Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-08-30
AN EXPERTS OPINION
1t Was Not Blood On the Borden
Ratchet.
VIOLENCE OF SOUTHERN STRIKERS.
Mrs. Logan's Work for the Meth
odist University.
CONvICTS TRY TO ESCAPE.
THEY WE'RE NOT BLOOD STAINS.

oOfueus nome.
FALL RIVER, Mass, Aug 3O.-The court
came in at 1890 precisely and the hearing of
the great Borden murder case was resumed.
The first witness called WAS Prof Edward
s. Wood. the man for whom everybody has
been looking for days. He said he
had received package containing two stom-
achs on the fifth of August and two jars con-
tanning milk med on the 4th and 5th of Au-
gust. All were properly labeled. The stom-
achs we're labeled "Mr." and Mira" Borden.
The stomachs appeared to be perfectly natural.
Mrs. Borden's stomach contained about
eleven ounces Of solid food; the food was par
TALLY digestcd and showed wheat, starch and
meat. The contents contained chiefly meat
which might dc bread or apples.
The digestion seemed to be ad-
vanced in the neighborhood Of two and a-balf
hours--more or less The stomach was tested
for prussic acid, but with negative result
The stomach of Mr. Borden contained only
six ounces, chiefly water. In Mr.. Borden's
stomach there was only a small portion Of
starch; the diges ton in his Gaze, the contents
being nearly all water, was much further adj
vanced than in the case Of Mrs. Borden. There
were a few threads Of vegetable tissue in his
stomach winch might have been apple.
Question. Gould they have been peaIs?"
Answer. yes"
Witness had not analized the milk and could
not report on that.
"On the 10th Of August received from DR..
Dolan q Ratchet. two axes, blue dress skirt.
dress waist white starched skirt lounge cover
and three small envelopes in which we're hair
taken from Mr. and Mrs. Borden and hair taken
from the Ratchet
On August 10 witness received q pair Of
shoes and a pair of black stockings.
The Ratchet contsineda number Of suspicious
looking spots. but careful examination showed
NO oil ,La1
like blood was examined but no traces of blood
were seen. big smooch on the blue
skirt looked like blood. but was
found not to be blood. The
white skirt had one spot which looked like
blood and was found to be one, and it was d.
rectly in front, about six inches from the bot
tom. The carpet was blood stained. CThis WAS
the sitting room carpet) And there was
blood, OF course, on that. There was no
blood on the lounge cover. The envelope
marked Hair from A. J. Borden was simply
white hair. Mrs. Borden's was dark The hair
on the Ratchet was not human hair. ISensa-
ton. More like that taken from an animal
The spot on the right shoe was not blood and
there was no blood on either shoes or stockings
There was nothing on the two axes.
Near the edge of the Ratchet were spots
which seemed to be blood, but were fonnd not
to be.
There was spatter on the blade. but it was
not blood, and there were spots on the side of
the head of the Ratchet which looked to me like
blood, and l thought they were" said witness,
''but they were not"
(Hatchet produced. and Lizzie examined it
with as much interest rs did her counsel)
One paper was produced by witness, ON
which was written Hair placed at =
(time mentioned, but no hair was there.
On Characterization Prof. Wood said the
spot looked larger OH the outside of the skirt
than on the inside. The size of the spot was
oh rrtf he of mir, hna
Question. This you say was human blood?''
Answer. Il don't know. did not cay 30.
have not examined it,
Question. Could you tell in what direction
this blood came when it struck the skirt"
Answer II could not"
Witness said it was difficult to tell the differ
ence in blood, its source. &c. The grade was
not great before science had progressed.
Witness said that he knew of no difference in
digestion in a stout person or a lean one.
The amount OF gastric juice assists digestion
always. The stomach showed no appearances
of irritation. The witness said he had been in
the Borden house and made q cursory examina-
ton, taking notes.
@. II one were struck by some sharp instru-
ment would there be any squirting OF blood?
A. Yes. il an artery was cut
O. And there was an artery cut?
A. There was one in the line.
@. In what direction would the blood squirt?
A. don't think the cutting of an artery
would make any great difference. An artery
never spurts over three feet
@. What artery could be cut by such blow
one from the top of the head down?
A. could not say; my knowledge Of anatomy
Is rather oio.
III. 80. spo's, seen az = als'e, huss uase
came the same as from throwing n atone into a
mud puddle.
Witness said that II a person stoodbehind the
person assured the blood striking the wall
pu f~or,, .he nunS ~ ,t 1o;,t !. anu ,
left. and the heaviest mart Of the Stain would
he fartbest away. Il might be the little end
NJ the snot bnt i wonld contain the ioroaSt
amount of blood.
Witness measured the Ratchet and found the
handle measured fourteen inches. The fbrin
which blood contains causes the coagu-
lation. witness, was uncertain in reoord
to the exact time a person coud be
said tn have been killed from the
..nnaaronca ~ the blood In reoard 10 the nos;-
ron Of the murderer witness said that II an
reared 10 him that the person stood in the din
mo room when the first blow was given this
because Of the spot found on the frame OF the
dining room door.
,Sa dr ,ndsr he ',l.sS ma a .no .saa
the s,and said il was not blood.
smaller Ratchet was banded to witness, but
he said he could not examine ii in so short a
time as was allowed him. He had spent six or