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Show CLAIMS THAT 1EI II SMALL 611 SHE WAS ABUSED In Judge N. J. Harris' division of the district court this morning, the Nicholson-Curtis habeas corpus case was taken up, having been continued for about ten days. It will be recalled that a short time ago, Mrs. Ruella P. Curtis took from the Colonial rooming house two of Mrs. Sarah" Nicholson's children, Ruella Ru-ella and Albert Nicholson, and was on her way out of the city with them when she was apprehended. Mr. and Mrs. Nicholson began habeas corpus cor-pus proceedings for the children, Mrs. Curtis responding that she had the right to the children by virtue of.adop-tlon of.adop-tlon papers issued in Kansas and Provo. Mrs. Nicholson claims the right of the custody of the two children as their mother and also by virtue oi adoption papers Issued by a Topeka, Kansas, court In March, 1913, and on the witness stand today told of the travels of herself and husband and the frequent attempts of Mrs. Curtis to kidnap the children. Mrs. Nicholson said the first knowledge knowl-edge she had of Mrs. Curtis was when a man came to their home in the east and asked for a little girl. She was concealed by Mrs. Curtis'' mother behind a chair and the man went away, ..Sha said-that she did r"(. "know who her father" was and lJ she had no knowledge of her ago. SJ had been reared by Mrs. Curtis a. ,:i understood that she was her stevS mother. While a girl of only about 14 'years of age, she said, Mrs. Curtis Cur-tis induced her to lead an Immoral life to earn money for their livelihood and she had known of Mrs. Curtis living liv-ing an immoral life, having been married mar-ried under the common law to seven men. She said that Mrs. Curtis objected ob-jected to her marriage to Mr. Nicholson, Nichol-son, telling her that she could make more money and a better living If she were not married. She further explained ex-plained to her that it was not necessary neces-sary to get married to make a good living. She lived with her step-mother in various places and cainc west when she was about 5 years old, living ' in Denver and other places. The witness declared that she married mar-ried Mr. Nicholson in Denver and that one of her children was born in Mexico Mexi-co and tho other in Colorado, but that Mr. Nicholson Is not the father or the children. She said that because she married and refused to lead the life Mrs. Curtis desired her to live, that Mrs. Curtis told her that she would deprive hor of her children and make her all the trouble she could, since which time she had stolon the children chil-dren from her a number of times and had fraudulently taken out letters of adoption in the east and in Provo. The witness said that Mrs. Curtis had followed herself and husband rrom Denver to California whore she stole the children and ran away with them to Kansas where she and Mr. Nicholson Nich-olson regained possession of them From Kansas. Mr. and Mrs. Nicholson Nich-olson went to Rifle, Colo., with the children to which place Mrs. Curtis followod them and attempted to steal tho children. She had previously stolen the children at Los Angeles San Diego and Long Beach, the children chil-dren being returned to her in each instance by the officers of the law and by order of the courts. Tho last attempt at kidnaping was in Og-den. Og-den. Mrs. Nicholson said that she and her husband came to Ogden last November with the children and that Mrs. Curtis arrived here the same day and had lived with them at the Colonial up to the time she attempt ed to run away with the children. Mrs Nicholson said that she had had the custody of the children at all times since she married Mr. Nicholson, Nich-olson, except when they were kid naped. Her husband is a blacksmith by trade, the witness said, and nblc to take good care of the children, and willing and eager to do so. They had always provided well for the children and had also furnished living quarters and food for Mrs. Curtis upon various vari-ous occasions. . Indicating that Mrs. Curtis is not a fit person to have the care of the children, Mrs. Nicholson said that she had been arrested and placed in Jail for vagrancy, confined in an asylum in New York, lived an immoral life, and had undertaken to use the children for begging purposes, telling the people peo-ple that her husband had died and left her with the children. t The case was resumed at 2 o clocK this afternoon nnd Mrs. Nicholson was called to the witness stand for cross-examination. cross-examination. Her testimony on cross-examination did not vary from that given on direct examination and she reiterated that her step-mother Induced her to lead a shameml life when she was young. |
