The Semi-weekly leader., 1922-08-12
CAN NOT ESCAPE
No Chance for Murderer Who
Uses Poison.
Science Has Made That Form Of Kill
Inc Lost Art, Unlike the
Days Of Old.

Ever since medieval times silent
but none the less determined war has
been going on between the subtle art
Of poisoning and the more subtle art
Of discovering and locating poisons In
the human body.
In the old days fortunes awaited
those who could prepare some concoc-
tion that would remove people from
this world without leaving traces Of
how it was done. Poisoning, as un-
derstood by Catherine de Medici, was
grand art. Today it is a lost art,
for science has practically won the
long fight and is now able to discover
and classify every known poison even
months after the victim has sue
cumbed to Its effects.
Within the last generation almost
every kind Of poison has come within
the scope Of the ever-increasing expe-
rience Of medico-legal experts who
have been called to give evidence In Inn
portant cases-from the hyoscyamine
Of the Crippen case to the arsenical
fypaper Of the Seddon affair.
Arsenic, antimony, prussic acid, car
bolic acid. oxalIc acid, mercury, bella
donna, opium, heroin, morphia, calabar
bean, croton seed, nitric acid, pyridine
that most deadly poison found In mi
mute quantities In dirty tobacco pipes
all have been traced. tabulated and
chained by the patient, emotionless de-
tective, Science.
So highly has the work Of scientific
detection been developed that the pres
ence Of arsenic may be discovered even
years after 1t has been taken. No more
delicate tests In chemistry, and at the
same time no more infallible ones, can
be used than the tests for arsenic and
antimony. In the former poison the
tests are SO severe that one part In
sixty millions can be revealed.
It is to the Borgia that one must
60 to hear about the incredibly subtle
poisons which could not be detected;
but the light of modern science proves
that much which is credited to that
family's knowledge of the art of pol
soning was really impossible of ac-
complishment unless we concede-
which is just possible-that they knew
more about toxicology than do mod
ern savants.
There1 was one particular poison
which the Borgias are credited with
using which has remained secret. 1t
was tasteless, could kill the victim
quickly or leisurely, as the poisoner
willed, and 1t left no trace discernible
to the chemists Of that time.
The lists Of mobiles and dignitaries
Of the church who died by this subtle
means is believed to be formidable. It.
was used In two ways, powder and
liquid, and its method Of manufacture
was related by an obscure scientist Of
the period.
The powder form of the poison was
white like -four, with a taste like
sugar. It was called Contarella. Its
composition was never known, but the
liquid was prepared in the following
way:
A wild boar was caught, and to It
was administered a strong dose Of ar
senic. As soon as the poison began
to take effect the boar was hung up
by the heels. Commissions came on,
and a froth. which ran from its jaws,
was collected In silver dish and
then was transferred to bottle which,
after some Contarella was added, was
Theoretically sealed. This was kept
for a certain time and the result was
the notorious poison.
Certain 1t is that no poison known
today is secret. Chemistry and science
can provide the means Of detection,
and can often supply the antldote.-
Overseas Daily Mail.