The herald., 1898-01-14

igencies of every case. Then in this con-
test there are some circumstances which
involve contradictions-ora apparent con-
tradictions-that Mrs. Creede may con-
gratulate herself will be examined into
by the court sitting without jury. The
contestant comes into court confessing
to having been dope fiend" for long
years and to have been so involved in
her matrimonial experiences as to make
1t appear her views Of such matters
must have been-to say the least
somewhat loose. A woman having re-
ceived the benefit Of little or no educa
tional advantages having confronted
the world as wife at an age when other
girls are playing with the skipping rope
she Is now as an old woman-older than
her years-forced to expose her short
comings as defense against wrong
alleged to have been perpetrated against
her. 1t is only when the image of Creede
himself is conjured up before the minds
eye that all sentiment is brushed aside,
and it is fully realized that the question
involved is one of Justice alone. What
ever Mrs. Creede may have been or is,
she was fitly mated. The rough, uncouth
miner married the woman of the from
tier; they understood one another: their
strivings were after material things
they were confronted by only material
responsibilities, and intellectual and es-
sentially moral attributes We're at dis
count in the mining camps of Colorado
And so, if Nick Creede could only take
his place by the side of his wife in the
court room the incongruities of her
character would appear less striking and
less strange.
An ordinary layman must find it diff
cult to understand any woman's signing
away her interest in a large estate for a
paltry $4,000. An estate, too, that she
helped to accumulate and, indeed, was
wholly responsible for its having been
gathered together True, that is mat
ter of proof, but it is Mrs. Creede's state
ment that when Creedes heart sank and
he packed the burros and was about to
clear out it was Lou Patterson-later
his wife-who prayed for three days
grace and unpacked their traps with her
own hands. In those three days fortune
came to "Nick' Creede
Under these circumstances, concet1ine
them to be true, what spirit of ner
versity could persuade woman to sign
away what belonged to her for a. pit
tance that could not afford her an in
come upon which she could live? Mrs.
Creede's counsel say the key to the nys-
terry was-morphine. With a constitu-
tion shattered by the drug and dahil-
itated in will, she failed to withstand
the domination Of her husband. eithe,
suggested or unsuCgested, when his
passions, held in subjection by n hare
life, gained full sway under a life ot
restful ease. "a woman is as old as she
looks. man as old as he feels" saws the
proverb. and Creede's money opened III
to him modes Of life strange to the strug.
cling prospector. His Wife was neithe1
young nor fair, but he-though no beaut,
himself--had the money and had no
burned out the lusty fires of youth. IT,
fell victim TO the wiles of a woman
AS between the old and the new, Creed
hcsitated, but not for long-the new cir
won the day, and the wife was forced
away. and Creede's conscience wa
pacified by giving her a check fo
$4,000.
Briefly outlined, this is the story tha