THE COMMISSIONERS O* THE ALMS-HOUSE, ALEXANDER WHISTELO, aoeiacfe man; BEING A REMARKABLE CASE OF BASTARDY, TRIF.D AND ADJUDGED BY THE MAYOR, RECORDER, AND SEVERAL ALDERMEN* OF THE CITY OF NEW-YORK, UNDER THE ACT PASSED 6th MARCH, 1801, FOR THE RELIEF OF CITIES AND TOWNS FROM THE MAINTENANCE OF BASTARD CHILDREN. To uvofov kcu 108.5 City of New-') r~ York \ ss ' e v °l untar y examination of Lucy Williams, a yellow woman, taken on oath before me, Jacob De La Montagnie, one of the Special Justices for preserving the peace in the city of New-York, this eighth day of June, 1808, who saith that on the twenty -third day of January, 1807, at the city of New-York, she was delivered of a female bastard child, which said child is now chargeable to the city and county of New- York, and that Alexander Whistelo, a coachman to Doctor Hosack, did get her with child of the said bastard child. her LUCY X WILLIAMS. Taken before me this 8th ? mark, day of June, 1808. y J. DE LA MONTAGNIE, Special Justice. t City and county? d t , ^ T . . ,„ r , > ss. By Jacob DeLa Montavnie cf Joshua OF NEW-YORK, 5 . ' - Barker^ Special Justices for preserving the peace in the city of jYew.York : To the Marshals and Constables of the said city, and eve- ry of them, Greeting: Whereas complaint has been made to us, by the Commis- sioners of the Alms-house and Bridewell of the city afore- 5 said, they being the overseers of the poor of the . said city, that a certain female bastard-child, of which Lucy Williams of the said city, was on the third clay of January, 1 807, at the city aforesaid delivered, has become chargeable to the city and county of New-York, and that the same is likely to con^ tinue so, and also that Alexander Whistelo of the said city, coachman, is said to be the reputed father of the said child. These are therefore in the name of the people of the state „ of New- York, to command and authorise you the said con- stables and marshals, and every of you, to Summon the said Alexander Whistelo personally to be and appear before us, at the Police-office, in the City -hall of the city of New-York, on Friday the tenth day of June inst. at four o'clock in the after- noon of that day ; then and there to show cause, if any he • has, why he should not be adjudged to be the reputed father of the said child. And further, to do and receive in the pre- mises what shall then and there be adjudged concerning him, &c. Given at the Police-office, in the City-hall of the city of New-York, this ninth day of June, 1808. JOSHUA BARKER. J. DE LA MONTAGNIE. June 10th, 1808. Four o'clock, P. M. parties meet and cause is adjourned until four o'clock, P. M. on Tuesday next the 14th instant. June 14th, 1808. Parties met and cause is adjourned un- til four o'clock, to-morrow afternoon. June 15th, 1808. Richard Furman being examined by consent of parties beforetimes adjourned, says, that on a cer- tain occasion the above named Lucy Williams and Alexander Whistelo were both at the Alms-house, where the said Lucy ^ had a child, which she there asserted to be her child, and that the said Alexander was the father of the said child — That the said child appeared to him to be the child of a while 6 man, and does not believe that the said child was the child of the said Alexander Whistelo. RICH. FURMAN Sworn before me this' 15th day of June, 1808. JOSHUA BARKER, S/iecialJustice. June 15th, 1808 — Four o'clock, P. M. parties meet, and Berthrong Anderson is examined as follows : York'^''^ ss ' Berthrong Anderson being duly sworn, deposeth and saith the receipt is in the words and figures fol- lowing, viz. Received, New-York, March 20th, 1807, of Sarah John- son, in behalf of Alexander Whistelo, nineteen dollars fifteen cents in full. $19 15 his PHILIP X SERING. mark. That the said receipt was written by him at the request of Philip Sering and his wife, and written according to their in- structions — and cannot tell whether it was dated on the day it was written or not. — The deponent further swears that he did not write any other receipt for the said parties about the business of Alexander Whistelo. BERTHRONG ANDERSON. Sworn before me this 15th day of June, 1808. JOSHUA BARKER, SjiecialJusticc. Adjourned until this day a week, at four o'clock, P. M. ^^York^' 1 ""'^ SS ' J° smi aSecor being sworn, deposeth and saith, that some time during the winter of the year, as he believes, 1807, he delivered the above named Lucy Wil- liams of, as he believes, a male child — That the said Lucy then was at the house of Philip Sering, at the corner of Wil- liam and George-streets — That the said child was quite of a light color, but that children of black parents generally are whiter when first born than when they grow up. He believes that the father of the said child could not have been darker than the mother— That children of black parents generally turn black within about nine months after the birth — That the shade or color of a dark man and a light man is generally between the two— That at the time the said child was born, he supposed that it had been begotten by a white man. JOSHUA SECOR. Sworn before me this 7 28th of June, 1808. 5 Clty York^ Wm \ ss ' Geor S e Anthon of the city of New-York, physician, being sworn, deposeth and saith, that upon exami- nation of the said child and its mother, he verily believes that the child could not be begotten by a black man, particularly judging from its hair which has every appearance of its being the offspring of a white person, and that is his opinion : The hair of the mother being woolly, and that of the child not so, but having every appearance of the hair of a white person. GEORGE ANTHON. Sworn before me this 28th of June, 1808. York?' 6 ™ \ ss ' Ph ^P Sering being duly sworn, deposeth and saith, that either a few days before Christmas, in the year 1806, or the first of January 1807, the said Lucy Wil- liams came to board at his house and was there three weeks and four days, and then was delivered of the child in question. ' 9 twkf^ \ SSt Phillis Morris bein * sworn sa ' lth > tliat lasl summer a year ago, in water-melon time, the said Whistelo and Lucy both boarded at her house, said Lucy was pregnant at that time, being advanced about three months — That she heard the said Alexander say that the said Lucy was with child by him — That the said Lucy and Alexander used to sleep together as man and wife. York'*™' \ SSt ^ av ^ Hosack M.D* being sworn,saith that upon examination of the skin and hair of the said child and of its mother, he verily believes that the said child is not the offspring of a black man but rather that it must have been begotten by a white man, or a light mulatto man< — That he has no doubt of it on his mind. DAVID HOSACK. Sworn before me this } 29th of June, 1808. 5 ^ Y^k' tUm \ **' -^dam ^ av Dem g sworn, saith, that sometime since he met the above named Lucy Williams in Chatham-street, and had some conversation with her on the subject of her said child ; in which witness asked her why she had taken the said child away from mrs. Gaufs* ? to which she replied, that Whistelo would not own the child at first, and now he shall not have it, for the child is none of his, or words of that import. ADAM RAY, Sworn before us this } 29th June, 1808. 5 July 20th, 1808. PRESENT, J. BARKER, & J. DE LA MONTAGNIE. ^ York™' \ Wri S ht Post > of the cit ? of New * Ycrk ' physician and surgeon, being duly sworn, deposeth and saith, that on examining the child above spoken of, and its 9 mother, or Lxlcy Williams, who is said to be the mother 3 he is of opinion that the said child has not been begotten by the said Alexander Whistelo : the reason why he be- lieves so is, that when persons of different colors have con- nection together, their offspring is generally of a color ap- proaching to a mixture of both the father and mother. °Yar^' W ' \ ss ' ^ amue ^ Borrowe says, he is of opinion that Alexander Whistelo is not the father of the said child, and that he supposes the father of said child to be a white man. °York' W ~ \ ss ' Samuel L. Mitchill says, that he thinks there is a possibility, nay, a probability, that the said child has been begotten by the said Alexander Whistelo. °York ii " \ ss ' Edward Miller says, that it may or may not be Whistelo's child, the hair and complexion are a- gainst it ; but the thick lips and flat nose are an indication of the father's being an african. Seeing that the justices differed in opinion upon the evi- dence, and considering that at all events their judgment was not final, it was agreed between mr. Vanhook, the at- torney for the Commissioners of the Alms-house, and mr. Nitchie, attorney for the defendant ; that the case should be referred to the Mayor, Recorder, and certain of the alder- men ; and that it should stand upon the same footing as if it had been originally brought before them : that Whis- telo should give security to abide their order in case the child was adjudged to be his, if adjudged otherwise that he should be discharged. B ft THURSDAY, August J8, 1808. Present, The Mayor, Recorder, and Aldermen Molt, Bingham, and Drake. The cause came on pursuant to the adjournment; Mr. Vaxhook, counsel for the Commissioners of the Alms-house, made a short opening of the case. He said the points upon which it had been drawn into doubt, and which occasioned the reference to the decision of this court- were two— First, whether the witness was to be be- lieved — Secondly, whether the fact she swore to was pos- sible. He observed that although many witnesses of learn- ing and experience in such subjects had been called to give their opinions for the satisfaction of the court, yet he conceived it to be a matter on whicji technical knowledge could not throw much light ; and that each of the members who composed the court were as well able to form a cor- rect opinion as any professional man whatever. The wo- man had already sworn positively; and evidence of opinion that went to contradict a positive oath should be received with many grains of caution — the more so, as those opinions would probably be opposed by others of very great authority. But he thought, unless the woman could be other- wise discredited, such opinions, opposed to positive testi- mony, were of little weight, and ought to fall to the ground. Lucy Williams was then called and sworn ; — the child and the reputed father, Whistelo, were also produced. Question, by Vanhook — Do you know Alexander Whis- telo. Ansiver. Yes. Q. Tell the court whether he visited you ; at what time ; and what the result was. A. It will be two years this August since the time I first saw him ; he then told me he was a married man divorced from his wife, and never intended to live with her again. Q. Did he say he wished to marry you. A. Yes ; both before he went to sea and after he came back. He told others so also— he told mrs. Hoffman, and > Q. Did you consent to marry him, or did you refuse. • A. I refused ; for I did not chuse to have him — I did not love him. He then carried me to a bad house, and locked the door — I scuffled with him a long time, but at last he worried me out. He went after that to sea, and after he came back I told him I was with child. Q. When was the child born. A. The 23rd of January, 1807. Q. What was the day on which the affair you have rela- ted took place. A. The 13th of April, 1806, on Sunday evening. Whis- telo first took the child to himself; but afterwards when they put it into his head that it was not his, he refused to maintain it. Cross-examined by Morton* Q. Did he ever say it was his child. A. No ; but he took it at first. Q. You say you became acquainted with him in August, 1806, how do you know the child was got on the 13th of April — -how long after that was it till Whistelo went to sea. A. On the 1st of May following. Q. W T hen did you next see him. A. Not till the 4th of August following. Q. W T hen did you first perceive that you were pregnantj A. Before his return. Q. How did you know it. A. By feeling life. Q. When did you first feel that symptom. A. Near two months before he returned. Q. Then it was one month after he went away, A. Yes. Q. Did he not go a third time to sea. A. Yes, in October : and he was gone for the fourth time about eight days when the child was born. Q. You went to a bad house — how do you know it was a bad house where he took you. A. Because no other would take in a man with a strange woman in that manner. Q. Then you went to a bad house knowingly with him. A. I thought he was taking me to his cousin mrs. Goughs. Q. Were you always constant to him in his absence : were you never unfaithful to him when he was away. A. I never did when he was at sea. Q. Had you not a white man in bed with you. A. I had a scuffle with one once — I knocked off his hat. The witness being pressed by the examination of mr. Morton, at length confessed that such a person had been in bed with her : that he had turned the black man out with a pistol, and taken his place — that they had a connexion ; but she said she was sure they had made no one young one, for they JU (fought) all the while. She said if the clerk had been at home he would not have used her so. Q. Why. Did you cry out. A. No, I did not hollo. Q. Then what did you do to prevent him from execu* ting his purpose. A. I bid him be quiet. Q. Is the child a boy or a girl. A. A girl. Q. Of what color were your parents. A. My father was white, he was a Scotchman, a servant ; and my mother was a dark sambo. Q. How did the scuffling end — you understand me—* did you part friends with the white man. 13 J. He owes me four dollars which he would not pay me. Q. Was that your charge. A. He owes it to me for wages- Q. But you took it out in scuffling. Dr. Kissam sworn.— -After examining those parts of the child which particularly indicate the color of the race, said, he should not suppose, judging from the general rules of experience, that it was the child of that black man ; but on the contrary of one of lighter complexion than the mo- ther. Black persons are almost white at their birth, but change soon after. Question, by Samfison — How soon is the change general- ly complete, and their true color decided. A. Generally about eight or nine months. Within the year it is complete. Doctor Hosack sworn — From the appearance of the fa- ther, the mother, and the child, and the laws of nature which he had uniformly observed in such cases, he certainly would not take it for the child of a black man. But would say it was that of a white one, or at most of a very fair mulatto. Cross-examined, by Vanhook. Q Has it not some of the features of a negro. A, If its features in my judgment were those of a negro, I should not have given the opinion I did. Q. Dr. Hosack, might it not be possible, judging after your reading or experience in such matters, that in the ear- ly stage of pregnancy the agitation of the mother's mind, irritation, terror, or surprise, might alter in some degree the nature and appearance of the child. A. I am not of that opinion. Question by Morton — What is the period at which a mo- ther becomes sensible of her pregnancy, (as the witness calls it) by feeling life. u A. From three to four months ; but four more common- ly than three — at three it very rarely happens. Several questions were put to this witness by mr. Nitchie touching the albinos, their livid color, and symptoms of dis- ease and debility, with a view to obviate an attempt to ac- count for the fairness of this child by such analogy. The witness answered that their entire appearance showed them to be exceptions to the ordinary laws of generation. Dr. Post sworn — From the appearance of the child he would suppose it the offspring of a white man and a mulat- to woman, or of two light-colored persons. He could dis- cern none of the features of a negro in it. There were in- stances of black men with black women producing children as fair as this ; but they were exceptions to the general laws of nature. His opinion was, that this was not the child of Whistelo. What confirmed him most of all was the color and straightness of the hair. Being questioned as to the albinos, answered he never had seen any of them, bnt from what he has learned from books and conversation is convinced that there is no analogy. Dr. Seaman sworn — T should not heKeve the negro to be the father of that child. Dr. Tillary sworn— Was fully of opinion with the other gentleman — could not conceive this the child of a black man. He had no principles of physiology nor philosophical data to lay down touching ticks of that sort. Dr. Moore and Dr. Ant hon Declared themselves of the same opinion. Dr. Secor Saw the child in question at its birth, it was then quite white ; from its appearance at that time and now, he is of opinion that it is the child of a white man. Dr. Williamson Said he had seen and observed both the man and the woman. If this was the child of that woman IS by that man it is a prodigy, and he did not believe that pro- digies happened, though daily experience unfortunately proved that perjuries did. Dr. Osborne, Who from a long residence to the south- ward, had had the most ample means of observing all the varieties that these mixtures of race occasion ; but had never seen any fact that could warrant him to suppose this the child of a black man. He had seen albinos', but this child bore no resemblance to them. They were always distin- guishable by the red dotted iris and the tremulous move- ment of the eyes. Never had seen the produce of african parents, with hair such as this. He had seen some with fair or yellowish hair, but that was peculiar. Mr. Furman keefier of the Alms-house, Testified that he had received an order to take the child and place it on the books. The black man, Whistelo, took the child, but said at the same time that it was not his. Br. De Witt Said he should have no doubt that it was the child of a white man. Adam Ray, a black, Knew of Whistelo having taken the child to board, and of the mother having it carried away. He asked her reasons for taking it back ; and her answer was, that since he would not own the child at first he should not have it now, for it was not his. Nancy Cooke Lived together with the witness six weeks- could not say as to her character, but saw a very light man in bed with her. There were two beds in the room ; Lu- cy Williams had one, and witness the other. Witness fell asleep. Man lay with Lucy all night. At the request of the counsel for the commissioners of the Alms-house, the cause was adjourned till Saturday, as he professed the hope of procuring by that time other wit- IS nesses whose testimony would tend to throw a different light upon the fact, and which he conceived altogether ma- terial and important to the ascertainment of the truth. After some opposition on the part of j/nr. Morton, who said he was under the necessicy of goini* out of town, the cause was adjourned, and mr. Sampson, who was present in court, was engaged to assist mr. Nitchie in the further investigation of evidence, and to sum up on behalf of the defendant. SATURDAY, August 20. Present, The Mayor, Recorder, and Aldermen Mott, Bingham, and Drake. Dr. MitchiU, sworn, — .the woman, the child and the de- fendant produced The witness was first examined in chief by mr. Vanhook on the part of the Commissioners of the Alms-house. Counsel. From your observations upon those persons, Dr. Mitchill, and from what you know of this case, be so good to state your belief, whether that child is or is not the child of that black man. Witness. It is then expected that I should give an opinion touching the parentage of the child ? Counsel. Yes, sir; whether from all Ihe circumstances you believe that black man to be its fatlier. Witness. It may be expected, perhaps, that I should give my reasons for my opinion, that it may be judged upon its own merits ? Counsel. If you please, doctor. The more so, as the counsel on the other side will probably inquire into them. 17 Witness. There are three general rules, as far as I un. derstand, touching the propagation of men between the "white and black race — First, when the connexion has been between white and black, the offspring is a mulatto— second, when the child is produced from an intercourse between a white man and a mulatto, it is then called a quadroon — third- ly, when it is between a black and a mulatto, it is called a sambo. In the french and Spanish islands there are more minute dis- tinctions ; but for more certain information witness referred the court to Bryan Edwards' History of the British Colonies in the West-Indies, by which any errors of his memory might be corrected. The principle, however, is, that the shade is between the two in equal degree ; and it is told in a way that meets my assent, that, when a rapid succession of intercourse has taken place between a woman and two men of differen: colors, twins have been produced of the op- posite colors. Morton. What are we to understand, doctor, by rapid sue* cession ? Answer. When a white man succeeds to a black, or a black to a white almost instantaneously. Question. Do not accidental causes sometimes operate a change on the foetus at or after the time of conception. Answer. Yes, sir. Question. Will you be good enough to describe them. Answer. The changes which take place in the human form during the time of conception are reducible to three heads, according to the observations of D'Azara in his his- tory of the quadrupedes of Paraguay — First, when there is an alteration of complexion so as to render the skin of a black,, while, or other variety of color — Second, when the C IS cause or agency manifests its power by frizzling or curling the hair or feathers, this is termed crispation — Third, when the same constitutional change shows itself by a loss of hair or plumage so as to leave a naked skin, it is called peeling. Of these three effects the last occurs but seldom ; the second pretty often ; and the first is very frequent indeed, showing that it is a much more difficult process for nature to eradi- cate hair or feathers than to curl them, and more difficult to twist than to change their color. If it be of any importance to investigate minutely these points, they will be found at length in the work I have mentioned. These accidents, says that author, may befall every man, every quadrupede, and every bird, to a greater degree in some than in others, and become permanent in the race by propagation from one generation to another without end. With this view, it would appear that with respect to the rule we first laid down touching the color of men, there are a vast number of exceptions, which exceptions I shall class under the three last mentioned heads. It is only by compa- ring those facts with the case before the court and applying the observations which they furnish, that we can pronounce an opinion ; for as to reasoning a priori upon such a subject, neither the court, nor I, nor any other witness that can be brought, can know any thing of the matter. The most that I can do is to state facts that I know, and from them give my opinion upon the probability of the case. The woman here swears the black man to be the father of the child Morten. Doctor, I am sorry to interrupt you ; but it is necessary I should remind you that the witnesses are only called to give testimony, not to observe upon it — that will be the duty of the counsel in summing up. Witness. In estimating this case according to the excep- tions laid down, and which I have observed are so frequent, aital often so widely deviating from the general rule, I con- ceive that it violates no probability to suppose this child the 4 19 offspring of the connexion between the woman and the black man. The mother, who knows most of the matter, has deposed to that fact, and it is not in itself incredible. I have, therefore, no hesitation to say, according to the best of my judgment, as the evidence of the woman is positive, and the fact she swears to violates no probability, I should, were I in the place ©f the court, confirm the rule. Morton. Doctor, you must excuse me — before you seem- ed inclined to do the office of counsel, and now that of the judge. Cross-examination. Question by Morton. This case you say, doctor, violates no probability. Are we to understand from that that it is a possible case or a probable one ? or let me ask you, ac- cording to your own principles, which is most probable, leav- ing the woman's evidence out of the question, that this should be the child of a black or a white man. Answer. Prima facie I should say it was a case under the general rule. If I did not adhere to the rule it would be on account of the circumstances attending the case, which I take to be an exception ; for if I have no knowledge of any matters which go positively to contradict the woman's testi- mony, I should naturally lean towards it. Question. Do you consider this case as having any affinity with what is called albinage. Answer. I have not much experience on the subject of albinos, as my residence has been chiefly in New-York, where such accidents rarely occur. But I have known in- stances of negroes turning white where there was no symp- tom of disease or sickness. Morton. Have the goodness, doctor, to relate them. 20 The witness then related the case of Henry Moss.. The Reporter having since obtained the original note of that case in the witnesses' hand-writing, for more certainty thinks it proper to insert it literally. moss's case. * Some time in the year 1792, Henry Moss, who was born of black parents, and as black himself as negroes gene- rally are, began to grow white. The first whiteness began about the nails of the fingers ; but in the course of the change none of them have fallen off, except those of the lit- tle toes. There has been no scabbiness, ulceration or fall- ing off of the cuticle — nor could this covering be removed by rubbing, washing or chafing. The whiteness has spread over the whole body, neck, shoulders and arms, and down the thighs and legs. Some brownness remains in his face, hands and feet. He thinks his sense of touch more acute than it used to be ; and his feelings so sharpened that he is more readily affected by solar warmth than he formerly was, being able, while he was black, to support great degrees of sun-shining heat. A change has taken place in his sight. He has had no sickness before or during this alteration of co- lor to account for it. The skin is of the white carnation hue, and the blue veins plainly visible through it. The rete muco- aum seems to have undergone the principal change. His woolly hair is filling out and straight hair coming in its place on his head ; and the same thing has already happen- ed on his legs. He observes his flesh is now less disposed to heal from wounds and cuts than it used to be. Q. Are there no other facts which influence your opinion- The witness here mentioned two other cases, which for the reason above given, the Reporter copies literally from the Medical Repository. Maurice's case. " A young negro, named Maurice, aged twenty-five years, began, about seven years ago, to lose his native color. A 21 white spot appeared on the right side of his belly, which is now about as large as the pulms of two hands. Another white spot has appeared on his breast, and several more on his arms and other parts ; and the sable cloud is plainly dis- appearing on his shoulder. The skin of these fair spots is not surpassed by the european complexion. His general health is and has been good j and he has suffered no scalding ulceration, scabbiness, or other local disease. The change is not the dead white of the albinos, but is*a good wholesome carnation hue. Such an alteration of color as this, militates powerfully against the opinion adopted by some modern phi- losopers, that the negroes are a different species of the human race from the whites, and tends strongly to corroborate the probability of the derivation of all the varieties of mankind from a single pair. Facts of this kind are of great value to the zoologist. How additionally singular would it be, if instan- ces of the spontaneous disappearance of this sable mark of distinction between slaves and their masters were to become frequent ! They would then be no less important to the mo- ralist and political economist." pompey's case. « Pompey, a very healty negro, of about twenty-six years of age, about two years since discovered on Iris right thigh a small white spot, which, from that to the present time, has been constantly increasing to the size of nearly a half-crown piece; while there have appeared, on other parts of his body, other spots, to the number of twelve, of different sizes, but all constantly and gradually enlarging. In several of the spots the margin is perfectly defined, from a distinct line between the clear white and the natural color. In others there are circumscribed rings of a dun appearance, the external mar- gin of which is very regular. I have the fullest belief that a very few years will complete the total change." Q. Was there not some other case which you mentioned before the police-office. 22 A. I mentioned somewh.H jocularly the loves of Theagines and Chariclea. Chariclea was a beautiful and fair virgin, of ethiopean parents. Her whiteness was occasioned by her looking on a statue of Venus. Question by the Mayor — About what time, doctor, might that have happened. A. The work is written by a a christian bishop, Heliodorus, who wrote about the fourth century. It was the first novel I ever read, and made a great impression on me. Q. As to those cases in which the agency of some exter- nal objects upon the mother's imagination produces an entire change in the foetus, have you any facts within your own knowledge. A. There was a man in the city of New-York, who kept a cow. Q. Will you tell the court, doctor, the story of that cow. A. The cow was a favorite with the wife of the man ; but he found it more convenient to kill her than to keep her. Q. And how did the death of the cow influence the birth of the child. A. The cow, affording a larger supply of provisions than was required for family consumption, he sold part and reserv- ed the rest. Counsel. Very well, sir, be so good as to relate the rest. Witness. Among the parts that were reserved, were the feet. The wife saw them hanging up in a mangled state. It was the first news she had of the death of her favorite cow ; and she was so vehemently moved and so shocked, as to affect the child of which she was then pregnant. Q. And what was the result. 23 A. The child was bom without any arms, and with distor- ted feet. Q. Did you ever converse with the father or mother of the child. A. I did not. But the child is still alive; and there is no doubt of the fact. Q. Have you examined the child. A. I saw it once as I passed, playing with a coopers' shaving knife between its toes. I stopped to inquire, and was told the story. Q. Is there no other case, ancient or modern, to support ibis theory : Is there nothing in verse or prose. A. There is a case, called the black case, in Haddington's poems. He was a lord of sessions, or other considerable man in Scotland. The story runs thus There was a man who followed the profession of an attorney, or a scriv- ener, who had a very amorous wife. But he had not leisure to attend to all her gaieties. Once, that he was una- ble otherwise to free himself from her opportunity, in toying with her he upset his ink-bottle in her shoes. She brought him a black child in consequence. He reproached her, but she reminded him of the ink-bottle, and of his awkwardness. There is also the story told by Malebranche, of the woman who saw a man broken on the wheel, and bore a mangled and disjointed child. If such changes as the last are true (and there is strong authority for it) then the mere change of color or complexion is not difficult to believe. The cross-examination of doctor Mitchill was continued by mr. Sampson ; and extending to a variety of topics, pro- duced much anecdote and repartee. n The subject of the albinos was fully discussed. Their Feeble structure—weak eyes — leprous appearance — their being found chiefly in low latitudes : and the Chacrelas of Ja- va, the Bedas of Ceylon, and the white indians of Darien, were instanced ; who are all within the 18th degrees of north or south latitude. Mi*. Buflba's opinion was cited, that they were not a distinct race, but individuals degenerating from black to an adulterated white : supposing the blacks to have de- generated originally from white to black. But as it was ad- mitted, that the whiteness of this child bears no resemblance to that of the albinos, and cannot be explained on the same principles, it is unnecessary to pursue all the details of the examination on that point. The proximate cause of the fairness of the albinos, was stated to be the absence of the rets mucosum^ which gives color to the black men : and the dots an .1 redness of the eyes in albinos' was supposed owing to organic debility, which admits of extravasation of the blood, and of its lodging in globules in the iris. Tiie want of that rete mucosum, which fortifies the eye of the negro against the sun's glare, is the reason at once why the eyes of an albino are unable to bear the sun, and more fitted to see by night. Mr. Sampson mentioned the two children of Chamouni, or albinos of the Alps, with whom he had frequently conversed. He compared their eyes to those of owls and other animals, fitted for night or long twilight, which called forth an anec- dote from the witness of a numerous flight of white artic owls, which had some years ago visited this city, remained some fime and then disappeared, having never leer, heard of before or since. The witness also mentioned the white spar- rows of Sweden, the hares of Albany, and a white bird with which he had been regaled in Canada, whose flesh was very delicate. But to a question put by the counsel, be answered that he had never seen a race of white deaf dogs. Mr. Sampson then apprised the witness that since Iris 29 opinions were likely to be unfavorable to the side he was tc advocate, he must avail himself of the privilege of cross-ex- amination. It would be necessary with so learned a witness to say, that the adverb cross was not to be taken in the vulgar acceptation. Cross was in contradiction to direct ; and cross-examination meant only an indirect examination. The ignorant, who take things in the wrong sense, often show ill-humor, and put themselves in an attitude to be cross, because they are to be cross-examined. With the candid and enlightened, it proves often an agreeable mode of discus- sion, and is particularly so to our profession, when it gives us occasion to extract from those of superior learning know- ledge which we might not otherwise have the means of ac- quiring. The witness expressed great readiness to answer any ques- tion for the satisfaction of the court or the counsel ; and the examination proceeded as follows : Counsel. What do you think, doctor, of the opinions of Pla- to, touching the principles of generation ? Witness. Do you mean also to ask me Pythagoras's opinion on wild fowl ? -Counsel. Far be it from me, sir ; that question might serve to puzzle a man who was in the dark — mine are meant to elicit light from a source where it abounds. Witness (bowing.) I do not know, sir, to what particular opinions you allude. Counsel. To his triangle of generation, as well as to the harmonies and mysteries of the Number Three. Witness. I have never devoted any attention to such mysteries. A triangle has three sides and three angles, if you can find out the mystery of that. Counsel .Has not a prism three sides and three ansrles I D 26 Witness. It has. Counsel. Could Plato have meant that any thing resenv bling a prism could have an influence in generation ? ll'itness. You seem, sir to have thought enough upon the subject to judge. Counsel. Sometimes the more we look the less we see. Can you, upon any principles of plane or spheric trigonome- try, produce a triangle which shall be flat on one side and round on the other ? JJiiness. That, perhaps, is an irish triangle ; if so, you can produce it yourself. Will you permit, me now, sir, to exam- ine you a little ? Counsel. Oh, doctor, you cannot be serious — not surely in the face of the court I The Mayor. I think, mr. Sampson, after the manner in which you have examined the witness, he is entitled to what he desires. Counsel. Alas, sir, I am but a poor tradesman, Jaboring in my vocation : — if I let him wind that long chain of causes and effects round me, I shall be so entangled, I shall never be myself again. It is play to him, but death to me. I pray the court to let the shoemaker stick to his last. — Doctor, are you familiar with the opinions of Aristotle upon matter and motion ? Wit7iess. Your question, sir, is very general. Counsel. I shall be more particular. — Do you believe that matter is the capacity of receiving form ? Witness. I believe there is a first cause which is the law to which all milter is subject. Counsel. That first cause is too far off for my span ; let sr us keep to one less remote. Is it not a corollary from the opinion of Aristotle, that the son should resemble his father I Witness. I do not see that it is. Counsel. I wish, doctor, I could establish some difference between you and these great luminaries of ancient times. The authority of your opinion requires some such powerful counterpoise. JVitness. Well, sir, propose your questions. Counsel. Since I cannot press these great men of antiqui- ty into our service, I shall endeavor to find something in doc- tor Mitchill, to set off against doctor Mitchill. The counsel on the other side will not fail to avail himself of your opinions to the utmost extent, perhaps beyond your intention. I wish, therefore, by taking your opinion touching the probability of other facts, to find what degree of belief you attach to the present, and by establishing a standard of faith, fix a bounda- ry line between us ; and also to discover if possible, how much light learned opinions may throw upon this cause. Witness. Some years ago there was a machine invented, called a light guage, or photometer, which was to measure the degrees both of light and shade, but part of it always failed or broke ; or, for want of encouragement, it never was brought to perfection. Counsel. Oh what a pity i I once projected a machine to measure happiness, wisdom, love, and other moral quali- ties and affections ; but the ladies secretly discouraged it, fearing to have it known how they loved the fellows. Since then that our machines are out of order, doctor, we must pro- ceed by the imperfect modes of our fathers. Are you ac- quainted with a story related by mr. Saussure, of a ladv of quality of Milan, who had seven sons ? JVitness. I have no recollection of such a story. SS Counsel. It was this : the two first of her sons, and also the two last had brown hair and black eyes j the three inter* vening had blue hair and red eyes. Witness. Very possible. Counsel. That is not all. The author accounts for it in this way : that while the mother was pregnant with the three red-haired and blue-eyed children, she had also con- ceived a violent passion for milk, in which she indulged to excess. This might, when related by mr. Saussure, have passed for a travellers' story. But it is adopted by an emi- nent physiologist, mr, Buzzi, surgeon of the hospital of Mi- lan. What would you infer in such a case ?* Witness. I would infer that the milk must have been blue, such as they sometimes sell mixed with water ; otherwise I cannot see how it could have made the children's eyes blue. Counsel. I think not, doctor, they would have been rather of a cream color. It must have been milk and water, or skimmed milk. It is a loss that the case does not mention which Do you think it credible, sir, that Louis the II. king of Hungary and Bohemia, was born without his epider- mus or scarf-skin ? * Remarkable eject of a pregnant mother's imagination- f* A young married lady, pregnant with her second child, being with her parents at Brunswick, in New Jersey where it was fixed she should lie in, when that time drew nigh she sent to New-York fpr her nurse, and having made every necessary preparation for the interesting moment, waited with tranquillity for a few days be- fore it arrived. Nurses generally imploy this time in tale telling, gossiping, &c, The nurse in this case told, one afternoon, to the pregnant lady and her mother, how she had once nursed in the family of a jew, and how she saw the little infant circumcised; and dwelt upon the description of the operation with great minute- ness The young lady sat and listened, and being very susceptible of sympathy, first she'd tears, then fainted. A day or two after- wards she was delivered, after a very short labor, of a boy. All went on very well till the next day, when the nurse discovered that 29 Witness. It is not impossible. Counsel. Yet for a king to come without his skin, that was coming very naked into the world. What do you think of Zoroastres king of the Bactryans ? Witness. I have never thought about him. Counsel. Pliny says he came laughing into the world- is that probable ? Witness It would be an exception to the general rule, for we generally come into the world crying. Counsel. And seldom go out of it laughing : so that as the only time we have to laugh is when we are in it, it is wise to profit by it. Do you recollect Pliny's remark upon this king ; that he little knew what a world he was coming into, for if he had foreseen his destiny he would not have been so merry. Witness. It was a witty remark of Pliny if it was his. Counsel. Apropos. May I ask what you think of the opinion of the great Verulam that when mothers eat quin- ces and coriander seed, the children will be witty. Witness. Some persons have a great deal of wit, but I dont know how they came by it. Counsel. Do you think, doctor, as the counsel on the other side does, that a pistol is an instrument of much efnS cacy in generation ? the child's prepuce was diseased. Dr. Scott, of Brunswick, was immediately sent for. He came, and on examination, found the it hole of the foreskin destroyed by a sphacelus / "The above circumstance happened in the winter of 1798 9. The young lady, her husband and child all died in the course of the year." [Fide Med. Rep. vol. 3, page 89. 30 Witness. On the contrary, sir, a pistol is generally used to take away life. There is what is called the canon de la vie. Do you mean that ? Counsel. Of what color may that be, doctor ? Witness. It may be black or white. Counsel. Which of the two would be most influential on the birth of a white child ? Witness. Most probably the white. Counsel. There it is ! I will lay my life that is what the man had in his hand when the scuffle began, that so strong- ly affected the mother. Did you ever hear how the mis- tress of Pope Nicholas III was brought to bed of a young bear ? Witness, No, sir ; but many women have had bearish children. Counsel. After that, I think they may bear any thing. Do you find a great affinity in what concerns generation be- tween man and beast ? Witness. Undoubtedly. Counsel. May not the principle of maternal affection in- fluence in one as in the other. Witness. I am of that opinion. Counsel. So that when the dutch farmers on Long-Island plough a black mare with a bay horse, to have a bay colt, the idea is not unreasonable ? Witness. There is nothing unreasonable in ploughing a l)lack mare with a bay horse nor in a black mare having a t <\ foal, more than a black hen having a white egg. 31 Counsel. Does not mr. D'Azara lean to the notion of a primitive color. Witness. He gives the philosophers their choice in sup- posing our first parents to have been either of white or black complexion. Counsel. How do you account for the ring-streaking of Laban's lambs ? The fact we cannot doubt we have it on such high authority. Does it appear to you an extraordi- nary interference of providence in favor of an individual, or can it be accounted for by the principle of maternal affec- tion, and by the ordinary laws of nature 1 Witness. By the ordinary laws of nature. Counsel. That being the case, doctor, there remains only to thank you for the information you have given us. AUGUST— 18G8. Dr. Pascalis sworn and examined — Said that the child in question appeared to him to be three-fourths white and one- fourth black — that was his impression. But he pronounced with diffidence upon such subjects, as he knew how easy it was to err where there was a want of certain data. Nature was uniform in her works and faithful to fixed rules ; and when facts are in dispute or doubt there is no way of forming an opinion but by recurring to those rules which experience has established. Witness had lived long in the WestJndies, and had remarked three principal char- acteristics of the negro race, and all compounded of it. First, the crispations of the hair. 32 Second, the tele mucosum which gives the black hue to the skin. Third, the conformation of their legs and feet. These characterizing marks are discernible in all the mix- tures between black and white ; but according as the mix- ture participates more of one than of the other, so naturally will the hair, the features, the complexion and the structure of the limbs. He had observed further that in general when there happened in any one or more of these distinguishing indications a deviation from the general rule ; for instance, wherever the complexion partakes more of the White than from the known parentage, it should be expected then it would be found that in some other of those indications there will be preponderance the other way. One example which he cited out of numbers which he had noticed, was the french general Rigaud. He was the son of a white man, a relation of the witness, by a black woman. He was so dark as to differ little from the true african com- plexion ; but in return for that, he had the features and form of a white man — was very handsome and well made. If this principle of nature is not universal it is, as repeated observa- tions had proved to him, very general. The last symptom of the negro blood which disappears is the crispation of the hair and the setting on of the ancle, which he described in tech- nical language amounting to this, that the leg was inserted more forward on the foot, and consequently the heel longer. He, therefore, when he was told that this child was of a black man, examined it to discover whether, seeing its complexion was so unusually fair, there were not some strong traces of the black race to counterbalance that deviation ; and upon looking at the conformation of its feet and legs, and more par- ticularly at the straitness and light color of its hair, he was (lis- appointed not to find his observation verified ; and he was now of opinion that it was not the offspring of a black man 33 He conceived the woman to be a perfect mulatto. He had known one instance of a woman of mixed blood having a white skin with the features of a negro strongly pronoun- ced. • Cross-examined by Vanhook. Question. Might not some accident, happening at the mo- ment of coition, produce by its efitcts upon the woman's imagination as great a deviation from the general rule as this. Witness. Why make that particular conclusion ? it would be much more apt if it produced any thing to produce defor- mity or abortion : but it would be too far-fetched to suppose it would cloud or uncloud the skin. Upon the whole, as I am impressed, I must give my opinion that it is not the black man's child. Alderman Barker sa'or;?-^Stated that the woman when ex- amined before him she said had no intercourse with any white man. Afterwards she acknowledged she had had a struggle with one. Mr. O'Blenis, clerk of the fiolici', Stated that after her ex- amination on oath was closed she was questioned as to that fact, and answered laughing that the white man had torn her petticoat. Sir James Jay, M. D. examined by Vdnhook, Gave a de- cided opinion that it was not a black man's child, asked whether he lay much stress upon the color and straightness of the hair of the head, and whether it might not yet be- come like that of the mother. He said it was not neces- sary to wait so many years as to see what conformity there might be in the hair with the mother. It was enough if the counsel chose to examine the mother at present. Question by Sampson. Doctor, we have been deep in the mysteries of Lucina. E 34 Witness. Very good, sir, I hope you have profitted. Counsel. No, sir James ; it is a cross birth — we are not yet delivered of our doubts. We want to know whether the Abbe Spallenzani's method of propagation is a safe and good one — 'whether there is not such a thing as Lucina sine concubitu ; for, as it appears, the black man could not have got the child because it is white, nor the white man because of the fighting, it would be good to see whether the pistol-barrel could have got it. Witness. Then, sir, you must inquire elsewhere touch- ing that matter. I have found the old practise good enough for me, and have made no experiments in the way you allude to. The evidence closed here, and mr. Morton addressed the court, premising that it was his intention to be very brief, and to confine himself entirely to the positive testimony and the inferences of law which it furnished, and leave to- the counsel associated with him the various topics of curi- osity which had been introduced. Although this case was not of so grave an import, nor so serious in its consequences as a trial for a rape, yet still it was one in which the nature of the proof should be equally certain, as it went to inflict what to a poor man was a very heavy penalty, and which if he was innocent of the charge would be an insupportable oppression. The conviction here, as in a case of rape, would be founded upon the evi- dence of a woman, who by the fact itself might become mother to a bastard child, whose character for virtue and good morals makes a principal part of the consideration. Necessity made this woman a witness, for it is her own cause in which she is swearing : but wherever from policy such testimony is admitted against the great ruling princi- ple of law, that « none shall be witness in their own cause, nor to swear to their own criminality," it is always admit-