necessary, and suggested that the
duplicate urn produced by him be used in
taking the testimony of Mr.. Ry.n.
Mr.. Campbell said he had no objection
provided the urn be filed with wet sand
10 The depth represented by the ashes of
Mrs. Davis, and the original urn was re-
stored to its former condition and sealed
up in the presence of the court but not
until everything pertaining to it had been
carefully scrutinized by all members of
the jury.
Michael Ryan was sworn as a witness.
He Testified that he is a skilled mechanic,
EN- mployed at the office of the Daily Post
in this City; that he is acquainted with
the use of tools, and that he can use a
soldering iron well enough TO mend an
oil can if 1t were leaking; that he would
deem it his duty to make such small re-
pairs as were necessary in his daily work
as his ability would warrant, in order to
keep down the repair bill of his
employer. He said he had no special
knowledge OF the use of the soldering
iron.
Touching his acquaintance with the late
NJ 10 ryh1 Nil
for probate, Mr.. Ryan said he had been a
friend of the family for several years. He
knew Mr.. and Mrs. Davis, Mrs. Curtis
and Miss Muir. He went with them to
the theater and other places of amuse-
menJ and entertainment
Mr.. Knight wanted to know whether
Miss Muir had been in the habit of going
with the witness, and he said she had
sometimes done so. Then Mr.. knight
wanted to know how often, and Mr..
Campbell thought counsel had pursued
that line OF inquiry far enough.
Mr.. Knight said: 81 wish to show the
interest OF the witness"
The court manifested a disposition to
sustain Mr.. Campbelrs view of the mat
ter, and Mr.. Knight asked several ques-
tlons with anything but a satisfactory
result
Mr.. Knight-,Durtng the past year do you
know OF Mss Muir having any escort except
yourself?
Mr. Campbell-We object.
The court-Objection sustained.
Mr- Knight-Has there been within the past
two years or is there now any engagement ex-
isting between you and Miss Muir?
Mr.. Campbell-Sgme objection.
The court-Same ruling.
Mr. Knight-Are you interested In this con-
test?
The witness-No.
Mr.. Knight-No more than if you were a
stranger to Miss Muir, who is one of the lega-
tees under the viii 2
The witness-Thats right
Mr. Campbell-We object.
The court-O Objection sustained
Mr. Campbell-We move to strike out the an
swer.
The court-Let it go out.
Mr.. Knight-Please note our exception.
The court-Exception noted.
So the jury is az yet unenlightened in
regard to any romance that may or NAV
not be hiding among the legal intricacies
of the probate proceedings in this case
If Miss Muir and Mr.. Ryan are engaged to
be married, as Mr.. Knight has more than
once intimated. the inference of the
courts rulings is that it is their own af-
fair, concerning which the public has no
right to inquire.
In the afternoon Mr.. Ryan gaveTa.de-
scription of the finding of Mr.. Davis will |
In the urn of ashes. He said after taking
out some tissue paper he found the coffin
plate, and then at request cf Mr.. BOYD he
searched further and found the viii. 1t
was under the ashes about an inch. He
was told to search for valua bic papers, and
did So He had never heard the word
"wilr' used in connection with thes earch.
When he found the will he looked no fur
fher al he was not requested to DO so.