~6
ins and went to church; he expressed his intention of going to- Boston to
see the Parkman family; I 'heard
his voice in the house soon after dark, and saw him in his study between 9
and 10 o'clock.
Cross-examination of this witness eclined.
Thirty-third witness-Dr. WINSLOW LEWIS, called by the defense.-Have been
acquainted with the pris-
oner for thirteen years; he has always sustained the reputation of bei$g a
man of kindly feelings; when
be had his laboratory in Mason street, I never could get into it without
knocking.
Question. Did you examine the cut etween the ribs?
Objected to by the Government, on the ground that the defense was
reiterated on the cross-examination
of the witness.
Defense contended that the examination of this witness, in order to test
the testimony of Dr. Strong on this
point, was competent, and it was ruled to'be so by the Court.
Answer.-Iexamined the cut in the ribs and think it was anything but a clean
out; can't tell whether it
was made before or after death; can't tell whether the bones were broken
before or after death; I saw Dr.
Strong at the Medical College, after my examination of the soft part of
t~ie remains found, had been made;
they had evidently been soaked in water.
Cross-examined.-Have not the experience in osteology that Dr. Jeffries
Wyman has; the parts around
the cut, bole, or stab in the thorax, would not retain the tensity in death
that this had in life.
Thirty-fourth witness-Dr GEO. H. G-sx, sworn by the defense.--Saw Dr. King
at the Medical College
on Monday; the hole in the chest was ragged ; a clear cut can be made
before or after death; it was a
question among us whether the hole had not been made with a stick; the
parts found in the privy appeared
somewhat mascerated.
Cross-examination of this witness declined.
Thirty-fifth witness-Dr. U. W. HOLMES, called by the defense.-There are two
opinions as to the na-
ture and quantity of blood in the human body; the average quantity of blood
found in the human body is
said to be twenty-seven or twenty-eight pounds; in an adult male the
quantity is about thirty-four pounds,
or near seventeen quarts; have tried experiments concerning the fracture of
the hones; while partially cal-
cined, they will break outwards and inwards, and in all manner of ways;
shouldn't take the opinion of
any man on ascientific subject if I was competent to' make the experiment.
Cross-examination of this witness declined.
Thirty-sixth witness-L'. S. HORSFORD, sworn.-Am an instructor in the
University, at Cambridge; I
instruct in Chemistry; it is a common thing for Chemists to have nitrate of
copper in their laboratories ; I
have it always in mine ; organic analysis is the process adopted to
discover the constituent pasts of organid
bodies. The best thing to dissolve flesh and bone is potash, and next
nitric acid '1 have tried nitric acid
on the largest bone of an ox ; in four hours all but a few scales were
dissolved; in five hours and tweqty
minutes the bones were entirely dissolved, and the liquid was perfectly
clear; potash will dissolve more rap-
idly; I took the laboratories of Prof. Webster afterhis arrest; have never
examined the gases arising.from
the anatomical vault; a chemist may have occasion to examine their matter;
I sent out to Prof. Webster's
house in Cambridge from the laboratory a few days after the arrest of the
Professor some articles of cloth-
ing, pantaloons, overalls, coat and cap ; have seen them since ; I don't
think there was any difference in
the appearance then from what they were at first; there was no blood on
them.
Cross-examined.-The clothes had been used by the policemen for pillows;
there were four or five bottles
of nitric acid in the laboratory store-room, containing about one gallon;
should think that it would require
more than the weight of a body in nitric acid to dissolve it; no noxious
gas will arise from the dissolving
of bone and flesh in nitric acid, unless the temperature of the acid is
raised to that of boiling water; I have
not paid any attention to the spots of nitrate of copper on the laboratory
floor and staircase, because it is
liable to be spilled about the floor at any time ; I have lately tried an
experiment in dissolving flesh anO
bone ; had three or four pounds of bone and flesh, and used somewhat more
than four pounds of nitriq
acid.
Direct resumed.-It would depend upon' the thickness of a metal vessel
whether it might be eaten up by
the acid before the flesh and bone would dissolve.
Thirty-seventh witness-Dr. Wit. T. G. MORTON, sworn.-Am a dentist in this
city; have practised
about eight years; manufacture the mineral that f use.
Here the mineal teeth found in the furnace of the laboratory were exhibited
to witness.]
see no peculiarity about this block of teeth to distinguish them from any
other block ; the inner teetlR
have the appearance of having been ground; it is a very common thing to
grind mineral teeth in this man.
nor; they are ground on wheels from the size of four-pence to that of a
dollar ; I have used platinum
springs in teeth myself, and have known others use 'them ; the spring is
inserted in holes rlsually made be-
tween the first cuspid and first molar.
[Here Dr. Keep s mold of Dr. P.'s jaw was exhibited to the witness.]
1 don't see anything peculiar about the form of this jaw which would enable
me to pick it out of a half
dozen others laying together.
Here the witness exhibited a block of refuse teeth. This block of teeth
fits the mold almost exactly-
only wants one quarter of an inch more to make it fit perfectly Here the
witness produced and exhibited
to the court several molds of human under jaws, and also several jaws of
human beings, and showed that
many of them had the same appearance which was said to be a peculiarity of
Dr. P.'s jaw. The block of
teeth found in the laboratory furnace was now exhibited to witness. There
is something on this block of
teeth which is not usual on mineral teeth; it looks as my teeth do when the
muffler breaks and lets them
fall into the fire. There has evidently been great heat applied to these
teetb, and they may have been
warped so as to fit the mold which I exhibit.
Cross-examined.-I knew Dr. P. while he was Irvin g ;cannot say whether his
lower jaw had any remark-
able peculiarity; have seen other jaws which so much resembled Dr. P.'s
that 1 could not tell which was
his among these others; never saw a set of teeth made for one person that
would fit the jaw of another
&erson. I can tell the names of persons in this community whose jaws
resemble Dr. P.'s, but do not like to
ivulge the names of my patients ; think if l had manipulated and operated
upon the jaw bone of a person
while living, that I could not recognize the jaw of that person if it was
shown me a great length of time
afterwards.
Thirty-eighth witness-Prof. DANIEL TREADWELL, sworn.-I remember the evening
of Friday, the 234
Nov., 1&19; Prof. Webster and his wife called at my house at about balf
past l; o'clock, and remained until
half past 10 o'clock ; there were several persons present at my house at
the time ; the evening was passed in con-
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