The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-03-01
ARSENICAL POISONING
Caused the Death Of Little Willie
COWan.
THE TESTIMONY OF THE HUS
BAND OF THE PRISONER.

Attempts by the Defence to Show that
the Child May Have Died from Ar
senic Contained in the Medicines-Mr
Cowan Broke Down During His Testi-
mony, and Showed Much Distress.
Especial to the PRESS.)
Bangor. February 28. The Cowan case
was attended today by an immense
crowd. DR.. Brown, the Dixmont ply
sician, was again called by the defence.
He said that the cause of the child's
death was Inflammation of the stomach.
He did not recollect that he told Mr..
Cowan anything about the child's treat
ment. The doctor explained to the court
the makeup of the medicine that he left
for the boy. He said that Mrs. Cowan
told him that sne had had some expert
enoe with people who had suffered with
ond husband, who died in Lewiston,
was afflicted with it.
DR.. Brown testified that he, assisted by
DR.. King of Newport, performed an au-
topsy OH the 25th of Septenl Der last, and
delivered the parts of the stomach to
Deputy Sheriff Toothaker
Dir. Henry A. King Of Newport, said
that he made call on the Cowan boy
on the morning of September 18th. He
was summoned by special delivery
letter. He found the boy very comfort
able. The mother said he had eaten
cucum bers and apples, which caused
the sickness He found that his pulse
was up to 140. He found the abdomen
had retraoted and dropped in. and, he
| was greatly surprised. He told Mrs
Cowan that he thought the child would
come out all right. II g at first thought
that he would not give the child any
mdeicine. but did finally prepared four
doses of bismuth. Mrs. Cowan told him
that she WAS the child's stepmother,
| and she wanted to do the right thing by
b i'm.
DIR. King testified that he didn't know
that Mrs. Cowan and her husband did
not get along very well together. He
said he assisted in the autopsy. He tes-
titled that he had been summoned to
attend the memb bers of the Cowan fami-
ly several times.
Henry Sawyer of Plymouth testified
that he helped bury the remains of the
Cowansboy, and also dug up the remains
w. Fl. Toothaker, deputy sheriff, of
Dixmont, testified that he had the body
dU ln0 EtQu uCsL VI Gl6 county
attorney. He delivered them to the doc
tors. and then they were again given to
b i'm, and he took them to Brunswick
He searched the house of Cowan at Dix
mont, and carried away q large lot OF
phials He found in an open cham ber
up stairs, mixture of corn meal. He
delivered all of the things found in the
house to Professor Auber of the State
| College at Orono.
Professor A uber testified that in the
corn meal he found an abundance of
| arsenic, or about % or "a grains
DR.. Walter Smith of Bowdoin College
said he received the organs taken from
the Cowan boys body from Mr.. Tooth
aker, and he locked them up in an un-
used room, as Professor Robinson was
away.
Professor F. G. Robinson of Bowdoin
College testified that he was professor of
chemistry and poisons. When he exam
ined the different organs he found no
poison in them except arsenic. He
| found that each organ contained tn at
poison in varying quantities. He ex-
| tracted what he could. and weighed it.
In all, it weighed a little more than
1 three-quarters of grain. He found two
| thirds OF this in the stomach and intes-
tines.
He tested no portion but what he
| found arsenic. He thought that in the
organs he examined there must have
been grain of arsenic. He did not find
| any bismuth in the body of the child.
| He thought that the boy would have
had to take thousands of grains of bis
much to get 10 grains of arsenic.
| On cross-examinatiOn, MIR. Gillen asked
| Professor Ro binson what test be used in
determining the results, and Professor
Robinson explained the various tests.
| There is SO little arsenic in bismuth
| that few chemists mention it, and a
great majority do not. Mr.. SGillen read
from medical work he had ON his ia BILE
| a statement in regard to the poison in
Bismuth, and asked Professor Robinson
| if the statement was true, to which the
| witness replied that an author to make
such a statement knew nothing about
| bismuth. Mr.. Gillen then asked theswit-
ness If he had had wall paper sent TO
him for examination, and the witness
replied that he had, and that arsenic had
been found. r.Giilen then went on to
suggest that hoy playing with highly
painted toys might get arsenic in his
system, perhaps more likely with toys
painted green, rather than red.
Mr.. Bailey then asked Professor Robin
son point blank what he thought was
The cause of the hoy y'sideath. Mr.. Gillen
objected seriously to this form of the
question, and suggested that it be put in
another form, which was accordingly
done, although the answer of Professor
Robinson practically brought out his
clear opinion that death was due to ar
senical poisoning. Mr.Gillen, however,
contended that the organs were in such
an advanced stage of decomposition that
a right conclusion of the cause of death
could not. under the circumstances, be
arrived at.
The next witness called was DR.. Eu-
gene T. Sanger of Bangor. He had been
in pracice for AZ years, and has had q
General practice. He was familiar with
Fowler's solution, and can see nothing
improper in DIR. Browns prescription for
the boy. He should think that here was
about thirteenth of grain of arsenic
in four drops of Fowler's solution. and
bismuth is so free from arsenic that
persons are never warned of it. II fs Sc
minute that it is not necessary. Tine
witness stated that he was making these
statements not as much from hook
knowledge, as from his own experience.
81 have given as high as ten drons OF
Fowler's solution, but the arsenic eIimi
mates very rapidly ana does not accumu
late" DIR. Sanger, in answer to ones
tion put by Mr.. Bailey, stated that he be.
lieved that the death resulted from the
effects of arsenical poisoning. and that
the symptoms indicated repeated doses
On nsraya m n atjon H.,