New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-09-28
THE BRUISES ON BENWELL.
roCTORS TDSTEYING IN BEHALF OF
SIRCHALL.
rRxuso 10 PROVE THAT THD injuries ON
The DEAD MAN WE'RE RECEIVED BENcRD

Woodstock. Ont. Sept. o7.Thc case for the defence
in tho Eircall tria! was continued this morning at
10 o'clock by 30 all the seats IN the body Of the
,o.:- nou., were Ecd. The galleries were filled with
women as wcrc also the seats on the platform. and
.bc crowd ct tichct-hOdcrs were struggling with the
,+,,.. TO- rlaccs or the steps utsdc The prisoner
u,, as naconCcrnrd ever As lie walked up to the
cort before his guard and Chatcd with the lawyers and
,.,orcrS who leaned the railing of the dock lie
,a,,.ucd with sotnc interest photographs handed
him bv the reporters which were taken by Wood
stock photographer from Tho gallery. showing scenes
q, tive colr; room during the first days session.
ore of them shows the prisoner standing at the
noms-t he pleaded not guilty
~ N.,rns the first witness called to-day, said he
had heard IN. medical testimony given 10y three doctors
tor the Crown. lie did not agree with DR.. Wexford
,,,,t r-,r mo:t, would set in soon stated.
7, would take generally lie believed from five to six
hours IN a healthy young man. During cold weather.
,,h the thermometer not higher than - degrees. r-or
ro.ts he thought, would not in in the body OF
n.rsoa who not suffered exceptional fatigue sooner
than from cgh; TO ten hours after death. A. 20 the
testimony Concerning the bruises described As Of
,lush Crce.l appearance, he thought that they could
not have ca produced by the falling Of the body after
Tie k.s:ul shots Srch bruises must have been rc
ccly.d from 70 three days before DEATH lie wa
poSttyc sl this lc had pIacscd medicine in Pctrolca
where he had had considerable experience among mei
bruised W machinery.
"srppostls that there is bru>c not involving the
true skin. does that make any dii:crrncc,' asked Mr.
Os!er
"Iiit is a hruse, that does not make any difference
aIf there is thckcIng Of the tissues II would he
an indication that the wounds had been received aDf'
tie tine @! death -
Not necessarily; as to wounds after death some
say that tho signs manifest but others deny this
1T,c color is mainly AZ The margin OF the wound
bat this l. not tbs only test
Mr.. Oscr Quoted Taylor. a high medical authority.
that tho MARI wcr, blue iiv!d. without marSla.
cOlssS, tho blow producing ii probably struck )n>
tesre death. and Dr. McarnS agreed that such marA>
might indicate that the blow struck eighteen
hours before DEATH but not less than that Mr.
ser read from medical work that the blood escaping
from internal wound inflicted just before death
might show itself after death The doctor agreed that
t.e was class OF bruises in which ii was exceedingly
d,fsCult to distinguish TO whether the wound whN
inflicted before or after death.
Mr. Osler asked the witness several times il it wa>
not BY the marginal color Of brre that he judged
i,s age but Dr. Meorns insisted that the color eencr
a!N must be considered. If the color Of wound WAS
anforn. he said. i, was not necessarily Indicative that
the wound produced after death. The size q! Il
truise IS indication Of the size Of the surface with
which the body struck upon which it has fallen
Blood oXudIs from veins ruptured would cover
comparatively large surface, but biul>c wOuld be
black
Mr.. Osler-You don, get artciial blood in post
mOriem wound.
Nlnts>-lt
Immediately after death
Yhc crOss--rxamina'ion continued IN this
strain for long time. Mr.. O"r reading from trca;es
Oh medical nrSprudclcc As !" exact test, - decd"
the ai,c.mortem post norton character OF Ger
cain Glasses 81 wOund> and the age Of a wound a.
Indicated ly the appearance of the bruise
Q.-What would he the tinee whom pntrefaction hal
set IN =: A.-Crcenish.
o.-And the point at which purcfaction would
SGT III wouls he at the point Of brui,e' A.-Not
necessarily.
O.-Trolably A.--No. ! won't adr,i, that
Q.--Tl.re may be & hrrisc appearing Il dead body
which cannot be decided To the tine when IL
inflicted. two three hours before death H.incdi
atrly after Acute 50.
Q.-Thc man who Lac. cut into wound would be
able judge Of IL better than one like yourself 10
whom 1t had only been described Ayes. hut in
this case cut into The knife passed through
a corner Of the bruised part. but did not reach the
wound. There would &c swelling in a wound received
some hours Loior death
OFF there was only congestion would it indicate
that death had iutervcncdl A.--Not necessarily
probably.
As 10 the time for rigor morris coming on Mr. Oscr
quoted Tidy high authority that Ia the fourth hour
more corp>es become still than in any Eour.
DIR. Mcarns said that Tidy agreed that II
as a rule in five six hours, and Others put i, from
eght twenty hours.
Q-1hen, in your opinion body falling forward.
helpless and dead, and striking upon surface
would not innict such wound as was found! A.
No. 1t would not.
OFT IS "a pretty heavy weight 14O pounds. falling
. distance Of two or three feet? A-That wouldn't
be the case
NJ. Dlackstock-If a weighing I4O pounds.
standing his feet should fall forward would 40
pounds falli A-No
Mr.. Backstock-Not unless we revise the arhmc.
tic. Now. doctor take this book Of Tidy's and OK
plain this matter to the jury.
DR.. Mearns-Mr Oslcr In questioning, confused TWO
entirely different things. Everybody knows Che
blush marks which appear a dead body. That is
one thing But bruise upon living body i, en-.
tirey different. In the living person the blood is In
the capill,ries small veins which the icrmina
tiOn Of the arteries. ard When wound IL inflicted
living body this blood exudcs under the skin and
produces a blush green appearance. That is the
character Of the wounds IN this case and the descrp
ton given OF it makes it appear Tia; moitihca,ion
had set in that the wounds Oh the stomach and
groin OF blush green color. II IS exceedingly
Improbable that the wounds were inflicted after Death.
The weight Of such y body falling such short dis
lance would not be sufficient to cam,c the wounds
described. Those wounds, III my opinion. must have
been received at least fwcni, tOur hours before death
II bri:sc were inflicted Jcforc death IT would not
change In color after death. II is perfectly certain
that the wounds were inflicted one or two day, be
forc death. This fact perfectly clear snd is
ognzed by the authorities There is nothing In what
Dir. Oser has quoted from Tidy to conflict with the
opinion ! have given that the wounds in this Ca,c
were inflicted one Or two days before death.
The lawy having finished judge Mac Mahon took |
the witness in hand. To him the doctor repeated |
his opinion 70 the time which the wounds were
inflicted. The Judge wanted u know IL ther, would
not have been Inflammation In the wound II the dc
ceased for twenty ionr hours after the wounds
were given. The doctor said that that would not |
necessarily be the case. The color Of the wounds and
the absence Of Inflammation indicated not that tho
wounds were inflicted about the time OF death but
simply that there was innammatory action In the |
Dr.. Richardson Of Toronto. a venerable looking |
practitioner testified that he Ind been Practising since
l34T aud was Professor Of Anatomy in the Cnlversy
La I nln flint In