The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1872-11-21

Carolina Poisoning Case-a Deadly
| seidlitz Powder-A Clergyman's Wife
and Daughter Passing Through q
Terrible Ordeal.
RALE1aB, N. c., November II.
The community of Raleigh, and indeed OF
almost the entire State of North Carolina, have
been greatly exercised for the past four or five
weeks over the facts developed In the exam
ination BY coroner's jury into the causes
which led 10 the death of the Rev. j. Brinton
Smith, D. D., prominent and influential cler-
eyman of the Episcopal Church, and presl-
dent of the st. Augustine College for the edu-
cation of freedmen In this city. DR.. Smith
came to this city some four years ago for the
purpose of engaging In the educational work
to which all bis talent and energies have been
devoted during that period. he was native
of Delaware, and had preached successfully In
New Jersey before removing to North Carolina.
Al MAN OF ENERGY AND CULTURE.
DIR Smith was man of great arHenergy and
force of character, and his influence was felt
not only among the people OF his charge, but
in the whole community, to the welfare OF
which he was strongly devoted. The general
testimony at the time Of his death was that
the City of Raleigh and the State Of North
Carolina had sustained an almost irretrieVa6le
loss.
The school, of which he was principal or
president, was almost exclusively his own
creation, and to 1t he was dsvotlng himself
% with all The energy of bis nature. 1t is To-
Gated in q charming situation, about mile
from ;hs State capitol, just beyond the new
cemetery, and at the lime Of the DOCTORS
death was In q prosperous condition ana nlleo
| to overflowlng with pupils. Near py Is Cne
doctors residence, an elegant building, COM
pleted Within the last year under MS M own oi-
| rection, and around 1t an extensive ground,
! with fruit orchards, garden, &C., taste1ully
| laid out by himself. The school buildings and
hIa own house and grounds indicate man OF
/ taste and culture, who had located himself
permanently near the work to which ne pur-
posed deyotIng his life. 1t was to this charm
ipg spot, In the midst of comforts and luxury,
and and l almost at the opening OF successful lifs's
career, that the destroyer came, and IN mo-
ment bllghted all his prospects and plans OF
the future.
On the lst of October DR.. Smith arose at his
usual hour, about half-past i've, and after
walking about his farm q little while and CIV
Ing special directions 10 the oVerseer OF the
estate as 10 the work Of the day, returned for
breakfast, remarklng before sltting down that
he felt little uEwell. He suggested that o
seidh.z powder might do him good, and there
mon his daughter, Mrs. Maun, prepared it for
him, and he took 1t, remarklng as he did 30
that 1t was unusaIly bitter, and inqnlrlng
what mRdeit so. His daughter replied that
abe did not know, that she had mixed it just
as her mother handed 1t to her. After eatlng
bie breakfast the doctor returned to the farm,
and while cunverslng with the oVerseer was
oyertaken with what he described as pecu-
liar sensation. T1ereupon he at once return
ed to the house. Arriving there, ne said 70
| his family that he believed be was dying and
thought be had been poisoned. A physician
was sent for, but 700 late. 10 five minutes
the poison had done It's work and the doctor
was a corpse. The suddenness OF the event
and the singularlty of bis remark that ne
thought he had been poisoned, made It seem
necessary to summon coroner's Jury aud
have poSt7r0rtem examination. The Jury
was summoned and the examination begun.
AoHArH WITH MISSING LINE.
And now there began to be woven around
the persons of Mary E. SmltL, the vile, and
Mrs. Frances 8. Mann, the daughter of the
dead man. q chain Of circumstances which
needs bat q link or two to iasten upon them
the guilt Of deliberate murder. The link lack;
Ing in this ciroumstantial chain is motive
and cause. Could 1t be shown that any sufl.
clent motive existed In the minds of these two
women, as for Instance that they were to be
In some way prohted by the dark transaction;
or could 1t be shown that positively unhappy
relations existed between these two and the
husband and father, the chain would be COM
plete The admitted facts as they have slowly
coiled around the unhappy wife and daughter
NAV be stated In biief, without giving the tes.
tmOny in detail. The frat duly OF the cofo-
ner's Jury, of course, was to secure the re-
mains of the seidliiz powder left In the goblet
| from which the doctor drank, and the box OF
powders from which the particular one was
taken. The postmortem was conducted oy
trustworthy physicians Of the city, and II was
decided to fend the stomach OF the deceased
| to Philadelphia for the purpose of chemical
apalysis. The coroner, VINO took the stomach
| to Philadelphia, carried also the tumher In
which the powders were mixed, the empty
paper Wrapper which had contained the dose,
| ihe tin box containing the other seidlitz pow
ders from which the dose was taken, the
spoon used In administering the medicine,
and glass jar Of sugar out OF which the pow.
| der had been BWeetened.
4 SUCCESSFUL SEARCH FOR POISON.
DR.. Genth the chemist to whom these ar-
lioles were submitted, began his analysis very
carefully with the more unlmportant articles.
The sugar In the jar was arst tested. It show
ed nothing to verify the suspicion OF The doc
tor that he had been poisoned. Then came
| the tIn.box of seldlifZ powders. They were
tested one by one, deliberately and carefully
with the consciousness that more than human
| lie hung on the result. Nothing yet OF poison.
And now the chemist comes closer to his
work. he takes up the empty powder wrap
pers, including the white and blue papers
which had contained the acid powder and the
soda. A particle OF white powder adherlng to
the blue paper attracted his attention.
1t was the beginning of the trail. The
minute white particle was subjected to
the usual chemical test. The characters
and perhaps the lives of two women
| trembled In the balance, and as the result APP
peared the coil of circumstances began slowly
TO envelop them. There was in this little
speck of white deadly mineral poison. The
tests developed the characteristics OF strych.
nine, and the chemist 30 pronounced It. Then
came the spoon used In adm inisteriDg the dose
on mixing the powders. Here was another
trace of white powder, and under the analysis
this. too, proved to be strychnine. Next came
| the tumbler from which the powder had been
| taken, and In which sediment remained.
| The trail remained. Here was the deadly pol.
son again beyond doubt. The examination
| of the stomach was reserved unlil the last,
and here was found the final and conclusive
evidence that the doctor when he threw up
his hands In the agony OF death, and expressed
his belief That he had been poisoned, was not
| giving way to childish fears, but was uttering
bis deliberate conviction as to the cause OF his
| distress.
WHO ADMINISTERED THE POISON.
Here were facts that could not be denied,
| for they came In under the sanction OF scien-
tiac exaction. DR.. Smith died from the effects
/! OF poison. Who administered IL? Confes'