affeotion °fake* any, organ..
'Aimee:the.. patient: complains'abine - l oa
dyspepsia; •scimetinies of dizziriese'•iff
the head; Common' eyttiPtoin is an
affection of the eye,, dimness of
pain iu the left side, albumen is 'found
in the 'urine and oasts of the .urinfer
one 'tubes, which is the surest symptom.
In they_ost viorteml a isexiv
ered no lesions in the 'orgaris,,eieept
• the kidneys. . The blood was in a fluil
condition. I•did not apply chemical
i
• tests for urea rr the:blood. I judged
iron the.kidneye ; I judge the blood
was _poisoned by the urea ; it caused {
the coma. The patient died from the
small ral granular kidney; the kidney
becomes diminished ie, size; I think it
is, but I. do not know which is the
smallest form ; there - nye three. We
judge that - the' kidney excretes the.
„ water without excreting the urea. Ur
ea in the blood might be decomposed
into carbonate of ammonia. Never
discovered the odor from -- the breath,
the case I speak of was a living patient.
'I never saw it laid down as a symp
tom ; "A" do not-know--in -which. sex,
• Bright's disease occurs most frequent
ly; do not remeinbei the statistics ; I'
believe there is. a slight difference. I
saw a ease in Roberts, in which a per
son of sixty-three years had undoubt
edly Bright's disease,.
The brain varies in 'different cases ;
in cases of dropsy, there is usually ef
fasions,of serum in different parts of
the cavities of the brain, in ' , other cases,
none; the whole person is usually bole,
blood deteriorated,enemic in a mearsure
Granular kidney may produce function
al heart disease, not organic. The most
frequent cause of Bright's disease is a
cold, eosure to cold, exposing the
surface'of the . .body, cold;
the skin gives did kidneys too much
to do. •
PRoP. C. F. HIMES, rsavorn.—.l am
Professor of Natural Sciences in Dick
inson College, of this place. I began
to teach chemistry in 1855, by text
books and lectures ; have been engag
•• • • ci • and stud chemistr
since then ; have been connects wit
Dickinson College for four years, since
1865.' I pursued those studies for one
and ift - half years at the University
of Glenn, in Hesse Darmstadt; Ger
many, in the labratoryof Prof. Liebig,
under the instruction of ,Prof. Wills,
the latter author of a text book on An
alytical -Chemistry, used extensively
in this country and Europe. I beard
the testimony of Dr.,Aiken ;" if, I re
member aright he applied the iron and
sulphur tests ; he stated that he disc
tilled the contents dl' the stomach with
sulphuric acid, and obtained about four
ounces of distillate. 'A portion of this
he treated with caustic potash, then
added a prota and sesqui salt of iron,
and then a few drops of hydo•chlorie ac
id: He stated if Prussic acid had been
present in the diatillate, Prussian blue
would inevitably be produced. He
stated in the examination in chief that
a faint blue color was produced ; in
the cross examination he stated that
this was not in itself conclusive. Upon
such a statement from the chemist, I
could scarcely. state positively that
Prussic acid was present; if not con
clusive to him, it cannot be to me. In
addition, this mixture ;will not neces
sarily show the presence of Prussic
acid. There are fallacies connected
with every test. If an insufficient
quantity of hydro chloric acid were ad
ded, a precipitate would be produced
of a - dirty green color, or, according to
some authorities, of a bluish -color.
-Admitting, however, that the whole
, test was properly made, it was still in
- conchisive. The next test, called the
sulphur test, was mode by exposing
. sulphide of ammonium to any vapors
arising.from the distillate before men
, tioned. It was then treated with per
chloride of iron (the doctor may have
used the term sesqui for per chloride
of iron) a faint red coloration was pro
duced, which would indicate the pres
ence of -Prussic acid in the distillate.
In the absence, however, of any con
firmatory test, I could not, from the
statement'mado, as-a chemist, infer the
presence.of Prussic acid, because of the
extreme
..delicaey 'of this_ teet , leaving
out of account any fallacy there may
. have been. in testing. By this state
ment I mean to say that, however clear
it may appear to' Dr. Aiken's mind, I
would .he unwilling to accept, the fact
fcir an inference of my own In
tion, in all 'cases in which We contents
of a stomach are to be examined for
Prussic acid, an effort should be made
to ascertain whether there may not be
present in the stomach substances,
harmless 'in themselves, which may
produce Prussic acid in the subsequent
chemical treatniefit. Such substances
as Ferro-cyanide of potassi an, (or com
mon name, yellow prussiate of potash,)
or ferri-eyandide of pottassium, (or red
prussiate of potash.) The first men
tioned is au article mentioned in the
,
..dispensatory as a medicine. It is the
"'istbstauce used for the manufacture of
__Prneie ficid_by txeating_lt_with_sul,
phuric aoid, and distilling, - as was done
with the contents of this stomach.
The presence, therefore, of Prussic
,acid in the distillate might only indh„
elite the presence efthis harmless com
pound in the stomach. There might
"be a trace of Prussic acid produced
from a normal constituent of the saliva.
Tiiere is present in the spittle a sub.
.:stance called , sulpho-cyauide of soda.
I would amend by saying, a pompound
of sulpho•cyanogen, and in conse
quence, the saliva or spittle, if distilled
with a strong mineral acid, such as
sulphuric, would give decided indica
tion for Prussic acid.. 'The absence of
the silver test, after the. iron test, had
given no conclusive reaction, .and the
sulphur test had given a faint indica
tion, was a serious Aecord
ing to most recent . authorities,ltis the
most delicate of the three tests. Even
Mid the reason assigned by Dr. Aiken.-
for not using this test been correct, it
'would still have afforded a negative
fact that wmild-hav&been_fatal to the
previous tests. Or to explain., If ni
*rate of silver had been applied, to
,a,
portion-of the distillatb, or vapor axis
ing•from the distillate had been allow
, ed to. act upon a drop , of solution of
nitrate of ,silver; and 'no ilositive;evi
dame of the, presence of Prusei t c acid
been &pm it wpuld, have proved as
conclusively ; "the ,absende :of Prussic
acid, and would have allowed us to in
fer that the faint'trace obtained by the
eulphur test:was, due to aacidental and
falfaeleus; pireumstancee, such for ex
ample as , accidental impurity. of ,the
reagents4hat is the eheinicals•Ar ves
'eels :entpleyed, Hence ,I would con
chal° „by saying that,. the . ' reactions,
ebtainsid.),TAN. Allot', however sat
. isfactorxte...liiniftelf, would not enable
me, or iperibit me to say positively, that
Rvue,sid , -Acid was ..present in ,the
tents the . ltoma4; There is au ad.-
fact.ditiogal that if Prueeic achl le ob-.
~stained: by, meant' - oc,the iron test and
an -fininediale - , :blue coloration ,pro
,
dated, X would look upon, as, MY
duty, as excmining "plunniet,, to .; set
„aside the yessel containing the,tost un
til.a Precipitate of Prtispian Phu) should'
• 'be, formed, which • precipitate:could ,
• produced • in open ()Out., Another.
„ rint there, were four ounces, of Ala- ,
,two ounces of whickwarol l l 3 Cdr
•testing•for
_total° ,aeldi a fevir.,4 o o .
..,„0f,5610111w911.14 haw igtswp444,q!e,
silver. test. It is notabsolutely neces- a
sary to test tt., precipitate obtained ,by,
nitrate of silver, by the iron and iitif4
phut...tests to ascertain whether it wag
produced . - by Prussic acid. Chlorio
of silver and cyanide of 'silver might
both be present; microscopic examilitt
thin would show a crystaline.formibi
cyanide_of _silver; and an anioiphothi,
uncrystaline form for chloride of silver.
Again, if a
.precipitate obtained by ni;
trate of silver contains chloride of sil
veritthat foot will become apparent by
placing le iii'''(the precipitate) in, the,
s a nnlight„ iyhen chloritie,of„silver.
acquire a violet tint or`oulor, and the
eYaniiii,r;•cf- silver 'would remain
changed.. The. Chloride and cyanide
t...0f silver are bothrwhiteWhen first pre-'
cipitated. - .4s 'Stated Iry all tlie•
on the subject, light. decomposes, and,
thus 'destroys Prit'ssic
Ords.s. Examiped.—All • theie
good in their way,. and 'correboratiVe
of each other. can't say which is the.
best test. The silver •is the most'del
idate, sulphur more delicate. than the.
Iron....__Have_seen -Taylor's Medical
Jurisprudence. If Dr. Aiken -added
only a few.drops of hydre-chloric acid a
fallacy may, have been produced'. Can't,
say that I have a reason for supposing
that Dr. Aiken used too much potasht
for the quantity of acid.
No other substance in nature would
have-given-these-indications, with the
smell,'but Prussic acid. Ido not know
of any substance that would have pro
duced' the red color which Dr: Aiken
procured. but Prussic acid, except that
the per-chloride of. iron :(the' re-agent
'used,) bas a. yellowish redcolor itself,
which might be mistaken for Prussic
acid. k - feW dropi with-the•distillitte
used would n - ot have - produced-a-per--
ceptible color. The silver test would
have been'a more decisive test. Gioia
in's,. Hand Book- of -Chemistry - has*
the results of analysis of saliva. If
there were any saliva in the stomach,
treatment with eulphuric 'acid would
produce Prussic acid. Hydrooyanio
aid is -not a gas,,it, aver •
volatileliquid. ..Nitrate of ifilirer is a
test in itself. . I
(A great deal of testimony in this
cross examination is not reported be
cause of its general unimportance:)
Counsel for the Commonwealth now
notify:th - e counsel for the defence that
they will offer, as evidence in, chief,
after discovered testimony as ..to the
purchase of Prussic acid by Doctor
iSchceppe, at Darrisburg, shortly bo
fore tin. death of Miss Stennecke ; or
as rebutting evidence. Objected to by
counsel for the defence.
After argument, testimony admitted.
C. E. :MAGLAuouLizi
witness yesterday afternoon that I now
propose to offer. I k esterday moon after the
adjournment of Court, i prgeured-a
_Rub
poena from Mr. Biller; clerk of the CVurt,
I procured it yesterday or had it•from
Thursday for other witnesses I took it
to Mr. Campbell Chief Burgess, directed
him to go to Mr. Herron's drug store and
ascertain when Were, whether they had
not sold Peussi timid to Dr Schoeppe im
mediately before Mrs Stenecok'els.death.
.That he should bring with him sUbpoened
all the persons in the store, but that if he
would send with him - the person wh Rh©
Could be conildiuit could identify Dr.
Schoe,ppa as - thu person mho. nail procured
the Yruilkie acid, and that he shoul bring any
witness he, could obtain by the evening
train if possible,if their - could not reach the
carstobring them up by private convey
ance. That if he found any 'Witnesses ho
stiould telegraph to use as to his success. I
received this telegram.
11.A. - tuusinnto, May 27 1869.'
Mr. Herro t i sold it.- HeComes with me
this evening.
After the evening train came in I saw
Mr. Herron enter the door of the Court
room and I walked down the aisle to meet
him, 1 brought him up. 16 the railing
surrounding the Bar, and asked 'him ii' he
recognized the Doctor, ho looked at him,
I pointed to the Dr. with his spectacles,
he shook his head, and said I don't think
that is the man, After Court adjourned
met Herron going out of Court room he
then told me that ha believed ha was the
man but he would like to see him , again.
I requectod him then:that he should 'be
in front of the Court House thismotning
at the opening of the Court, that he could
then see him with his hat oii,tind then let
me.know' whether he recognized him. I
saw Mr. Herron; he then 'told me - he was
certain ho was the man.
EVIDENCE. FOE THE COMMON
'WEALTH.'
Dn. W. W. Himitork, Sworn am a
druggist. Do llusinese in the Jones House
Harrisburg.. I saw Schoeppo In our store.
I have an entry of the 23d of January. I
know it was about that time because we
were painting the store. He asked for !In
ounce'of hydrocyanic acid diluted, I mean
diluted Prussic acid. He got it. I charged
him 30 eta and he objected to the price.
cruss- Examined. It was put in an
ounce buttlo with a glass stopper, a round
bottle, the sumo kind of package that Lu
bin's extract. Don't know whose prepa
ration of Prussio acid it was, the original
label was on the bottle, ours was not. Ho
got one bottle. •Therb was no wrapper on
it, I Wrapped it up, They generally have
a blue wrapper on, but we have them in
our chemical case unwrapped, of course I
would gel) the unwrapped one first, They
are blue bottles-"not necessary to bd cov
ered. I can't say whether it had'over beon
open or not. .i have no idea how long it
had bebn standing - on - ourshelves. "Prus
sic acid 30 conts,_ Gerinan :physician," is
the entry,ta my laVik. acid
to physicians, sold south yesterday morn
ing before I came hero. •We sell a great
dual of it, have a great many physicians
who deal with us, Who purchase It. Came
up yesterday afternoon, evening train.
Mr. Maglaughlin brought -me to the Bar,
pointed , out to me the Dr. I shook ray
head, did Vet say what .M.r...Maglaughlin
said, could not sde.tho Dr. wed had- but u
side iew,.6ould , not tell him without' his
hat on,-tbat•l would sea him whoh ho went
out of the Court room: I did not. make
the' remrirk Mr. '• Maglaughlin said-1
think said I, cannot toll." Bow. the
Dr. yesterday evening and saw him this
Morning with his hat on. It was the same
kind of a hat. • It was a hard silk hat. I saw
hlm in the store and yesterday, never saw '
him before.. I don't . suppose t,ho was
in the store' more than fivo or six minutes,
'but a 'few' moments—Mr..Maglaughlin
cam& to see mo befdio tho . April. Cottrt.
about -- this -.mitt:Jr..: It was 'the ' month of
March. I told him that laold to a•Gor•-•
man physicianobat of late wo had' Bold
sqvoral 'times, -and that-we had. several,
German physicians as customers,: I looked
oVifr 'the ,memorandum, With Mr. 'Ma-:
,glaughlipand : another gentlemen, to'find
entry, and die not find it, found-it yester
day, looked in the same book; (Minot look
fully,- told. him I-couldlinnrit up. ;Got a
letter-front Wierman which madoino Tank
for memorandum--wrote dispatch to Ma
glaughlin, did not sand it—called once at'
Maglaughlin'i';hlllce wanted'to go to the.
jail to identify the Doctor, Mr. MaglaUgh
-lin was not'therw,Have,sold drugs a dozen.
times to Juniata German physician, .don't
known is name.. I think ho never bought
Prussic acid from- mei-because no iintry,-1
this is the only en try I have of PruOioncid.:
Memorandum Iles open to the public, and
contains . °Very item sold—frdm cent in
value' ttusso.—l les on silver mounted show*
easo--,all items -are inelude'd, if many, in
brackets, sometimes, name of purchaser is
put sometimes not.
httve .no ,doubt that the
Doctor,:is the man that 'bought. the Prue.
EVIDENCE EORDEFENCE,,ED- ;
"Elf ISIED. • ' ' •
• . „
Dr. , 'lll. Reetweoti, , ,
boon practising ini3dio!p:o • yoaxiii-rboilig
Dr. Coarad'o tostkofourof poatMoreet4
She Enight,avo of pron.
ia,_vbiob'yioitld riot have '644 revealed by
the examination., ,Tholcblaoy. lq ; tbe,orqy,
orgah„ebeWthg the ',Pethele4l , E4:ePn44kl
cawing; the A1e0pac...... , ~;; c
~Oroaa,lEiOnipeg : iltseaso ,w,non
'terminating death; le:tcesimfiMphliO;yri.,th'
SY‘ir—iPt9TB are aPPeatiuice)l
heforo,,Aeath.• The
~papiblegicay lesion
,which symptoms of,
(mail may li4 cenpoete4 eMStriMe4 , ,
I • ;
' ; net the contraetea
'the An
i,"ei"i‘ll4ler; kidney?" ;
ygiteit44r,:ytootivel,y.. • •
PRel• o 4..uri,a .00 , t..4 11 1: 1 9 .06Pd
in all cases of contracted kidney, and ore..
mia?
Ans. \0 ~ha exists le the blood in health.'
Qum Iftistrliat proportion does it exist.'
41 14 .. 1 ::am noVAViseabove what Is writ, : ,
Yee. I have,. rievinVseen Ahiti•;proportion:
~ 1 641,titm. - do not know that, Urea exists'
y ! , blded in the prportion of 80 drops
to the thousand. may have, seta it, but
I did riot,' charge iny memory with, it.
Never" read Dalton's Treatise on Physiol
ogy, (dated 18014 - Don't know that it
exists in the proportionof 16 hundredths in
the thousand. . Until recently it has been
a mooted question whether urea exists in
the blood or whether it is the result of se
cretion of urine in the kidneys. Tho re
einit exPernfienlo RfAtlAPPorid..!mlyo ,sol-
tied 'that question In the majority of metf:
,icat minds. Uremia is a blood poisoining,
produced by the e.leeki agar all V 1111.1tOrk
111 I essoning „of the e i initturt,ot this b -
atom, (urea) fpom the blood. , The kid;
noy a , secreting 'tietrintcreting
:gen.
. Q. Is, not, rites decomposed in Aim blond
.and exhaled from luhgs as andhtinitieob
gas. •
ammot sure I ate right In that Main
, nor
' but that It produces , its poisonous et
fects iyithpat undergoing deeom pos Lion '
I do not regard• .Bright's, disease, and ,
Uremia as` identical. Contracted Ithliley,
is ono et thepooditions of Bright's diseM.o.
'Never held a post mortent for, 13 rightb dis
ease. Never held ono in a case Of 'ilaffi
:occuring from uremia. ,Our .knowledge of
uremia is but, recent, 1 moan the whole
medical profession. The diseata untib're,,
eently has been Mistaken for • , apOplexy
and in post mortent examinations tor apo
plexy,And,•Where there wore no lesions of
the brain', it waxcalled nervous apoplexy.
It is 1:10W. generally - believed that, the eases
called nervous apoplexy, were cases of
'ironic _poison. am not able to say
what the effects upon the blood after
death, would be from uremic poison.
psi. JACpB ZITZER, swam—l have been
a practicing physician about twenty-two
years ; 'practiced eighteen years in this
country,''and the balance, three years, in
the old country: have in my experience
peon
_cases of death from Prussm acid.;
abbut six or seven cases of those dying
from ,Prussio acid, and three of them I
had the chance to see the post jnortcm
ainination; was present when ii_wns made.
In reference to prussic acid, I would com
mence. When a person era patient takes
prussic acid that would fall in a disease,
and then would fall in three stages. The
first stage would be aseoon as the poison
ie reedved into the sfomach : it would
cause a fain" - &-
Jause a faintness, dizziness, Toss of specch,
a paralytic condition of the, whole system,
the - face ebmewhht congested; the eyes bril
liant, the pupil enlarged, irregular'action
in the heart, a beginning of shortness of
breath,•unable any more to speak. These
would be generally the.symptoms of the
first stage of tho intoxieation from prussic
acid, which 'stage will laet froni three to
seven. minutes. After the second stage
commences, the physiognomy of 'the fea
tures of the face will turn to a kind of
bluish, bloomed up congestion, cyonantie
condition; on both sides the causted parts
will project, that is the ends will project;
the nervous system of the face becomes
enlarged, the oyes become wild, quivering
pretty much like in epilepsy, the breathing
very hard, almost -irnpossible to got suffi- ,
ciont air, and in the latter part of the'
second stage the briiithing becomes-wheez
ing and, almost convulsive, the heart irre
gular and almost jumping, so that it can
be seen almost through the clothes, slight
heat over the body, trembling of the mus
cles. These would be the - generzil syrop,
toms of the second stage, lasting, from
what I saw, from five to ton minutes, • The
third stage generally commences .from
changing the features from a -bloish to a
pale ashy color, a pepfdrAtion4odirfiliN
face, the eye , sunk, loses a brilliant' Sight;
_becomes watery, the breathing spasmodic,
almost_ 'impossible to got breath, the pulse
from.jomping ;becomes ,wearisonter irregu,
Jar, until it finally has &eased circulating,
the breath ceasing in a short convulsive
expiration, the pupil of the eye fixed,
cloudy, watery, sunk, the heed dropping
toWar.. the breast, the whole process end
ing in about from twenty to thirty min
utes, in the_cases I saw. These were the
external symptoms that I saw in poison
ing from prussic acid. , -
In the post moylent examinatiens of those
sow whore death was from prussic acid,
about, seven,iii• eight days after 'death, the
external (Timor once was not Very plum n , ok.
cept a ki , c 1 of a bluish distoloration about
the neck. By. exposing the brain, under
The pia -mater '
almost. congestion of the
blood, diffused on the top of the brain.
By dissecting the brain, it showed an en
gorged condition or every part of the brain,
and en effusion of a bloody, watery fluid.
The bronchia was congested & dark red, the
epithelium filled with a dark, bloody slime;
the lung congested, so that ouch lobo of
the lung showed an engorgement of blood;
'the iesophagt . is was, near the stomach, con-
gested, the stomach the same, only the
inside pf the sComadh had none of a black
ish The liver didn't show
much of a change. The rest of the organs
in the abdomen were pale; the secretion
organs wore empty, and the spine showed
no change. This is what I saw in three
oases.
In reference to morphia: I saw oho poet
mortem, two deatlni in which 1 did , not sea
the poet mortem.
The symptoms that'l bserved were the
stimulating effects of the opium, which
lasted a short time, an hour or an hour
and a half. When I found. the patient,
delirious, somewhat wild, flighty, his eyes
red and congested, watery, and the eyelids
half shut; the speech stamering or broken,
the pulse very fri3quent, the skin hot, quick
'breathing, and a good deal through the
nose, the tongue gory dry, and a wheezing
sound thrbugh the wind-pipe. The rest,
iff the extremeties natural and warm; these
were about what T would take for the first
stage In an overdose of opium or any one
of its compounds. Morphia the same.
That condition I obso:vecl lasted five or
six hours, Then hishye becamesunk, his
face palo, his mouth, sunk, liiit'tongtio and
lowerjaw drawn back, his tongue dry, a
shmit wheezing sound in breathing, in in
spiration; the expiration scarcely percsp-_,
tibia ; by, touching or shaking him ho
would fly sip, scare up, but soon fell is a
stupor again. Tho cheek and body ,in a
heavy sweat, (this I would not like to say
is a general symptom, as I used a good deal,
of camphor and other stimulents'as an atF•
tidote ;) the, heart; the pulsation was very
fast', irregular, spasmodic contraction of
the muscles of the extremities, quick
quivering, unable to swallow—that, I
thought, was 'about the second' stage of the
disease from intoxication. It lastpd six or
eight hours. .. After I. found congestion
was produced, the foattire to cominenoo to
Change kind 'of pale ash dolor, his
oyes became „watery, 'slimy, ' his lips
drawn up, couldn't Make?' any im
pression on his mind; his tongue ! drawn
back and dry, his pulse irregular and
wearisome, heart jumping,' with a: long
interval; the exhalation of the breath very
long, his inspiration interrupted, convul
sive, his skin ,clammy, entitle, extremities
cold.ln that condition left him,'and he
died about on hear afterwards. .The 'third'
Stage limited about eix 'Or seven • hour's; '
Post Mortem after death from morphia.
Wee present at. one: I •state; only_Ahe
organs that wore found : abnormal. By
exposing tho brain; an effusion of blood •
was found bet Ween the smaliand the largo
brain; 'The brain itself was hard &ingest
by'each - incision the predence of codg-,
gulated.blohd, quantities of effused serum ,
And, blood between' the 'ventricles of tho
braia, and particularly on: the, base of the.
brain.- There Was along theepine a:alight
'disceloration.:of 'congastion,:congestil of
thp'• lungs ; a good:many'Spots.or,pff sod
'blood between thir,lobes'of. the lungs, the
Intestines lull of - gal, ,Ipejt and liver ; .nor-'
mar, bladder and urethra ware fullof urine..
This'was' .1 heard the 'testimony Of;
Dr. Conrad; of the Npiat .rmartem. of Miss
Stenhecke: ItAvtua net complete,becausa
not all the organt, ofthe hody, were eiam.
took,' Secondly, ,i thought by,opening: of
'the skill!, the duritvnilief', aud'Abe`adjoin-,-
'ing sinus'Was. 'accidently opened by the
says, bo that it:couldn't:be:told whore that
blood.that ,escaped .in - opening ,theelcull
had cometrom ; and third, I would ,havei
Walesonie attention to 'the ,sOftenibg of
thittpart of the brain Spoken:el.' In open=
;Ingl,,the:•skulii; the dura-mater •ought; o.
.have. been prbserved,,turned the , attoilo9. l i,
to t);at,softentng of theLlTAin ; the tmonsi-i
natidit of the aphis, kidnej, nd,' I think,
iirgatis;•otight to' h'a've Wien OA";
arninoti.•;:l think , ityabablutOly
• that:Abell° organs ahould have 'been exam=
1410 40 dal/I*qt+ 4 4 . 1 4. 0 !0t (1.0'10.h. , ;. I
tßOught,,thkblood paght,te,kalio boon ox
antibed; Abs. whettiA:'r,' tvad'biotid:Or
littiOd'anatei? if blOtidt vititeri•qt
comelblalsk that 'ioligtb•ofi tithe titidof•
Abe•grprind,••from. dbcomfaitioni; 141oftutit
l ing I tho, t:TtOn yOuld, not 000u,7 uniesil'
80 1 0 0thiiig*astbefisattert,, The dartipoior ,
Of vie dim' de
`OOYritSbiiitiOfit? liOArVkirslltorn'a:fest
Intiny.o ;
• :il,(lif•lgion,l••9,n; tkplinp . p'osition Abut Alia,
A*PE514 1 91',Y,11P:4 1 0. 1 iY• 4) 414 PIIPA 4I3
•
to be the cause of MisaStannecke's . eath
Answer., The symptCues which 'she dell
Scribed, writtidlu, iskaskperson think; with
out-taking the - poifeiorteni, as if she bed
',died of apeploy...lpftqPing of the brain,
,cir;the'encepliala;*ialaela, of itself. would
be a suffietent itittse.'Offdeath'. What dis
.
ease-would; the . -condition of. the brain, as
deileribedla!Drs..oOnrad and Ithigley in
tbd. eat iiiorgem; indicate as the cause of
deatht- ---Ani:--Itinight-indicate -different
diseases: --Foe.instrince, the : softening of.'
the brain' itselemiglit produce • death ;• .the
escaped.blood, -riot knowing whore it came,
from if it had been confined in a certain
place, would havq indicetedlapciplev. - ,
prom Yrs. Horn's testimony and thel
,post tiloreeph„ris ftetoiled„,,by,.,Drs. Pentad
und`Ridgley, ihafdisease would ho indl
-bateikas tho cause of herideath
Ans. Froia• that testiiumirtind from
'that' effused blhod'eseaPed laythe ,at
theltiine, by - the 'opei.ing , f the skull ' arid
if that blood had been confined in a certain'
, place it, would indicate. appoplexy.
softening of
the 'brain . tiiilare death. A, part 50 timed
'-ilndthirrest itritii normal conditionwould
nd matc;th su ftn ess 'ores e from di s
, A:skillful physician on a postmortem ex
`itinintititin, Could tell' whether a softening
'ur"thobrain 'occured 'during' life or 'was
-Unused sbr,decompoSition. -First, chord
cally, Secendly,jby the raiiiroscopo, the nu
..-finterTiTOlie part itself; TER, the patho
logic, anaternic changes. Softening can
be caused 'by the obstruction,of a blood
waisel , mtriclrtiourishes a certain lobe . of
-the brain. Such a part would go sooner
into decomposition than if ,it had been
healthy., Then again it would be. less
able to resist a certain -force of blood in
circulation then if in its normal' state.-
It Wotild . depend on the anatomical - - cosi
truiation of the different parts as to whether
decomposition would ,commence equally
In all the parts. The brain mess goes un
'der'the shine rule EIS to decomposition.' '
Q. If different parts of the brain comprised
Of the seine material, one part healthy and
the other diseased at the time of death
;cvould it indicate any difference between
the tdiatily and, different parts in decom-
Rosltion-Y • •
Anther. " • arcourse- it — depen - dii =ohth - e •
nature of_ the .disease whether' the diseased
part would ou longer decomposing.•
- If-the wholo_brain_was_alikelecomposed.
irwould,Thdictite that decomposition 'had
commenced ai,:the 'same •time. If the
whole brain were soft the' patient wouldn't
lank igiw. A part of the brain is hard, the
pons vnriolii, the upper part is more soft.
• Ckeen holy—takeg...l
twelve or fourteen days. I have seen a
body buried five days in which deeomposi
.tiou hind not Commenced. I have seen
them after-being , there when decomposition
had not taken place.
In-Chief:—Where a poison was killed
and-thrown-into acastle, six months after
,y . outeould see.where the injury rifts done
to the brain.
Re-Cross-Examined :—I have seen cases
of rapid decomposition, especially in warm
weather.
Prof. T. U. WORMLEY, sworn re-,
side in Columbus, Ohio; am by profession
physician and chemist_ _I _occupy' the
chair of Chemistry and Toxicology in
Stern og MediCal College, Columbus, Ohio,
ape of Chemistry in the 'Capitol Universi
ty in the same city. I have occupied the'
position in the latter Institution since 1851,
In 'the '"Towner since 1865. Toxicology
means smile° of poisons. From the year
1866 or 1867, until 1867, 1 devoted my at
tention almost exclusively to the MINI, and
chemical properties end methods of detec
tion-of 11.0 , the principal -poisons. I make
it my object to supply myself with all sys
tematic treatises upon the subject; and also
with the leading journal's relating to the
subject as published..in -this country and
-in Europe. • I.have published - a systematic
treaty upon 'the subject the. title of, MI ch
le "Micro Chemistry of Poisons." (This
Is a copy of the book.)
- :Prussic or-Hydrocyanic acid is atranspii
rent, colorlsis, volatile liquid;-composed of
the eleinerits - .earbon, nitrogen and hydro
gen, and having-1i rather peculiai, character
istic odor. As found in the shops, it is in a
state of mixture .or solution with water,
constituting a mixture containing,,accord-
log to the pharmacoporid 2 per cent
ofthe anhydrous acid, the, pure Prussic acid,
undiluted with water. -- The dilute acid; as
found in the shops, is subject to consideA
ble variation in regard to its' strength,
among a number of samples examined,- in
the state in which they Calpe from the hands
of American manufacturers, none was
found to contiiiii 2 per cent of the pure
acid, and one sample was found to contain
not iCtrace of the acid. (Micro-Chemistry
of Poisons. Page, 168.) All these sam
ples were of American manufacture.
In some instances the acid proves almost
instantly fatal. I should say within a few
minutes, without any marked symptoms,''
other than entire loss of sensation and
consciousness. In others, there is quickly
indneed loss of sensation and motion; the
face becomes livid; the jaws closed and
fixed, the eyes prominent, open. and
glaring, popi.s . dilated, froth fro- -
quently tinged with blood, es
capes from the mouth ; the finger nails
ere frequently blhe,..the . fingers and toes
contracted, the puliir is small or entirely
absent, the respiration entirely arrestedlor
nonvulsive, with compartifively.long meet ,
vale between the acts of respiration. In
a humber of cases invdluntary evacuations
have been observed. If life is prolonged
for some minutes, there is generally violent
,convulsions. In regard to the time of
death from Prussia acid, death takes placq
usually within fifteen or twenty Minutes
after the taking of the poison. It_has oc
cured 'within two minutes. The longest
period in any well authenticated case, dur
ing which. the patient survived, is five
hours. This case is cited by Prof. Casper
of the UniN;ersity of Berlin, was in a
case of poisoning, by cherrflaurel water,
(Pace 88 Volume 2d .Caspsr's Forensic
Medicine.), In this case there were most
violent. convulsions. I believe it is gen
-erally admitted Abet Casper -has had,
on. account of his official position, dm
largest personal observation in cases 'of
poisoning. The next case in regard, to
time is that known as the Wakefield case,
in . which death occurred in three hours.
WY - recorded to - TaYlOr on - Poisons, Lon
don edition, 1860; pages 696 and 664,- -
The next 'clue is one in which the acid
proved fatal in - 'about' one hour and 'ten
minutes in at. George's Hospital Reports,
1868, London, page 220, both in this case
and the Wakefield Case the poison was oil
Of , bitter., aluionds, and in the last- case
cited; tinge wore violent convulsions and
dilated' penile:
Th",o longest case in which Prussia acid
as such; was used, so far As I can find re
corded is the Marcooly CSB - 0, in which death,
'occurred in - ab Out one hour. (Taylor 'on
poisons; pace 639.) In another case•deate
next occurred in About fifty five minutes,the
is the ono of the seVen Parisian epileptics
in which death occurred in fortylive
utes. - There is a ease cited by , Becker, in
Which Prussia acid was taken, „anddenth
'aid not 'Occur for thirty six hours.' Broker'
'himself however attributed the death to
Ale consequences of, bleeding and the
(want of diligent 'attention). This case
is referred to - iWTaylor on Poisons, 6114:
Taylor• does not consider it one of poison
by Prussic •a6ld ; although it is collated'
' under thelmad- Of poisons. ,I know - of,
'no other:sistemalia writer on-the subject.
who "cite'S this Bealior easel,'or ,- a , case -of
poison by Prussic '
In regard to the symptoms by PrOssic
acid, as 'well as the poet iiiortet7r appoar
item, I would refer the Court more espe
cially to Tardiou'e Medico-legal and cli
nical troatise upon-Poisons., 'Paris,l.Bo7.
'This lc , a . treatise upon - this subject- from
.an entirely 'new Stand.point, boing,"con
fined chiefly to the medico-legal relations
of-the symptoms 'andpoit mortem appear
ances, ,the treatise being not exactly- on .
poisons; but rather on the subject of poison- -
ing.. I would ask attention to the celebra
ted Praia ease; 'which was it can) of ap t
poplexy, and in which there was a convic
tion by-poisoning from..Prussie acid; based,
upen. an: m u lefinedod'or, present 'in the
,body at 'the timethe analysis. was made,
Ihe-bedy, having 'imen• disinterred 'six or.
seven` (Joys' after depth .;
,and. also,, upon.
some . colorations'; observed during the
:chemical analysis, An abstract of tub
'and the 'reportsiiutdo to' the' court,
will .he lona, in,Childtison on poisons
518,1845, andTtiylOr oh P0150n5, , 1859;657,..
ho ,nitintionti It.. as .Pralot!al ease:. 'The
"entwei.hietory.of the ',Casa fabta
upen'Which" the person 'charged . the
powordne•Wak, abquittdd, lOW ho
Sontid,morfili's-treetise upon Toxicology.':
Parls:' l, lBs2; 'voluble' 2; Ttgo 861 i
the" 6PitArne 'foUbd i ' in%,"o ristosot„ and
.Tayler, give's the pririelpa : facts in the
case, except the .grounds:oftthe, Chemical
'trfhlencers Thep' ' *indult' ' , foots , 'Are
4,witnesi'hpWreadlrOithe,OliiistOOril'pago
618). - I - might refer here to-the principal,
' , elementain chemical'tho ant4els:: , (Paesr4
'f*ttitl'ilreidnt); , !,","
•Posi , morteni' , appolianacui. The: body.
usually, exhalee , the odor , of , trusale acid,
:thq fneellYld, the.liOdY'rigiN..and4rottiy.
matter ift usuallifound around.the mouth'
those - are tho - principahoxtornac appoßN
The'bldod vessels of the brain and
•the lungs, aro engorged,.. the
stomach is sometimes reddened, the liver.
splee and 'spixiotimes' the. kidneys , are
congested. Thb latter is so common that
,Casper. states liege 63, v 01... 2. that • f'Con
'gest* 'of the , liver kidneys and inferior
citva: hits been' . always -.present:" The
„voinetts• system , . throughout the body is .
engorged with blood,' While the arteries are
empty, .. -Thif blOod , thronghout the- body-
Is usufdly.liquid and of a,dark c010r..- The
'brain, and internal organs, and movies' ,
pecially the blood • exbaless the odor pf
- Prussic ncid, In regard to the post mortem
- 3PPearaneest Lwould refer more especially
to Tarilieui'lo34 to• Taylor oft :poi
sons,....o6,fwftness
.-propoies ,t - p•
tritnslntion• from ."..Tnrdieu,) overruled
court.as ineornpete.. t for witness to, give
such trunslation AS an expert to be read
to jury. (Counsel may plead before . Jury
in argument, .with . regard .to the import
of he t staring condition of the eyo continu
ing so long after death.) I would refer to
Christi Son; lingo •696. , The staring oXpres
sion ot the eye, is so markqe, su peculiar,
-thip it has- been claimed'Ay some..persons.
furnish 'proof' of the evidence of death
fret,' Prussic acid, This condition has
,lean observed in death from other causes.
I:itsdiea is considered ono of the
gimlet:at litting authorities on . the subject,
his personal experience being perhaps on
the subject. of•poisonteg, ' the symptoms
sand postmortem appearances.
The dark 'colored, fluid:blocid is the con
dition in which it is generally found. in
cuss, el sudden death ; it is' not peculiar to
death from Prussic acid: .It' has been
claimed in death from Prussic acid, that
the blood had rather n peculiar bluish ap
- pears nee. In cases of sudden death the
',blood is 'usually found in a fluid condition, -
whether from Prussic acid or' not.. Can
not designate any time during which this
fluid condition is continued.
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS.
I have hearu Prof. Aiken's testimony.
,For the detection of Prussic acid, we have
several tests. The most recent is that
proposed by Schrooter, which depends upon
a blue color produced cite paper, or impart
ed to paper by prussicmildTthe.papi3r hav-
Ing'previously been moistened with 'a so
lution of guiticum and sulphate of capper.
_Tlis_test—has_vmy_zecently_hoin_proposed,_
and is said to be exceedingly delicate. As
yet, however,. 1 have had no practical ex
perience se to the real delicacy of the teat,'
and the fallacies to which it may ho sub
ject.
- - - TifetliVar' — ttlfArlitiffSttirlYf-'ll-
dtiction of a whitd precipitate of cyanide
of envoi-, when a solution of nitrate of
silver is. added' to a solution containing
hydrocyanic acid. - The reagent also
produce white precipitates, when added
to solutions containing chlorine, (you
might substitute solutions containing by
drocloric• acid, and chldriiio) phosphates,
carbonates, or any one :of several other
Tho cyanide of silvor is readily die
tingmshed from all these white precipitates,
excepting that from . hydrocloric acid, in
Wit they aro readily soluble in cold diluted
nitric acid The cyanide of silver, when
present in notable quantity, flay be dis
tiaguislied from the chloride of silyor, in
that it is insoluble in ammonia. A
Very small quantity of cyanide of silver
might speedily disappear under the au
tim of ammonia. _ This chloride and . fly
snide of silver may also be distinguished,.
by visiting, and drying the precipitate
and heating it in n tube, having a very
contracted, or capillary nook,. when the
cyanide of silver would give off, cyanogen
gas, whidli if 'ignited Will burn with a
roae-colored damn. • This test • when tip
plied,to hydrocyanic acid in solution, will'
produco a visible reaction, if the solution
COD tai no even no more than the one hun
dred thousand part of its ,weight of the
poison, and th le result may be observed,
if only ono drop of the solution bc'experi
-
mented upon. Tho method of distinguish- .
Ink - between the cyanida and tile enlprido
of silver, by heating, and observing
whether an Inflammable gas is produced,
will with care, serve to indicate the ono
five hundred part of a grain of hydrocy
anic (prussic) acid.' TIM silver - test for
the detection of the vapor of prussic acid,
I shall now refq to. When a solution of
muriato of silver-is-exposed to the vapor
of prussic acid, the liquid speedily ac
quired a white film of the cyan de of sil
ver, which is crystaline in its form, a's thus
produced. Although there aro several
other Vapors, such as chlorine,
bromine; that may produce under the
same conditions a white, or whitislifilin
or deposit,. under. the action of the test,
that retultiug from all Of-these latter, is
destitute of crystalitio form, i. e. amor
phous. The ,crystaline form, therefore
serves-to distinguish the action of the va
por of prussic acid. from that of all other
volatile substances. In this manner, i. s. by
the test applied in this manner., the vapor
frOm one grain of liquid, containing only
the one hundred thousandth part of
grain, of prussic acid, will yield under the
microscope, as , satisfactory 'evidence of
prussic acid as any other quantity of poi
son, however largo. I mean, it would be
as satisfactory, ovidonce:of this poison, as a
few grains of wheat would be of its char
acter, as a bushel would be. (Plate 4 Fig
ure 2nd. Wormley on POiSOILS, rCpto.4lll,B
the fiction of the one one hundroth thous
andth part of the grain,. as seen
through the . microscope under an
amplification of ono hundred and twenty
five diameters.) As there is some
discrepancy in the books as to the-value of
the nitrate of silver tests, I might state,
that although it has been for a long time
known, that when a solution of nitrate of
silver was exposed to the action of the va
por of Prussic 'acid, a white film or deposit
was formed, yet so far as I know, that the
deposit was crystaline in it's nature, was
not observed until about 1867.. The fame
fact that it was crystaline is stated by
Taylor in his work on Poisons, edition of
1859. In his, work on the ,i?ractice and
Principals of Medical Jurisprudence,
English edition of 1835, he enters into
some detail in regard"to the test. Dr.
Guy of King's College London, in the
3d and last edition aids Forensic Medi
cine, 1868, also mentions the 'fact in coil
coptions, 1 believo there is no other sys
tematic work on this subject of poisons, ox
copting- my own, that treats of this method
of 'the applichtion of the test. All tlio
facts relating to this test, as detailed in my
own - work, are the result)) of a long aerios
of oft repeated eiperimelfts, by myself.
1 will next consider the iron test. This
depends upon the production of Prussian
blue; when a solution of Prussic acid is
treated with caustic potash, and It solution
of proto and sesqui-chloride of iron, by -
drocloric acid being then added, to redis
olve the precipitated oxide of iron. The
only precaution necessary in the applica-
Goa of this test, is that a sufficient quan
tity' of hydrocloric acid be added, to redis
olvo these oxides of iren, as e'preelpitato
from these may.bavo A blue color, even ih
the absence of the'production of Prussian
blue. I would rofor to my own work, page
181, on. this point. - Tho Prussian blue,
produced from yory dilute solutions of
Prussic acid, has at first .a greenish color,
but finally, after many hours, it will
Subside as a; blue oveh if only
the twenty,tive thousandth . - part of a
grain, of•hydrocyanic acid be. present in
one grain,,of liquid. I might say that this
Prussian blue is very permanent and can
be preserved for' some length of ? time, as
has been Alone in modido•legal investiga
,tions. , n •
The sulphur test.
.This consists in treat
ing the Prussia aeld-solutiOn with a, solu
tion of yellow sulphurot:of ammonium,
when sulpho-eyanide.of `ammonia will bo
.produced, which, after. driving off the ex
nessiof sulphur, by a moderate beet, will
ktrike, or. produce, 4,4cep blood red color'
When fronted with' the per4alt of iron.
'Prom - veiridiletm solutihnsVtliit test pro
'duces only a faint red, but even one drop,
-containing' the ton thousandth part,.ufm ,
_grain of. Prussic acid, will, under, the. na—
tion of the tost,,yield an orange-red color-'
ation. This test may also bo applied for
'the' detection of the vapor of Prussic held.
The Ifallacies "attending this test are me
conic aeid,and alkaline acaiates, the former,
of which. will also, strike a bided:red Color,.
under the action of the test; while!. the
latter may produce coloration, 'which
Might easily be-confounded with• that prc
duced With : verydilute solutioas of .Prussic
Acid, ./t,. therefore,
_becomes necessary
ih
ih all cases to, audio w hich' of thee() sub
stalked theiled coloration is due. If it be
.due tto hYdrooYanic acid; i would be quick
disci:it:god bir ;a solittion of corrosive
sublimate;;Viiiist if ; duo to, the' solution' f
meconteacid'it„Weeid -Undergo no change
tinder the'action Of this reagent:,
tho cbibrhtion ddelo hydrocyanic acid, A.. -
. sista thti aotiod'of diltited hydrotiblorloadid,
whilet thaCdue,' tb; moconic acid; and tho
a lkali ne ac e t a t es ' la quickly7disohnignkby
hydrochloriancid. , The books 'state that
Ole test, 'When applied'to the detection' of
the i , apor a hydrocyanic acid,' is fie° . trom
any:fallacies,. •-Thatdetree, 'open Abe' as;
sumptiOn %that 'the iongehta , aro fromfroni.
~by4rooblorle: add I,n,culy . :forni, ud
.ftpm.
IneconiebeiCand 'alkaline acetates, which
can only, however, bo established by.. di
rect proof. -In this case, so farni . l under
'Stand the-evidence, timeline been no proof
.of the purity of the reagents; and' vessels,
employed. , I would further reilark, as is
known,' the sulphuret of ainnionium,
-if exposed, 'to the • vapor of • hydrocyanic.
field . laboratory; will speedily absorb
the poison, With tho,production of sulpho• -
cyanide of amnionia, the substance in ques
tion. -I would ask attention, with regard
to the purity of reagents, to my work, page
69. In the form of vapor, thorn would ho
a marked reaction; with the ono ton thou
sandth,part of a grain, of Prussic acid; in
ono grain- of water,' and in - a liquid form,
with . the eao 'twenty-five.thousandth sari
of grain. Ono grain Of tiv*ir equiva
lent to one drop. ~_,.
For the, purpose, ,of, detecting, the
presence of free hydrocYanie acid, the
subject under 'examination should' be
placed in a wide mouthed bottle, or
some similar :vessel; and an inverted
watch glass'. containing a • drop : of
the •solutiom. of ..nitrate •of silver; .or
of potash, if intended to apply the iron
test; or of sulphurette ofriramonium, if
intended to apply.the sulphur testi and
the glass be allowed to remain for some
minutes, or longer,., it then being
moved and examined for a white precip
, itate, or by the iron or sulphur tests to
ascertain whether , the poison is pres
ent. If either of . these -tests should
now indicate the presence of the poison
it would follow that it, the poison ex
isted in its free state, in the substance
submitted .to examination,. or.possibly
existed in the state of an alkaline cyan
-40161. either may be formed. Should
this,method fail to reveal the presence
of the poison, the suspected substance
might be introduced into. a retort,
taking cafe,' however, not to tdd sul
phuric acid, and then subjected to dis
tillation at a moderate temperature.
After the distillation has progressed
until a..portion of the fluid, has passed
over, : the distillate, which Should be
.received into a receiver known to be
pure or — feMe - cfTh' -- nr any ToTeign
substance - may then be examined
by the ordinary test. If the poison
should now be detected in the distillate
it-would---intliente-that-it-existed
free state, or - possibly in the form of an
alkaline cyanide, in the substancesub
initted to examination... Should_ sul-,
phuric acid be employed iu the distil
lation, then hydrecyrmic acid would
appear in the distillate. whether it ex
isted in its free state in the substance
submitted to distillation, or as an alka
line cyanide, ferro-cyanide, or as a sul
pho-cyanide. This method of procedurb
would evolve the poison, 3vhether;it
existed either in its.free state, or that
of a simple cyanide, or a ferro-cyauide,
or as a sulpho- cyanide. By-a free state I
mean in the state we find it in the shops.
The alkaline-ey.a aides are about equally
poisonous, with free 'Prussic acid. Fer
ro-cyanide is destitute, or nearly so,
of poisonous properties, and is used
medicinally. The sulpho-cyanides are
either inert, or have no very active
properties. From what has. been
stated. therefore; if the distillation had
taken place under the action of sul
plturic.ocid, and oven if hydrpoyanic
acid was' found iu the distillate, it
would be impolisible in a chemical
point of vithv. to state' that that acid,
-or poison, -existed,-as-such, in the sub
'stance' submitted to examination.
With regard to the sulpha-cyanides,
one of them,.viz : the sulpho-cyanide
of potassium, which would evolve
!Prussic acid as already stated, exists
normally iu human saliva, which 'not
nufrequently finds its way, in a very
notable quantity. into the stomach.
The quantity of the sulpho-cyanide of
potassium in, the saliva, is subject to
considerable-variation. -The. smallest
quantity that has Been discovered is
known to be in the proportion of four
• thousandths of one per cent., the max
imum about one-tenth of one per cent.
In other words it seems to form to
from-oue one-thousandth• to one twen
ty-five-thousandth part, by weight., of
the saliva in its natural state It is
true that sulpho-cyanide of potassium
does not contain its own weight of
Prussic acid. Thus assuming the con
stitution of sul pho.-cyan ide of potassium,
as stated by the most or all observers, to
be composed of one equivalent of pr.
tassium, two of sulphur, two of carbon,
and one of nitrogen ; then 97 parts of
the salt would be equivalent to 27
parts oftnpure Prussic acid. It is now
universally admitted that sulpho-cy
anide of potassium is ore of the con
stituents of human saliva •I refer to
Lehman's Physiological Chemistry, or
Crmelin's Chemistry, 'and Taylor - on
Poisons, 633. That the saliva passes
into the stomach I believe is not ques
tioned. - Some of the most striking ex- .
periments upon this subject are those
of. Pereira's, vol. 2, 1033, 1854, Materia
Medico and Therapeutics. It has been
already stated that per-chloride of Iron, -
strikes a red color with meconic
acid, and Dr. Christison held this
red • coloration was sufficiently
characteristic to prove the 'pi•es
once of that substance, viz : Me
conic acid. Professor Pereira conten
-deduon-the-other-hanthtliaethe-produc-
tion of the red coloration, was not
sufficient - in itself to prove the presence
of this substance—Meconic acid; since
the sulphe-cyanides would also pro
duce a red coloration - ..uadei• the action
of the-iron reagent and,- moreover,
that ono .of these Sulpho-cyanides;
namely, the Sulpho-cyanide of Potas
sium, was frequently found ituthe con
tents of the stomach. To substantiate
hie position he examined a number of
bodies in the dissecting room, and his
results were that in a largemajority - of
cases he .found that the saliva and the
contents of the stomach would strike a
red color, under•the action of the Per
salt of Iron. He states " the re
action is distinct and unequivically."
In regard' to the fact, whether Ferro
cyanides and" • Sulpho-oyanidas will
yield' Prussic acid„ in the' dis
tillate when distilled "with • diluted
sulphuric acid, I would • refer to
my work, page 189, where the subject
is discussed at considerable length; and,
also, to Taylor' on poisons, . page 680;
at•hottom of page, where he sets forth,
that if the poison be found in the dis
-tillate, and no sulphuric acid or • any
other acid has been used in - the distil-
Wien, then: there is no question bot•
that the poison existed in its free state
in the subject subjected to distillation;
'whereasif sulphuric, plioaphorie,lor tar--
.taric4icid had been added to the mix
;:t.t.w4.:theri;-Overt f-hydro.cyanic acid
Ayes not present in the mixture subject
ed -to, distillatiOn, but there had been
present st-ferrocyande; whiCh is arced-.
ical, substance, or Sulpho-cyanide
which •is found in the • •saliva,
:then, Prussic !'acid . appear
in . the distillate. I would remark
that you will find it stOttallry 'sotto
very good • writers "on the • subject,
-that sulphuric acid shouldhe tised *the
These are works,
• ten before rerrocyand6 of potaseiuniwas
Used as .a•niedicinal aKi3nt °to:any. Con
siderable -extent, and vrior'!.to the'os;
tablishing: of .the• feet 'that: sulpho-ey
snide of potaseiuni`,Was•..ti normat•eina
4itittiont, of the. ealiva;• , whiohlrepient-,
•ly' found itsmOy ,into•tho domed' . in
very notable qutnitities.• , There havo
•been'isoine remarks 'is to. theindica
• • ,
tions• of ,the: •dieeoVery, 'of "tranes • of
.
•
Pineal° 'acid' hi the stomach ; in., the
o . tutie, of 'tllOtinalyoie v ai to, 10:kether,
it 111111%00d 4,largov,puttiti.o.- present.
at the time of d•ath. .Although it is a
fact that the. discovery , of a trace of
poison at. the time the einminatio is
made, is, in itself; no evidence tbatA tar
get' quantity did not exist in the bray at
the time of death, yet on the oflicir hand
it is, within itself; no evidedee that
larger quantiti.lictually—clid exist. in.
_the_body.at the time of detithi or that
even a trace of the poison was present
at that time: The presence of the poi
son, in a larger quantity or any of the
poison at all, can only be established
by the symptoms, post mortem *enr
ollees and attending., circundi nceA.,
Moreover if in the case of hydro'cYanic
acid, sulphuric acid has been added to
the mixture subjected/ to distillation,
and even granting the presence of the
poison in the distillate, there is, from
a chemical of view; no evidence
that.• a trace of hydrocyanic acid; as
ench, , , existed in the substanOe submit
ted to distillation. What Iv as the 'source
of the poison, under these • circum
. stances, could only be. determined by
an examination of the suspected liquid,or
matter, prior to the addition of the sul
phuric-acid. The -moment-thnt =sul
phuric'acid was added, it put it beyond
the range of chemistry, in case Prusaic
acid, was discovered in the distillate, to
determine whether the poison existed
as such, .in the stomach, Or whether
it was derived 'from some of the sub
stances already named. ;- • -
Xas I understand, sulpbuiic acid was-''
added to the subject subjected to distil
lotion in the analysis of Prof. Aiken,
I would not, for the 'reasons'. stated,
consider it sufficient for an ordinary
examination. I should certainly be
unable to say whether the matter sub
jected td distillation contained a trace
of Prussic acid.
• -Morphia is by Jim the most stable in
its character, Prusic acid being unstable
and liable to undergo decomposition.
Staa claimed to have 'detected mor hia
thirteen months after detth. (Taylor
on Poisons; 634; Tdrdieu, 9021 The
longest - period after death that Prussic
acid has been discovered-is' seventeen
Taylor on Poisons 625, states that
heyhas preserved tneconate of morphia,
in contact with organic matter for
fourteen months without decompo
sition. " Strong opiate. mixtures"
is --Taylor's expression. , know
of no cases or series of experiments,
upon the subject- of the,,cputitefaction
or retardation of Prussic acid* the use
of Morphia._ I have examined thO
books somewhat at length, and have
been unable to find a case of compound
poisoning by Prussic acid and Morphia.
Tardieu speaks of that subject and
states that it would be impossible to
know-what would be the-result-of—the
administration of two or more uoisons;
with which my experiments fully coin
cide, and . ivith which opinion I fully
agree.
Morphia has been frequently detec
ted• in the stomach. I have detected
it - in the humsk — stomach;cia - severalH
occasions, and in a great many in
stances, in the stomach of inferior
animals, upon which my experiments
have been made. •
.
I am a regular
_graduate of a
Philadelphia School of Medicine, and
did general practice for a few years.
Then I turned my_ attention almost
exclusively to the study of the effects
and chemical properties of poisons,
relinquishing general practice. In the
study of the subject of poison, my- at
tention -was directed to. the symptoms,
post mnrtem appearances, the time in
which poiscins proved fatal, endeavor"-
ing by every means to learn the 'most
rapidly fatal, most prolonged cases
that had been recorded and reported
under the action of each of the princi
pal poisons.. The greater part of my
'time has been devoted to the study.of
the chemical properties. - of poisons,
studying: the exact time and the falle
cies attending the various tests that
had been proposed and adding many
new tests, and studying their fallacies
and limit. The Whole ,of the chemical
part a my work ou the new chemistry
of poisons is the result of direct and
oft-repeated experiments.
Cross-exa ?nine(' : •
I have received two hundred dollars
froth, the defendent here, 'and expect
nothing more. That includes my ex
penses. I have been promised no more in .
any event. I have it .laid down in my
book that the action of one poison may
be modified by vm presence of another.
1. can't say hoNMit may. modify. To
what extent or how, is a region not
established in the case of any two
'poisons I know of. Reads from page
503 of Wormley's work. It it a fact
that the tests for the discovery of
morphia are inferior in delicacy to the
tests for some other poisons. pis a
fact that a person may. die of a very
largo overdose of poison. and no trace'
of it be discovered at the time of death.
In case no emetic had been used we
would expect the presence of 'the
poison. If it had been used we could
accgunt_for_its_disappeArAnce,—Fametic_
to be taken after the poison, or the
stomach pump had been . used.' This
would in a large . measure explain its
absence.
Q. Do notrtlinooks shoNiethat a few
days suffice. to dissipate all traces of
the poison from morphia:or opium, &c?
A. There are cases on record of that
kind.• In a great number of cases,
especially in the older cases recorded,
there was a failure to detect the poison
a few days after death. Five hours is
shortest space of time in which traces
of morphia were dissipated after death.
The next shortest time I can't reeall,
Re•es-in eltiff—Foi certain quanti
ties the test of morphia is as certain as
for other poisons:
WAI. KENNEDY: recalled.
Heard Dr. Herman's testimony on
the hearing .of. the habeas corpus; I
took notes at the time ; the Doctor said
" they, or some one, told me she,had
taken-morphia. • From the condition of
her eye or eyes. I did not think that
was the case ;" as near as I, can now
remember; such was his langtmze as,
taken down by pie, and printed in the
Volunteer; he also said " I could not
say,-Or I'M not think (can't remota:
her the exact,expression,)' she died from
narcotics" ; I refreshed my recollection ,
byreforence to my paper a few days
ago. •
e. WORTHINGTON, re-called.
A day 'or two after Dr.,Schooppe , s
return from Bnltimore, after the funeral,:
he came to the slore, and I told him of
the rumors' that were in town of his
killing Miss . Stinnecke,,with morphia;
and advised .him to have the , body
raised audeixamined by a chemist, nnd
in that way hush', the mouths of Slid.
people who wore talking ; ho said that
be could not afford to go to that
penso to satisfy rumor. if a: direct
charge was inado,ofthat kind.he woald,
then endeavor: to do it ; two or three
dap; after that conversation ho asked
'me if I thoughtr o morphia could be
found so many days after -her .death
IL told. him I thoughtanot, but that
Toylor's•Jfirisprudenco,wns , autheritir,
and : diso,usseit.
"asked ine , Whiko he, could..kilila copy
I told 'hini *. Mr.
,Sheliret ,had' be
lieved ; that ' same day, I think; ok.
shortly Afterwards, i he brought a copy
of Taylor to me; he said if, 4 wp . pos,-
o,iblo to find myrp4ia , gaY 6
.
after death he. would have a post mor
tar examination 'of - thebody, and a
analysis of the - sterna - 6k in
order to satisfy the people ; he said if
Morphia "quid be found the chemist
would say so, and if it could not be
found ho woilid say he could not find
it for, that readdii; • that, he said, would
- have:AM - effect towards clearm - g the
minds'of the people, or satisfying them
as to his guilt or innocence. •
examined saliva ; precipitate a
blue color; do not know what it was;
treated it with gyacuiri ands eoltitiOn
or PETcY;, •
J. D. ADAIR, re-called.
Dr. Sohaeppe, betore vent to
Baltimore with Miss Stinueeke's body,
wore a felt hat, • with" aoft • crown and
stiff brim, turned upl,ut the sides ; I
na'er saw him wearineanY other kind
of except' a, sraw one, :and a
German' student's small ou0; I saw, him
almost every day..
, FREDRICICBO/14APPE sicorn.
Am father! of the defendant. He
wore' a round hat - before' he went 'to
He
elosefltting,_witheoft clown.
He never had a high; silk hat before:
going to Haitilh/e. He brought a silk
hat from BaltiinoreV - The hat was tog
large and I 'took it. The Dr. bought
another at, Callio's. I can't tell when
he got the hat from Callio'a.
Defence closed- 10.--A: AL; i?riday
morning, June-1-.--1869.--
Dr. CONRAD here. explains,
when
asked the question by,couneel for ; the
defence, whether I remembered a case
in Bright's disease where fluid did not
exist in thecavaties, my answer was I
did not remember one. Since that
time I have remembered a case, and on
referring'to 'it flndit so • stated!'that it
does not exist; i. a., these fluids in the
cavities ; I feel it my duty to state to
the Don't andigormed Mr; Hepburn
and: the-other .counsel-of-the-fact,------
Defense now offer, under permission
of the Court, a receipt in the hand 7
writing of Mies Stinnecke dated Jan.
• , .1136 . 9r - at — earlirdatgratilt •
Dr. Schoeppe. Receipt read, ae f4•_ .
lows :
CARLISLB, PA., Jan..l4-1-869
Received or'Miss M. M. Stinnecke
One bond, of the State of Missouri, of
one thotisand . dollars. ($1,000,) date
16th day, of October, 1858; (No., 979,)
city of Jefferson, being part of : the
Amount -of five thousand dollars, the
sum agreed upon by• Mis s. M. 14. Stin
necke and D. Paul •Schoepfe - , to be
paid to D. Paul SchOeppe by Miss M.
111..-Stinnecke, under lithe proviso-that
Miss M. M. Stinnecke has (by. this
contract fin. marriage) the entire . con-
Ir(sl,,possession and right to_her.ourn
estate; personal - and and to the
management of the same.-
(Signed,) P. SCIJOBITIL
Defense closed finally at 11,07 min
utes, A. at. on Tuesday, June 1, 18130.
REBUTTING TESTIMONY.
T 7 ii. Co N 4AD, ref.aiill
I saw nothing in this softeniN, at
that point spoken of, to lead me to be
lieve that it differed from the generaLl
softening of the brain ; at the time it
occurred I believed it to have been
caused by dragging upon it, and I held
the brain in my hand before I cut the
communication of the medulla with the
cord ; at the time I . believed it to be
post ntorteni, and have seen no reason
to change my mind shied.
MRS. MARY PARICER, re-Called..---
1. took hold-of her hands each one, put •
them in mine; her hands - were both
warm. her face _ felt natural, some
persperation on it; .1 made uo • eiam
ination to discover the temperature of
different sides of her face; her hands
felt as her-face `did ; at twelve o'clock
was the last time I remember feeling
her hands. .
Cross-Examineel.—lt was ih the
morning when I _went iu after six ;
did not feel her side at all.
MRS LA , iANA SHINDEL, re-called—
Examined lie'' , face ; can't say that I
felt both cheeps; felt one side of her
forehead ; I am not positive whether
I felt her right hand or not ; felt her
left hand ; found it warm ; felt it more
than once during the day ; several
times; it was alWays the same tem
perature. -
Cross Ex:—Do -not remember feel/
ing her hands after three oclock ;
it might have been rifler dinner, it
was fore part of tlic - day ; could not
say pdaitively That I -felt her bands
after dinner ; I would not say positive
ly that I ever feltlier right hand ; din
ner hour is Eno o'clock ; she was re
clining to the left side ; it was the left
hand ; the one en the outside of' the
bed ; I felt the lower, hand. -
C. .L. LOCIIMAN, rc-called.—Felt
both hands and wrists • in the morn
ing about 7 o'clock ; felt her face ; it
was naturally warm ; I thought, natur
al moisture. .
Cross Tx.—lt, was in the -.morning
between 7 and '6 o'clock; did not ex
amine in the afternoon.
.14 n~._IIInRI~CQmF-Qttr,_r_c~callcrl.=
I went there at 6 o'elook the evening
Miss Stir - aecke died ; I round the en
tire body warm ; the entii'e body was
moist; she was dead when I cama to
the room .; I undressed her and dressed
her ; the clothing was damp with poi
cpiration.
Cioss:Examined.—Her feet weri3
. DR. ' ,
ra-6alled foz: dc
fense.—lf there was a general softening
of the brain it would indicate, that the
person might have died from disease ;
if dOcompCied that would .be a,differ
ent thing ; softening would iodinate a
pre-disposition to congestion, and the'
brain, of course, could. not "i• eriist.-the
force of the -circulation of the, blood,
and be the cause of apoplexy;, I refer,
to Wunderlich's Pathology, Vol'. -.3,
.3,
page 574. .
The limn:ist Clonimonviealth,
.preparatory to , the argument before
the jury, submitted to the Court the
following' chemical and ine'dical author
ities, on the slibj ea t, of .p oi 94t47 BY-m
-ferns and:post inortena appearauce,s from
which they design quoting in the, course
of discussion. . . : ,
Tayloi on poitions; Edition.'lB4B,
pages 6t3 t ,544, , 545, 659, 48, 482,484-
.Worolley' on poisons, moo 593, 49,
52; 40ittid 18G. . :,• •
(jasper's Forensic inetliAne, London
Edition, 1869,`,krOltuna - 2,- pages• 67-8-9,
• phristison on 'voisons, pages 6p9,
519*, 04 and 740. , •
Practice of • Mo'dicino t phgns,
83, 726;
~,: W harton &' hledical Jui:ie
ptudepee, page 477;' se . th:ll2, paw*.
488; 491.
Dalton'aßhysiology, ed. 1804.; bage'
. _
Taylor's Medi6allurlspriidenie,•,7th.:
edition, 1861,
_pages • 151,• 157, '164 ;
Bth edition, pages 181-6, 172,.;166,;;
ad. '6l, pages 31.-2-3.
' The counsel kir the ilefinsicited the:
; follelying chemicsLind nicdical author-,
ities, upon the - subjects' 'before" nun-,
tioned
. Wharton , * Stille's . Medical Judi
'Orlando 'etee4l )6 ;l)4 6 .oqoife• Y ll,
Tag° 4 1 3 6 ; : "4" '
, • Calpe'x's l'o'reniiie..kedieiraS,, vol. 2;
-pages 6
~ Bs, 63, 47, 49,'51. and
Paidicu'iltedico4;eigali44_'Ohern.
iota Uetttilip,,on 'p.c410403,
103 C, fI7A, 91Q, X 9l, jpe.133.9kv0, 4. and
902;.1i z •
Taylor ,on Poisontw•American ed.,
pages 524 and 137. " •
. Taylor on PoisOnsj t.Lirnd'on
pages 663-4, 6t7 and 680.. • ;
Wormley on Poisons, pages4B6 and
185.
American Journal of Medical. Bei
ence, of Jan., '69, plge 37. °
Taylor's-principles and practice ,of
'modical:jurisprtidenco,' Loudon Edi-'
'don, 1865; page :343. • '
Gmelin's liand-b6plt'of ..clunnistrY,
page 12.
Peireirres, MatoriallediCa ritia r Tlier
epenties, :pagerlo3nthd' , 7Bs: -
• Flint's practice of medicine, 5%
'739-40 Ind 72. ' •
Bennett's practice of medicine PadeS
1204.
Wood's, practice.
nine 2; page 619-20.:
Niemeyees 'Voltinie,
E l 2l d 2 itlB6B,
. ion of Berlin, pages 194 atd
Com.- .Legal
Oaf, volume 3, sec. 135, page 'll4.
page 389-90. , • ,
Itoscde, criminal evidence page 658.
Wills on Circumstantial 'evidence,
Edition of 1857 Top page,203,604.
Wharton on Homicide,' 329.
Wills on circumstantial By. .Lniv,
hil, Ed. page 200, 201, 224'231:32-
DEFENDANT'S POINTS
1. In a trial for murder it rests upon
the donimoinvealth to estAliSh the
true' Cause of Actith:by clear and irre
fingible proof; eithdr by direct and
pqsitive evidence, or "by circumstances
so clekkit and necessarily connected,
that .they are equivalent to-•absolitte
and positive proof," and if there is any
reasonable doubt' about this fact the
jury should acquit. 2' • •
2: - "In - order to justify tire iiifefenee
of legal guilt from circumstantial evi
dence, the existence of the facts show
ing guilt must be absolutely into
TiViM'eherinnoeence7efl,TO accused,
and incapable' of- explabatiOn upon '
:any other reasonable , hypothesis than
that of his-guilt."---"This in laWis the ,
fundamental role by which the rele
vancy and effect of circumstantial evi:
deuce must be:estimated."
3. "Where legal guilt iti - te beimade
out by scientific evidence, that evi
dence must be of the highest charatitgr •
that the nature of the case admits."—
And no scientific reference 'should be
rawn„atilliiitit the prisoner on the ba
sis of facts about which there is any
reasonable, doubt.
• •4. Where a conviction depends .
upon facts only To ,ascertaine - d-by
science, and a knowledge ot,the laws
of nature, and their workings and., ef
fects as established by experiment,
if the scientific experts, called to testi
fy on the one side and the other-differ
as- to - the material - facts;-arrd-the-wit
nesks are evialfy.,credible,..the-Wit,
•nessess whose testimony is in favor of
the innocence of the prisoner ought to
be prefdired ;. for the prisoner. is enti
tled .to_ the benefit of all 'doubts, 'and
doubt.upcni a question - of science--is
most serious and all important - la:it,
5. If it be true, that Prof. Aiken
destroyed the value of his distillate as
a 'chemical test to determine the pres
of Prussic acid in its free state, by the
introductiOn of sulphuric acid or, if
the jury has well authenticated_facts
from scientific men and books, that '
make it even doubtful whether his °did- , k
tillate could be used us a certain test
of the presence of Prussic 'acid in. its
free state: they should lay the ques- -
tiotrof death from Prussic acid aside.
6. If in the post mo4em, examina
tion by Dr. Conrad be accidentally al
lowed any portion of the blood from
•the brain to escape without knowing
whence it came, or in what part of
brain it would have been found ; and
that blood might have been so situated
as itself to be the cause of deatki, -- or,
if he did not examine the spinal mar
row and the kidneys, and the cause of
death might have been in either, then
the post martem examination must be
regarded as imperfect, uncertain and
inconclusive, and the jury should not
base on it any inference, that there
was no natural cause for death.
, 7. If the charge of death from Mor
pbia rests alone on symptoms which
aro common to death from Morphia, '
and death from apoplexy and ••other
diseases, if 'the evidence in regard to
these symptoms is.contradictory and un
certain; and death from Morphia is
unsupported by the post nzortent exam=
inatiou, and chemical analysis (and for
a 'stronger reason if inconsistent ivith
both the litter) .they, Should also dish
miss this inquiry from their minds.
8. ,If the charge of death from the'
combination of Prue - sic acid and mor
phia rests on the opinion of a man who
admitted on his cross-examination that
he had no experience in regard to the,
effects, of these poisons combined, on
the human system; .and,-;who adrixits
shat lie has no_autliority_fromtho books_
td justify what he calls his " Opinion - ,"
his opinion is utterly worthless and
unworthy the name of proof,. This
charge, film all others, niust be sup
ported and established by' clear and
irrefragible proof, and if it is but; it
should be dismissed from the jury
And if Dr.' Heiman has wilfully and
knowingly perFerted and loin-stated
• thi facts they, should disregaid—his
whole testimony. • ,
9. All symptoms. of guilt :urising
from the fact that the prisoner had poi
sons in his possession, are rebutted
and annulled - by the fact that: he is a
practising physician, and that it was
his duty to keep and .to administer.
these as medicines.
10. If on the whole .cramthe jury'-
cannot make out, clearly, certainly
and beyond all reasonable doubt the
cause of death, from the eliidence be
fore them; . and;if they have - ,not clear
and irreilagiblo proof that the prisoner
premedittiallY and of his mat
ice aforethought, did. kill and. murder •
Maria - M. tennecke,7thershould ac
quit him.'.'. • •
11. Tho fact that death occurred fr
some unnatural ennui, apd Uhl°
oific cause of,:death mnst,be establii„ pd
anctprovapositively and beyond doubt
by the prosecution;• and onlyrifte_r_such_
positive and irrefragible-proof, of the
unnatural, death and the specific camp
diad.been given, are the jury , wgrranted
in considiaing the motives'of tlioPrise-
The motives cannot be used'. to de
termine the pritudry question; lb . * a
critan, has been' committed : ' ' Tri )y,:are
but. apart of Ataii ilividenceA nejt g• , 6,-
Blie*, who eataalitted..it'. crix4 nyhich
musty .he' proved.' intitibitaiii! i 'other
evidence..., ~-, .•,-.• ;,' '' _ '' ''' ';' " '
12, lii - all e atiefivhere '`•;.', i larke t is
oflomield,",it ip l esOn't It ,there
bo distinct ' iirohf, !firepr: - filet of
death, (and .%secoridli.e rgt • specific
cause ,qt: death, rine , .,: 51 4 , • h.proof
no indivithyd. eau 4 ifi...,k 't or roa
,lite
894ablrOg*Ti'ic '' ~a ccount,
: Tor facts of- suppoP 104, ,l'- " ..'
,/We ', have iiA5Q...,,,,
,gitr feaue - to '
cry ' glici:tire' oe 4 "fiiiio.li' tile
'charlie:of 'th . 4 g. 5, , - , glYe
th esti ' dt; t . :• 44, 17' •: . .." whiell
:0111rehtio:'eady'QP, t ,
- , Ilkktiffice herelf ' f.644Pa..