SCHOOLBOY'S DEATH.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 120, 13 February 1908, Page 7

SCHOOLBOY'S DEATH.

. ;r .M J! AN EXTRAORDINARY STORY/ ( ' "THIS IS POISON." j On Tuesday morning, February 4, a boj i named Bortio Henry Watkins,. noarly tlnr- j teen years of ago, who bad attended tho j •Mitchelltowri' school,;' at his parents' j residence after a short illness, in which acuta j vomiting had played a part. . j At tho inquost held on Fobruary 6 the | ' boy's father Btated that deceased had, arrived! ; liomo from school at mid-day on Fobruary 3 (i and had told his parents that ho had boon ill' ' during the morning, and had vomited a good' deal. Ho bad had a drink of'water and half 1 an apple'during tho morning. In tho even- - i ing Dr. Faulko was sent for, as the boy ] ■showed, no improvoment, and, on arriving at i 8 o'clock, ho prescribed some medicine, which was obtained at once. Tho boy con- < timied vomiting during tho night, and died : J about 8.30 on Tuesday morning. Ho had i been attended by tho doctor for some time, . j on : account of tonsil troiiblo, but during the - j v past year- had b'oen;in gooddiealth. , . : : :, ii ; Dr. .H.. .C. Faulko deposed that when he . ; was called. in lib. could come to no dofinite 1 conclusion 'as to thor "cause-"of .'tho trouble. v;> ;A; post-mortem examination indicated that all tho organs of tho body were healthy, with ; tho exception of the stomach, which showed that thero had been a rare diseaso known as- I acuto • dilatation. of the''stomach, which is a generally" fatal in tho course of one, two, or. ,J . threp.i.days. There was, nothing to indicate ' poisoning .hoyond .tht,v,omjting, 'and tho con- ' 'A dition of tho stomach was sufficient to ao- v:/ count for tho vomiting without any .Hejiry, .who performed the post-mortem examination, said tho conditions . did."inot indicate'the presence of an irritant, . poison. Witness was satisfied dilatation: of. the stomach was the cause of death: The .jiiryrrecommended that' an analysis; of the stomach ; should, bo - held • if, tho,' polico could '' <■ arrange it in' order to throw further light;; ■; on tho disease. A verdict was! returned in .*; accordance with the medical testimony. ; ; :The police were 6f : tUo ; same opinion as the jury. Besides having an analysis of th« stomach, made by Dr. Maclaurin, they made • a_ searching inquiry into tho case with astonishing results. A Dominion representa- * tivo heard of tho_police activity iu'regard to. • tho case, and approached Inspector: Ellison ■ for corroboration of tho rumours abroad. The Inspector stated that it had been as- . ; certained that on tho morning of > his possession, a small red box labelled .with a scull, and crossbones;" which * | he showed to a schoolmate. The. box con- ; ' tained a bluish powder, and in showing it to V, .f his 'mato lie said:," This' is poison;' if, you take too much you die! " ' .' ;'. ■'' Decoasod then placed some of tho powder betweon a couplo of biscuits,, and proceeded , , t.o eat it. .'When the: other boy'.protested at j ' deceased's folly in so doing, , the latter rc- : plied something to the effect that he knew '.'v ' .what he "was .^aboiit,. because he, knew all about it. ' ■ ■ , Tljo. roport. of the analyst was not avails' able"-yesterday,. but Dr. Macjaurin has intimated to Inspector Ellison that bo has dis- " covered arsenic in ; tho stomach, in.: what rquantity was not precisely known. . ..:. Tho evidence goes to .proro, that the bluish ;' poiycler ;in tli'o rQd; ( i)ok Jnrtaiseri by the lad was tho poison knqwn L as' "Rough on Rats," and' tho rare disease spoken of by.tho'medical'" "m</n in their evidence was obviously dilata-; ' tion of tho stomach caused by' the irritant i .poison taken by tho deceased. V . '. ■ Tho polico, as represents ; by Detectives •; Williams and Kemp dosorvo credit for the valuablo aid given in the elucidation of the cause of death. ■ r : ' '