Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-01-06
GOOD PROGRESS
In PRATT CASE

In PRATT CASE
Continued from Page One.)
on the floor. with Mrs. Pratt caring
for him. He also testified to noticing
that Pratt lost flesh during his last
sickness.
Dr.. 6erry's Evidence.
Dr. p. j. Berry, of Auburn, was
called by the state and County Attor-
ney Hutchinson questioned him along
the line of his professional treatment
of Josiah NJ. Pratt. He was called there
May %, 1905, but found nothing alarm
ing in Pratts condition, pulse and
temperature normal. Was called again
May "a. Patient was feeling quite
we'll. Did not think there was much
the matter with him. Pratt had been
taking some medicine of his own pre-
scribing. l considered it a harmless
sort. Told me he had taken calallae-
tose tablets and some black tablets Of
aloes, strychnine and belladona, prob
ably containing each about 1-60th of
grain of stychnine and rs gram Of
belladona. He had also taken bismuth
and pepsin.
Dr. Hull Testifies.
Yesterday afternoon the first witness
on the stand was DIR. j. F. Hull of Lake
City, formerly Of Yetter and for some
years family physician of the Pratts.
He testified that he had treated Josiah
n f,,%n Tx>,,
including 1902, 1903, 1904 and 1905.
May %, 1905, he was called by Mrs.
Pratt. Did not consider Pratt extreme
ly sick. On May % was called be-
cause Mrs. Pratt knew l was in the
neighborhood. He had a fainting spell
before my visit. l found his pulse
normal. My next visit was on May 30
and he seemed perfectly well. Said
he was tired and weak, but made no
complaint. except that he had not
much appetite. He had no fever and
pulse was normal. / made three visits
before June Sth, but each of those
times found him apparently not very
sick. On June Sth his condition was
different. His face and eyelids were
swollen and his legs were slightly
swollen He complained of sick stom-
ach and had vomited. l examined the
vomit and found blood III it. There
was puffiness under the eyes, but no
of pain. gave him tonic,
iron and cod liver oil, on the Sth.
During my visits gave him stomach
sedatiye, bismuth and bicarbonate OF
soda. On my first visit 1 treated him
for biliousness, the second time mere
ly gave him a tonic. Thought ne was
suffering from disorganized cond1tloh
of nervous system. On the next to the
last visit l told Mr.. and Mrs. Pratt
thought he was suffering from gastri-
tbs, inflamed condition of the mucus
membrane of the stomach. found no
cause for this and did not assign any.
He was quite expert at treating him.
self. He had taken calallastose tablets,
a1oes. strychnine and belladonna pills,
tablets, etc. ! had given
him at different times and in different
wears some of these and also compound
pills, bismuth and elixir CT
nepsin. In his last sickness never
saw him when he was having pad
SMELL" Was always called afterwards.
On NV last visit made him get out OF
bod as he seemed we'll enough to gel
nm. Mrs. Pratt thought he was not.
He said he could not walk because his
legs felt paralyzed, but at my request
ba tried it. and did walk across the
room once or twice.
Bought Poison.
T, MdMickle, Anamosa, was the
next witness. He was in the drug nus,
mess at Yetter for five years and until
a few weeks ago.
On June %, 1905, witness testifled
he sold Mrs. Pratt an ounce OF whlte
arsenic, containing $50 grains ana
charged ten cents for it on Pratt's ac-
count. She said she wanted 1t foF
mice. ] think she bought 1T during
the afternoon. She was there in per-
son. At her request / signed her name
to the poison register. On June Ia
sold VIM. Persing twenty-five cents
worth of poison fly paper. There was
eight sheets of it in an envelope about
5xS inches. l think the brand was
Beacon We kept only one kind.
charged this fly paper to Pratts ac-
count. On June Is / sold eight
sheets more to one of the little Pratt
girls and charged it to the account.
Mrs Pratt bought arsenic of me one
other time. two years before, on March
Z, 1903. AT that time she said she
wanted it for rats.
Mrs John Moulds. a neighbor was
at Pratts three weeks before his death
He did not feel very bad, but said he
could not get his heels down to the
floor 1 was there Monday, June 26.
after his death, when Persing was ar
rested. Heard Mrs. Pratt say that it
pretty near broke her heart to see them
take Persing away; that he was a good
boy and was innocent.
was there on Saturday, June "a.
Persing and Mrs. Pratt went away to-
gettler soon after dinner. l did not
see her shed any tears.
Mrs. John DeSart. neighbor. test
flied that Mrs. Pratt told her during
her husbands sickness that it seemed
like there was poison in his system.
Since Sunday night the British Col
lmbia Copper Company's smeter at
B. c., and the Dominion
Copper Company's smelter at Bound
ary Falls have been practically shut