INQUEST AT ASHBURTON.

Globe, Volume XXII, Issue 1856, 4 February 1880, Page 3

INQUEST AT ASHBURTON.

An inquest was held at Quill's Hotel, before F. Guinness, E*q , and a jury of twelve, of whom Mr Donald Williamson was chosen foreman, touching the death of Elizabeth Buchanan. The jury having viewed the body, the following evidenoe was taken:— J. E. Buchanan was called. Sergeant Pratt declined to conduct the case on the part of the Orown, and Mr Buchanan stated that Mr Branson was retained to watch the case on his behalf. The witness then stated—l am an auctioneer, and deceased was my wife. She died on February Ist. She had been ailing since the middle of December. She had been attended by Dr. Boss up to the 19th January, When he ceased to attend her she was very ill. My wife then ceased to take Dr. Boss' medicines, as she considered the ouinine, brandy and general treatment being given her made her worse. I did not consent for some time to her wishes regarding the doctor's leaving. After the 19th January Mr Saunders, her father, attended her. He was in atten dance on her at intervals up to the day of her death, and prescribed for her ; and he treated her by hydropathio methods : by warm baths, body bandages, and milk and vegetable diet. I was under the impression up till Saturday night that she was getting better. On Saturday evening deceased appeared to be very distressed in her breathing. I gave her some grael, and remained with her all night, and she seemed to get much better. She had gruel and milk evtry hour during the night. In the morning I went to Dr. Boss and_ told him how ill I thought she was, and he visited her. He administered a wineglassful of champagne. Throughout the day she was fed as often as she oould take nourishment About half-past seven, while her sister was talking to her and my mother and myself sitting on the bed, her sister washed her face and hands with warm water, and she then appeared very comfortable. Her sister then left her, and I thought deceased was sleeping. My mother was sitting by her side. I stood on the verandah. I shortly afterwards stepped in and saw my mother kneel in praying. She said something about the " dear departed," and I went out and called my brother, and just then Dr. Bobs came, and I walked into the room with him, and he said " She is dead." I felt that whilst her father was treating her she improved in health. On the Saturday I conaidered her convalescent, and I left her with her mother. I did not use or depend on my own judgment in this matter, or exerjiße any control over the treatment of deceased. I consented to her being treated by her father for two reaßonß. viz , the express d9sire of the deceased, and her father's undertaking the responsibility of the case unsolicited by me. I tried every means before the hydropathio treatment was resorted to. I brought a nurse from Ohristchurch, whom deceased refused to allow to attend her. Mr Saunders only informed me in general terms as to the illness. Deceased did not complain of a pain in her chest after Dr. Boss ceased his attendance. She complained of a pain in the right arm the Friday before she died, and her father ordered a bath at a temperature of 102 degrees, and had a frame made to be ustd after the bath to support the arm in bed. This gave her great relief, and she did not again complain of this pain. During the time she was under her father's treatment she appeared easy the whole time, except twice, when Bhe was relieved by the baths he ordered. Her mother, my mother, and myself nursed her the whole time. Her father last saw her on Friday, when he prescribed the bath. Io hi-i absence I would not have undertaken to administer any treatment By Police—Mr Saunders, deceased's father, is not a legally qualified practitioner. I was "Hided entirely by the wishts of deceased and her mother und fa'her. The deceased was herself a strong hydropathist, and that was the reason why I so readily conaented to her father's treatment. Oourtenay Ned will, MB., sworn, said —I made a pottmortmn examination of deceased. The lower part of the small intestine was much conga-ted, the right cavity of the chest was full of matter, the heart was healthy, and there were fibrous spots on the cavities. I consider the immediate cause of death was the failure of the heart's action fron the great effusion of the cheßt. The body waß fairly nourished. The congested state of that part of the lower bowel was a distinctive sign of typhoid or low fever. Seeing sufE cient cause of death I made no further examination. By police—l should not have myself used suoh treatment as that described by the last witness in such a case, especially with regard to the complication of the chest. I could

have ascertained with certainty the existence of such a complication. By Mr Branson —I cannot think that a refusal to oonsent to hydropathic treatment would have been injurious to the patient. By a Juryman—l almost invariably give quinine and sometimes brandy in cases of typhoid fever. I could have ascertained the cause of death by seeing the patient shortly before her decease. Sarah Buchanan, mother-in-law of deceased, attended deceased. When Dr. Ross left her she was in a dangerous state. Afterwards Mr Saunders treated her hydropathically, and she became much better. On the Saturday morning after her mother left her a change for the worse took place. We sent for Dr. Ross on the Sunday morning, and I suppose he was satisfied as to her complaint He ordered nutriment, but the patient had to be given it quite agair st her will. As far as possible the doctor's instructions as to giving nutriment were carried out. The patient died that night as the people were coming out of church. Alfred Saunders, sworn, said—Deceased was my daughter. I undertook the treatment of my daughter since the 17th January last. She was suffering from typhoid fever On December 24th I saw deceased at the mill. She then had a fevered skin and weak, defective action of the heart. Dr Boss was attending her. I ordered a warm bath every day, and she did get three or four, and was well enough to go home on Saturday, December 27th. Did not see her again till January 17th, when I heard she was suffering from typhoid fever, and went at once to see her. I found her in great pain, restless, excited, and inclined to wander occasionally, with a rapid fever pulse, and principally complaining of suffering and extreme exhaustion, caused by forcing milk and other things down her throat, which brought on violent and exhausting purging, extremely painful and dangerous in the feeble condition of her hefirt and diseasod and painful state of her stomach. Her skin was dry, scaly, and gummy, atd the temperature of her body a little over 105. Her breath was laborious, her chest heaving rapidly, and she could only get her breath in a certain position on her right side, not being able to lie for a moment on her left side or back. This made it impossible to pack her as I should otherwise have done with sheets. So I sent to the mill for a long bath ; got a portable boiler. I then went to boo Dr Boss, but not finding him at home I wrote a letter telling him I should treat my daughter hydrop&thioally. I got her into a warm bath, where she was at once greatly relieved, and on getting back into bed went to sleep and rested better than for some time before. I kept wet, warm body bandages on the whole front of her body, covered with flannel and changed every two hours, which almost entirely removed the pain from that part of the body. I put a hot bran poultice on the back of her neck and cold, wet cloths on her head. She never wandered after this, but kept her faculties remarkably clear. She was sponged over twice a day, and had a warm bath as often as the skin got too gummy, to be cleaned by that means. She spoke in the most con temptuous terms of allopathic treatment and its failure to reliove her ia the slightest degree, except by the stupefaction produced by morphia, whioh she knew would leave her nerves in a frightful condition, and begged me to help her by what she had no often seen so beneficial to her own children and to others. I told her how difficult this would be after the drugs she had been taking, and with a hostile doctor and nurses, but I would save her from allopathic annoyanoes as much as I could, and get her mother to come and nurse her. I told her not to be annoyed by having food thrust on her, to avoid any drug or stimulant, or meat in any shape or form. I gai e her food every three hours. Such food to consist of oatmeal, Neeve's food, Arabica revelenta, rice and milk, broad beans, potatoes, roast apple, and peaches, and a little brown bread toast, and on no accouat to take white bread or anything of an astringent character, whioh I knew to be the most frequent cause of the dysentery so much to be feared in this fever. I brought her up artesian water from Christchurch, and allowed her to drink no more of the local water, which I thought had probably caused the disease. I go* the carpet and oilcloth taken out of the bedroom, had the floor often scrubbed and wiped over with a cloth in the hot weather. Sent for Oondy's fluid to scatter about the room, and used a double set of blankets, so as to keep one set out of doors whilst the others were kept on the bed for one day only. I got as much air as I could to blow through the room, as the weather wbb oppressively hot. On Tuesday, 20 h January, the temperature of her body was reduced to 101, and next day to 99, and on Thursday she was quite comfortable and cheerful. On Friday morning I left her still very well, giving her some strong cautions not to get up or make any exertion. I returned to her on Saturday, intending merely to look in on her and go away again, but found her so much worse I had to stay. Her pulse was so weak it was very difficult to feel it at all, and her breath very laborious. A warm bath immediately relieved her breath, but her pulse kept very low and feeble until the temperature of the atmosphere changed on Monday, which relieved her, and she agaia recovered rapidly. On Wednesday I heard my bdu William was ill, twenty-five miles from Ashburton, and that he believed it was the same fever. So I went off to him, but finding it nothing serions returned the following evening, and found Mrs Buchanan suffering much from pain in her right shoulder. This wan much relieved by extending her bed so that the weight should be taken off this right shoulder, on which she had been constantly lying. She was evidently getting on well and recovering some appetite, so that on Thursday and Friday I thought she ate enough. Oq Friday evening I left for Ghriatohurch, and on Saturday her mother left her, thinking her evidently improving, as she felt herself to be. Deceased was kept in a bath of 103 degrees for one hour. By police—l am not a duly qualified medical practioner, but hope I should always be qualified to treat my own children in preference to any one else. By coroner —I knew the state of the heart from the pulse. I knew something was the matter with the lungs. Dr. Bosb, M.D., deposed I attended deceased since Monday in Christmas week. I found her suffering from bilious symptoms, but they were of no great consequence, save from the fact that she had been very much weakened by prolonged nursing of her infant child. She recovered from these symptoms in a week, and was taken to her own home from the mill. I saw her again in the course of a few days, and found she was suffering from typhoid fever. The case went on in the usual way, without any sorio lib complication. There had been slight congestion of the right lung. There was a Blight tendency to diarrhoea. There was nothing to cause any anxiety. Typhoid fever is not to be dreaded, except from its complications. Patients die sometimes by the height of the fever alone. After three weeks I received a note stating that Mr A. Saunders wished to treat the case hydropathically, asking me not to cause the patient annoyance. In justice to myself, I asked Mr Saunders' permission tc see the patient with me before I left. He consented, and said Dr Trevor could see her also. Dr. Trevor and myself saw her on January 19th. She was then in the ordinary state of typhoid patients at that stage. I saw her next last Sunday, at noon. She was in a completely exhausted condition, so much so that I would not attempt to examine her, save so far as to feel her pulse and look at her tongue. I gave her a small wineglassful of still champagne, and ordered her to have a spoonful oc a mixture of egg, milk, and brandy. I returned at 8 o'clock and found she had just died. I assisted at the post mortem, and corroborate Dr. Nedwill'n evidence as to the appearance of the body. In my opinion the effusion en tbe chest was recent, which caused exhaustion and death. The warm baths administered to deceased in Christmas week were approved by me. Have heard the evidence of the hydropathic treatment, but have no personal experience on the matter. Putting a typhoid patient in a bats of 103 for an hour would not have been done by a medical practitioner. Typhoid fever has a fixed period of duration usually, and when I loft her she was not in immediate danger. None of the complica tions were then exi-ting. Mr Saunders' treatment was entirely opposed to mine, which approves of large quantities of fluid nourishment and stimulants, whereas Mr Saunders' is low diet, and I do not think conducive to the recovery of the patient. My treatment was disregarded from the first She desired to be treated by her father, and was opposed to mine. Dr. Trevor corroborated the evidence of Dr. Boss. After a long retirement, the jury returned a verdict of " Death from Natural Causes," adding a rider to the effect that they strongly disapproved of any other than legally qualified medical men undertaking the conduct of serious cases.