Eastern times. [volume] (Bath, Me.) 1846-1857, 1850-10-10
CorreTenineos Of tie Eastern Times.
Supreme Judicial Court.
JUDGE WELLS UPON THE BENCH.
Siats Us. Charles CofrGn.


Stats rs. Charles CoFran
WIscAssEr, Oct. ID, 1850.
This important trial, involving a principle
rcver adjudicated upon in our Courts, has Gre
ated considerable excitement in our County,
The trial was assigned for the LIST inst, but
was not commenced until the morning of the
I'd instant.
The following persons were cmpannelled as
a jury-Foreman, James II. Nichols, Bath
Nath1 Durham, Jr., Ambrose Carleton. Thos
Child, Robert Day, Elijah Frye. Benjamin P.
Giles, Robert Hornby, VIM. Hit. Redfeld
Hopkins Thos Trott, Robert S. Given.
Attorney General Henry Tallman, for the
State-Lowell and Foster, of Rockland, for
def.
The indictment having been read, the Attor-
ney General stated to the jury the facts that he
expected to substantiate, in substance, that on
the 9TH day of last July the defendant admin
istered to Mrs. Mary Sleeper portion of lau-
danum, instead of lobelia which he intended to
have administered-in consequence of which
death ensued. lie then laid down the law,
| applicable to the case quoting from Roscoe
Criminal Evidence principally--also the 9TH
section of the l54th Chapter of the Revised
Statutes OF Maine, which defines manslaushtcr
to be the killing of another, without malice
! atorethought, either express or implied.
The first witness called by the government,
was
DR.. FRYE, of Pockland-On 10th of July last
was called to see Mrs. Emily p Sleeper-found
her able to be about housc--rot being called
to prescribe for her, did not examine the case
as should had been called to proscrbe-m
medical attendance closed on the 30th of June
last-then she was able to ride ont-she was
very much the same in July-she suffered I'M
der catarrhal affec;ion-had a slight tickling
in the windpipe-which did rot prevent her
from being about house, though.
Cross Ed. Was first professionally called
10 see her the 2lst of April last, called often
once or twice day at first; she had the usual
symptoms of bilious fever-brownish furred
tongue, pulse about 100 minute, severe gas
trio irritation, bowels constipated painful
limbs, dry skin as the case was under domes-
tic treatment, allowed it to remain so the first
day. prescribing Simply some rhpbarb with
soda-atterwards gave her a SINAI. dose of ipe-
cac, with small dose of calomel, and applied a
cataplasna, or mustard pouItice to the stomach /;
that to be followed in about six hours with a
dose of castor oil; also recommended muci-
In ~ al e
tus, val arian tea for drink in part, diet sparing
and light. In few weeks she recovered SO as
to be able to get up and walk about her sitting
room, appetite became good. She afterwards
had different form of disease, having taken a
new cold-she had infammatory excitement
in the upper part of windpipe, loss of voice, fe-
verish excitement of the whole system, and
great nervous irritation this was sometime in
May. My treatment was in the use of expec-
torants, hyve syrup, wine of ipecac, &C., she
being subject not adapted to opia,es-uscd
caster oil and the rind of pork to produce coun-
ter irritation occasionally scdblitz powder !;
there was danger of her dying from suffoca-
tion-the difficulty in her voice gradually
subsided-she had severe cough, accompa-
MED with general deblity-but she gradually
regained her strength. and was able to 30 out
to ride LETT one night morphine powder, but
told her not to take it if she could get to sleep
without 1t gave her three small blue pills in
course OF her sickness; her liver was some dis
eased was very dangerously sick at times
have said that did not expect to effect a radi-
cal cure in reply to inquiry if he had not
said that she would not have lived the summer
out, the DIR. replied that he had no recollection
of thus stating-I have said that did not ex-
pect to effect radical cure.
MARY ANN HALL-was acquainted with Mrs.
Sleeper. was present when she died-was called
there at quarter before eleven, in the evening !:
DR.. Coffran and some neighborrs were present: :
Mrs. Sleeper was senseless; Dr. told me after
she died-he was walking the floor at the time
-"My God, am ruined man, asked
why he said so, he replied that in the afternoon
she said she wanted a slight emetic,-hc told
her to prepare herself for one-don't know as
he told me that he administered 20 her one at
after, he said he found it had not operated
he said he gave her what he thought was tea
spoons full of lobelia repeatedly, he pointed to
a medicine chest that set on the table and said
that that chest had not been made use of for
the last six months, until within four or five
days-he said that she went into a dose, and
that by rubbing her flesh she would revive
it didn't operate as he expected he then gave
her some composition tea, warm water and SAL
eratus water, but it was of no avail he said
that when he last used his medicine chest was
IN Massachusetts where he was practising be-
fore he came to Rockland; said that he recol
lected at one time buying some laudanum and
putting it into his chest, but as it was an arti-
Gle that he was not in the habit of using in his
practice often, he had forgotten that he had
any on hand-when he happened to think of
this laudanum he knew that it must have been
this that he had given to her when he found
this out, he gave her some strong coffee, but he
SAID 1t was too late was well acquainted with
Mrs. Sleeper; saw her the Friday before the
Wednesday night that she died, at her broth
er's house; she walked there Friday and Sat
urday-she was rocking her infant, which was
three months and half old that Dr. said he
gave her the cmetic to cause her to throw up
the phlegm; she died about half hour after