Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-01-05
THE WHARTON TRIAL.
All about Tartar Emetic.

ANNAPOLIS, Jan. Am the Wharton case
| DR.. Warren resumed the stand. In answer
to question, witness answered that it was
not possible that Gen. ketchum could have
been poisoned Saturday night or Sunday
night, because on both these occasions he
sat up and talked, and was not i'll for some
hours afterwards. Tartar emetic is one of
the most powerful agents. Sometimes it
| does not act, but when it does it is imme-
diate. With a poisonous dose Of tartar
emetic in his stomach Gen. Ketchum could
not have smoked a cigar, chatted with his
friends, gone up stairs, undressed himself
and gone to bed. Such delicacy of action
on tie part of tartar emetic was unprece-
dented in his knowledge. There was
no relaxation of the muscles, no
syncope and other symptoms attending
poison by tartac emetic. On Monday he
was seen by his physicians holding a slop
bucket in his hands and between his knees,
which would not have been likely had he
been poisoned by tartar emetic. He could
not have held bucket, had the muscles
been relaxed by poison. Again, the medi-
cine administered by his physician, creo-
sote and lime water would not have arrest
ed the effects of tartar emetic. 1t is not an
antidote of that poison. Had tartar emetic
been taken, its absorption would have been
going on and continued. The creOsote and
lime water acted only locally on the stO1n-
ach, and yet Gen. Ketchum was relieved by
it when he could not have been if pOisoZed
by tartar emetic before. He concludes that
he was not poisoned Monday.
OnTuesday, although morbidly impressed
none of the characteristic symptoms of
poison by tartar emetlc manifested them
selves. He was conscious. There was no
vomiting or purging on that day; no pro
found relaxation of muscles, as he walked
from the bed across the room, none Of the
symptoms produced on the nervous system;
no increased secretion of urine. Had he
been poisoned by tartar emetic there would
have been hypersecretion Of urine All
these characteristic symptoms of poison by
antimony were wanting on Tuesday, and
therefore he concluded he was not poisoned.
On Wednesday, the day Of his death, the
symptoms of cerebrO-spinal meningitis
were present and not those of tartar emetic
poison, and he thinks ditferential diagno-
sis of these diseases proves this. The in
creased sensitiveness of the skin on that
day was a characteristic of meningitis and
not tartar emetic poison. Indeed, irsensi-
tiveness of the skin is a characteristic of the
latter. There was no relaxation of the
muscles, for be carried his hand to the
shoulder of witness, and from there to
different parts of his body. There was no
increase of the secretion of urine, which
was an invariable characteristic of poison
by tartar emetic; but there was suppress
sion of urine, which was characteristic Of
cerebro-spinal meningitis. This proves to
witness that Gen. Ketchum died of this
disease. This conclusion was from the
symptoms alone.
The post mortem went to show that
death did not result from poison by antimO-
ny, which, had it been present, would have
been developed by irritation of the mu-
cous membrane.
The cross-examination of DR.. Warren
was commenced. He said that the death
of Ketchum was not from taking gelsemi-
um or chloral.
Mr.. Revell asked about what time menin-
gifts set in; how long before death.
The witness could not say that thevomit-
ings of the previous days were premonitOry
or initial symptoms. The cross-examina-
ton as to the different forms or classes of
this disease, and as to the symptoms of the
cases seen and treated by the witness during
its prevalence in Baltimore last year, was
continued until the court adjourned.