emma@esh
19-03-2005, 11:24 PM
I was asked to find this newspaper article by a descendant of the victim...
Saturday June 30th 1877
Sussex Express
Page 5
Supposed death from an overdose of Saltpetre
On Wednesday E G Pullenger Esq. held an inquest at Wickhurst Farm on the body of William Caldon Labourer. Mary Caldon said her husband was 47. They had come down this year as for 27 years past hop tying and picking. On Sunday morning he told her he had been on Saturday to Mr Benge and got something to rub on his lips with as they were very sore. A little boiling water was put to it and he drank it all. After that he walked out and said “Mary, I feel very queer” “I feel like pins and needles all over me.” He also said that “it operated upon me as soon as I took it.” He came in and laid on the bed a little while. He took a little bit of dinner but not much. About five he was sore bad. His lips and face were blue and he kept gasping for breath. He could not speak. He died about eight o’clock. Mary Leary, a widow, said she was his sister. She saw him, “just him, at the time of his death. He died quick, just as a candle goes out. He did not seem to suffer much pain, only was dying away.”
Mr William Henry Benge Grocer and Draper deposed:-
“I live at Cousley Wood. Deceased came to my shop on Saturday night. He said “I have got a bad mouth, very sore” I said “Possibly yours is something from ‘Inward Heat’ wanting cooling medicine. I have some Saltpetre which is a good thing. He said “Let me have a Ha’porth” and threw the money down on the counter. I put him up a small quantity, not half an ounce. (He asked) “How am I to take it?” I said “as much as you can put on a 4d or a 6d in the tea or coffee every morning” He asked twice as to the quantity and spoke about other things very sensibly. He appeared to have had a little drink, but knew what he was about. The last thing as he was going out the door he held up the paper and asked how much he was to take. “I am to take it in tea or coffee?” I do not keep Arsenic or poisons of any kind”
Mr William Mercer Surgeon Deposed:-
“ I did not see deceased during life, I have today made a Post Mortem Examination. I found Deceased in an outhouse lying on the bench stretched out. There were the usual Post Mortem external appearance. I opened the abdomen and a small quantity of bloody serum escaped. I then took out the stomach and opened it, I put the contents of it on a plate and examined the internal surface. At the larger end of the stomach I found the mucus membrane very much inflamed, extending towards the Pytorus. The membrane was very easily separated from the structure beneath. There was a plum coloured hue extending all the way over the in have got a bad mouth, very sore” I said “Possibly yours is something from ‘Inward Heat’ wanting cooling medicine. I have some Saltpetre which is a good thing. He said “Let me have a Ha’porth” and threw the money down on the counter. I put him up a small quantity, not half an ounce. (He asked) “How am I to take it?” I said “as much as you can put on a 4d or a 6d in the tea or coffee every morning” He asked twice as to the quantity and spoke about other things very sensibly. He appeared to have had a little drink, but knew what he was about. The last thing as he was going out the door he held up the paper and asked how much he was to take. “I am to take it in tea or coffee?” I do not keep Arsenic or poisons of any kind”
Mr William Mercer Surgeon Deposed:-
“ I did not see deceased during life, I have today made a Post Mortem Examination. I found Deceased in an outhouse lying on the bench stretched out. There were the usual Post Mortem external appearance. I opened the abdomen and a small quantity of bloody serum escaped. I then took out the stomach and opened it, I put the contents of it on a plate and examined the internal surface. At the larger end of the stomach I found the mucus membrane very much inflamed, extending towards the Pytorus. The membrane was very easily separated from the structure beneath. There was a plum coloured hue extending all the way over the intestines. The Liver was dusky and congested, in places there was a want of health about the structure and it readily broke up between the fingers. The Kidneys were very dark and congested, especially the right one. The Spleen was enlarged. I opened the chest and took out the Heart; it was of normal size and empty of Blood. The Lungs were healthy, but congested; there were no marks of violence. I believe that death was from the effect of some irritant. Saltpetre is an irritant, in large doses it has been known to kill. I believe the appearance and the deceased symptoms can be accounted for by his taking Saltpetre. In small doses it is harmless; in large doses it can occasion prostration and difficulty breathing. The deceased was a fairly nourished and apparently muscular man.”
The Inquiry was adjourned.
Underneath the article is printed…
Unfounded Rumour.
Sir,
In your paper Tuesday 19th last under the heading of ‘Wadhurst’ An announcement appeared ‘Sudden death of a Hop tyer &c’ in the course of which the Public is informed that ‘Dr Mercer was called in and he does not consider that the Saltpetre the Deceased took was enough to kill a man’ Now both of these assertations are void of truth. I was not called in. neither did I know the quantity of saltpetre the Deceased took. I shall not stop to comment on the annoyance and mischief to which such statements atestines. The Liver was dusky and congested, in places there was a want of health about the structure and it readily broke up between the fingers. The Kidneys were very dark and congested, especially the right one. The Spleen was enlarged. I opened the chest and took out the Heart; it was of normal size and empty of Blood. The Lungs were healthy, but congested; there were no marks of violence. I believe that death was from the effect of some irritant. Saltpetre is an irritant, in large doses it has been known to kill. I believe the appearance and the deceased symptoms can be accounted for by his taking Saltpetre. In small doses it is harmless; in large doses it can occasion prostration and difficulty breathing. The deceased was a fairly nourished and apparently muscular man.”
The Inquiry was adjourned.
Underneath the article is printed…
Unfounded Rumour.
Sir,
In your paper Tuesday 19th last under the heading of ‘Wadhurst’ An announcement appeared ‘Sudden death of a Hop tyer &c’ in the course of which the Public is informed that ‘Dr Mercer was called in and he does not consider that the Saltpetre the Deceased took was enough to kill a man’ Now both of these assertations are void of truth. I was not called in. neither did I know the quantity of saltpetre the Deceased took. I shall not stop to comment on the annoyance and mischief to which such statements are given rise- more particularly when appearing in print- but I request you to give insertation in your Journal of the 30th next of this my denial in the correction of this gross miss-statement which is now appearing in other papers.
Your obedient servant,
Wm Mercer M.R.C.S
Wadhurst, England June 28th 1877.
(Our correspondent, unfortunately, was tempted to add his announcement to a piece of mere gossip- but still he sent us what was said in the neighbourhood and thus enabled us to use it)
I particularly like the response from The Courier :)
Saturday June 30th 1877
Sussex Express
Page 5
Supposed death from an overdose of Saltpetre
On Wednesday E G Pullenger Esq. held an inquest at Wickhurst Farm on the body of William Caldon Labourer. Mary Caldon said her husband was 47. They had come down this year as for 27 years past hop tying and picking. On Sunday morning he told her he had been on Saturday to Mr Benge and got something to rub on his lips with as they were very sore. A little boiling water was put to it and he drank it all. After that he walked out and said “Mary, I feel very queer” “I feel like pins and needles all over me.” He also said that “it operated upon me as soon as I took it.” He came in and laid on the bed a little while. He took a little bit of dinner but not much. About five he was sore bad. His lips and face were blue and he kept gasping for breath. He could not speak. He died about eight o’clock. Mary Leary, a widow, said she was his sister. She saw him, “just him, at the time of his death. He died quick, just as a candle goes out. He did not seem to suffer much pain, only was dying away.”
Mr William Henry Benge Grocer and Draper deposed:-
“I live at Cousley Wood. Deceased came to my shop on Saturday night. He said “I have got a bad mouth, very sore” I said “Possibly yours is something from ‘Inward Heat’ wanting cooling medicine. I have some Saltpetre which is a good thing. He said “Let me have a Ha’porth” and threw the money down on the counter. I put him up a small quantity, not half an ounce. (He asked) “How am I to take it?” I said “as much as you can put on a 4d or a 6d in the tea or coffee every morning” He asked twice as to the quantity and spoke about other things very sensibly. He appeared to have had a little drink, but knew what he was about. The last thing as he was going out the door he held up the paper and asked how much he was to take. “I am to take it in tea or coffee?” I do not keep Arsenic or poisons of any kind”
Mr William Mercer Surgeon Deposed:-
“ I did not see deceased during life, I have today made a Post Mortem Examination. I found Deceased in an outhouse lying on the bench stretched out. There were the usual Post Mortem external appearance. I opened the abdomen and a small quantity of bloody serum escaped. I then took out the stomach and opened it, I put the contents of it on a plate and examined the internal surface. At the larger end of the stomach I found the mucus membrane very much inflamed, extending towards the Pytorus. The membrane was very easily separated from the structure beneath. There was a plum coloured hue extending all the way over the in have got a bad mouth, very sore” I said “Possibly yours is something from ‘Inward Heat’ wanting cooling medicine. I have some Saltpetre which is a good thing. He said “Let me have a Ha’porth” and threw the money down on the counter. I put him up a small quantity, not half an ounce. (He asked) “How am I to take it?” I said “as much as you can put on a 4d or a 6d in the tea or coffee every morning” He asked twice as to the quantity and spoke about other things very sensibly. He appeared to have had a little drink, but knew what he was about. The last thing as he was going out the door he held up the paper and asked how much he was to take. “I am to take it in tea or coffee?” I do not keep Arsenic or poisons of any kind”
Mr William Mercer Surgeon Deposed:-
“ I did not see deceased during life, I have today made a Post Mortem Examination. I found Deceased in an outhouse lying on the bench stretched out. There were the usual Post Mortem external appearance. I opened the abdomen and a small quantity of bloody serum escaped. I then took out the stomach and opened it, I put the contents of it on a plate and examined the internal surface. At the larger end of the stomach I found the mucus membrane very much inflamed, extending towards the Pytorus. The membrane was very easily separated from the structure beneath. There was a plum coloured hue extending all the way over the intestines. The Liver was dusky and congested, in places there was a want of health about the structure and it readily broke up between the fingers. The Kidneys were very dark and congested, especially the right one. The Spleen was enlarged. I opened the chest and took out the Heart; it was of normal size and empty of Blood. The Lungs were healthy, but congested; there were no marks of violence. I believe that death was from the effect of some irritant. Saltpetre is an irritant, in large doses it has been known to kill. I believe the appearance and the deceased symptoms can be accounted for by his taking Saltpetre. In small doses it is harmless; in large doses it can occasion prostration and difficulty breathing. The deceased was a fairly nourished and apparently muscular man.”
The Inquiry was adjourned.
Underneath the article is printed…
Unfounded Rumour.
Sir,
In your paper Tuesday 19th last under the heading of ‘Wadhurst’ An announcement appeared ‘Sudden death of a Hop tyer &c’ in the course of which the Public is informed that ‘Dr Mercer was called in and he does not consider that the Saltpetre the Deceased took was enough to kill a man’ Now both of these assertations are void of truth. I was not called in. neither did I know the quantity of saltpetre the Deceased took. I shall not stop to comment on the annoyance and mischief to which such statements atestines. The Liver was dusky and congested, in places there was a want of health about the structure and it readily broke up between the fingers. The Kidneys were very dark and congested, especially the right one. The Spleen was enlarged. I opened the chest and took out the Heart; it was of normal size and empty of Blood. The Lungs were healthy, but congested; there were no marks of violence. I believe that death was from the effect of some irritant. Saltpetre is an irritant, in large doses it has been known to kill. I believe the appearance and the deceased symptoms can be accounted for by his taking Saltpetre. In small doses it is harmless; in large doses it can occasion prostration and difficulty breathing. The deceased was a fairly nourished and apparently muscular man.”
The Inquiry was adjourned.
Underneath the article is printed…
Unfounded Rumour.
Sir,
In your paper Tuesday 19th last under the heading of ‘Wadhurst’ An announcement appeared ‘Sudden death of a Hop tyer &c’ in the course of which the Public is informed that ‘Dr Mercer was called in and he does not consider that the Saltpetre the Deceased took was enough to kill a man’ Now both of these assertations are void of truth. I was not called in. neither did I know the quantity of saltpetre the Deceased took. I shall not stop to comment on the annoyance and mischief to which such statements are given rise- more particularly when appearing in print- but I request you to give insertation in your Journal of the 30th next of this my denial in the correction of this gross miss-statement which is now appearing in other papers.
Your obedient servant,
Wm Mercer M.R.C.S
Wadhurst, England June 28th 1877.
(Our correspondent, unfortunately, was tempted to add his announcement to a piece of mere gossip- but still he sent us what was said in the neighbourhood and thus enabled us to use it)
I particularly like the response from The Courier :)