The Red Cloud chief., 1879-12-25

end Of which a door, not often used.
gave egre-, by an a~ll-yway 10 the street.
II was through this door tina; subjects
for dissection were brought into The
building. I;Opk a bunch If key from
my pocket and turned the lock. Your
WAY J. clear now | said.
To my immense ast0ni-hmrn'. Ms
BDrgicr, a w stood together At the end
If the dark corridor, threw both arms
around my neck and kissed me.
"G"rd by" she said, a. she di-ap-
pearcd through the half-"poncd door.
When | awuke the next morning. af-
ter sleeping for more than - hours, |
found that | could not raise NV head
from the pillow without nausea. The
symptoms were exactly like those which
mark the effects If AN overdose II llud-
anum.
have thought it due To myself and to
my professional reputation 10 recount
these facts before briefly speaking IF
my recent testimony, a. an expert, in the
l;atclif murder trial, the character of
my relations with the accused having
'''AA lF'ATs - -
The circumstance Of that celebrated
ease are no doubt still fresh in the rccol-
lection Of the public. Mr.. John Il. Rat
cliff, "A wealthy, middle-aged merchant
IF Boston, am Ia st. Louis with his
young bride, on their wedding journey.
His sudden death AT the Planters Hotel,
followed by the arrest If his wife, who
was entirely without friend, or acquaint-
anccs in the city, her Indictment for
murder by poisoning. the conflict Of
medical testimony At the trial, and the
purely circumstantial nature If the evil
dcncc against the prisoner, attracted
general attention and excited public in
tcre,t 10 Il degree that was quite extra
ordinary.
IL will he remembered that the State
proved that the relations of Mr.. and
Mrs. Ratcliff, ~ observed by the guests
and servants of the hotel, We're not
fclicitous; that hc rarely spoke To her Al
table, habiiually averting his face in her
presence; that he wandered aimlcs,ly
about the hotel for several days previous
To his illness, apparently half stupciied,
as if by the oppression of some hcayy
mental burden, and that when accoSicd
by any one connected with the house he
started a. if from a dream, and an
swcrcd incohcrcntlv If al all.
II was also shown that, by her huS-
bands death, Mrs. l";aicliff became the
sole mistress of a large fortune.
The evidence bearing directly upon
the circumstances of Mr.. l.atcliif'S
death was very clear. For u hours be-
fore Il physician was summoned, no one
had access Ia him save his wife. At
dinner that day, in response Ia the po-
lite inquiry IF a lady ncighbor AT table.
Mrs. RItcliff announced, with great
Srlf-poSScSSion, that her husband WAS
seriously indi>puScd. Don after IL
O'Clock al night, Mrs. Ratcliff rang her
bell, and, without the least agitation Of
manner, remarked that her husband
appeared Ia be dying, and tLat it might
be well to send for a physician. DIR.
Culbcrt, who arrived within a very few
minutes, found Mr.. Ratcliff in a pro
found Stupor, breathing Stertoriou~ly.
He Swore at the trial that when he first
entered the room the prisoner, pointing
to the bed. cnolly said: IL suppose that
| have killed him"
DIR. Culbcrt'S testimony seemed To
point Enthusiastically 10 poisoning 10y
laudanum or morphine. The uncon-
sciouS mans pulse was full but slow; his
skin cold and pallid the expression Of
his c~ountenance placid; Yet CHASTITY
pale; lips livid. Coma had already SUI
pcrvcned, and it was impossible To rouse
him. The ordinary eNpedicnts were
tried in vain. Flagellation of the palms
of his hands and the Solcs of his feet,
electricity applied to the head and spine,
failed to make any impression on his
lethar"y. The eyelids being forci-
bly, opened, the pupils were
seen To be contracted to the
size Of pinheadS, and violently turned
inward. Later, the StertorouS breathing
developed into the ominou>ly loud rattle
of mucous in the trachea; there were
commissions, attended by copious froth-
in~S at the mouth; the under jaw fell
upon the breast; and paralysis and death
followed, four hours after DIR. Culbert's
arrival.
Several of the most eminent practi-
TONERS of the city, put upon the stand
by the prosecution, swore that, in their
opinion, the symptoms noted by DIR.
Culbert not only indicated opium poiS-
oning, but could have resulted from no
other cause.
On the other hand, the State absolute
" failed to show either that opium in
any form had been purchased by Mrs.
Ratcliff in ST. Louis, or that trace of
opium in any form were found in the
,,,,, ,y..- Tho ,y.nt Il - sr,n .bn,
the Prosecuting Attorney, in his closing
argument, sought to make the latter
circumstance tell against the prisoner.
He argued that the disappearance of any
vessel containing or having contained
laudanum, in view of the positive evil
dcnce that laudanum had been en-
ployed, served To establish n deliberate
intention of murder and 10 demoliSh any
theory of accidental poisoning that the
defense might attempt TO build; and he
~propounded half a dozen hypothetical
methods by which Mrs. Ratcliff might
have disposed, in advance, of this evil
dcncc of her crime. The Court, of
course, in summing up, cautioned the
jury against attaching weight to these
hypothesis of the Prosecuting Attor-
ney.
The Court, however, put much en-
phaSi> on the medical testimony for the
prosecution. and on the calm declaration
of Mrs. Ratcliff To DIR. Culbert, IL sup
pose that | have killed him."
Having conducted the autopsy. and
afterward made a qualitative analysis of
the contents Of the dead mans stomach,
| was put upon the stand rs 4 witness
for the defense.
Then | saw the prisoner for the first
time in more than five years. When |
had taken the oath and answered the
preliminary questions. Mrs. Ratcliff
raised the veil which she had worn since
the trial began, and looked NE in the
face with the well remembered eyes of
Miss Borgier.
confess that my behavior during the
first few moments Of surprise afforded
some ground for the reports that were
afterwards current concerning nv rela-
tions with the prisoner. Her eyes
chained not only mine, but my tongue
Also saw .JeruSalam arsip and tho