The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1905-03-07


cisco.
Il explained to DR.. Humphris. briefly.
what had happened in San Francisco,
saying that we were giving Mrs. Stan
ford warm water. hoping to make her
vomit, as we were told vomiting had
saved her life. DR.. Humphris inquired
what Mrs. Stanford had taken and who
I had given il to her. I replied that she
had taken a dose of cascara and some
soda. Mrs. Stanford remarked: I took
II myself. had forgotten ii, rose
again and took it Mrs. Stanford then
a ked the doctor: Can't you give me
| something to make me vomit? Asked
again for the stomach pump, which the
| doctor said he had ordered brought out
and to spare neither horse nor cost.
| Mrs. Stanford asked to be given some
| ipecac to make her vomit and ! re-
member hearing the doctor remark:
1T might affect the heart saying that
! he was giving her mustard and water
to make her vomit He tried to COM
fort her, bidding her not to be afraid
Hot water arrived from the kitchen and
| placed Mrs. Stanford's feet in a pail
of hot water and her hands in a vessel
of hot water while the doctor was rush
ing for his medicine bags. He came
back to the room with two bags and
prepared some medicine; also prepared
hypodermic injection. For short
interval the rightly of her muscles re-
Taxed. / comforted her by the remark
that she was better. She was in a pro-
fuse perspiration, as Uncovered when
rubbing her spine.
"Then she remarked to the doctor,
Another spasm is coming on saying,
| oh. God forgive me my sins, and is
my soul prepared to meet my dear
ones?' Then she said, This is n horri-
BILE death to die!' DR. Humphris gave
her some medicine. A violent spasm
came on, from which she did not re-
cover This must have been about IL
o'clock. I heard some one say so, but
who It was I don't recall.
Mrs. Stanford was born in Albany,
n. Y. August %, 1928. and at her death
was in her nth year"
ANDREWS ASKS QUESTIONS.
At this point Attorney General An
drews asked Miss Berner about Mrs.
Stanford's use Of bicarbonate and wit
ness stated that she did not use 1t
when under the care of physicians as
she used only what they prescribed.
The maids and the housemaid, Nora
Hopkins, knew of Mrs. Stanfords habit
of using the soda. She did not believe
the present maid or the new butler
/
persons would lead them into. the place
where the soda was kept. Witness was
not present when the Poland water
was given Mrs. Stanford in San Fran
cisco but understood that Miss Rich
mond had brought the water from the
kitchen where the bottle was uncorke1
by n Chinaman and had heard that the
bottle stood a long time before Mrs.
| Stanford drank it. The cascara cap
sules were Miss Berner's own.
ATTITUDE TOWARD SUICIDE.
In response to questions from the
Deputy witness stated that Mrs STAN
ford never read about suicides and
said that the details of such cases dis
tressed her and expressed pity for peo-
pie who could be driven to take their
lives.
In regard to the room in which Mrs.
! Stanford slept there was a dresser
| against the door leading into the next
| room. The windows were screened.
there was balcony outside. Witness
! thought that the room was locked
when Mrs. Stanford was out, that was
In the maids charge.
Nfrc Stamford naVar stated nnV c,lg-
picions regarding the San Francisco
poisoning to witness and the only cor
versation relating to 1t In Honolulu
was that with Mrs. Henry Highton
Mrs. Stanford did not refer to this con-
versation in talking to witness. The
water taken in San Francisco had u
bitter taste, witness tasted it. In a
postscript statement Miss Berner eX-
planned the unusual interval between
the doses of soda taken New Years
week and that on the fatal night by
saying that Mrs Stanford was uoder
the Doctors care until a week before
leaving for Honolulu and that she had
eaten very sparingly while packing and
on the steamer so that she probably
was not troubled with acidity of the
stomach and did not need the medicine
Witness described the San Fran
cisco poisoning affair and said that
Mrs. Stanford felt no i'll effects after
she had got the poison out of hel
stomach by vomiting. Her stomach re-
jected the poisoned water as sooE e:
she drank 1t.
: DIR. WOODS TESTIMONY.
DR.. c. b. Wood of the Queens Hos
pital, who performed the autopsy wa
!. the next witness. He described tn
e condition of the body in detail. Their
4 was a most marked rigidity of tn
: muscles such as accompanies strych
v nine poisoning. The blood vessels wer
a full and small quantity of dark liqui
b blood was found in the heart. Their
r We're no blood clots.
n These two important statements wer
l made by DIR. Wood.
e There are no post mortem appear
l ances which are absolute proofs c
I death due to strychnine, but all the ap
pearances generally found in know
y cases of strychnine poisoning CORE
spond to the appearances found in thi
autopsy.
: THE examination of the organs fail