The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1871-07-25
THE POISONING MYSTERY; e II ':l}' Z;
TEE THEORY or THF DEFENCE
How the widow Wharton arst s.ms
ctor -bs Suspected OF the, Crtnae.lEHes
Confidence In Her Innocence.


Confidence In Her Innocence.
The Baltimore correspondent of the New
York World, writings theaspects Of the great
Wharton poisoning case, says:i }sc5r! sir=....ye
TIE. THEORY OF TIE DEREHoE III .s
will not In my opinion, be insanity. Her
wears, In answeriag "a question on that! Eub-
||ect, did not intimate aEy belief IN the mental
alteration Of the prisoner. He had seen her
under all circumStanceg-inSrate ratekne8B2
health, In trouble and weighed down by sor-
row, but she was always the same calm, dignl-
fed womansi nothing emotional or dighfy
abont her. Excitement ,prgdnced nervoua
nothing Wild. IF were to guess the theory
Of the defence of the defendant to the first
count of the Indictment charging her with
wilfnlIy and malici0usly poisoning W. 81:
Ketchum, I should say that her counsel would
endeavor to show that General Ketchum, >.
through mistake, administered the poison to
himself he was SINGULAR eccentiicSper-
son, and Inclined to look with little respect on
doctors and their medicines: but. on the other
hand, was fOnd'of . - -
TAAPERrEG WITH DRUGS js1 5.y1
himself. When DR.. Williams called upon him,
at the request of Mrs. Wharton, he received
him grufiy, and the doctor remarked on
coming down stairs thathe believed he would
not visit him again, unless the general sent for
him. The prosecution can only show that the
prisoner bought sixty grains OF tartar emetie
on the 26th OF June--tWo days after the gene
raj was taken sick. Mrs. Chubb will account
for this by stating that she saw the defendant
sprinkle part OF 1t on mustard plaster and
throw. the restln the alep-basin In her cham.
Der. The druggist; Of whom the tartar emetic
was purchased says he was told that II was
to be used as counter. trritant. In The case
of Mr. Van Ness, that gentleman himself Will
assert his unqualified belief in her Innocence
Of. any attempt to poison him, and swearst that
the only thing which he received nom her
hsnd-the Iager--she drank. Of herself nem
the same bottle. There are, however, strong
links 10 the chain Of clrcumstantial evidence
which prapples her to tbs terrible crime, and
ft win REQUIRE all the skill aud tmching elo-
ouence OF her distinguished counsel to save
her from shameful and ignominious death.
THE FrRsT SUSPICION.
Suspicion did not atearst attach to Mrs.
Wharton herself, but to an humble domestic
in her family. It was. Mrs. Wharton,s aubse-
duent conduct which turned the current Of
suspicion against herself Two days latter
General Ketchum's burial, hrs. Wharton went
iKetchufn, General Ketchnm's son, uniformed
government gov. bonds TO keep Tor her, and that
she was about to 60 on visit to Europe, and
wanted the boads or the money: Young NE.
Ketchum told her he knew nothing about DIS
fathers having $4,000 IN government bonds be-
longing to.her, and referred her to. his uncle.
Colonel Brlce. She made the same demand
of Colonel Brlce, who informed her that, II
she was depending on any claim against Cen
eral Ketchum's estate for money. to take
her to Europe, she had better abandon
the trip at once. He then called her at
tentlon to the fact that General Ketch.
ufnis-b books showed that she owed
hin, $4,000. She said that she had paid that
debt on the 18th of January last. On being
asked for the note, she said when she paid st
General Ketchum handed it to her. and she
tore 1t up. An entry In General Ketchum's
day book shows that Mrs. Wharton paid half
years Interest on the note January 2b. He is
said to have been most careful man IN alEhts
business transactions, and kept his accounts
with systematic exactness. June 10 he charges
note. General ,Ketchum's clothes remained in
Mrs w Wharson's house fnr three days affer bis
TIE PUBLIC SENTIMENT,
30 far as your correspondent is able to Judge,
is, / believe, decidedly unfavorable toi the
prisoner, though there are, OF course, many
who believe her Innocent: As is usual, fthe
penter-(?) sex are hardest on their poor un-
fortunate sister, and would give but little
hope for her If she was to be tried BY ajury Of
her own sex. All > -
MRS. WHARTON IN PRISON.
The Baltimore Sun of Saturday says: sssArs.
Wharton has passed her first week of impris-
onment In jail, and her condition remains un-
changed. She continues to occupy the same
cell NO. l6T) to which she was originally es-
signed, and her daughter Nellie, who volun-
taTily shares her mothers imprisonment, ,is
also as closely confined III the same cell. Mrs.
Wharton's health is about the same. She has
not vet had another attack Of epilepsy, as an-
ticlpated; but her. labll ty TO It trequires that
she should have her daughter or some other
attendant constantly with her. Drs. Williams
and Chew called to see her on Thursday last,
at her request. Only few Intimate friends,
whom she desires to see, are permitted to see
her.. A plain white muslin curtain al the. door
of her cell serves to exclude Its occupants
from observation. Mrs. Whsrton's meals con-
linue to be fllrnished her by Mrs. Russell the
caterer, and her appetite is good. Mrs Whar-
ton says that she cannot sleep at night on ac-
count Of the noise. She saye she feels COM
nosad. because she is conscious That she Will