The Portland daily press., 1898-04-16
SOME FAMOUS PoIsoNs.
Prof. r. A. Miller of Niagara University
Speaks of Historical Gases.

"Famous poisons and poisonings, was
the interesting subject upon whicn Prol.
John A, Miller of Niagara University
idressed large audience I'D hunaio.
Much interest was manifested in the ad-
dress because of DR.. MilIer's prominence
In the Benham case at Batavia as an e3-
pert witness for the defense. Inc profess
sor made no aIlusion to the ceieDrateo
case or to the poison alleged to nave Deeh
USED by Renham, further That TO uescrioe
It specifically in enumerating 1t among
tae principal and most deadly polsons'
Prof. Miller declared that no simpler
or better definition of a poison existed
than that given by DR.. Lehky, VINO de-
cribed poison as any substance when,
otherwise than by agency of heat or cleo
richly, is capable of destroying life by
chemical action upon the tissues or
through physiological action due to It's
absorption into the body. The history Oh
the knowledge of polsons, said Prof. MIL
Ter, is ancient and begins in the myths,
The Greeks believed that Hecate, myth
cal character, was The discoverer or pol
onous herbs. In the earliest records OK
lists knowledge Of poisons. The Esyp-
blans were familiar with many poisons,
including aconite, conium and prusslc
cid.
Early in the history of India, it ap-
pears, poisons were used for suicide, rob-
berry and revenge. The early Greeks used
poisons as means of judicial punish
ment as in the case of Socrates, who
drank hemlock. a poison distilled from
the common field plant. One of the best
known poisons comes from the common
garden plant known as wolfbane of
monkshood, and it is called aconite.
Perhaps the most famous case of poison
ing by aconite was that in which the Lon
don surgeon, George Henry Lamon,
killed his brother-in law, Percy Malcolm
John by administering this poison. John
stood between the surgeon and an inheri-
lance of 1900 pounds. 1t was shown that
the surgeon had made several attempts
to poison his brother-in law, and that
finally ne succeeded in administering to
John powder containing aconite. He
was tried for murder and convicted
There is much difference of opinion
among chemical scientists, said Prot.
Miller, as to what active principles in
duce the virulent properties Of snake poi
sons. The poisonous effects of venomous
serpents WE'RE known in the earliest days.
1t Is estimated that in Ceylon 200, COO per-
sons die annually from the bite of the
same variety of serpent.
With the ushering in of the Christian
era, strange as it may seem, there APP
raa, nod olo of na1 moi Yong
The height of cunning in this class was
not attained until between the 14th and
18th centuries. In Venice in the 18th
century professional prisoners were en-
ployed officially by the Council of Ten to
"remove persons obnoxious to the govern
ment," and the official records contain
the names of those officials who voted in
the council either for or against employ
ing the prisoners.
Secret poisoning was considered justi-
fable as we'll as an easy way to get rid of
an objectionable person." rival or an
enemy. The Borgias were more indus
| trious than their neighbors. By the year
| 1913 secret poisoning had become SO start
lingly prevalent that an investigation
was made by order of Pope Alexander
VII 1t was asceratiEed that there were
an unusually large number of young
widows in Rome. There existed a secret
society Of young matrons The matrons
met at the home OF a woman, Hleronyma
Spara, who supplied the young women
with poisons with which to kill off their
husbands Half q century later SINH
| lar society was discovered in Naples, and
it's leader, a woman, Tofana was stran-
| gled because she dispensed a poison
known as Aqua Tofana.
In conclusion Prof Miller reviewed
fully the peculiar details of the celebrated
| case of Maybrick, the Liverpool cotton
broker, who was poisoned, as alleged, by
his American wife. Mayprick died in
1889. His wife is now in prison for mis-
murder. The symptoms in Maybriok s
case were those Of arsenical poisoning,
and a considerable quantity Of the poison
was found in his stomach. Prof. Miller
described very interestingly the fly paper
and various other articles which con-
tanned arsenic and which Mrs. Maybrick
was shown to have had in her possession.
Prof. Miller declared that of all poisons
arsenic is perhaps easiest to detect.