The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1904-03-29

woman Mrs. Cordelia Botkin is ac-
cused of numbering. was on the wit
ness stand yesterday during Mrs. Bot
/ kin's trial Contrary to expectation
there were no fireworks about his tes-
timony or the manner of drawing II
forth. 1t was thought that when At
torney Knight came to cross-examine
the man for the love of whom the de-
PENDANT is supposed TO have sent from
this city to Dover. Del, a box Of pois-
oned candy addressed to Mrs. Dun
ming, through partaking of which Mrs.
Dunning and her sister, Mrs. Deane,
died from arsenical poisoning, hide in
large patches would be torn from the
witness and that he would be held up
in contumely before the packed court
room.
This did not happen, at least, not on
the cross-eXamination. District At
torney Byington drew from the wit
ness all the pertinent facts of the re-
lations existing between the defend
ant and Dunning from the beginning
of their acquaintance and there was
little left for the defense to adduce to
the disparagement of the witness
What little remained unrevealed was
brought out by the defense, but Attor
ney Knight was clearly apprehensive
that his cross-examination might de-
velop facts prejudicial to his side of
the case.
Indicative of the interest that was
felt by the spectators to the trial was
their actions after the noon adjourn
ment Fully 200 of them, as soon as
they gained the corridor, lined up
along the walls and fought for places
with much the same spirit as the
holders of tickets to the Corbett-Britt
fight were compelled TO do. Half of
the throng were women and they
stood more or less patiently for an
hour and a half until the doors were
thrown open for the afternoon session.
Many of them had brought lunches
and munched sandwiches and pie dur
ing their vigil The attendance yes
terday, while fully as large as in days
past, was unmarked for the most part
by prominent personages and well
difficulty in controlling the crowd than
previously.
EXEMPLARS INTRODUCED.
Outside of Cummings testimony the
day was mostly consumed by the prose-
cution in the introduction and proof
of exemplars of the defendants HAND
writing. The first of this class of wit
nesses TO be called was Oscar A. Eos
ter, letter carrier, who delivered to
Mrs. Botkin her mail in 1898 at the
Victoria Hotel. He was shown two
cards. giving the defendants address
on California street, which he claimed
to have seen her write and identified
them as her handwriting.
Captain John Seymour, formerly chief
Of detectives of this city and at the
time of the first Botkin trial a detec-
tive sergeant who worked on the case,
was next called and his familiar face
and ready testimony made a pleasant
impression. In company with Detec-
tive Ed Gibson, he visited the room
occupied by Mrs. Botkin at the Vic
toria Hotel after the news Of the muir
ders had reached this city and while
the defendant was under suspicion of
being the author of the crimes. He
said he had examined the effects which
Mrs. Botkin left in storage there and
had looked for arsenic and Irvine, but
had found none.
Attorney Knight went at the witness
in a bellicose manner, but Captain Sey-
mour maintained his good nature and
answered the cross-examination with
out any show of. irritability. To a ques-
ton of knights as to whether or not
he had placed a seal from Haas & Sons
candy shop on the floor during any one
/ of his visits, the witness said he had
not. This question was in relation to
/ a portion of such a seal which William
Rosello claims to have found in the
room vacated by Mrs. Botkin one
month after she left the Victoria Ho-
tel Captain Seymour also said that
he had net noticed during his investi-
cation a scrap of paper with writing
on it lying on the couch in the room
previously occupied by Mrs. Botkin
This scrap Of paper was also claimed
TO have been found by Rosello when
he moved into the room vacated by
Mrs. Botkin.
CLAIMS A DOUBLE
julius Fay. formerly a deputy City
and County Assessor. and William
| Raymond, formerlNcashier of the City
of Paris dry goods store both of
whom claimed to have seen Mrs. Bot