The Prescott daily news., 1908-09-25
A TraCeIesS Poison
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 Having been summoned as an expert in chemistry in the Nolan case, I con- cluded my testimony with the remark, "A person desiring to kill another would be moSe likely to use a poison that would leave no trace" where upon the prosecuting attorney asked me if there was such a poison. I hay ing replied that there was, he asked me to name it. The judge forbade me to do so. The prosecutor insisted, but the judge was immovable. He would not permit me to name publicly a poi son that would leave no trace.
 Immediately after my testimony was published l was deluged with letters inQuiring the name of the poison that left no trace. Most of them doubtless came from idle curiosity, but I was as- tonished at the number of those which showed plainly, from the pains the writers took to conceal their identity, that they were written for an evil pur- pose.
 One day received call from wo- man who asked for the secret. She said she had made a bet with her brother, who was a scientist of $1,O0O that there was such poison, and she desired to prove it to him by trying it on dog. If would give her the name or the poison and she won she would give me half the amount.
 I questioned her, then, going into an- other room. returned with tiny pill, which l gave her, saying that if it killed the dog and left no trace she might refer her brother to me for evi- dence that she had won the bet When she left 1 sent a housemaid to follow her, who brought me her address. Sending for detective directed him to establish some sort of a watch on the house where she lived, 10 shadow her when she went out and report to me any case of illness that might occur to any one with whom she might be connected.
 In few days my man reported that the lady's husband had died suddenly. It had been given out that he had suf-
 
 lived an hour after.
 I was thunderstruck. 1 alone knew the nature of the pill had given the woman, and of course she would keep the secret. Nevertheless 1 was very much troubled at the result. directed the detective to keep her under strict surveillance. Later he reported to me that she had visited the office of life insurance company. Upon inquiry he had learned that her husband had been insured for $50000. hurried to the insurance office called on the pres ident and advised him before paying the claim to make sure that there was no. trickery connected with it. But would answer no questions. The next l heard of the case was that upon examination of the body exhumed for the purpose-it was dis covered that it was the remains of the brother of the man insured. The in- sured himself had disappeared. Pay ment was refused, and the woman was arrested on a charge of fraud, to which was added a charge of murder.
 The body of the deceased was given over to physicians with view to dis covering if the man had died natural death. One reported apoplexy as the cause, another heart trouble and an other kidney disease. Three different experts reported three different poisons found in the body. There was opium, arsenic and one other, the name of which I have forgotten. l was sum- moned as witness for the prosecution and produced sensation by refusing to testify on the ground of self merlin ination.
 Afterward I consented to give my evidence. I informed the court of the woman's visit to me, of her request for a poison that would leave no trace and the use she proposed to make of 1t. Then told them that I had given her the pill At this point technical ob- jection was interposed by the defend ants counsel. and the judge sustained him. I was forbidden to tell what was in the pill, the reason being that it had not been proved that the pill had been used. This left me in a very unfortu- nate position.
 After a long trial the woman was ac- quilted of the charge of murder, and the charge of fraud was never pressed.