The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1877-11-23


a grain of arsenic. 81 did not expect to
find much. Might lind any quantity in
the stomach; in all the organs could
hardly expect to find more than grain
or two: mean IN the secretory organs !:
has not estimated all found some was
used up In tests and mixed up with re-
agents; have found and weighed 1873
ten thousandths, almost one-seventh, of
grain of white arsenic taken from the
parts. doubt whether two-scvenths ola
grain would have been recovered il
none hnd been lost; might not be injur-
ious to take this amount into the stom-
ach: could not give an opinion from the
amount found in the liver as to how
much had been taken; any dose of ar
senic which did not destroy life would be
eliminated; taken In solution 1t would
not remain in the system more than ten
or fifteen days; if taken solid it might
be found after twenty or thirty days; it
is soluble in alkalies and TO some extent
in water, is very soluble In hydrochlor-
ic acid
The court at this time took II recess
till ten A. NJ Wednesday.
wEDNEsDAY--sE SECOND DAY.
Prof. Collier continued: Received
parcel containing ten powders, and pre-
scriptions saving they were five grains
sub-nitratc Of bismuth aud five grains of
sallcinc, for analysis. DR.. Kiddcr
brought them Sept. q; made ANALYSIS
of one powder; failed to find arsenic
Bismuth not regarded nor used rs poi
sou; quart might kill. Also received
two bottles homeopathic preparation.
l.. ali Enn Lad 49,
any appearance of arsenic. There would
hardly be an appreciablc amount of ar
scnic IN one thousand barrels of this So
luton. The amount of arsenic found in
remains would make one million barrels
of water as strong as understood bv
30th solution. Arsenic given as a rem
edy would be eliminated directly. Have
no knowledge of this from observation
but derive my information from books.
The first effects ofarsenic are intlamma-
ton, and patient might die in few
hours or days. The system attempts to
carry off the poison by vomiting, purg-
ing, and by the secrctory organs taking
it up and endcavoring to throw it Off
| Lead is not carried off, and is n cumula-
: tive poison. Elimination is commenced
in vomiting and excavations. The liver,
kidneys and other organs carry off, and
the work of assimilation goes on Mt the
same time. If the arsenic is in solution
! then actions are more rapid than If the
powder is taken, in which case it would
have to pass into solution before it
could be taken up and assimilated. The
length of time for elimination is gener-
ally from twelve to fifteen days. 1t is
likely that the arsenic in this case may
/ have been in other organs than the ali
mcnlarv canal. The amount found
shows undoubtedly that a much larger
amount must have been administered,
but how much cannot be determined
Arsenic is used for preserving bodies
The preservation of bodies and parts of
bodies found preserved has been attrib-
uted to arsenic. 1t is no evidence, how
ever, that a person did not die from
poisolrbecause the body is dccomposed
One specimen brought me from DR..
kidder in tin box: it was white arsenic I:
used one fifIicth of grain; 1872 grains
remain in box. Examined the reagents
used in the first analysis, and found no
arsenic in them. Should say l-5O, 900
part of grain could be detected. We
may find more in certain portions of the
liver than in others doubt if one-tenth
of the liver was taken the first time.
Had met and had conversation with
Ezra P. Smith. Remembered that one
morning at eight o'clock Mr.. Drew
called and told him that Mr.. Smith was
DESTROYS of having personal interview
with him. Said he would meet him at
the medical college at S.45; while build
| ing fire hack drove up with Drew.
Smith, Burroughs and another officer,
who all came into the laboratory: Drew
took key and with the officer left the
room. leaving Smith, Burroughs and
himself. Burroughs said he expected
to go out on habcas corpus next morn
ing. Smith asked if he had made re-
port. He told him no; that hc had not
got far enough TO report. Smith want
ed analysis stopped: hc told Smith he
did not see how it could be; Smith sug-
gcsicd that he might say he had met
with an accident; whole interview last
ed three-quartcrs of an hour: the drilt
of his proposition was that he would
pay tho professor for any trouble: asked
Smith what was the matter with his
wife, and he replied cholera morbus:
professor told him if no poison was
there he should find none. Smith said
perhaps some one else might have given
it; he gave the professor TO understand
that he wanted the analysis stopped
anyhow. and finally offered to give $3.50
if the professor would stop it and make
report of it rs far rs he had gone.
Cross-eXamincd: Is not practicing
physician; did not graduate from a
medical college this is not first case in
which he had had to analyze the human
body 10 find arsenic; had examined five
such cases; one in connection with Prof.
johnson in one case before this arsenic
was found. in another strychnia; the ar
senic case was eleven years ago. the
strychnia case four years ago; aside
from these cases his knowledge was de-
rived from books. Christison, a stand
ard writer on poisons, says he never
saw the peculiar appearance and grey
ish-black color, as was presented in this
case, except as the result of irrtant poi
son; this appearance alone is not con-
elusive as test. The body examined
with Prof johnson might have been
buri four to six weeks; change begins
at once at death, perhaps might moi be
noticeable week after burial. The
books say that, as general rule, when
death is produced by arsenic, il is al
most invariably found except when
there has been excessive vomiting; in
cases where incessant vomiting has tax
ell place arsenic has been found In the
stomach, but this is exceptional The fact
that body has turned black is no
evidence that il was poisoned by
arsenic. Arsenic is regarded as local
irritant, but is sometimes found in the
blood. In this case, no arsenic was
found in the stomach, nor in the por-
ton of liver first analysed. Could not
say in what part the arsenic was found
had found one-seventh of grain of ar
senious acid and there is very small
amount not yet separated. Probably
the whole quantity is less than two
seventh of grain, an amount too
small TO cause death; this indicates
that more must have been administer
ed; would find more in the viscera than
in muscles and bones, II given through