The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1883-03-01

quietly and calmly, ana VlSltOr TO the Asy
lum would not have known that any thins
unusual had happened. Sunday the front gate
was closed against the public, and the precau
ton was very wise one, for had access beer
given to all who were drawn thither by curl
osity, the house and grounds would have beer
filled with throng of idle loungers.
TESTIMONY BEFORE THE CORONER.
Pursuant to adjournment the jury of in
quest met at the Asylum on Tuesday, the
Attorney for the Commonwealth conducting
the examination.
DIR. r. 8. HAMILTON,
the Superintendent of the Asylum, was on
the stand nearly all day. His testimony, in
substance, was as follows
About O'Clock on Saturday morning q
messenger came to my home in the city, and
in an excited manner, told me that Will
kins had suddenly died. / hurriedly made
preparations to come to the Asylum, but
before left the house the carriage came, and
Mr.. Mauzy, the Steward, entered He, too
was much excited, and said they wanted me
to hasten over as quickly as possible, that
four or five men had dropped dead before he
left that number of others were sick
and perhaps as many more were dead by that
time. came to The Asylum as quickly as
/ could and found that four actually were
dead, viz: Wilkins, Hines, Adams, Hollo-
man. The fifth. Isaac s. Sperry, was an ar
I f,rt al
Edward Myers and Mathew Vaughan
extremely ill, exhibiting symptoms of ex-
treme prostration, coma and great gastric
disorder. Together with the assistant ply
administered hurriedly such remedial means
as we thought the exigencies of the cases re-
quired. We proceeded at once to lock the
medicine office, having carefully put therein
the mugs, walters and other articles which
had been used with the aforesaid patients that
morning. After giving directions to assistant
physicians and attendants, drove over TO the
city to the office of Judge Quarles. the nearest
member of the Asylum Board. Found him
sick in bed, and after short interview with
HIM, repaired to the telegraph office and sent
q message to Prof. j. w Mallet, of the Chair
of Chemistry, University of Virginia, 10 come
to the Asylum by the first train. I then
sought Edward Echols, Esq, Common wealth's
Attorney for the city, and related to him the
circumstances, telling him had come for le
gal advice and cooperation, and stating that
he might set on foot such measures as he
thought proper and necessary for full inves-
tigation of the cause or causes which had led
to the sudden and shocking deaths. Saw that
Mr.. Echois was ready to render me all the aid
in his power to vigorously pursue the inves-
tigation He advised me how to proceed and
said that be would summons coroners jury
to the Asylum at as early an hour as possible.
The jury accordingly came about O'Clock
p. m. Meantime l returned to the Asylum
and was engaged with the assistant physic-
ians, chiefly, up TO the time the jury arrived,
in doing all We could for the restoration of
the surviving patients before mentioned. I
would state, too, that we had the aid also of
DIR. B. M. Atkinson, one of the several ply
siclans for whom sent to the city. Later in the
day Drs. Halter Fl. Henkle and ST. P. Glib
son, who had been summoned by the coroner,
at my request, also saw and examined the
cases referred to. About this time received
telegram from Prof. Mallet, stating that he
would be here on the 10 p. m. train Showed
the telegram to Mr. Echols, and after an inter
view upon the subjrct, thejury having viewed
the five bodies, was adjourned to meet at the
call of the coroner The time of meeting
was afterwards determined to be Tuesday.
Feb 9th. This was done in order that au-
topsies might be made, and the jury have the
benefit of the anatomical disclosures resulting
therefrom. DR.. Mallet came Saturday night
and the next morning the post norton exam.
nations were begun. purposely deferred
these that they might be made in the pres.
ense of Prof. Mallet. DR.. Henkle conducted
the autopsies, preferring that they should be
made by physicians outside of the Asylum.
The resident physicians were present during
the operations. Autopsies were made of the
bodies of Hines, Holloman and Adams, as
being, in the view of DR.. Mallet, all that
were necessary. and as being, on account of
the extreme suddenness of their deaths and
other circumstances, the best cases of the five
for the purposes had in view
The anatomisal disclosures of these post
mortem examinations, as was expected, gave
satisfactory evidences of nothing beyond the
fact that an acrid substance had been swal-
lowed, which was evinced more or less, by
each case. Some of the viscera or at least the
stomach and its contents of each of these
bodies were carefully secured in new, clean
glass jars and carried by Prof. Mallet to his
laboratory at the University, for such chemi-
cal analysis as he may deem necessary to
a full investigation of the subject
In response to a question by the Attorney
for the Commonwealth, DIR. Hamilton further
stated: From the suddenness and simultane-
business Of the attacks, | was satisfied it was
common cause operating upon all of the
eight cases thus seized. The fact, too, that
the symptoms in each case followed almost
Immediately upon the administration fmedi.
cine was conclusive to me that the cause re-
sided in the medicine so administered. The
suddenness and other peculiarities of the
deaths convinced me that the cause was a
poison. AS regards the nature ofthe poison,
taking the cases singly or collectively. was
satisfied, by the absence of tetanic and other
characteristic symptoms, it was not strichnia
nor arsenic, or any of their preparations, or
the otherpoisons most commonly resorted to.
Besides the suddenness and manner of the
death in the fatal cases, and the symptoms
exhibited by the survivors, such as dilatation
of the eyes, great prostration, utter want of
muscular power, the comotose condition of
all and the nervous manifestations eyinced, as
well as the epilcptics as in the other types
of mental maladies possessed by the several
victims, led me to suspect that prussic acid
or cyanide of potash, or possibly aconite as
the fatal agent.
Question by Attorney-Did the remedies
as prepared in the medical office for these
patients contain elements which by any
combination could produce these symptoms
resembling prussic acid, &c?
Answer-No
Question-Why?
Answer-Of the patients one had in his
mug teaspoonful of Sharp 6 Dohmer's
Elixir of phosphate of iron, quinia and
strichna another took, Gas he had for some