Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1888-04-14


and took bottle out of tie barrel and went
into the Brown stable through the front door
passed through another door to where the
stalls were and went to the extreme end OF
the stable, near the scuttie, where he took a
| taste out of the bottle, and he said it was
very bitter and looked muddy and roily and
he lifted up the scuttle and emptied the IL
quor out and threw the bottle down under the
stable. In company with John Hill | went
to the place described by the prisoner and
| there found an empty bottle, an old fash
Toned pint flask, which | delivered to DR.
lash. 1t was empty except sediment in
the bottom of leaden color. The barrel
delivered TO me BY Stevenson was sealed and
took it to Prof. Robinson at Brunswick.
Cross examinaiion--Ihe prisoner did not
tell me where he opened the bottle; he said
he went out near the scuttie and tasted of it
and finding it bitter turned il out.
Ivory L. fash testified, substantially, |
was visiting the sick daughter OF Mr.. Beal
when the latter was brought home; | soon
| discovered that Mr. Beal was suffering from
strychnine and tried to administer antllotes,
but was unsuccessful George brought
In suffering from the same cause, and gave
MIN antidotes. George IN reply to a question
SAID he had been drinking and had drank out
OF the same bottle that his father had. MIR.
Beal said window and | had the window
raised he also said boots" and | told some
one to remove his boots. This was about all
heard him say except rub, rub. The
spasms came SO fast that witness did not
hear him make any connected statement.
made post norton examination of Mr.. Beal
and found the vital organs in healthy con-
dition, and placed the stomach in jar and
sent it to Prof Robinson. The cause of his
death was an overdose of stiychnine. Some
thing less than half grain of strychnine is "A
fatal dose. First saw Charles at the house
very soon after his father was brought in.
Saw his standing within three or four feet OF
his father, Did not hear him say any thing
to his father. He asked once what was the
matter with him. Saw Charles in the even
ing. Mr.. Stevenson suggested in his pres
ence that the poison might have been used to
tone up poor whiskey and that this bottle
might have got mixed in with it, and the
parties in Boston in that case would be re-
sponsible, and then Stevenson went and took
possession of the barrel in the
cellar He came back and
Charles said Il thought you were not going
to trouble it till tomorrow" He said he
saw no need of meddlng with it that night.
lie said about week ago that he had taken
bottle and gone to the Brown stable and
tasted of it, and he thought it tasted nasty,
and look as though there were ashes and
sticks in it. and he thought perhaps his faith
er had put something In it to make "us
boys" quit, SO he poured it out i'll the stable
| thought Charles appeared excited after
George was brought in. He stayed with
/ George most of the time and asked several
times what thought about his recovery.
! Cross examination In my judgment Mr..
Beale could not, i'll the condition he was IN,
make "A statement so long as pull off my
boots" In my judgment he could not artic-
ulate a connected sentence. think | saw
| Charles in the house some little time preyi-
Gus to George being brought in.
Re-direct-I think the rigidity of Mr..
Bears laws prevented him from utterlng a
full sentence He could say four or hive
words with breaks between perhaps. aud l
do not know but he cUu!l have followed IA
sentence in that wr.. He could not speak at
all " hen having a spasm. One OF the char-
acteristics of this kind of poisoning is that
the patient retains consciousness TO the last.
franklin C. Robinson testified Am pro-
/ fess of chemistry at BowdUin. and State As
saver. On Feb 18th DR.. lash delivered TO
me a human stomach in which | found
/ third of "A grain of strychune. That would
indicate that the dose taken was a gram at
/ least more than fatal dose, Dr- ASH al
I so delivered to me "A bottle containing hquld
which now produce. 1t was nearly tuil
wben il came To me found that that liquid
contained stryehnne, very nearly twenty-one
grains of it. have here some of the strych-
nine taken from the stomach and from the
bottle. received an empty bottle by ex-
pres which now produce. | found strych-
/ nine in the bottom of that. | also received
by EXPRESS from Mr. Hill a barrel of bottles
of wbiskev. looked for strychIrine in each
| hottie and found none. In the bottle of
vhiskcy in " hich was the strychuine found
swcetcning. but could not determine whether
it was sugar or molasses.
George W. Beal. called by the govern
ment testified: Am brother to the Charles
Beal and twenty years old. Should think
the barrel of bottles anne about5 weeks before
fathers death. Knew they were there few
DAYS after they came. Should judge there
| had been a few taken ont then. On the day
of fathers death he left the store about hall
mast three in the afternoon. About ten MN
utes before he went on, \ Sd" "'s' g "o""
cellar. About half or three quarters OF an
bour before he went down | looked where
| he generally kept his whiskey and saw
there was an empty bottle there. After
| father left the store went
/
IN where thought likely he had some and
took nm A bottle and took swallow. 1t was
! h,,,osn tho hoxes There had been small
ar;,l taken ont of it, turned some water
I'M, !, TO make good what had taken out and
ranI,ced the bottle. | went up into the store
and was soon taken sick and carried home ny
| Charles who came along just as got to the
door noticed the liquor tasted bitter ana
supnosed il was something father had put IN
tn take the fire out of it, knew he was IN
| tho habit of doing i; occasionally 80 thought
,n,hin,, wrong about the taste When | first
| sa,, Charles he was in the centre of the road
coming towards the store. As soon as
GOT ia the door heard my father was sick,
and knew then was the same as he was
I knew we both had drank. had not seen
my brother Charles at the time WOOD sa'd
! my father was sick. After we got under
wsv toward the house Charles asked me II /
had been drinking Do not think maze
any reply. Then he as ked me again ana
Ia M He did not ask me what had been
dr;nt;ny but if had been drinking. He
,J;J no, ask me if had been drinking that
whiskey. | have not stated he said Have
van been drinking some of that whiskey,
Enor,a do not think | made any talk
:, charles going down. | might have ans
raraa . few oue stions he asked me, but do
NO, remember now ! was sick two OF
three hours. Should say that had
,nv,,sons Nv brother Charlie,
worked for my father up to the
time he died. He had not worked for hin
an the time. Father told me that Charles
work did not suit him and he didn't wan
, him any longer but he has talked the same
, way number of times in the last three o.
fonr wears. 1t was nothing new and though
nothiny of it, | had drunk whiskey from
! the barrel before and experienced no ii
effect from it. Irememher that Charles a
one time took bottle from the barrel and
, toll one. and that was few days after
came. | know Charles took one from Their
since. | saw him sweetening one with mo
lasses. That was two or three weeks befor'
III fa,ber's death That was not while fathe
, ,,os a, Arson at the funeral of his mother
. and have not stated that it was. ThInl
Char.es was in the store the day father died
: lint do not remember. Think he was
work on the lee that day Think Charlie
.,j Driving the team about a week ne