The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1905-03-01
MISS BERNER'S
STATEMENT

Miss Bertha Berner the private Sc
cretary of Mrs. Stanford was greatly
overcome with the terrible affair but
was able to make a detailed statement
of the incidents leading up to it to
High Sheriff Henry this morning at
the Moana Hotel. Miss e. NJ. Hunt
the maid Of Mrs. Stanford was also
questioned at the same time by High
Sheriff Henry. Both of the women
We're with Mrs. Stanford at the time
she died last night. The High Sheriff
cross examined both of them care
fully and while the various details
leading up to the death of Mrs. Stan
ford were told with much freedom and
quite clearly, practically nothing was
learned from them which would throw
drug, the alleged bi-carbonate of soda,
which is now believed to have been the
medium of Mrs. Stanford's death
THE statement of Mrs. Judge High
ton that Mrs. Stanford had told her
there had been an attempt made to
poison her in California" said Miss
Berner to a Star reporter "was correct.
Mrs. Stanford did make such a state
ment. An attempt was made by some
persons in California to poison Mrs.
Stanford last month and that was the
reason that she left for her friends and
attorneys and doctors advised her to
leave the mainland and remain away
until after the affair had quieted down
and had been forgotten. Somebody
placed some strychnine in a bottle of
Poland mineral water from which she
drank. Mrs Stanford was very in
from the effects of drinking this but
there had been such a large quantity
of the strychnine placed i'm the water
that her stomach repealed it and she
was able to vomit and recover. Expert
chemists examined the remainder Of
the water in that bottle and found
I that strychnine had been placed in it,
Yes it was Mrs. Stanford's belief
last night before she died that she had
been poisoned. She was conscious un-
til the last convulsion seized her and
she seemed positive i'm her mind tina
she had been poisoned. She wanted
the doctor to know this for she told
me to tell him what had happened be-
fore evidently meaning the attempt to
poison her.
Yesterday we went on a picnic over
the Pail on the other side of the island
In the party were Mrs. Stanford, my
self, the maid, Miss Hunt and the
driver. Mrs. Stanford had arranged
about the trip and she ordered the
lunch. The lunch consisted of three
kinds of sandwiches made out of gra-
ham bread, swiss cheese, tongue and
| lettuce, hard boiled eggs, a fresh loaf
of gingerbread, oranges chocolate
candy, cold coffee, pepper, salt and su-
gar. Mrs. Stanford was in the very
best of spirits. She seemed to enjoy
the trip especially. In fact it was
one of the most enjoyable days that
she had experienced in a long time,
I She seemed freer from care yesterday
than at any time I can recall recently.
She partook heartily of the luncheon
saying that she had come to eat and
she did not care if she would have to
pay for it as she would take some
medicine at night. She ate Of every
thing but the eggs. We We're absent
in the trip from 10 o'clock in the morn
ing until about 4 o'clock in the after
noon, We had picniced in a grove
down by the end Of the road on the
other side of the Pail.
Mrs. Stanford did not seem to be