Cortland Evening Standard, Saturday,
December 29, 1894.
THE PHELPS INQUEST.
TRACES
OF ARSENIC FOUND BY CHEMIST SMITH.
Mrs.
Phelps Bought Arsenic, but Her Daughter Says it Was for Rats—Examination Still Continues.
The coroner's inquest to inquire into the
manner of the death of Loren Phelps of Solon is being continued in McGrawville
today. Chemist Wm. M. Smith of Syracuse whose testimony was taken on Thursday,
the whole of which has not yet been made public, testified that he found traces
of arsenic in sufficient quantities to cause death.
Drs. H. C. Hendrick, M. R. Smith and F. H.
Forshee of McGrawville, who conducted the post-mortem examination were the next
witnesses. The evidence was given by Dr. Hendrick and the others corroborated
what he said in regard to the condition of the body at the time of the
examination. A thorough examination of the organs of the body was made and all
were found to be in a state of severe inflammation. There was no evidence that
the man had been suffering from heart difficulty and his death was not due to
pneumonia or typhoid fever. The doctor said that at the close of the post mortem
examination he was unable to give an opinion as to the cause of death, and
could not do so until he knew the result of the chemical examination. Both Dr.
Smith and Dr. Forshee said the same, but all testified that after having heard
the evidence of Chemist Smith they were willing to give as their opinion that
death was due to arsenical poisoning.
C. D. Fish, druggist, of McGrawville was
sworn. He produced his poison register and testified to a record made on Dec.
7, 1894, of one-half an ounce of arsenic sold to Adelia Phelps of Solon, to be
used, as she stated, for the purpose of killing rats.
The next witness was Deville S. Brown of
Solon. The examination of
Mr. Brown
occupied a large part of yesterday afternoon and was continued this morning.
Mr. Brown said that he had been called to the house of Mr. Phelps early on Sunday
morning, Dec. 9, to see Mr. Phelps who was ill and who had been taken violently
worse during the night. He was with Mr. Phelps at different times during his
illness and was present at the time of his death. He said that he never knew of
any trouble in the Phelps family before this time. That several times while he
was there Mr. Phelps had said, "They are trying to poison me," and
once when this remark was made in the presence of
Mrs. Phelps
she said she didn't know how he got that idea into his head. Mr. Phelps had
also said to him that he had heard that Willis Smith was going to work his farm
next year and that he, Phelps, was in the way and that they wanted to get him
out of the way. Will Smith is a young man who has been working for Mr. Irving
Phelps, a neighbor of Loren, during the past year and he has been a frequent
visitor to Loren Phelps' house.
Jennie May Phelps, the 14 year-old daughter
of the deceased was the next witness. She said that she went with her parents
and younger brother to visit at Emmet Finn's on Wednesday evening and that her
father was taken ill on Thursday morning, following. On Friday afternoon Dec.
7, about 6 o'clock, her mother came to McGrawville to see a doctor and to get
some medicine for her father. Before she started Mr. Phelps told her mother to
go to the desk and get some money to buy some arsenic at Fish's drug store as
he was tired of hearing the rats make so much noise. Her mother started for
McGrawville about 6 o'clock and when the returned about 9 o'clock she brought
the arsenic in a small box,
Saturday her father was worse, did not eat
any breakfast, and only took a cup of coffee for dinner. About 3 o'clock Sunday
morning her mother called her and told her that her father was worse and that
she must go at once and call Mr. Brown, who lives a short distance and she immediately
got up, lighted the lantern and went to Mr. Brown's. She succeeded in rousing
him and he came to the house immediately.
The examination is still in progress as we
go to press. Coroner Bradford hopes to be able to finish taking testimony this afternoon
There are several more witnesses to be examined.
Thermometer
Eighteen Degrees Below Zero at 8:30 Last Night.
The blizzard was followed by the coldest
snap of the season. The temperature as recorded at the head of the
"brevity" column which is taken from the United States weather
bureau's thermograph located at the Normal building does not begin to show how
cold it was in some sections in Cortland last night.
The thermograph is placed on a brick wall
thirty feet above the ground, by direction of the weather bureau, and is not
affected by the quick changes of temperature close to the ground. Various
reports have come in of thermometers at different parts of town. The coldest
that we have heard was 18 degrees
below zero at 8:30 o'clock last night at the home of Lewis Bouton, corner of
Union and Owego-sts. This is a very accurate thermometer. After that time the
weather began to moderate somewhat and at 1 o'clock this morning the same
thermometer indicated 4 degrees below zero.
—Another tramp was given lodging last night
in the "cooler." Lucky vagrant.
—The Chautauqua circle will meet at the home
of Mrs. Walter Shirley, Railroad-ave., this evening at 7:30 o'clock.
—Dr. S. J. Sornberger will conduct the 4
o'clock services at the Memorial Baptist chapel to-morrow.
—Mr. Jared Chaddock will lead the prayer-meeting
at Good Templar hall Sunday at 3 o'clock. All are invited.
—Daniels' orchestra of eight pieces will
give a concert from 8:30 to 9 o'clock at Scott on Monday evening, Dec. 31.
Dancing will follow.
—What better New Year's present can one give
to a friend who is a resident of Cortland county than a year's subscription to
the daily or semi-weekly STANDARD?
—The steam mill belonging to F. M. Dickinson,
about one mile below the village of Whitney's Point, was burned down Thursday
night about 9 o'clock. It is thought that it caught fire from an over-heated stove in the building. All the other
buildings were saved. Loss $5,000, no insurance.
—Cortland people who are remarking upon the
heavy fall of snow throughout the country upon Wednesday night will be
interested to know that one of the heaviest snow falls in the history of this
country was February 19 to 24, 1717, when the snow remained five to seven feet
deep all over New England.
—The Oneonta Star has made a canvass of all the building done in that town this
year and finds that the money expended aggregates $308,050. Of this sum
$175,000 was for the erection of the new Normal building. The years 1887 and 1888
surpassed 1894, the sums being $504,000 and $530,000 respectively.
—The E., C. & N. train from
Canastota reached [East] Ithaca Thursday evening at 10
o'clock, having six passengers for this city. The six had a great time getting down
to the hotels. There was not a vehicle of any kind at the depot and they had to
walk the whole distance. One of the gentlemen said it was the most thrilling
experience he ever had. The party plunged through snow drifts and every few
steps would go into a gully. They finally arrived down town but in a very
exhausted state.—Ithaca Journal.
A
CHAPTER OF ACCIDENTS.
FIRST WATER
THEN FIRE FOR DR. NEARY.
Wagon
Load of Household Goods Runs into the Creek—They Take Fire While Drying by the
Stove.
Our Union Valley correspondent details a
chapter of accidents that befell Dr. P. H. Neary while moving from Union Valley
to his new home in Cortland. Our correspondent writes:
Dr. Neary is now moving to Cortland.
Wednesday night Russell Baker and Ed Breed loaded their wagons with pork and
beef, canned fruit, feed, pictures, books, surgical instruments, physic, etc., etc.,
and started for the top of Potter hill that they might be well on their way
this morning. Three or four rods above the bridge at the foot of the hill the drawpin in Mr. Baker's whiffletrees broke
or pulled out, and while the team went on Mr. Baker and the load took the back
track. All his frantic efforts to hold the wheels were fruitless. Whether Mr.
Baker's struggles at the wheels were one-sided or whether he thought it
wouldn't do to run into Mr. Breed, who was following, will perhaps never be
known, but at any rate about a rod above the bridge the rear end of the wagon
made for the creek, some ten or fifteen feet below, and landed in the stream
bottom side up with care.
Mr. Baker got off at the first landing and
escaped with a few bruises, but lost his pocketbook which was subsequently
found. It is inexplicable just how that purse got out of Mr. Baker's pocket,
but perhaps the most tenable hypothesis is that it was like the majority of
purses in the town of Taylor in these days of taxes, so exceedingly light, that
it was impossible for it to descend with as great velocity as the bearer had
acquired and consequently floated out of his pocket.
A crowd soon gathered who fished out the
doctor's valuables. Some were broken and others soaked. The friends assisted
him in getting them back to the house again. The doctor spread out his water-soaked
possessions about the stove and retired to dream of better days at the county
seat.
He arose next morning unusually early, built
up some rousing fires, attended to various chores and finally crossed the road
to call a neighbor who was to assist him in repacking his effects. On the way
over his eye noted that there was a very bright light in the chamber, by which
he thought his better half had awakened and was once more on the "move."
Upon re-entering the house he was startled by his wife's cries of "fire"
and "doctor." It appeared that some bedding had been placed too near the
stove pipe and the exceedingly hot fire below had heated the pipes sufficiently
to ignite the bedding. The doctor hastily threw on a pail or two of water and
aroused the neighbors. The fire was soon extinguished, but the doctor is minus
a featherbed and a few other articles, while smoke and water did considerable
more damage. As the doctor carries an insurance he will doubtless recover in
part his loss by the last catastrophe.
There is an old adage that "a bad
beginning makes a good ending," and if this proves true we may expect
after this baptism by fire and water that Cortland doctors will find Dr. Neary
a foeman worthy of their steel.
Eclipses in 1895.
There will be three eclipses of the sun in
1895, on March 20, Aug. 20, and Sept. 18, but none of them are visible in the
United States. There are two total eclipses of the moon and both are visible throughout
the whole of America. They will occur on March 10 and Sept 8.
GAMMA
SIGMA.
The Second
Annual Banquet at the Messenger House.
The second annual banquet of the Delta chapter
of the Gamma Sigma fraternity was held at the Messenger House last night.
Thirty-seven were present including the active members of the chapter who live
in Cortland and alumni members who are here for their vacations. There was a social
gathering in the parlor early in the evening. At 9:30 all adjourned to the diningroom
which was decorated with fraternity colors, while the fraternity emblem
occupied a prominent place at the north end of the room. Proprietor Ollie Ingraham
had prepared a most elaborate and appetizing supper which was highly complimented
by all who sat down to the tables.
At about 11 o’clock Toastmaster Welland
Hendrick called the assembly to order and the following toasts were responded to:
The N. D. C., Prof. A. B. Ingalls.
Normal Club Work, Mr. A. L. Bouton.
Annual Banquet, Mr. C. H. White.
Pluck, Prof. J. Edw. Banta.
The Ladies, Prof. C. J. Coleman.
Our Hopes and Aspirations, Mr. H. E. Hubbard.
Our College Men, Mr. A. D. Call.
Fraternal Spirit, Mr. H. M. Collins.
Convocation of '95, Prof. D. L. Bardswell.
It was nearly 1 o'clock when the gathering
broke up.
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