Report of the case of John W. Webster, indicted for the murder of George Parkman, before the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts : including the hearing on the petition for a writ of error, the prisoner's confessional statements and application for a commutation of sentence, and an appendix containing several interesting matters never before published / by George Bemis.

  • Webster, John White, 1793-1850.
Date:
1850
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report of the case of John W. Webster, indicted for the murder of George Parkman, before the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts : including the hearing on the petition for a writ of error, the prisoner's confessional statements and application for a commutation of sentence, and an appendix containing several interesting matters never before published / by George Bemis. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

    111/662
    out the place of grinding, showing a roughening of the inside, with a slight concave perpendicular indentation.] I found, more or less imbedded with these teeth, portions of gold, and also minute portions of the natural bone of the jaw; — what is called cancellated bone, from its peculiar- shaped cells. To a juror. — I saw the set of teeth in the Doctor's mouth, at the last interview. Direct, again. — The presumption is very strong, that they went into the fire in the head, or with some portion of it, or in some way muffled. These mineral-teeth, when worn, imbibe moisture ; and, if suddenly thrown into the fire, or heated with great rapidity, the outside becomes glazed, and the expansive power of the steam which is generated inside, explodes them. If put into the fire, surrounded by flesh, or other muffling substance, on the contrary, the temperature would be raised more gradually, and the moisture would evaporate from them, slowly. I have known such explosions to take place with new teeth, when heated suddenly. In fact, it is always necessary to take great care to heat them gradually; and, with a set which had been worn, I should expect nothing else, if heated suddenly, than that they would fly into innumerable pieces. Another circumstance seems to indicate that they went into the fire, in the head, or together; and that is, that the spiral springs would have thrown them apart, if not confined in some way, when thrown into the furnace. When the teeth were brought to me, the two blocks were in one mass, as now shown to me. Dr. Lester Noble, now of Baltimore, was the assistant, whom I have mentioned. Cross-examined by Mr. Sohier. — All these teeth came to me, at the same time, from Dr. Lewis, on the Monday after Dr. Webster's arrest. I have used no effort to bring to recollection, these facts, connected with the manufacture of this set of teeth for Dr. Parkman. In reply to your ques- tion, When they first came to my mind after his disappear- ance ? I can hardly say, when they were ever out of my mind. They always occurred to me, whenever I met the Doctor. They were in my mind, when Dr. Lewis first showed the teeth to me; and I immediately said, Dr. Park- man is gone : we shall see him no more. [The witness, and many of the audience, were here affected to tears.] I recognized them at once, without the moulds, and then went to look for the moulds. This name [of Dr. Parkman, on the mould ; shown to the jury, ]wras written