What poisons did you seek for in the first instance?—Various,—prussic acid, oxalic acid, morphia, strychnia, veratria, tobacco poison, hemlock, arsenic, antimony, mercury, and other mineral poisons.
Did you find any of them?—We only found small traces of antimony.
Were the parts upon which you had to operate in your search for strychnia in a favourable condition?—The most unfavourable that could possibly be. The stomach had been completely cut from end to end, all the contents were gone, and the fine mucous surface, on which any poison, if present, would have been found, was lying in contact with the outside of the intestines—all thrown together. The inside of the stomach was lying in the mass of intestinal feculent matter.
That was the fault or misfortune of the person who dissected?—I presume it was; but it seemed to have been shaken about in every possible way in the journey to London. The contents of the intestines were there, but not the contents of the stomach, in which and on the mucous membrane I should have expected to find poison. By my own request other portions of the body were sent up to me,—namely, the spleen, the two kidneys, and a small bottle of blood. They were delivered to me by Mr. Boycott. We had no idea whence the blood had been taken. We analysed all. We searched in the liver and one of the kidneys for mineral poison. Each part of the liver, one kidney, and the spleen, all yielded antimony. The quantity was less in proportion in the spleen than in the other parts. It was reproduced, or brought out, by boiling the animal substance in a mixture of hydrochloric acid and water. Gall and copper-water were also introduced, and the antimony was found deposited on the copper. We applied various tests to it—those of Professor Brandt, of Dr. Rees, and others. I detected some antimony in the blood. It is impossible to say with precision how recently it had been administered; but I should say within some days. The longest period at which antimony can be found in the blood after death is eight days; the earliest period at which it has been found after death, within my own knowledge is eighteen hours. A boy died within eighteen hours after taking it, and it was found in the liver. Antimony is usually given in the form of tartar emetic; it acts as an irritant, and produces vomiting. If given in repeated doses a portion would find its way into the blood and the system beyond what was ejected. If it continued to be given after it had produced certain symptoms it would destroy life. It may, however, be given with impunity. I heard the account given by the female servants of the frequent vomiting of Mr. Cook, both at Rugeley and at Shrewsbury, and also the evidence of Mr. Gibson and Mr. Jones as to the predominant symptoms in his case. Vomitings produced by antimony would cause those symptoms. If given in small quantities sufficient to cause vomiting it would not affect the colour of the liquid in which it was mixed, whether brandy, wine, broth, or water. It is impossible to form an exact judgment as to the time when the antimony was administered, but it must have been within two or three weeks, at the outside before death. There was no evidence that any had been given within some hours of death. It might leave a sensation in the throat—a choking sensation—if a large quantity was taken at once. I found no trace of mercury during the analysis. If a few grains had been taken recently before death I should have expected to find some trace. If a man had taken mercury for a syphilitic affection within two or three weeks I should have expected to find it. It is very slow in passing out of the body. As small a quantity as three or four grains might leave some trace. I recollect a case in which three grains of calomel were given three or four hours before death, and traces of mercury were found. Half a grain three or four days before death, if favourably given, and not vomited, would, I should expect, leave a trace. One grain would certainly do so. I heard the evidence as to the death of Mrs. Smyth, Agnes French, and the other lady mentioned, and also as to the attack of Clutterbuck.
From your own experience in reference to strychnine, do you coincide in opinion with the other witnesses, that the deaths in those cases were caused by strychnine?—Yes.
Did the symptoms in Cook’s case appear to be of a similar character to the symptoms in those cases?—They did.
As a professor of medical science, do you know any cause in the range of human disease except strychnine to which the symptoms in Cook’s case can be referred?—I do not.
Cross-examined by Mr. Serjeant Shee: I mean by the word “trace” a very small quantity, which can hardly be estimated by weight. I do not apply it in the sense of an imponderable quantity. In chemical language it is frequently used in that sense. An infinitesimal quantity would be called “a trace.” The quantity of antimony that we discovered in all parts of the body would make up about half a grain. We did not ascertain that there was that quantity, but I will undertake to say that we extracted as much as half a grain. That quantity would not be sufficient to cause death. Only arsenic or antimony could have been deposited, under the circumstances, on the copper, and no sublimate of arsenic was obtained. [The witness, in reply to a further question, detailed the elaborate test which he had applied to the deposit, in order to ascertain that it consisted of antimony.]
Would a mistake in any one of the processes you have described, or a defect in any of the materials you used, defeat the object of the test?—It would, but all the materials I used were pure. Such an accident could not have happened without my having some intimation of it in the course of the process. I should think antimony would operate more quickly upon animals than upon men. I am acquainted with the works of Orfila. He stood in the highest rank of analytical chemists.
Did not Orfila find antimony in a dog four months after injection?—Yes; but the animal had taken about 45 grains.