The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1884-12-19

typhoid fever; and ,theref)re,it was nee
essary that evidence of the presence of
the characteristic LESSONS of that disease
should be searched Tor at the autopsy.
| The Characteristic LESSONS of typhoid
fever consist in Inflammation and ulcer
alton of Peyer's patches, which exist in
tie ileum, aud also in Inflammation and
swelling of the mesenteriC glands. The
leum was slit open; and search was
made for evidences of typhoid fever, in
both Peyer's patches aud the mesenter-
ic glands. Neither dbl nor did DR..
Fisher find any evidence whatever
of the existence of that fever. took a
small piece of the ileum for private
microscopical examination, and then
closed the abdominal cavity. At my
office, DR.. Fisher examined with me
the iieum under the microscope, aud
again we decided that there were no
evi fences of typhoid fever in the case.
After DR.. Fisher had left my office
the thought occurred TO me that | might
again verify our opinion, without in
curing much expense, and satisfy a
curiosity that is perfectly natural to
every scientific and enquiring mind.
Acting upon this impulse, sent the
small piece of ileum to my son, who
was then house surgeon in the Bellevue
Hospital, New York city, and request
ed him to have it examined for typhoid
fever by the hospital pathologist. This
was all | said TO him about the speci-
men. ] did not identity the specimen
with the Catlin case or any other. AT.
ter reasonable time, | received note
from my son which DR.. 7. NJ. Prudden,
the pathologist, sent to him, and in that
note DR.. Prudden distinctly stated the
examination was negative.
From your article one would inter
that the specimen had been sent TO New
1ork with the view TO weakening the
theory of death from typhoid fever, and
that had been engaged in working up
the case in the interest of the prosecu-
ton. When DR.. Woodward lends him
self to that kind of work, make ready
to open all your batteries!
Note this fact, that DR.. Fisher and |
were prepared to swear in court that
both at the examination of the body and
at our examination of the ileum with
the microscope, we detected no evil
dence of typhoid LESSONS. And such
testimony would, obviously, assist the
counsel for the State.
a few days before the expec ed trial
in June, 1854, and several weeks after
| had received DR.. Prudden's note, Mr..
Ormsbee, who had never before con-
suited me III relation to the case, casu-
ally said to me interr0g atively, 81 WON
der ii the defense will put in the plea
of typhoid feverW Al that time,I told
him, among other things, that | had
sent piece of the ileum privately to
New York for microscopical examina-
ton and stated to him the result of that
examination, rh,ch coS .tocoraJle ~
htS SIDE Of the cuSe. Two OF the coun-
sci for the Stale que toned my sou in
relation to the matter, and he distinctly
told them, among other things, that DR..
Prudden had said in his note that there
was no evidence OF typhoid fever to be
found i'll he specimen. Nothing fur
Their was said about the matter, and
never was more surprised than when
| learned that the counsel for the State
had attempted to introduce that act of
mine as evidence, and on that plea had
procured an adjournment of the trial.
| have already stated how procured,
prepared, filled and sealed the glass
Jars. They were transported from Cat
Inns house in Goshen to my office in
Brandon i'll my carriage. The States
attorney of Addison county had re.
quested me to do so, saying he would
call for them in the afternoon Did he
do so? No! Those jars stood in my
Office for weeks, their contents freezing
and thawing, until decomposition had
doubtless so completely puverized
them that they were unrecognzabe.
Herein, perhaps, lies the explanation
of your statement that a portion only
Of the stomach was saved. | had no
right TO touch the specimens. 1t was
clearly the duty of the States attorney
OF Addison county to remove them from
my Office at his earliest convenience
and send them to some chemist. an
pealed t. the sheriff of Addison county,
Col.N.F .Dunshee, to remove them from
nv possession, but he had ito iurisdic.
ton in the matter. And so they re-
manned in my office until weeks length
ened into months before the States at
torney OF Addison county came for
ITEM, and removed them in my alb
sence Whom will the public hold re-
sponslble for this unnecessary and fatal
error
DR.. Sabin, | am surprised to learn,
claims that it was essential for the suc-
cess OF the prosecution, for them to be
able to show that the arsenic, which he
claims to have found, existed in some
special organ. If this be true-which
L doubt very much-it was no fault of
mine that he was unable to locate the
arsenic. The specimens should have
been sent to DR.. Sabin within reason.
able time after they had been removed
from the body. Then he couli not
have had any ground for complaint
AS it was, nobody need be surprised
that he could not recognize liver,
stomach, kidneys, intestines or spleen
in the mass of pulp which the States at. |
torney OF Addison county probably |
transferred to him for careful chemical
examination.
Besides all this, am informed bv