Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1899-02-17

OF THE POTION THAT KILLED
MRS. ADAMS.
New York, February 16.-The most
important feature thus far in the in
quest in the Adams poison case, is that
the testimony of DR.. E. f. Hitchcock,
who attended Mrs. Adams in her last
moments, was in direct conflict with
the testimony of Harry S. Cornish and
Frederick E. Hovey, both of whom
were in Mrs. Adams fiat when she
died.
DR.. Hitchcock testified that the boy
who summoned him told him that he
was wanted Immediately, as "a party
had been poisoned" The witness also
Stated that in the hearing of Cornish
and Mrs. Rogers, the daughter of the
murdered woman, he said that a dia-
bolical crime had been committed.
Cornish repeatedly stated while on the
witness stand that no suspicion that a
crime had been committed had been
suggested to him until two or three
days after the death of Mrs. Adams;
and Hovey also stated that no sugges-
ton that a crime had been committed
was made on the day of Mrs. Adams
death.
The doctor also testified that he ask
ed Cornish repeatedly if he had any
enemies who could have designs on his
life, and Cornish assured him that he
had no enemies and suspected nobody.
DR.. Hitchcock further said hat he had
had a talk with DR.. Potter, who was
also in attendance, as to what the
poison bottle contained. While they
were talking Cornish, Mrs. Rogers and
Hovey entered the room.
One point on which DR.. Hitchcock
c~ontradicted the testimony of Hovey
related to the condition of the bottle
of poison. The doctor stated that he
saw no parafine about the cork or
mouth Of the bottle, while Hovey, in
his testimony, said that the cork was
covered with paraffine. DR.. Hitchcock
described how Cornish was taken SICK
with symptoms similar to those shown
by Mrs. Adams.
Cornish asked: Can it be anything
else but brOmo SeltZer?" and the doc
tor replied that it certainly could.
Mrs. Bertha May Hovey, the wife Of
Frederick G. Hovey, was placed OF
the stand. The questions Of the as
sistant district attorney brought out
the facts that Cornish had separated
from his wife and that Mrs. Rogers
was living apart from her husband.
When Mrs. Hovey reached the Adams
fiat she was admitted by a policeman.
She met Assistant District Attorney
Mcintyre there. Mrs. Rogers seemed
heart-broken. She told witness that
Mrs. Adams had taken bromo settler.
but never mentioned poison, nor did
she say that her mother was the vic
tim of a diabolical plot. The fact that
Cornish had given the bromo settler to
her mother was not spoken of by Mrs.
Rogers.
When was the first time you dis
covered that Mrs. Adams had been
poisoned?" was asked.
L ~ I hAON L uIQ uOt II.
read it in the newspaper" was the re-
ply.
Mrs. HOvey said she remained in the
Adams house until Saturday, December
81, the day Of the funeral, when she
went with Mrs. Rogers to Hartford,
where the body was buried. Mrs.
Adams died on Wednesday, December
28.)
Witness said she had talked with
Cornish about Mrs. Adams death. but
she could not remember that Cornish
said to her: What a fool | am that
J should have received that bottle and
given some of the contents to Mrs.
Adams
CorOner's Physician Weston took the
stand. DR.. Weston testified that he
performed an autopsy upon Mrs.
Adams body. He at first formed the
impression that Mrs. Adams came to
her death through taking cynaide Of
potassium from the odor Of the bottle
and from his diagnosis at the autopsy.
subsequently a chemical analysis
showed that death was due to cyanide
of mercury. The bottle was wrapped
in a piece of brown paper such as law
yers use for their notes. The bottle
was three-quarters full when he saw It.
The policeman gave it to him and said
he had got it from DR.. Hitchcock.
Witness talked with Hovey on ar
irving at the fat, and Hovey told him
about the case. He smelled the con-
tents OF the bottle and told Hovey he
thought it contained cyanide of potas-
sum. No one else was present at the
time, but a little later he saw Mrs.
Rogers, and asked about Mrs. Adams
age, etc, so as to I'LL out his report.
He told Mrs. Rogers that her mother
had died OF poison, and that he would
make an autopsy on the following day.
Witness was asked whether one
could have smelled the substance in the
bottle without putting it TO the nose.
He answered that he thought the odor
could have been detected, although it
would not have been so marked. The
cork in the bottle Drotruded about
three-eighths of an inch. Witness ask
ed where the box was in which the
bottle came through the mail, and was
told that it had been thrown away at
the Knickerbocker club house. Corn
ish was not at the fat when witness
was there. Witness did not see the
glass from which the poison was taken,
| although Hovey told him it was some-
where about the fat. He could not re-
call having said something apout who
| r,fuh4 have Sau{ the bottle H. -o-