Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1859-05-16

And, for some days past, this excitement has
increased. At first there was an evident pur-
pose to hide the facts of the case from the pub
lc This led to a multitude of suspicious,
some very startling. One suspicion was that
the girls mother was responsible for the
death, and others implicated the physicians.
This state of the case put an end to the at
tempt at concealment and the whole truth is
likely to be told. The coroner's inquest,
which had been adjourned, was resumed
again last Friday and, on that day, enough
came to light to show the true state of the
case. The witnesses examined on Friday
were r.. II. Wells, Esq, of Adams, who tes-
titled in regard to letter and showed that one
exciting mystery of the case amounted to
little or nothing and Hon. H. L. Dawes, who
identified the letter as one previously shown
him by Mr.. Wells. In order to show the facts
of this very remarkable case, we copy from
the Springfield Republican some of the report
ed testimony. The following is from the tes-
timony-of Mr.. Dawes =
'Mr. Dawes related a conversation with Lit
tleheld, in which the latter admitted the inter-
course with deceased, but said she could not
be pregnant. Mr.. Dawes asked DR.. Hawkes.,
'oho SAID she died pregnant, that when the corpse
was laid out, he found the child was six months
olo, and a post norton Woud be idle to prove it.
Then returned to Littlefeld, and told him the
penalty for adultery, and advised not to leave
town, but face it, but that under the excite
ment he could not expect to escape the full
penalty. AT another interview on the after
noon OF the same day, Sunday, May l, he Lit
tlefield) said she could not be pregnant. He
never mistrusted such could be the case
till deceased told him con Saturday 30th,
that Dr. Hawkes. said it must be so-
DIR. Hawkes. told him Dawes on Sunday,
Both, that an abortion had not been produced, but
the child raS in the corpSe-that in his opinion
she had suffered from poison. Littlefield told
him that he owned to the family the intimacy,
and the doctors sad an operation must be perform
ed to procure abortion, and the consent of all
parties was needed, and his consent was ask
ed this was Saturday, 30th. He said the doc
tors had doubts as to their liability as regards
the female being quick. Lttlefield consented
to what the doctors thought advisable. Dr.
| Hawkes. said to him (Dawes) on Sunday
morning, May l, that it had been his conviction
and his associates that decerSed ,cas SUFFERING
from poison, but did not know of any reason for
its administration"
Dr. Hawkes., the attending physician, was
also examined. He gave minute account of
Miss Buffers illness, which the doctors finally
treated as pregnancy. This view of the mat
ter was communicated to her family on the
| Saturday before her death, and caused great
commotion in the house. 1t brought out the
facts of her intimacy with Littlefeld and led
to his flight. We give an extract from this
testimony of DR.. Hawkes.. He had told Miss
Butler his suspicious:
"Ihen told her | must communicate the fact
to some one, and asked her who She prefer
| red to have me talk with her mother | told
her mother, and while we were talking the
matter, Mr. Butler came in his wife told him,
and he was COMPOUNDED, and broken down
Soon after Mrs. A. z. Butler ian aunt came
IN, and there was general commotion and ex-
element; the latter was quite excited, and
went in to Martha's room, and began to re-
proach her, for what she had told her, which
was this Mrs. A. p. Butler came in there, a
day or two previously, when Mr.. Lttlefield
was there, in the bed room with Martha, on his
knees before her bed After he went out, Martha
said, in explanation of this matter that the reaS-
phy he acdS on has Knees ,UaS that he aS under con-
Uiction, and ,cdS penitem. Mrs A. p Butler re-
preached her for telling her this story l told
enough, and l did not think she was so much
to blame. She said she thought Martha not
SO much to blame as her father and mother
Mr.. Charles Butler 1.-THE tather) seemed almost
distracted, and she turned to him and said =
| Charles, IT'S not y0u; its your rife
| AT this time note came from Littlefield
and MIR. Butler sent request by the messen-
ger for him to come in person, and he came
and went into the bedroom | was there with
II II !
that Martha had said in his NAME previously,
which was, he had had intercourse, but not to
the ertent achich could produce pregnancy Mrs
| A. Z. Butler, told him he ought to be Killed and
she could almost do ii herself He said he wished
she wouldn't be so hard on him. He asked
the forgiveness of the family for the trouble
he had caused. Mrs. A. p. Butler was almost
in an agony, and said Littefeld ought not to
be in the house. Mr.. Charles Butler told Lit
tletield he must leave the house. Mr. Butler
! went for DIR. Sabn. This was Saturday night
Dr. Sabin came. The examination by the cathe-
ter showed the SOS uteri" had changed position
That gave the impression that had been de-
ceived as to the length of time, and that it was
OF longer standing. Drs Sabin and Babbitt
thought it was longer And on
the strength of that view, Il cas hought best to
introduce the instrument and rupture the memJrun-
as, as The only means Of Saving her life, and it was
decided, and the catheter acaS introduced That
was all that mas done that night / remained till
| ~ A. NJ, ,chen she died."
Here we have an admission that the physi-
clans attempted to procure an abortion. AT the
first meeting of the coroner's jury, after the
circumstances of the case had been stated in
definitely and unsatisfactory, Abial p Bnt-
Ter, an uncle of the deceased, was introduced,
and said:
"The statements given are different from
what understood them 1t was said by the
| physicians, that to save the life of the girl, it
was necessary to procure abortion; they
went through the operation, as l understood
my wife said she did not want to stay if the
thing was to be done before morning. she
went home we were called in the night about
ten o'clock DR.. Hawkes. told me afterwards
that they had an examination, and found things
as they expected-a child some five or six
months along; may be mistaken about these
things, but it is as | understood them; it was
Saturday night when the operation came off,
as / supposed"
There is in all this quite enough to excite
any community. Therefore it is not surpris-
ing that in and around North Adams, there Is
just now such stir as does not often move
any rural region. And the excitement is not
likely to be lessened by a discovery of the fact
that Miss Buffers illness ,cas entirely misunder-
stood, and consequently mismdnaged, BIZ the phySi.
clans There was no pregnancy, it appears,
and it is through this mistake of the doctors
that the girl and her family have been