Western Reserve chronicle and weekly transcript of the times. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1854-1855, 1855-04-04


throw man into spasms. We get great
sensitiyeness in nervous fevers and brain
affections, but not to such an extent.
The taking of the stomach and medi-
cine to Cleveland for analysis, was at the
instance of the board of physicians who
made the post mortem examination. /
think DR.. Beach was the first to propose
it. became responsible for the fees of
the analysis /; Mr.. Belden has since paid
them the Professor told me how the
thing was usually done. At the post
mortem examination we did not examine
the brain or spine; the examination
seemed 10 be satisfactory to those who
were present. The intention was to see
if anything was in the stomach we
suspected that such was the case we
wanted to know whether she came to
her death by poison.
know nothing of the composition of
Hoofand's Bitters; it claims to be ton.
ic Alternative; l believe it is claimed that
there is no alcohol in it. If the solvent
were all water, l cannot say how much
strychnine it would hold in solution ; 1
think it requires 6667 parts of water to
hold one of strychnine. Strychnine is a
preparation from Nux Vomica or Dog
Button. The least dose of strychnine L
ever heard of causing death was one
half grain, and still patients have been
known to take grain without producing
death. In ordinary cases, death occurs
in half an hour to two and half hours
I think there has been cases in which
death has occurred in fifteen minutes
The Hoofand Bitters are of dark brown
color, muddy when shaken up; Observ-
ed a sediment in the bottle 1 brought
from Mr.. Leet's. By holding it up to
the light, l could see dark sediment
with considerable white powder in it. If
the solvent of the medicine were water,
and strychnine were put into it, and a half
ounce taken as soon as the strychnine
settled, it might not kill, but if it stood
long, or were shaken up, 1 should great
ly hate to take much of it.
After Mr.. Leet's spasm, administer
ed mild remedies, such as mucilages of
Slippery Elm, Sassafras, and Flax seed.
During the violent attacks, used more
Chloroform than in all my other practice.
I told Elsie what used the Chloroform
for in her fathers case.
direct resumed.)
In cases of Tetanus, at first sight the
symptoms are very similar to those from
Strychnine, but on further inquiring into
the case we should expect to find the
cause, and in the outcome some consi-
derable degree of certainty might be
reached. In Tetanus it may be weeks
and it may be only few days or hours
before death ensues.
DIR. Amzi Moore.-I reside in Vienna;
Have pracliced medicine about eight
years; 1 was quite we'll acquainted with
Elsie Leet. On the night of her death,
l was called to see her, about ten or
eleven o'clock. | had retired for the
night; it was on the 7th OF December.
She had been dead some two hours when
l arrived. Her face was livid and ap-
peared swollen; so was her neck, and
her whole muscular system appeared in
state of spasm, her limbs rigid and the
pupils of her eye dilated; little bloody
froth issued from her mouth. took
bottle from Mr.. Leet containing medicine;
| gave small quantity of it to cat on
the following morning, and it died with
minute; it fell upon the floor in less
than minute, and soon stopped breath
ing. The cat got about half a teaspoon
full of the medicine.
was at the post-mortem examina-
ton. We found the lungs engorged
with blood and congested. The caIdi-
&C ori6ce of the stomach was injected.
We place ligatures at the extremities,
and after carefully tying them, removed
the stomach. gave the bottle to
nv brother. He had the stomach in
his possession. From the appearance of
the body after death, l should be OF the
opinion that she died from poison, and
that that poison was strychine. l did
not sec her while living, but | know of
nothing else which would produce such
an appearance after death, unless it were
idiopalhic tetanua, but see no reason to
believe she was affected by that She
died too so1n for Tetanus, according to
our authorities, for that is rarely fatal in
less than three or four days, and FIRE.
quently it is week or longer. 1 atten-
ded upon Homer NJ. Leet from the 99th
of July to the 18th or 18th of August =
He came to my hlus, on the 28th day
of July, the day be fore 1 first visited
him had some previous knowledge
of his health, and supposed it was an old