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The surgeons who made the examination said that the wood-cut of these
remains given in the
papers, is as accurate as.could be made.
Question by the Government.-Would it not be requisite in order to cut up
the body in the
manner as stated in the report, that the person doing it should possess
some scientif4
skill ?
Answer.-In my opinion it would require considerable scientific skill-the
separation of the
sternum from the ribs appears to evince some knowledge of anatomy. There
was nothing in the
remains found that would lead one to suppose that he belonged to a subject
for dissection, and
not to the body of Dr. P. They were evidently not separated for the purpose
of dissection-if
they had been, we should have found in the veins and arteries some
preserving fluid, such as it
is customary to inject into the organs for circulating blood, at the time
they are received
at the College. Am perfectly satisfied that they are the remains of one and
the same body. A
block of mineral teeth were handed me by the Coroner; I carried them to my
house, and kep)
them for the purpose of showing them to Dr. Keep, for the purpose of
identification. I rfe
a them to Dr. Keep
Cross-examined.-Have been acquainted with Dr. Parkman about 30 years;
there,Were no
marks about Dr. P's body that were peculiar to him; the comparison of one
body wA parts of
another body as to hight will give the stature almost to a certainty; there
wer~two perfora-
tions of the parts of the body ; the thorax and left thigh; the flesh of
the parts was easily torn,
and it was somewhat friable; the usual quantity of blood in a person.ef Dr.
P's sizeis
about two gallons; there would be about two quarts of blood in the
venoiuv'system of a man of
his size after death; cannot say how much time it would have taken to
consume the parts of the
body that were missing by fire, because I have not now in my mind thg
fjuantity of fuel the fur-
nace would contain ; there was nothing in the appearance of the renAins
that would indicate the
age of the body with any certainty within 10 years; the parts of this body
and the muscles were
well developed; I gave the mineral teeth to Dr. Keep; lie retufned them to
me, and I .gave
them to the Coroner.
Direct xesumed.-If a person had received a wound in the region of the
heart, he would, in
most cases, bleed inwardly. Can't tell how long it would take to burn the
parts of the body that
were missing, with any certainty-never burned a human head in my life.
Cross-examined.-
The blood of a person after death is stagnated in the venous system.
DR. J. W. STONE, called.-I was present at the examination of the remains
found in the Medi-
cal College, in the capacity of Secretary; there was a considerable
quantity of hair on the back
of the body; that on one side was somewhat burned; have known Dr. P. about
6 years; the ap-
pearance of the remains was that of those belonging to a person between 60
and 70 years of age;
the manner in which the parts were separated would lead one acquainted with
anatomy to the
conclusion that the person who separated thw,parts was possessed of some
anatomical skill; the
dissection of the sternum from the breast-bone indicated this more clearly
than anything else;
there was no appearance in the parts which indicated that they had belonged
to a subject for
dissection; the body had not been injected as is common with subjects of
the dissecting room;
if the injection were only arsenical, after a while the appearance of it
would be likely to dis-
appear; sometimes glue is mixed with it, and then it would not disappear ;
these were not in-
jected with glue; a po rtion of one of the intestines had the appearance of
having been operated on
with a knife.
Cross-examination.-The flesh of the parts was very soft and easily broken;
it was also appa-
rent that fire had been applied to it; we looked for a wound in the dhest,
but we found none,
nor was there any indication on the thorax or chest that it had been
penetrated by a knife.
DR. GEo. H. GAY, called.-I was one of the committee of surgeons appointed
by the Coroner
to,examine scientifically the parts of the body found in the Medical
College; think that the head
was separated from the body by a saw; it would be a difficult thing to
separate the head of a
person from the body with a knife; don't know whether the hole in the
thorax was made by
taking it out of the tea-chest or not; I saw a perforation of the membranes
between the ribs just
after it had been taken out of the chest.
Cross-examined.-The hole was about an inch and a half inlength, and was
between the sixth ,
and seventh ribs, but there was no indication that it was done by a knife ;
I thought that it
was done with a stick when I had first seen it.
Direct, resumed.-This observation was made at 3 or 4 o'clock Saturday
afternoon.
DR. WOODBRIDGE STRONG, called.-I have dissected a good many bodies in my
day. I had a
pirate given me in warm weather, in the year -,and as I only wanted the
bones, I dissected
him rapidly, and as there was a'good deal of fat about him, I thought it
would be as good a way
as any to burn him up; I therefore made a large roaring fire, and kept
atwork throwing on piece
by piece all night, and by 11 o'clock the next day,'I found I had'not done
by a great deal. I consider
it a great job to burn up a human body. Pitch pine would be the best thing
to do it with. Itis
necessary to keep the fire well stirred up during the process, or it will
go out. I • have known
Dr. Parkman several years. Saw him for the last time on the Friday on which
he disappeared,
at 12 o'clock, in or near Belknap-street, going toward the Common. I had
thcyintention of speak-
ing to him, but he turned off still toward the Common before I reached him.
I went to the
Medical College on the Tuesday succeeding the disappearance of Dr. Parkman.
As I did not ex-
pect at the time to bear testimony before a Court, I did not take notes of
what I saw. When I -
saw the remains they were on a board. I observed that they appeared to have
been separated
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