Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1883-03-02
put the poison into the fn.gs while thes
were in the hall.

put the poison into THE fnrga while thes
were in the hall.
THE LEGAL 1NvEsTIGA ALTON.
Superintendent Hamilton having Motif.
ed commemorative Attorney Echols.
Coroutr Harlan summoned the following
jury: Flank Nj. Young, Foreman. ]. A.
Ttmpleton, M. P. Funkhouser, T. N
Powell, j. II. EArman and ]. Howard
Wayt. Chief of Police Waters gave great
assistance In summoning the witnesses.
The jury with Drs. Gibson and II. H.
LEM el VIEWED the bodies of the dead
Saturday evening and adjourned until
TUESDAY in order that Prof. Mallet m 'ght
be prtst mt at the autopsy TO be made by
DIR. HenSel. The rest Of the story may be
found in the evidence before the jury
which reassembled on Tuesday morning
al 10 O'Clock.
EVIDENCE OF DIR. r. s. HAMILTON THE
SUPERINTENDENT.
DIR. Hamilton the Superintendent testi-
fled on Tuesday morning under the most
trying circumstances. In addition to the
mental strain produced by this mysteri-
Gus and fearful occurrence lie came to the
jury from the bedside of fayorite daueh-
ter Who had been stricken unto death,
and who breathed her last on Wednesday
served and In it the reader will q I'd q con-
ntcted story of the circumstances attend.
Ing the disastr JUS aft sir:
Am Superintendent of the W. L. Asy.
lum; reside in Stanton. A little before
O'Clock Saturday morning last. a mes
senger came to my house excitedly, and
told me that young Wilkins had suddenly
died Wilkins was ia alm ,st perfect health
the d y before. hurriedly % sde prepa-
r,tions to coma over co the Asylum, but be.
fore could leave the house the carriage
OF tn. institution drove up to my door aud
Mr.. Mauzy. the Steward of the Asylum.
Game ia. much excited. and said they wan
ted me to hasten over as quickly AZ pos
sible. trat four or five men had dropped
dead bef,re he left; that number of nth
ers were sick. and perhaps as m any more
were dead by that time. came over as
quickly as could and found that four
were dead-Leonald T. Wilkins, John W.
Hines, Taos. w. Adams aud j. Thos.
Holloman-and II fifth, Isaac s. Sperry,
was In articulo norris. l further found
J'et Thomas, Edward Myers and Mathew
Vaughan extremely ill, exhibiting symp-
toms of extreme prostration, coma, and
great ga>tric disorder. With the assis-
tant piysicians-Drs. Crockett, Butler
and Srain Il a iministered hurriedly such
remedial msirs AZ We rh)ught tho ext.
gsncy of the C ,sss require I, and proceeded
at once to lock the ~ .dical 0ffiss (apoth0-
cary Department. having carefully put
therein the mugs. walters, and sons 9TH
or articles which had been used with the
aforesaid p itients that morning. After
giving some directions to the assistant
physicians and attendants. drove over to
the city to the Office of Judge J. NJ.
Qulrles, the nearest member Ut the Board
of Directors Of the Asylum. I found him
sick in bad. After :. brief interview with
him rep tired directly to the telegraph
off e and telegraphed Prof. Mallet OF the
Chair of Chemistry of the University OF
Virginia to come to the Asylum by the
first train. then sought Commonwealth g
Attorney, Edward E:hOls, of Stau1 ton,
at his Office, related to him the circum-
stances. and told him had come for his
advice and cooperation. made the state
ment in order that he might do what he
thought proper and necessary for full in
vestlgati0n of the cause or causes that had
led to the.e sudden deaths. l saw that |
Mr.. Echols was ready to render me all the |
aid he could to vigorously pursue an in |
vestigation of The matter. He advised |
me how to pr coed and said he would |
send the coionei 8 jury over to the Asy-
lum as early as possible. The jury &C.
cordingly came at O'Clock 2. Nj. In the
meantime returned IT, the Asylum and
up TO the arrival of the jury, was engaged
chiefly with the assistant physicians in do
ing all we could do for the RESERVATIONS Of
the three surviving cases before mention.
ed. 1 would state that We had the aid of
DR.. b. NJ. Atkinson. lone Of several phys
icians had sent to the city for, and later
in the day Drs Halter II. Henkel and j.
st. P. Gibson. (who we're summoned by
the Coroner. at my request also wv and
examined the cases referred to.
About that time received telegram
from Prof. Mallet. sayinI he would be here
on the 10 o'clock train that night. com.
municated it to Mr.. Echols, and the jury,
after viewing the bodies of Wilkins, Ad
ans, fines. Holloman. and Sparry. the
patients before reported as dead aud dying
upon my arrival at the Asylum in the
morning, was adjourned until Tuesday.
February 27sh. The adj 'urnment was had
In order that autopsies might be made and
the jury have the benefit of the anatomi-
Cal disclosures resulting therefrom.
Prof. Mallet Came Saturday night, and
Sunday morning at as early an hour as
practicable the post morton examinations
were begun. l purposely deferred these
that they might be made in the presence
of Prof. M. And preferrlng them to be
made by a physician outside of the Asylum
DR.. FL. II. uenkel. of Stanton conducted
them in the IRE seDce of Prof. M. Autop-
sizes were only made of the bodies of Hines.
II ottoman and Adams. those he;ng In
Prof. NJ s. opinion all that we're necessary
on account OF the extreme suddenness Of
their death, and other circumstances, as
being the best cases of the five for the
purpose in view. The anatomical dis
closures of the autopsiss AS was expec' I'd i,
gave satisfacl DRY evidence of nothing be-
yond the fact that an acid substance had
been swallowed which was evirced, more
or less by each case lin some very slight
ly. Some of the viscera, or at least the
stomach and its contents, Of each of the
thrae hndies were secured in plass ira NV