jury to judge of their significance. It may be observed, in reply, that there are many instances where the jury must be guided solely by the inferences of expert witnesses, amended and clarified by proper crossexamination and comparison. It is this very lack of the judicial spirit which has brought the opinions of the expert witness into well-deserved discredit. He is too apt to regard the case from the point of view of the side that employs him, and so looks rather for what he hopes or wishes to find than at the facts as they really are.

That medical witnesses should be entirely free from bias is expecting too much, perhaps, under the present system; but it is certainly their duty, as honest and true men, as far as in them lies to divest themselves of every feeling which is likely to give their minds a slant. The medical witness should therefore be on his guard, and with his natural desire to serve those who have employed him yet keep his judgment unclouded. It is quite possible to be mistaken with regard to even natural appearances. The writer has seen the petechiae of the early stage of decomposition mistaken for the marks left by contusions. It is unnecessary to point out the possible consequences of such an error. Because of similar blunders, payments on policies of life insurance have been refused, and criminal prosecutions instituted involving the innocent in ruinous expense, perhaps even jeopardizing human life.

Post-mortem examinations made for forensic purposes may be classified as follows:

1. Before burial: (a) examination made soon after death, before decomposition has set in; (b) when decomposition is far advanced.

2. After burial: (a) before the soft parts have lost their identity; (b) at a more remote period, when the bones only are left, the soft parts having either disappeared altogether or been merged in an undistinguishable

mass.

In all medico-legal examinations the examiner should be accompanied by at least one other physician not only as an assistant, but also as a witness. It shall be his duty to write out an accurate and full account of the proceedings of the examiner at his dictation, with the findings, together with a description of the methods employed. The journal should be kept in ink, and signed and sworn to by both the examiner and his assistant, also by any other physician who may be present. It is important that every organ should be examined, not excluding the spinal cord and the ribs, especially the first and second. A full and complete examination should be the rule in every case, to which there should be no exception. Ogston relates a case in which, owing to the fact that the examination of the spinal cord was omitted, the prosecution failed to convict. The case was as follows: Two men having quarreled, one of them in the struggle which followed strangled his opponent by twisting his neckcloth violently. In the subsequent trial the defense claimed that the deceased lost his life from spinal hemorrhage, and the cord not having been examined, the prosecution was unable to disprove the claim of the defense, and lost. It is important to examine the ribs, not neglecting the first and second. In an autopsy held by Dr. Van Cott at the Brooklyn City Hospital on the body of a man who died from injuries received from falling into the hold of a ship, the writer saw a quantity of blood in the left pleural cavity, which had come from a wound in the left subclavian vein, made evidently by a sharp spicule of bone from a

fractured first rib. So too the lamina and bodies of the vertebræ should be examined. The inspection cannot be too minute or precise.

It is always a very great advantage for the medical examiner to be able to make the inspection and autopsy at the place of death, and, if possible, before the body has been interfered with or moved from the spot where it lay when discovered. There are many facts connected with the position of the corpse, its distance from a bed, door, or stairway, which might be of the utmost importance as bearing on the cause of death, yet which would almost certainly escape the lay witness. Such details as these would be estimated at their true value by the medical examiner, and noted accordingly.

It will be seen that the rôle of examiner is thus extended beyond the mere making of an autopsy. It is certainly high time that the important data which may be obtained from a proper examination of the premises should no longer be left to the bungling of ignorant persons. At present, the court has to depend on the testimony of policemen and excited neighbors for what is in many cases vital evidence, and then falls back on the much-abused hypothetical question, which the medical examiner is required to answer categorically. It is certain that some change should be brought about in the nature of the judicial proceedings at present in vogue on the discovery of a homicide or supposed suicide, and known as a "coroner's inquest." The reform ought to commence at the very beginning, starting from the moment when the corpse is discovered. On the arrival of the officer, he should first satisfy himself that life is extinct. A physician will usually have been summoned, so that he will not have to depend on his own judgment to determine this important point. This done, he should close the room and permit no one to enter. In cases of suspension, the body should always be cut down at once; nor is this so unnecessary a direction as may at first sight appear. Instances have not been wanting where an absurd fear of interfering with the coroner has prevented this, although life was not entirely extinct. A life may thus have been sacrificed which might have been saved. Under all other circumstances it is better that the body be not in any respect disturbed, nor should any article of furniture, wearing-apparel, household utensils, or weapons be moved from the position where first discovered. If evidences of a struggle are apparent in other apartments, not only should the room be closed where the body was discovered, but also the whole house, and left in charge of an officer, the inmates being either confined to their rooms or allowed to remove to other quarters. At all events, they should not be permitted to roam about the premises unhindered, at full liberty to commit any indiscretion, or, if necessary, make preparations to conceal evidences of crime. The coroner's office having been notified, a duly authorized medical examiner should at once go to the house, and with his assistant, and possibly a representative of the lawofficer, make the necessary medico-legal inspection of the body and its environment. After the autopsy, and on the written permission of the examiner, the body may be properly cared for, but under no circumstances should the use of any embalming fluid be permitted. Such further arrangements may then be made as cleanliness and necessity may require. The inmates may be allowed such liberty in the house as may seem advisable to the law-officer. They shall, if they desire, be allowed the privilege of accompanying the medical inspector in his search, either

in person or by representative, but shall not be allowed to remove articles of wearing-apparel or other articles until written permission has been obtained from the medical inspector. Such a proceeding as this may seem unnecessarily harsh, yet it will not only prevent guilty inmates from removing evidences of their crime, but will also protect the innocent by deterring them from the commission of actions which might render them liable to suspicion. Had such regulations been carried out in the Borden house after the discovery of the bodies, is it likely that Lizzie Borden would have been put on trial for her life? She certainly would not have been permitted to destroy clothing as she did, innocently enough, perhaps. Yet this error of judgment was one of the strongest inducements to the State to hold her for trial. It certainly was one of the strongest points against her.

Such ill-considered acts are to be expected from persons laboring under great excitement, as must be the case where relatives or even strangers have been found struck down by the hand of violence. Prudence is not to be expected under such circumstances, and the innocent may not only do things unwittingly which may destroy evidence, but also be the means of entangling them in the meshes of the law.

It may be said of such a procedure that it would be impracticable in rural districts and in lonely situations; but there is no hamlet without its village constable and justice of the peace. The latter, in the absence of the regularly appointed examiner, might delegate the office to the village practitioner, whose observations would be far more likely to be of service to the court than those of the constable or the casual neighbor. Other processes of law are carried out in remote districts; and there is no reason why so important a function as a medico-legal inspection should not be likewise conducted in an orderly and precise manner. In most States the law makes no provision for such a procedure. In one State, however (Massachusetts), the medical examiner is a regular official appointed by the State, and this is a step in the right direction. It is to be hoped, however, that a more enlightened practice may ultimately prevail, and that the prosecuting officer will not have to depend on the testimony of ignorant persons and laymen for the preparation of what is often the most important part of the case.

It is rare at present for the medical examiner to have an opportunity to inspect the body and its surroundings before both have undergone interference and change. If, however, he has been so fortunate as to have forestalled this, on his arrival at the place of death he should first note accurately the position of the body, whether on face, side, or back. The position of the limbs should also be observed, especially that of the arms and hands. If there is a weapon in either hand, the position of the fingers with regard to the handle of the weapon should be carefully noted, as, for instance, whether tightly clinched upon or only loosely surrounding it. The nails of the corpse should be carefully inspected for shreds of skin, which in a struggle may have been scratched from the assailant. If found, they should be carefully preserved for future examination. So, too, the hands, when clinched, should be opened and examined for tufts of hair or fragments of clothing. These inspections should be completed before the removal of the body from its original position. A rough diagram of the room, which any intelligent man could make, will be of material assistance. On this may be plotted the

position of the body, together with that of every article of furniture in the room, and any weapon or weapons which may be discovered. Nor is it necessary to be a surveyor to do this with sufficient accuracy for the purpose. A tape-measure used with ordinary intelligence will give the required measurements, and these can be recorded on a rude diagram. Such a sketch shows at a glance the position of the body with regard to every article of furniture in the room, together with the distances. If a weapon is found in the room, its distance from the corpse can be indicated in like manner. If any blood-stains are found on the floor, whether in the room or without, their distance from the corpse should be noted, and if on the wall, their height. It is also of importance to notice the character of the stains, as, for instance, whether produced by the spouting of an artery or smeared on the wall or floor by hands or feet. With regard to the furniture in the room, the position of each piece should be noted, and whether disposed in an orderly manner or overturned. The bed should be examined with reference to the condition of the bedclothes, whether stained, in disorder, or undisturbed. The minutest detail is worth mentioning, for until the entire case is made up it is impossible to be sure that any fact is trivial and of no importance. It is, besides, extremely difficult to supply a link which may be essential to the evidence after all traces of the act of violence have been effaced from the spot.

With reference to the importance of noting the position of the body, as regards the different articles of furniture in the room, the following case may be cited from Christison. The deceased died from poisoning by hydrocyanic acid. The question arose whether it was self-administered or not. The body was found in bed, covered in an orderly manner with the bedclothes, while the vial which had contained the acid, together with a tumbler from which it had been drained, was in a distant part of the room. The whole case turned on the following point, as to whether a person, taking the poison with suicidal intent, could afterward set the tumbler and vial deliberately where found, then go over to the bed and draw the bedclothes up, before being overtaken by death. Here it was evidently of the utmost importance that the distance between the body and the vial and tumbler should be accurately known. So, too, in rapidly fatal wounds accompanied by violent hemorrhage, a knife or other cutting instrument may be found at a distance from the corpse, possibly in another room or part of the house. Irrespective of the nature and direction of the wounds, it may be asked whether it was possible for the deceased to traverse the distance between the spot where the weapon was discovered and that where the body lay, before death ensued. If the medical witnesses answer no, it is evident that the death was not self-inflicted. When the body has been discovered in the air, similar, though less precise, observations are still possible. Accidents of weather may, of course, obscure or entirely obliterate much that would prove useful in the way of evidence; still, the vicinity should be carefully examined, especially for traces of a struggle. If found, the distance should be measured from the spot where the body lay to the farthest point where traces of a struggle are visible. If the body be that of a woman, the condition of the underclothes should be examined, and particular search made for seminal stains. Rape followed by murder is more apt to be perpetrated in secluded localities than near or in a dwelling, and therefore the evidence of such a crime should be looked for with

open

care. Often after an unsuccessful attempt at rape murder may be committed, either as a result of the violence used or with the object of concealment.

The foregoing remarks apply to the preliminary examination of the premises in which the body was discovered. Reasons have been given why it is best for the medical examiner to make this a part of his duty. Afterward he will proceed to the actual inspection of the body itself. The external inspection should always include an examination of the clothes. Bullet-holes in clothing should be inspected to determine the condition of the edges of the rents, for if these are burned, it is evident that the shot was fired at very close range. The cuts made by a knife or other sharp instrument should be counted and described. They may be afterward compared with the body wounds. Where the cuts in the clothes exceed those in the body, this fact is in itself a presumption against suicide, as self-inflicted wounds are not likely to miss their mark. The special examination of the clothing for seminal stains will be referred to and described in the article on Blood and Other Stains.

The actual examination of the body consists of two stages, the external examination and the internal. Let it not be supposed that the autopsy proper, the dissection of the body, and the inspection of the viscera form the most important or only important part of a medico-legal examination. It is often of the greatest importance to determine the identity of the corpse, and this is frequently a most difficult task. Nothing would seem to be easier than for a wife, brother, or sister to recognize the body of a deceased husband or near relative; yet there is hardly a body found, where the necessity arises for identification, which is not claimed by several different people. Nor are these false recognitions caused altogether by putrefactive changes, for the most extraordinary mistakes of recognition have been made before putrefaction has had time to occur. No doubt such errors are due in part to the changed appearance of the body after death; but there is also, in the natural desire of friends to recover the body of a near relative missing and supposed to be dead, an incentive to exaggerate the importance of slight points of resemblance, and to overlook points of marked dissimilarity. In no other way can we account for the mistakes of this sort which are being constantly made. The recognition of the corpse must depend, however, mainly on the external examination, together with such corroborative evidence as may be afforded by the clothing and other property found on the body. In this connection, it may be both useful and interesting to give several recent instances of mistaken identity which have come to the writer's notice. On September 3, 1893, there appeared the following account. in the New York Herald of the case of Marcus A. Quinn: "He was entered as dead in the books of the morgue, and at the Bureau of Vital Statistics. A body was buried as his in consecrated ground in Calvary Cemetery, and yet on Tuesday (August 29th) he was found alive in the hospital of the almshouse. Quinn was employed as messenger and teacher in the office of the warden of the almshouse on Blackwell's Island. His wife, however, lived in the city, and Quinn was in the habit of visiting her every five or six days. He came to the city on leave of absence August 5th. Having been long away from his friends, he received a warm welcome, and it is said drank too freely, and afterward wandered about aimlessly. His wife, hearing of his vagaries through a