Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-12-05
HE DETECTED POISON
DR.. Hitchcock Attended Mrs. Adams
When She Died.
GOT some OF The DRUG HIMSELF
Physician Describes All the Incl
dents Attending Her Death.
WITNESS CROSS-EXAMINED

| NEW YORK, December 5.-The first wit
! ness to be called to testify in the case of
| roland Il. MolineuX, who is charged with
| causing the death of Mrs. Katherine J
Adams. was DR.. Edward F. Hitchcock, who
| attended Mrs. Adams Immediately after she
| had taken the poison which caused her
| death. In answer to questions by Mr.. Os-
| borne, DR.. Hitchcock said that when called
| to attend Mrs. Adams he took with him an
| emergency outfit" Reaching the house
| he saw at the top of the second flight of
stairs number of persons, among whom
was Harry S. Cornish. He had no CONVEX
| sation with Cornish. Mrs Adams was
| given hypodermic injection for a heart
| simulant, and other means to save her life
We're tried, but she died while he was work.
ing over her There were two glasses on
! the dining room table. The witness said
| ne heard some one retching in a nearby
| room and on asking who it was, was told
| 1t was Mr.. Cornish
Beyond question, witness said, Mr.
| cornish was in a most distressing condi-
ton. This was objected to by Mr. Weeks
| ana was stricken from the record. Con-
lnu1ng, DR.. Hitchcock said he was asked
by Cornish if he had any idea what stuff it
was they had taken, but he could not de-
| termine the nature of the contents of the
bottle from which the dose had been taken
| Detected n Deadly Poison.
He tasted the contents of the bottle and
| as soon as it touched his tongue he de-
tect9d the odor of almonds and prusSic
acid, and knew he was in contact with the
cyanic root, one of the most deadly poi
| sons.
| Mr.. Osborne asked the witness to de-
| scribe the IF
| Mr. Weeks objected, but was overruled.
me poison caused general paralysis, DIR.
| Hitchcock said. He detected the mercurial
| taste IN the preparation.
| In describing the bottle containing the
| stuff the witness said it was little smaller
and of darker color than a bromo-seltZer
| polite. The label was soiled and gave the
bott!e a secondhand appearance. Dr.
Hitchcock identified the bottle when it was
| shown him by Mr.. Osborne, and it was
offered in evidence.
The bottle was then passed to Dr. Allen
| McLaia Hamilton, the medical adviser for
| the defense, who weighed and measured it.
| The bottle was ertered as an exhibit.
DR.. Hitchcock continued and told that the
| bottle holder was handed to him by Cor
nlSh. This was given to the witness for
identification. He identified it positively as
| the same he saw in the Adams fiat. 1t was
| also passed to the defense for examination
| careful measurement that was given the
| bottle. The holder became exhibit 2"
Bottles Wrapper Also in Evidence.
The wrapper which Cornish told DR..
| Hitchcock was about the bottle was next
| offered the witness and identified by him.
| The wrapper, bearing the handwriting
| which is to play so great a part in the
| trial. was framed under a heavy glass. 1t
| was examined by the defense. Mr.. Weeks
passed ii back to the witness saying:
Il would ask the doctor to examine it
carefully, to be certain that 1t was the
| same
This was done by the witness and the
| wrapper was offered in evidence as Elk
| hibit A. II was then passed around the
| jury box and examined by each in turn.
| The defense then asked that DR.. Hitchcock
| should weigh the bottle and bottle holder.
| He did so, and they We're each passed
about for the inspection of the jurors.
Continuing, DR.. Hitchcock told of asking
| Cornish where he bought the bottle, and
| of being told that it was sent as Christ
mas present. The witness asked Cornish
| if he knew anybody who spelled the
| numbers 40 "fourty" Cornish said he did
not The doctor said he then began to
| feel Ill himself saying the poison began
| to get in its fine work on me-" He told of
| the conversation between himself and Cor
| nish and described his feelings. He said
| he Kept Cornish on the move all the time,
| thus keeping him from becoming more ILL.,
| Sent Cornish for DR.. Potter.
| He sent Cornish for Or. Potter, thus get
| ting him out in the fresh air. Dr. Potter
| came about 1905 o'clock, Mrs. Adams hay
| ing been dead for some time, every ona
! having been sent out of the room, so that
| he anu Dr. Potter could carry out their
| plans. He said that at that time there
were more than two glasses on the table,
as he had used some himself.
| There were two tumblers, he said one Of
which contained about two inches of sedi-
| flent, which was very slightly effervescent
the other contained clear water. He said
ne took home with him a specimen of the
handwriting and the bottle and bottle
holder, locking them in his desk They
were later delivered to the police. Dr.
Hitchcock next told of the visit he and
Cornish made to the ndertaker's Office.
Mr.. Weeks then began the cross-examina-
ton. He was told by the witness that he
had made a most minute and careful ex-
animation of his patient. Coming to the
question of the bottle and bottle holder, the
witness said he could not say that certain
little blue marks on the wrapper were
there when he examined the exhibits in the
nat. He told Mr. Weeks he could not re-
member very distinctly as he had paid no
particular attention to the matter and had
not studied the case.
The witness testified before the coroner
that the patient had peculiar pallor. In
his testimony today he characterized 1t
peculiar 'tbluish color
The bottle which contained the poison,
when he entered, but was brought in from
the bed room by Mr. Cornish. who also
brought in the bottle holder and the wrap
per. He said he thought the bottle was in
the holder when it was brought in.