The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1854-11-08
WEDNESDAY MORNING .:::::::NOv 8
Are oysters Pizen,

y
season, that IN y are poisonous. For a few
days. the good people OF New York almost
stopped eating this salt water vegetable, on
account Of the report that many deaths had
been occasioned by eating oysters. But it
has finally been setilrd that fresh oysters
are not poisonous-and that gnurmandlzing
at late hours, and drinking bad brandy to
help digestion. were the principal causes Of
sickness. As the people of the West are
receiving oysters by the ton. and especially
as Evansville appears to have an unusual
share OF the commodity, we have been care
fully carrying on private examinations, to
ascertain IL we could discover any poisonous
qualities in the oysters br ught to this civ,
50 that we might at once sound the alarm in
the ears or To the stomachs of our fellow
citizens. We commenced these experiments
with great deal of caution, and i'm very
Hunted way 50 at If the escuient vegeta-
bic should pro e poisonous, the attack might
not prove entirely fatal, otherwise we could
not be expected tn live and sound the alarm.
We procured haif-can of the first arrival.
when opened, the suspicious critters had
cre"m-whie appearance, and seemed ia, and
hearty. We ordered oae-thrd stewed, saw
about two dozpn. They tasted natural, in
fact very grateful 10 the palate. In five min
utes they had disappeared. Pulse 81 beats
To the minute, Il gain Of ore, aud "a very
slight sensation ONLY of fullaess about the
Notwithstanding easy as yet, and sensa
lion oi exhilaratIon in the system, and a
KIND ut craving Tor food.
Auer this examination, cook brought in
the next two coz tried in corn NAL, with
slight touch or shadowing OF eggs thereon
These filled quite large platter, and we
thought that certaialy we should be- able To
extract s"me poison out of that quantity of
experimental matter. Taste very pleasant
again-in fact more palatable than in the
stew"d conditi"n. Time CT destrucIion-
fifteen and one-haii mInutes-palse 81,
gain ut six sensation Of fullnpss about the
stomach decidedly more pparent-breath.
ing somewhat impedei-but the craving So
remarked before very much diminished -
Noticed the Thermometer, thinking The heat
OF the room increased, but astonished TO find
it two degrees cooler than at the start.
Thinking that probably the process of ap.
plying heat to the vegetables had killed the
poison. we ordered the mainder OF the ca n,
two dozen large, to be brought raw They
also FLIED quite large plate, and had a
plump, fair appearance. We smeared them
over slightly with mustard, freshly mixed,
and then sprinkied them with black pepper,
followed that with touch of vinegar, and
lastly covered with a small quantity of fresh
sweet oil. We knew these concomitants
would develop the poison, # anything could
do so. The Fl st application ilIu srrned the
sliding sale" n magnificent manner
Each oy ster appeared to have well creased
wheels, white our throat was a railroad track
laid with i rails. As we approached the
last oysters, the more prominent sensations
before mentioned seemed increased Pulse
marked 81 and three oysters le' /; qu te an op-
preston Of the stomach, aud breathing de-
cided!y more difficult, with an iniisposition
TO make any ex rriun. Craving for food ali
gone, and eyes drowsy. The remiinine
three went slowly-oysters falling and pulse
rising. Leaned back in somewhat ex.
haus' ed condition. with an indistinct percep-
ton that oysters must have been poison.
Gus. Ordered pen, ink, and paper in haste,
to give last impressions, an hold I'D to the
oyster eating world terrible warning
Eyes closed over the paper, head sunk on the
white sheet; and We slepr-the sleep of an
anaconda after swallowing a bull, horns,
hide and all. Awakened refreshed, and feel.
ing better. Decided that those oysters wero
not poisonous, and ielt perfectly willing to
continue experiments.
Since then we have experimental on ev.
cry refrigerator of oysters which has arrived,
and declare them all he lthy Oysters not
refrigeratorsD, it eaten in moderation after
the manner of our first trial. We would
give 10 our experience, however. that no
person at a SINE sitting should eat more
than halt a can OF oysters, especially if
large portion Of IN m be fried. We find,
after several trials, that to eat rhole can
at one sitting, is apt TO produce unpleasant
sensations OF oppression.
Fearing that some Of those poisonous oys.
tiers M ~ arrive, we deem il proper suggest
to our ,estaurat keepers, that they would be
on the safe side To Sc Us at least hal a Can
ct every fresh arrival to have the article
property strd, before Jfferng them To a
credulous pubic.