Letters of Condolence on death of Jane Stanford, 1905

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condition is found and even where it is found it consists of such easily overlooked lesions as atheroma (thickening) of the coronary arteries (arteries of the heart), or of such lesions which in a case where strychnine poisoning is a preconceived theory might not be thought sufficient to cause death as roughening of the arch of the aorta, or myocarditis or fatty heart.

The meager report of the autopsy, however, would not convince me that there was not one or more of these pathological conditions present, to some degree, which, with the great exciting cause, proved fatal.

3rd Question. Considering the fact that strychnine was found in traces in the contents of the intestine, would that fact change your answer to questions 1 & 2 ?

Answer. No.

(signed) - E.C. Waterhouse M.D.

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Honolulu, March 14. 1905.

Dr. E. C. Waterhouse.

Dear Sir:--

Answering your questions regarding the spasm that Mrs. Stanford said threw her out of bed - I can tell you of no other remark that she made in reference to that.

My reason for believing that her remark as I stated, does not mean that the spasm threw her out of bed and down on the floor - is because I know how very difficult it would have been for Mrs. Stanford to have risen alone. She has for years avoided low chairs for the reason that she experienced great difficulty in getting up out of them. Avoided taking tub baths because as she often mentioned to me, that it was all she could manage to get in and out of them, and since the fashion of porcelain tubs came in she felt that she would not be able to manage at all because of insecure footing on the slippery porcelain.

On Tuesday afternoon, the day of our picnic, we arranged a seat for Mrs. Stanford by laying the two carriage seat cushions one on top of the other, against a tree. This seat was about a foot high, and when the

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time came for Mrs. Stanford to rise, it took the combined efforts of Miss. Hunt and myself to get her up. But of course I should also say that it may have been harder for her to get up at that time than usual, for she sat there fully an hour in a very strong and rather chilly wind, and when she finally stood up had to remain standing for a little to get back her footing as she called it. Then we took a slow walk for about 15 minutes for the purpose, as she remarked, of getting her blood into circulation before entering the carriage to drive back.

Knowing so well how hard it was for Mrs. Stanford to get up and down, I feel that she would surely have told me if she had been thrown down on the floor and been obliged to get up without assistance.

Bertha Berner.

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Honolulu. T.H.

March 14th 1905.

Since writing the former statement regarding my opinion as to the causes of Mrs. Stanford's death, Miss. Berner has made some further statements bearing on the case. Her statement accompanied this communication. She gives reasons why she thinks Mrs. Stanford's statement that she was "thrown out of bed by a spasm" did not mean that she was thrown out of bed on to the floor, but simply that she jumped out of bed at the time. Now, of course, if she was thrown out of bed in a strychnine convulsion, she would have been thrown onto the floor & would have had to have gotton [sic] up immediately afterward and gone out into the hall. This would practically have been impossible and even if she had by any possibility been able to do so she would have shown the effect of it and no doubt said more about it considering all she did say later.

But if now she was not thrown to the floor it would be stronger evidence that the so called spasm was due to hysteria or fright or waking up suddenly with pain and distress. And if this were so, the very fact that she spoke of it in the exaggerated way

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as "being thrown out of bed" would suggest fear or hysteria.

I wish also to call attention to the fact mentioned in an entirely different connection in this statement concerning Mrs. Stanford's sitting in the cold wind for an hour. All such things go to show what a fatiguing day Mrs. Stanford had had, as well as the undue exposure at this time. This in itself would amount to very little, but taken together with all Mrs. Stanford did that day, show that there had been an unusual strain on her that day.

E. C. Waterhouse M.D.