The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1872-01-04
: n5g- THE CIRCULATION OF THE DIS
PATCH IS LARGER THAN THE COMBINED
CIRCULATION OF ALL THE eTHER DAILY
NEWSPAPERS OF THE CITY. ,.1..
An Unhealthy Christmas Breakfast.
Biscuit - Isalseu'' with Arsenic i'm.
stead OF soda. ..r-. .

\ sad case OF poisoning occurred In our
city on Christmas morning. In one; of the
rickety old shanties on the market lives a
Swedc named y. +. Bergman, with his fun
lily. consisting Ola wife aud one child, which
is little less than two years old. A woman
named Mrs. Kcim, and her daughter, seven-
teen or eighteen years old. arc temporary in
mates of the same room. On the morning in
question Mrs. Keim proceeded to prepare
breakfast for the entire number. This they
ate between the hours of and 10 O'Clock.
In about half an hour afterward they ell
commenced vomiting, and experienced severe
internal pains; and it was very obvious that
they had been poisoned. -
DR.. Hughes was sent for, and In company
with one or two other medical gentlemen,
after having made an examination of the
case, proceeded to apply series of remedies
for the relief Of the unfortunate victims.
They proved eifrctUal, and the parties, eX-
ccpt Mrs. keim, who Is still in precarious
condition, are i'll 4 fair way to recover.
In conversation with Mr.. Bergman yester-
day we aScertaincd the facts rs to how the
poisoning occurred. He states that the family
vino occupied the house before he moved
into it left on one of the shelves package
which, il has since tranSpircd, contained ar
and in general appearance it rescnbled one
of soda, which the family had taken with
them to the house. In making the biscuit
the arsenic was mistaken for the soda, and
about teaspoonful of it put into them. All
five Of the persons ate OF the biscuit, and OF
course all were poisoned. A quantity of
the arsenic corresponding with that which
the woman says she used has since been
weighed, and is found to contain about one
hundred grains.
One-half grain Of the poison is sufficient to
produce death where ito remedies are ap-
piled. -..
OF the eight biscuits which were eaten,
Mr. Bergman ate four, and with them must
have swallowed at least forty grains of arse
nic. Strange as. it may also appear, Alr.
Bergman went after the doctor. .--
The scene presented in the room at the
time the remedies were being used was a
sckcning one. The hydated sc$qui-oXide of
iron. which was used rs one Of the antidotes,
HIS every appearance Of blood. This, when
vomitcd up. spread all over the floor. and
saturated everything that it came i'll contact
with, which, with the general dinginess of the
room, presented a ghaStly spcctacle-one in
striking contiust with the mclTy-making
which prevailed in many happy home OH
that day.
The doctors in attendance in this case were
in ignorance, in the early part Of the treat
ment, Of the nature Of the poison. 1t may
not hc uninteresting to state how they reached
the conclusion that the white powder was
arsenic in time TO make their information
available in the case. Arsenic voEltizes IN
white fumes, having the odor of garlic, and
upon c0ndensing assumes peculiar form of
crystal!iZation. When added to the ammonia
sulphate Of copper it strikes the wel-kaown
arscnical green. Thephysicians rolatized the
powder, obtained th: white fumes with the
characteristic odur, aud by placing the subli-
mated crystals under the microscope the pc
cl,liar crystalline forms Of arSenious acid We're
recognized. Upon dropping hepowdcr into
the blue solution of cupric sulphatc its color
was at once changed to green.-Heohuk
(i0aca) Gate City, 9th ultin,o.