Indiana American. [volume] (Brookville, Ind.) 1833-1861, 1857-07-17
Early Indiana Trials.

$50. q.


NO. a.
In the spring of 1920 left Yer
sailles, ard settled in Connersville, in
the beautiful White Water valley
John Conner, the proprietor, lived
there at that time, and as he had been
many years in his youth among the
Indians, at their homes, Connersville
was daily filed with his first forest
friends. The only hotel was kept by
my distinguished friend, Newton
Claypool; the only attorney in the
place was my friend William w.
Wick, who was soon after election
Judge of the ''new purchase circuit,
including the seat of government
Court was in session when L arrived,
The great case Of Isaac Jones against
Edward Harper was on trial The
facts Of the case were simply these:
Jones sold Harper twenty 1.-Two cents
worth of beef in the market; Harper
had no change to pay for it. Jones
some days after, called on Harper for
his pay. Harper refused TO pay, al
lcging that the beef made his family
sick. Jones brought suit before Ed
mond Harrison, q justice ofthe peace,
laying his damages ut 50 so. Several
hung iuries followed each other be-
fore the justice. At length verdict
for Jones for twenty five cents was
had, from which Harper appealed TO
the Circuit Court, where jury after
Jury, at successive terms, had disa-
greed, and now came on the final
trial. The people Of tho county in
mass were in the Court house, the
jury in the box, and tho lawyers in
their seats when entered tho room;
| the young Judge, Eggleston, sitting
between William Helm and Edward
Webb, his portly associates. General
James Noble, John Test, Amos Lane,
and James b. Ray, the council for
Jones, occupied theone end ofthelong
table before the jnry, and William w.
Wick, Daniel Caswell, and William
G. Drew the other. Jones and Har-
per sat at the ends ofthe table, deeply
anxious as to the result, and ready 70
give any required information 10 their
counsel. The evidence was heard,
the case argued some two days with
great energy by the able COUNSEL; the
court charged the jury with tho usual
ability Of Judge Eggleston; the out.
siders seemed TO doubt of the verdict,
as they took sides with the lawyers,
The jury were out all night, and at
the opening of tho court next morn.
ling. ret rned n verdict for the de-
fendant. Jones lost his beef his only
farm and home was sold by the sheriff
TO pay the costs-ovcr 81 100; and the
last time | saw him he was poorly
dressed, riding a little pony, carrying
q few pecks OF corn to neighborhood
horse mill. Harper was broken up
in paying his lawyers fees.
! One morning | was introduced by
landlord to small black-eyed man
wearing plain coat and speaking
the plain language of"thee and thou,
as DIR. Burr, from New Philadelphia,
Ohio, who was about to settle in
Connersville, as root Doctor. Some
days after, there was nailed up TO the
weather boarding Of the hotel an
enormous swamp lilly root, almost as
large as man, with head, eyes
nose, ears and mouth nicely carved
arms and legs with feet stuck on
and just above the sign on a board
marked with chalk, "Joseph s. Burr
Root Doctor; no Calomel." The
news of the arrival OF the root doc.
trine spread over the country lik,
wild fire, and hun dreds came from al
parts of the county to see the doctor
and the big root. We had in tn,
town at the time a firstrate Allopathi,
pysician, by the name of DR.. JOSEPH
Moflit, who looked upon the strange
root doctor as quaclz, intending Il
gull the people, and spoke OF hin
freely with the utmost contempt, Will,
: on the other hand the root doctor
openly charged DIR. Moflit with killing
J his patients with 'calomel." TIL,
people soon began to take sides, some
for roots and some for calomcl. i
was a sickly season and a gooG many
of DR.. Motifs patients died; eacf
} case Of death was referred to by th,
root doctor as evidence that the Gallo
mel doctor was killing the people anC
many believed the slander. DIR. Mof
fit was at length almost driven Il
despair, and called on mo to bringar
action of slander against DIR. Burr;
objected Mt first, but ultimately yield
ed at the urgent request Of the doc
tor. The action was brought, som,
five Of the first attorneys Of the cir
;; cult were engaged on each side. Th'
trial lasted more than q week; tn,
! lawyers distinguished themselves. tn
proof pro and con left the case il
doubt in the minds Of the jury ant
by ISLANDERS whether the people die,
with the fever" or were killed b'
, the calomel Doctors The widow o
man who had recently died wa
called as witness by DIR. Burr
DIR. Moffitt, who sat by me, whis
pered in my ear II have hin
, now; / can prove by witness il
, court that her husband died before
! got there" The jury failed to agre
and was discharged; and the cas-
continued. Before the next court tn
: root doctor ran away, and the sui
/. : was dismissed by DIR. Moffitt at hi
!. own proper costs.
( The effect Of this trial upon th
practice ofmedicine in Fayette coun
ty, as well as upon the necessary qua
: ifications to practice, was prodigiou'
q DR.. Burr granted diaplomas to his stu
!. dents upon three weeks study. Th
. county was soon filed with Roc
i Doctors. One of his graduates, b
4 the name Of Thomas L. Chinn, cor
p stable three weeks before, barely abb
3 to write his name, sailed forth wit