Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1878-06-14

n ae ~ nom ~ ny Eors f.ss caI ~ ,,nrl
While the only requiem was that
OF the plaintive, sweet voiced whippoorwill.
Think how those same pale slyery beams
&hmnsrsa % on lonely nSags .a'id aa,i an ,,.o,
For tidinss from the cruel war;
And question If our hearts are large
En- tSs% 10 tbs M blessed .ne bopered dead.
Who loved the dear ''red, white and blue"
Then scatter flowers with loving hand
nnove ar esoa soplns h nrd grsss aT on,. nouhu'
Can heroism like theirs be found.
Think how they loved the beating drum,
TSini bny tbs; as re gasting sase al bome
"Tlead lightly, DER their graves"
,..,no,-o.,. c....
No''u ro'sonins ,.,,u, 'a.'
SOME Or pH. pohhh.s hhhin,s' EN- 70
of NNALiSiS MADE III "'A
''lt is rather annoying TO me" SAID
Prof Doremus last evening, "to see that
the impression has been given out that
am working Tor the prosecution IN TINS
Nosburgh case. The exact opposite would
be the truth. mean that am not a
worker for either side. l utterly ignore
everything connected with the case eX-
cept the chemlca! question, ana Tor that
reason II is my custom TO abstain from
even attending the sessions OF the court
except when this phase OF the question IS
TO come up tor examination.
There was remarkable case IN that
same county OF Hudson. n. j., about Il
years ago. 4 man named Abscom was
suspected OF having poisoned his wife.
The body was eXhumed and strychnia
was found in the organs. What made
this case remarkable was the peculiar and
inhuman mode which the poisoner first
adopted tor accomplishing his object,
There are six similar cases on record in
Europe, but this is the first case ever
known in this country. The man was
suspected Of the deed on the occasion of
the first attempt. Failing 10 make the
poison TO take effect by means of the plan
first adopted. he administered dose in
the more natural way the following night,
and the victim died, of course. Abscom
Was convicted, but escaped the gallows
by opening his veins during the night be-
fore the day the execution was TO have
taken place"
As everybody knows, n good many
prisoners have been convicted on the
strength OF Your analyses. Does it often
happen that prisoners are proven innocent
by the same means?'
Certainly In fact, the majority OF
cases, | think, are of that kind, but those
are the eases which naturally do not come
so prominently before the public. Alto
gether suppose have on an average 40
cases of this kind every year. The Bur-
dell murder in Bond street, you know.
was highly sensational affair. Eckel,
You remember, was strongly suspected OF
the murder, but the microscope saved his
life by proving that the blood found on
him was bullock's and not human blood.
But when come tOrecall remarkable
cases of poisoning, SAID frof Doremus,
Il remember now more distinctly the case
of James Stephens. The circumstances
about this case were all very strange One
night man was seen running through
the streets downtown shouting TOR the
police. That man was James stephens,
and close upon his heels was another
man, who Stephens SAID wanted TO klll
HIM. The man accused oil threatening 10
Kill Stephens Il have forgotten his name)
was locked up. Next morning Chauncey
Shafler called on the prisoner as counsel.
Almost the hrst words OF the prisoner
were: Il shant deny 1t. tried to Kill him,
and II get out II kili MN yet. came
all the way from ireland on purpose 10 DO
It, w hat do you want TO Kill nm Tor
asked Shailer, much amazed at the auda-
city OH client. because he poisoned my
aunt, said the prisoner. 'oho SAID
Shatier, and he went right out and got 4
warrant for the arrest of Stephens. The
story OF the alleged poisoning was got out
OF the prisoner as far as possible. lie
charged that Stephens poisoned his (the
prisoner's) aunt because she opposed the
marriage of her daughter TO Stephens.
The woman had been in Greenwood cem-
etery Just about a year. Her body was
exhumed and the organs were sent to me
for examination. Now, YOU know, what
made the case so interesting was the fact
that this Stephens. although one of the
blackest scOundrcls ever hung, was a
prominent church member, a leading light
in the Sunday school, and, in 4 word a
perfect pink OF piety. Besides this he was
something of local politician, and so
he not only had the clergy praying for
him and scheming to save his neck. but
he had much political influence at his back
besides. | might name good many
prominent clergymen, still living and do
ing good in this city who signed their
names TO petition to Gov. Morgan pray
ing for a repricve for the prisoner. Oh
that man was an elegant wretch He was
ALWAYS on his knees in his cell and the
simple women who visited him shed
rivers of tears over him, | remember
seeing one OF them run out of the cell and
exclalm TO the warden, That mans a
perfect angel, and it's great shame that
he should be punished But about the
poison I found arsenic iYIhe stomach,
The liver, the kidneys, etc. Alter had
reported the result of my analysis | saw
4 communication in one OF the papers,
coming from chemist who was Younger
then than he is now. The chemist said
that there was arsenic in the earth, the
trees and plants, etc, and that it might
have been conveyed to the body of this
woman from some such source So
went to work and analyzed samples of the
earth, the trees and plants in the neigh
borhood OF the tomb. Not satisfied with
that analyzed the wood of the coffin il
self, and even the nails and some of the
satin lining Then, as they still kept up
the cry against me and in favor OF the
pious criminal we even exhumed another
body from grave near by. and analysed
that. BY that time the Stephens party
had been silenced and Justice had its way
Before the man was hung he concoc.ed a
plot to murder his keepers and make his
escape. His confederate was 4 negro
named Sanchez, also condemned to death
Sanchez confessed the plot, and when
Stephens saw no other hope left he tried
to Kill the sheriff when he went to search
the prisoner on the night prior to the ex-
ecution. But now here is a point in con-