Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1905-03-07

lng!"
1t was DR.. F. H. Humphris who pro
uounced the above words. On the wit
ness stand at the coroner's inquest al
the Moana Hotel last night, slowly
with deep conviction in every tone OF
his voice, he pronounced the words
that drove from the minds of the spec.
tators, and surely from those Of the
Jurors. the last vestige Of doubt as ia
the cause Of that tragedy on the night
OF February 20.
That Mrs. Stanford died of strych.
nine poisoning was the conviction Of
every doctor who gave testimony,
though this conclusion was not ex
pressed by all with such definiteness
% in the case of DIR. Humphris.
| DR.. Wood stated that on examina.
tion Of the body failed to show any
sufiicient cause Of death due to disease
ANY natural cause. His exact words
OF this point were, "As far as post.mor.
tom appearances go, the symptoms
found at the autopsy were indicative
Of death due to strychnine."
DR.. Day testified that he had con.
cluded death was due to strychnino.
And DR.. Murray strengthened the evi.
dence by his statement that Had
been called without any knowledge OF
what caused her sickness and I found
her In that condition (referring to the
final spasm) would have suspected
she died Of strychnlns."
That fact, then, is almost beyond
doubt. The chemists report will be
given at the continuation OF the in.
quest at 8 o'clock today, and then the
final conclusion will be reached.
But who was the poisoner? That
question has been the only really i'm.
portant one In the minds OF most PEG.
pie for the past week. The inquest
yesterday brought out nothing to solve
this mystery. As to the theory of sui.
eide, that was emphatically secuted by
the testimony Of Miss Berner and Miss
May Hunt, Mrs. Stanfords maid Miss
Berner was easily the most impressive
figure at the inquest yesterday. Self.
| sohpooNa, phitt, uttiSlNt, WtlknihH tN-
cry word, almost every gesture as che
gave her evidence, there was under.
meath 1t all a repressed excitement. u
J fire of emotion that made every sen.
tence Of her story dramatic. And when
] she spoke Of Mrs. Stanford's death,
Miss Berner's eyes filled with tears
and she could scarcely control her sobs
She testified that Mrs. Stanford had
not taken the soda for two weeks DO.
fore coming to Honolulu. an unusually
long interval, explaining II on the
ground that during this time she had
not been troubled with acidity of the
stomach. On that night In question
Miss Berner had taken out a half.
spoonful Of soda, laid It on the dress.
ing table beside the glass of water and
retired. Then she told Of the tiral
scene-Mrs. Stanford fighting for her
life. drinking six or seven glasses OF
water to induce vomiting. the futile ef.
forts Of the doctors. and the terrible
srasm from which Mrs. Stanford did
not recover.
In questioning, she stated that the
maids about Mrs. Stanford knew OF her
habit Of taking the soda. also the
housemaid. Nora Hopkins. II is sup.
posed that maid, Miss Richmond.
had given Mrs. Stanford the Poland
water In San Francisco. getting the un.
corked bottle from q Chinese servant
downstairs.
At this point Miss Berner was ask
ed what Mrs. Stanford had said when
reading about suicide cases. Miss Der.
ner replied: THE details distressed her
greatly. and she expressed pity for PEG.
pie who could be driven to take their
own lives" Miss Berner further ties.
titled that no outsiders, SO far as she
knew. were In Mrs. Stanford's room
OF the Moana Hotel. ~ think the room
was locked. II was left In charge OF
May (the maid. Mrs. Stanford fire.
quently discussed the first attempt on
her life. but never stated her sus-
piciors. She remarked that the taste
she experienced at that time was bit.
ter. Mrs. Stanford referred to the first
attempt to Mrs. Higkton, only In ona
interview, and no one else to my knowl.
edge.
The four doctors all agreed precisely
in their testimony as to the post,mor'
TEN examination symptoms. All stated
definitely that the organs Of the body
were unusually well preserved, and
showed absolutely no cause for natural
death. All agreed that the condition
Of rigidity, or rigor mortis, found was
that which strychnine alone could
cause. Tetanus or lockjaw was out o
the question because in this case the
Jaw was the last part become rigid
The clencbing Of the hand with the
thumbs turned In on the palms, the ex
aggerated arching Of the foot, with the
toes extended, the set Of the jaw, are
indicated strychnine. Acute indiges
ton was secuted by every doctor who
gave testimony, since the food in hel
nsA l. L.. - n