The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1899-02-21
No LIGHT SHED.
No Solution Of the Adams Mystery
Yet.
SEVEN WITNESSES EXAMINED AT
INQUEST YESTERDAY.

Feature of Day was Testimony Of Mrs.
Rogers, who Told of Her Mothers
Death-Dr. Douglass Says Barnet
Did Not Die OF Poisoning.
New York. February 90 Tho Adams
INQUEST was continued today. Harry A.
King. a stock broker. who was the first
witness called to the stand. King was
the first person whom Cornish showed
the poison bottle and holder. Mr.. King
said he was a member of the Knicker-
booker Athletic club and knew H. G.
Barnet and Harry Cornish. He knew
Barnet only by sight. He had always
supposed that Barnet died of diphtheria
and had not heard that the latter was
supposed to have died of poison until he
read 1t in the newspapers On Saturday.
December "a. at the club house. Cornish
showed witness the bottle of brcmo-
seltzer and holder and said something
about 1t being q Christmas present. Wit
ness said: ~ have a slight headache and
think I'll take some"
Cor nish pushed the bottle and holder
toward him, and he took 1t over to the
water cooler. There was no glass there
and no water in the cooler so he re-
turned the bottle and holder to Cornish's
desk and said: II don't think I'll bother
with It."
"You first stated that there was no
water in the cooler. Now you say Meth
er water nor glasss" said assistant dis
trint attoruav Oshourua
THAT is so; there was neither water
or glass"
"You haven't altered our staten ent
to lit the statements made by Cornish
and Finnerany"
"Did you not read in the papers that
Cornish said there was no water in the
cooler and Fiuneran said there was no
glass therep"
There was neither water nor glass.
Mr. King said he talked about the case
with Cornish in MIR. Yocums room at
the club on the night Of Mrs. Adam 8
death. Cornish was very sick. He re-
called the incident of the bromo.seltzer
bottle and witness remarked that 1t was
lucky thing for him that he had not
taken any of the contents of the bottle.
MIR. King denied that in his talk with
Cornish any comment was made on the
similarity of the deaths of Mrs. Adams
and Barnet Witness said he had taken
bromo- Sc ltzer several times, but he was
unable to give an accurate description
OF q bromo-seltzer bottle
He did not notice II the words "bro-
mo-seltzer' that are blown into a gen.
uine bromo- settler bottle were In the
bottle he saw in Cornish's Office. In an
swer to question he said that Cornish
told him he han received the bottle by
mail. A bottle was shown to him and
he was asked If 1t was the one he had
seon in Cornishs possession. He said
he would have believed SO If he had not
read that 1t was not the same bottle
that different one had been shown to
previous witness. The bottle handed
him by Cornish was in holder at the
time.
DR.. Henry Douglas was the next wit
ness He told how he had diagnozed
Barnet's case as one of diphtheria and
Of having discovered diphtherial exude
he told Barnet subsequently that he
would not wait for further developments
and gave him hyperdeTmio injection
Of antitoxine. Witness discovereu diph
therial bacilli besides another bacillus
which he could not identify as diph-
therial ut the time.
ION November 4th," continued the
witness, II discovered evidence of mer-
curial poison. Barnet told me that he
had got up ON the morning of October
EJt0 anu lOok suue hutnOW pOWuer
which gave him a sore throat and put
his stomach out of order, causing him
TO vomit freely. lie said he had received
IL through the mail He asked me to tell
him why the powders made him sick.
/ found the powder and tasted IL. |
thought that oaloTel had been put in it
In manufacture to produces "a better
stfect l took the bottle to "a chemist
who said that it was took corrosive in
taste for calomel The chemist told ms
that IL must DO cyanide OF mercury.
Under the circumstances l felt that the
package should be sealed and this was
done. i went back TO Barnet's room and
told that the box and powder contained
cyanide of mercury. He said he did
not know anything about what il con-
tanned. He toll: me TO keep the box aud
he would attend to it when he got we'll
l remember asking Barnet If he new
where the powder came from and who
sent II. He sand: i ii attend TO it when
j get we'll l asked him If he thought
the kutnow powder people had made
mistake In putting up the bottle; that
II they had he had a good case for dam
Rges which would more thao repay him
for his expenses and my bill.
THE diphtherial symptoms disappeared
from Barnet and he appeared to he con
valescent During his illness he persis
tently refused to carry out my instruc
tions hy over-exerting himself physical
ly. This weakened his heart and few
days before he died l asked him to re-
lease me from the case or obey my or.
ders. Ihirty-si hours before he died he
showed marked evidence of heart failure
"As the suggestion OF Barnet's brother
we called DIR. Andrew II. Smith IN con.
sultation. lie made no new suggestion
Us u treatment Barnet was told that
II te exerted himself again by getting
up 1t would prove fatal. The nurse told
me that after We left the rom, Barnet
said: They tried TO scare me to death,
didn't theyr Barnet paid non attention
70 our instructions. de died at l. II
yclook.
He told DIR. Philips as soCe as the an
alysis had been made and Philssps said:
That explains the vomiting