New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-04-11
POISON IN THE STOMACH.
MORPHINE AND PROBABLY ATROPINE.


IMPORTANT TESTIMONY FOR THE PEOPLE IN
THE BUCHANAN TRIN.
The prosecution in the case Of DIR. Robert w.
buchanan. accused OF poisoning his Wife, played its
trump card Yesterday In General sessions when Pro.
t,ssor Rudolph \. Withaus testified To finding NOR.
milne IN the woman's stomach. lie calculated that
she have taken four or five grains Of the drug
lie woud not swear that there was airopine IN the
body bat he s~mcd morally certain that there was.
The drug Is 80 powerful that extremely small doses
Of II are fatal The Professors analysis Indicated
mat n minute quantity Of the poison In the
voman's stomach and In,cstincS.
Dr. Henry T. LOOMS had been the witness stand
thursday and Friday. but h. Called again ycstcr-
day, and may be- asked tn submit to further cross
examination before the end OF the trial. District
Attorney Nicoll announced that III, assistant. Francis
t. wcllman. was III from grip and fever. he. Mr..
Nicon. would conduct the redirect examination 81
the witness. MIR. NicOll was himself absent on
FRIDAY. but H. depended on the stcnographers' min
utcs for points which to ask questions.
Or. LOOMS said that he examined most mInutcly
the arteries Of the brain. boih with the naked eve
and with the microscope. and had signs of
disease OF any kind. There sometimes charac
terisc Appearances revealed by autopses in Of
morphine poisoning. bu, not always. The absence
Of these peculiar characteristics no proof that
death was not due TO the poison.
The prosecution next called Dr. +. Mitchell Prudden
one OF tae Psychologists Who had aided In IN" cN-
animation oi Mrs. Euchanans brain and other organs
lie said he graduated at Tie Yale Medical school
IN 1875. and then studied IN Berlin Heidelberg
Vienna and London for over two years. For a year
and half ne had been professor of pathology at the
College OF Physicians and surgeons. lie had written
with Dr. Thomas Deahcld. work on pathological
histology. The witness had examined the brain With
Or. Loomis and found no evidences OF cerebral
henorrhagc The brain was remarkably well pre-.
served !, showed no evidences Of congestion or any
nv Isrtdd no eNid al n
thng wrong IN the lungs. The Kidneys were partly
dccomposed. and tho heart. The witness told
of making microscopcal examination, OF The various
organs. lie found nothing that would account Tor
me woman's death.
The witness Illustrated his testimony with model
OF brain. but he said It imperfect. Mr.. osuli
van handed him y,llowish locking object and asked
as that better for your purIose ~
" This Is carrier ture" replied Dr Prudder
" Then take the other said the lawyer. much
pleased. The yellow object was not n m"dh at AL
hut n real brain hardened hy some process. II
vas taken from the head ~ man who suffered
rom n disease Of tho Kidneys. Dr LOOMS had last
week called the thing Wan mod'l Of a brain. In
poin, Of fact n was shruuE 10y tho treatment, but
Mr. O'sulivan much delighted with the way IN
which he had taken In the two physicians.
Professor wl'thans. who occupied the chairs Of
chemistry in the Universities ot The City Of New
York Vernon, and Lufalo gave exhaustive and
and nteStines. First he treated The stomach. obtain
ING six r,sldues No. gave the reaction that
n'iopne always gives No. responded 10 al the
tests for morphine Then the intcstincs wcr" token
up and treated The stomach had been. Part ~
residue No. dropped In the eve ~ a kitten
and ~ greatly enlarged the pupil The remainder OF
the residue tested for atroplne with negative
results Then solution 81 airorine was added To
I, and 'ha r,ageni again poured In. stll there Was
no indication 81 the presence ~ ia" poison The
witness concluded that this failure To- respond 10
tho reagent was due 10 impurities I'm the substance
tested.
Residue No. also contained morrhne. II gave
tho same results y solution al morphine one "n"
tundfedth strong The residue was injected In "a
frog ia three hours the animal was apparent
desd II revived the NEXT morning but died twenty
four hours later ono sixteenth 81 erain ~ chic
ride 81 morphine given 20 another freq Affected II
IN the same way.
Taking an he tests together. are You able to
state whether there was morphine In the body y
Mr. Sico asked.
Undoubtedly there was
How much" =.
That l. irnrossNie 70 sny. A safe answer Is
one tenth Of n grain. The tine which elhIscs t'
tween taking the drug and death affects The amount
~ morphine found IN tho body. 80 does the time
between tho death and the autopsy. mink tho
woman took four or five grains ~ morphine p"rhap
more I am prepared 10 swear that there WIS
stropine- The trial was adjourned unin today.