The herald., 1898-01-19
Creede Alleged to Have So
Made His Strike
THE WIFE NOT IN THE DEAL
ATTORNEY JONES TELLS HOW
THE CONTRACT WAS MADE
Mrs. Creede Tells How Cal Hunter
Got Her to Withdraw the Suit
Against Her Husband

Mrs. Creede contends that the contract
of separation between herself ana nus
band is void, because obtained from her
when she was not in the full possession
of her understanding and by duress and
something closely approximating to
fraud.
To sustain her claim large amount
of testimony was put in and with the
cross-examination of the contestant
herself her case rested. The day ended
with Attorney John 7. Jones testifying
for the defense. His statements are d1a-
metrically opposed to the statements
that have previously been made. In
order that a proper understanding may
be had of the testimony as 1t is put In
by the defense it is we'll to consider the
facts that the defense hopes to be able
to prove, as developed by the question
ing of Mr.. Gage upon cross-examlna-
tion.
1t will be maintained that at the time
the contract was signed by Mrs. Creede
she was impressed with the belief that
she was not really the wife of Mick
Creede, for it had reached her ears that
her first husband was alive and at that
time she had no knowledge of his hav-
ing obtained divorce. Under these cir
cumstances she realized that 1t was
merely a matter of making the best
terms she could for herself Conceding,
however, that whatever idea of this kind
may have been in her mind, she was in
very fact Creede's wife, and as such
had certain rights in the premises
under the law, and still the defense will
deny that she suffered any wrong. And
for the reason that all of Creede's es-
tate was separate and not community
property. When he struck his luck in
the Amethyst mine he was working on
a grubstake from some Denver bankers,
and took up the abandoned claim of
dutch Fritz" where he uncovered
what proved to be a bonanza. Under
such circumstances there was and could
be no question of a partnership with the
woman who afterwards became his wife,
At the same time, even if Creede's es-
tate had been community property, his
wife would have been entitled to about
$4,000. Under the contract he gave his
wife $4,000 and had at various times
given her about as much more. The
defense may claim that in the light of
the latter fact the first-named sum was
a very fair and just sum, particularly
when it is remembered that it was in
cash and not in property of the estate,
all of which has been over, rather than
underestimated
AS to Mrs. Creede's mental condition
when she left her home, Mr.. Jones tes-
titled yesterday that she was remarka-
bly, keen at making bargain, and at
later date medical experts, doubtless,
will testify, with every appearance of
candor and in delightfully."- technical
language, just to the contrary of what
was testified to by the contestants ex-
perts.
All of this is plain and straightforward
and there is little room for sensational
development. At the time the contract
was signed Mrs. Creede was either non
compos mentis, in the ordinary and not
the technical sense, or she was not. If
she was mentally unbalanced then it
may be expected that the contract will
be knocked higher than kite; if she
realized what she was doing it will be
then for the court to consider whether
unlawful pressure was brought to
bear upon her or not. One thing is rea-
sonably certain, that on rebuttal some
additional facts of interest will be de-
veloped by the contestant.
THE TANGLE OF MARRIAGES
Yesterday afternoon Mrs. Creede went
upon the witness stand for cross-exam-
ination. She looked i'll and evidently
felt i'll, for she was nervous and moved
continually with uneasy motion in her
seat Mr. Ga0a hppon hic iY,cy
by interrogating witness about the Van
dever marriage, but his examination
was by no means consecutive or carried
along in logical sequence. He jumped
from one point to the other, and in this
way taxed the mental powers of the
witness pretty thoroughly.
when did you first learn that Van
dever had obtained divorce from you?"
began counsel.
Il don't remember the month, but it
was in 1866" answered Mrs. Creede in
low tone.
Didn't you in your deposition swear
that you thought Vandever was alive in
Tennessee?"
when 1 was in Mississippi they told
me he was alive.'
"And on January 2, when you signed
the contract you didn't know he was
dead, did you?"
81 knew he had divorce and I didn't
understand how that could be and he be
dead Also
''After you left Paducah with Van
dever, after your marriage, where did
you go?"
IT went to my father"
"And how long did you and Vandever
live in Illinois?"
Until the war broke out in 1861
Did you hear of him after he went to
the war;"
II heard from him onceeor twice. and
saw him once at Natchez."
did you ever try to get a divorce
from him?''
mo, sir.'
''From the farm in Illinois where did
you go?"
ITO Cape Girardeau."
you say you heard something of Van
dever's getting divorce in 1862"
"I read it,"
"And when did you marry again?"
"In 1867
A PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATION
'What amount of morphine was there
In the tablets you mentioned the other
day?"
II said they contained one grain, but
on getting the bottle I found they were
half grain"
"Then, instead of taking sixteen