Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1883-08-17
DRUGGED TO DEATH
A Dentist Administers an Ahasthetic
10 a Patient Who Dies From
Its Effects.
Details OF a Shocking Affair-AD Arrest
Made on the Strength Of The
Jury's Verdict.


Jury's Verdict.
A very unfortunate affair occurred yester-
day about 1870 O'Clock in the forenoon al
the Office Of A. Wesson & SOP, deUtists, up
Stair, On the south vest corner OF Main and
Jefferson streets. At that noun Mrs. Ellen
Scheibler, wife Of Mr.. Sam ScGeib!er, dealer
in hides ard leather, wen; with her husband
to Wesfon's 10 have a tooth extracted. II
was a stom ach or sscond bi-cu-pid tooth and
had been broken eff, the gum closing over
the rot. Mrs. Schneider naturally expected
that the operation would b. very painful
aud asked TO be given
AN ANEsTHETIc.
A mixture known az sausom, couposed Of
nearly equal paris Of alcohol, ether snd
chl0roiorD, was administered, and with
three minutes the tooth wss pulled and Mr..
Schneider wrs a corIse
An APPEAL reporter interviewed DR.. Abb
ner Wes.on, jr, DR.. J. D. White and Mr..
Schsibler.
In spswer to QUESTION:, d.. WessOn said:
"Ihe lady came Into the Office about 1910
o'clock, aud said che desired 10 have a tooth
and wanted to take something l
have been administering al sc ,thetios ever
since l was a boy, and lave never had an &C
cident. Her reque.t VS. 80 common that /
thought nothing OF it, and saturating a cloth
with SAMSON applied it to her n~cs.riIs.
SSH STRUGGLED
considerably fer about q minute and a half,
wildly throwing out her srma and feet. A
heavy ottoman sitting in front at her feet was
kicked over and L was obliged to AK her
husband 10 assist me. Suddenly the lady
became quiet and sank back in her chair.
Her teeth were 30 tightly closed that it was
extremely d fficult 10 force them apart, ard
when father volunteered to extract the 10 tn
| allowed him to do so, as / WAS considerably
Hurried gu account OF her struggles and the
difficulty Of holding her in the beginning.
Immediately afterward / noticed that che
was gsspiDg spssmodicslly for breath, and
an
lawful LIvID HUE
was gradually spreading over her features.
Instantly l knew she was dying, and we did
what we cou d to restore Der, calling in d..
White, whose cfice is next door, and
DR.. Rogers. but without avail. 1t all
seems unreal TO me, and even now l
caanot realize it. l cannot under
stand the case. 1t was all go sudden, and
all the symptoms of -ths gradual Influence
of alcohol were absent. Her pulse Feat
regularly and strongly during the first min
ne end a hall, and l aId not notice the
f1tter usual with persons sffltctei with
heart disease. 10 giving ar@ ,thetIcs it is
customary to raise the arm OF the patient
during the process, and when it falls by its
W weight, enough has been Administered.
IN This CASE,
however, everything was lone so quickly
that all our known rules were at fault. l
had 10 idea that the lady hal heart disease,
but am obliged TO think 3D. now"
Or. ]. d. White, who has an Office on the
same floor, was visited, and when asked wha:
Mrs. Scheibler's condition was when he was
called in replied, "She was dead. 1 heard a
commotion in NELSON'S rooms, and young
Wtsson ran 10 and asked me 10 go 10 the
assistance of a lady who had betrayed some
alarming symptoms. Tuey had evidently
been making some etior S TO restore her be-
fore sending word to me, az l found her
'LYIkG UPON THE FLOOR,
with her feet elevated, 10 order TO force the
blood back to her brain. Her heart had
ce ased to beat, and there W s no movement
Of the pulse 10 the wrists. | applied a ga
vanic battery, but without beneficial result.
d.. Rogers wss cslled in, and together we
used every effort TO restore respiration by
artificial means. pressing upoa the ch7st and
swinging The arms, but without avail. We
were inslly obliged to give up all hope snd
Mr.. Scheibler was told hat his vile would
never breathe again" D.. n hite went on
to say that he did not know anything OF
Mrs. ScheibleI' . ply steal condition, and WAS
inclined 10 think the dentis;s were blsm =
less. They had not as much knowledge of
snesthelics as of dentistry, perhaps, and
thus might have
FALLEN INTO ERROR.
1t was probable that Mrs. Scheibier might
have recovered from the effects OF the chic
reform except for the fact that the tooth was
pulled while she was yet rigid, tlu5 giving
her a sudden shock. DR.. White added that
it was well known that persons who could
iuhale chloroform freely a. one time might
not be able 10 do 80 on another day, a week
afterward, and Uice rersu, though their coudi.
ton might apparently he the anne on each
occasion.
Mr.. Sam Scheibler's place of bushes:
was closed about noon ard he was seer
later in the evening by the reporter, whc
asked if DR.. Wesson made sny irquiry re
garding the physical condition Of mis- wife
before administering the drug. He replied
that be did not. "Then he did not ask il
Mrs. ScheibIer
HAD HEART ~DIsEAsE?"
"He did NOT"
"Are you aware that she ever had an at
lection OF the tind?'
"No. My vile was a very large, q shy
woman, and l have seen her pant after any
unusual exertion, like hundreds OF others o.
her build"
"How many times was the drug admins
tered?"
"Twics. Alter it had been once given sh,
| HioBsl Tho aInnI nrar aod ,tr,uol,1 ,orefIa.
ably. The dentist put some more Of The uf
it Fmelled like chlorofoIm-on the towe
and told my wife he would not hurt her. Sh'
ssid, No, no, l know you will not hurt ne
but am bf-aid, / sm afraid then her voice
quivered, and as the towel touched her fac,
sne sank back into the chair and said no
another word. l knew
SOMETHING WAS WRONG.
and called for help. She was dead. Ny
wife was dead and could not speak. Sac
never SPOKE again."
The body of the unfortunate lady was re
moved by Thoms, the undertaken, 10 her late
residence, No. J56 Second sIree', Chelsea, aoc
packed in ice. 1t was very natural 10 appear
ance when seen about 3 O'clock in the after
noon. Mrs. Scheibier was tbirry-'hree year,
of age, and was reared at Wavsrly, o., where
she was married about fifteen years ago. She
was large and portly, weighing Psrhars 1S(
pounds, aud has always erjoved perfect
health. The ssddest feature of the whole
affair ia that che leaves five children without
a mothers loving care-the eldest a boy q
thirteen wears, and the youngest an infant il
arms. Her husband is almost paralyzsd
with grief, though he is generous enough 10
say that he has no desire 10 give trouble IL
the dentists. An inquest wss demanded by
all the circumstances in the case, and shortly
after noon one was held Dy Coroner Spelma ar
at the family residence. Tne following is &
full text:
~coRoNER's INQUEST.
An icquis;tion holden at Memphis, in tn,
| county of Shelby aud State of Tennessee, or
man, coroner of Shelby county, upon tbs
body Of Ellen Scheibier, there lying dead, by
the jurors, whose names are hereunto sub
scribed, who pom their oaths do say ths'
the said Ellen Scheibler came TO her dealt
in the following manner: By the aduinistra
ton of chloreform, given by Abner Wesson
jr., dentist, in the discharge of his professions
| duties. We find the administrator cepsur
able, from the fact that he did not secure tn
services Of a skilliul physician in order tina
the proper remedies might have been applied
Immediately upon the appearance Of alarm
ing symptoms. In testimony whereof tn
said Jurors sci :htir bands on the day an
| date above written.
r. B. MILLER, Foreman
X. 2. WARING, JR.,
J. Z. GODBY.
NJ II. KNOX,
GEORGE LACROIX,
LOUIS ISABELLA,
j. III. HEISER.