The San Francisco call., 1898-03-17
CONVICTED
 BY HIS OWN
 POOR WIT Clumsy Attempts of Clark to Deceive
 Officers. Proclaim ed His InnOcence Before Accused of
 Murder. Tried to Make It Appear That
Tried to Make It Appear That His Brother Was
 Suicide.
NOT AN ADEPT FORGER.
Viotira's Farewell Note Which He Produced Said to Be in His
 Own Writing.
Special Dispatch to The Call.

Special Dispatch to The Call.
 NAPA, March 16.-The second days session of the Clark trial has brought the case down to the circumstances which directly connect George Clark with the murder of his brother. The principal evidence of Mrs. Clark Is all in, but 1t Is possible she may be re- called toward the close of the prosecu- tion.
 Since Mrs. Clark's release from the stand witnesses have succeeded each other in rapid succession and by noon all preliminaries had been cleared away, and the damaging testimony against Clark was being taken.
 The testimony of the St. Helena con- stable was the strongest so far, and the defense tried in vain to break it down on cross-examination. His testimony regarding the footprints Of George Clark made on the morning of the crime was clear and complete, and it will De hard for the defense to correct the inn pression it made upon the jury.
 The first few questions put to Mrs. Clark during the morning session were stopped by objections from the District Attorney. They referred to the early life of the witness. Then, coming down to the time of the murder, MT. Hogan drew from her the fact that her hus- band suspected man named Signorelll, as well as his brother, of having poi soned his coffee.
 She was then asked about a cOnver- sation she had with George Clark, in which George called attention to some poison he had and to that found in Will Clark's coffee. George Clark showed her some poison he had, and asked her if it were the same as that Will Clark had found in his cof- fee She said no, and then George Clark said:
 Then you can see I must be inno- cent
 This concluded the examination of Mrs Clark for the time being, and then George Oaks, son-in-law of Mrs. Clark, was called to the stand. He was asked as to the events of the morning when William Clark was found dead, and his 1 testimony was repetition Of that or Mrs. Clark given yesterday.
 Bertha Clark followed Oaks to the stand She was questioned as to one oc casion when she had heard her mother | call, and, going down to the kitchen, she found George Clark and her mother there Mrs. Clark had testified that then George Clark had attempted to assault her, and he desisted only when she called one of her daughters.
 J. G. Johnson, marshal of the town of St. Helena, came to the stand to tes tify to the circumstances which connect l George Clark with the crime. He was l called to the house early in the morning of the shooting by Dr. Osbourne. He told how. when he. had seen the body on the floor and the pipe and pistol which lay near it, he marked the place where the pipe and pistol lay before | he picked them up. Johnson produced the pistol he found on the porch of the Clark house, and it was admitted in | evidence He also produced the pipe, and it, too, was admitted.
 | Proceeding with his testimony John | son said he, pr. Osbourne and George ] Oaks went over to the cottage where | George Clark lived. They knocked on the door, and when George Clark arose l from his bed they told him that some one had killed his brother. He said
 "H'm, I guess I'll go over.' l He commenced to dress, when the l Constable told him he had to take him | into custody, as there had been some 1 suspicion against him. Dr. Osbourne reminded Clark he had said few days before that he had lost a pistol, and Clark said yes, he could describe it, and he did so. Then Johnson showed the l pistol he had found, and Clark said it was not his.
 Johnson say the shoes Clark was about to put on were covered with mud. and so he directed Clark to wear others On the way to the jail Clark said he believed it was case of sui eide, and if so his brother must have left a note to that effect. Then, after they got to the jail, Clark said he lied l alo,,t tJ,a r,ictO1 He said he want a6 to correct his former statement-the pistol Johnson showed was his.
 Johnson told how he examined the streets after putting George Clark into iail, and he found several fresh foot tracks in the mud. Some were going toward the Clark house and some were going from there. Then he took Clark 8 shoes and putting them in the tracks he found them to fit exactly.
 Tn the afternoon Johnson saw Clark again. and Clark said he had a paper at his house which he thought peculiar. He said it was a statement made by his brother, saying he contemplated suicide, and saying, too, that it asked | that George be not accused In re- sponse to Johnson's request he wrote as much as he could recollect of the I contents of the paper.
 and Clark said he had found it behind A picture in the Clark house.
 The paper was admitted in evidence and was read to the jury. With cor rections of spelling it was as follows:
 I bought of G. A. Higgins strychnine. ] l am tired of life. Tell George he is not guilty. I did it myself. ". A. CLARK.
 What you will find behind the clock The cartridges you will find in the base | ment
 The prosecution will attempt to prove that the letter of which George Clark said this was copy was written by