The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1873-05-18
WHOLESALE POISONING.
Arsenic Administered to q Family
of Six Persons.
1yutsrious Surroundings to the Case Attempt
b Keep the Poisoning sscret-A Woman
with Two storiss-A Butler At
tsnph to Kill q Whole
Family with Arsenic.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT to the HERALD once last even
ane that IN entire family of children had been
poiBoneo in house uptown and that certain
mystery appertaned to the case, as neither the
police nor the authorities were made aware OF the
case. but that on the contrary, 1t was being kept
- the utmost secresy, 30 much SO that only three
o. four persons knew the circumstances Of the
AnAir, and that even these would be unwilling to
reveal them.
reporter was despatched to ascertain If posi-
BILE what the facts Of the were and the result
Of the investigation proves that some very dark
deed has been committed, but that at the same
time some very powerful means are being used to
keep 1t silent.
After some search the reporter ascertained that
, Mr.. II. J. Jameson, living at 124 West Twenty
ninth street, was familiar with the facts OF the
case, and the HERALD representative called upon
him. Az reported Mr. Jameson did know good
seal about the matter, and may be the means OF
calculating what is thus far mystery. The gen.
sleman's story ran, IN brief, as follows:-
He said that HI, was engaged in selling an edition
Of Chld's Bible, and in the course Of his wander
0gs on Saturday afternoon went into house on
west Twenty-eighth street, and on the third floor
was ushered into room on the front, where was
INDY nursing sick child. There was another lady
IN the room, who was talking with the person who
was nursing the child about poisoning. The latter
was telling how her child "a boy about fourteen
years OF age) had been, in the opinion Of the doc
tor. poisoned, and was
AT DEATHS DOOR.
The conversation interested Mr.. Jameson, who
questioned the lady who was nursing the child
about 1t. She was at first very unwilling to give
any Information, but gradually told story which
certainly appalling in it's details. He reports
her to have said that her Child (the one lying sick
was employed in house up town, and that on
tuesday last he came home sick. She sent for
doctor, who pronounced him to have been poisoned
with arsenic. She then made inquiries into the
case and found that altogether six persons in the
family had been poisoned in the same manner,
though none OF them were dead yet. 1t appears
the poison was administered in tea aud took
Immediate effect Mr.. Jameson says he asked her
who had administered the poison to her CHILD and
others. He says she answered that 1t was supected
Vat an old man in the family, butler
domestic OF some kind had done the poisoning.
Mr.. jameson said 1t was mOnstrous that she should
allow her child to be poisoned in this manner and
not make the matter public or inform the authori-
Ties about it, and he says she answered that the
people In whose family the poisoning happened
were big people and that she was afraid Of getting
had specially enioined her not to tell the facts to
any one and had threatened her with various pen
Mites II she did, She then went on TO say always
according to MI. Jameson) that the doctor had
told her on no account to say q word to any one
tage II she kept still about 1t. He would DO all
could to bring her child to state OF health again.
and the next that he was worse, hut that
she hoped the child would recover. Mr.: Jameson
vent over to the boy-a pale, sickly-iooking boy,
lpOn his face, and watched him for some time.
livery now and then he would groan with suffering,
ma the mother would endeavor to quiet him: lie
vas unable to speak, but tossed about uneasilY
tie sofa, on which he lay. After looking at him
gome time Mr.. Jameson said. 'fbls case certainly
demands investigation, and shall make it my
BUSINESS to make the matter publtc;" and she be-
1snted nothing said at Gil about it. and would not
Tor the world let the authorities know anything
SCOUT IT. He then asked her what could have been
the motive of the Old man, the butler, in commit
ting such an act as this She said she understood
1T WAS "DEvlLTRY,o
out that no one knew what his real reason was.
After this Mr.. jameson left the house, and
had said nothing about the facts he had heard until
asked Mr.. Jameson where the woman lived, but he
could not give the number OF the house exactly;
ne knew 1t was somewhere in TWenty-elghth street,
near Seventh avenue. lie volunteered TO accom-
pany the reporter round to the house. however. to
guide: The latter accepted and went rent TO twenty,
could not even point out the house precisely, and
she reporter tumblcd down several par OF dark
stairs In several dark houses IN the street without
discovering the place where the woman lived with
her child. At length, however, the reporter
belonging to Mrs. MONT Tor Maflit), at No. l54
West Twenty-eighth street. on the fourth floor,
mace designated and Knocked at the door TO the
sound OF ''COme nn ne entered, and at once saw
fhis was the muchsougnt for place Mrs. Moilit
stood In front OF tie door; on the lounge lay
child, such as described, evidently dying, for the
death rattle was already in his throat. Near the
window and in front OF the table sat a tall, raw
b0ned, red-whiskered man, who continued lOokS
ing persstently at another child opposite him,
Without moving or saying word during the Whole
tine the conversation which ensued was happen
Ing Mrs. Men1t who is a rather good-looklng,
dark-compexioned person, asked the reporters
erNnd.
WHAT MRS. MoFFIT SAYS
A,lnaye come to see," said the'reportcr, '.about
chad who is reported as being very sick here"
III have child which is sick; that is he" an
severed Mrs. Moflit; "what about hil2"
sis the story true that he was p0isonedpf'
mo, it is not true He may have eaten some
thing that disagreed with him; that's ALL"
sIe mat ailY said the reporter, in some astonish-
menk IL understood that you yourself said that
the child was poisoned in house up town. and
that the butler had done tho poisoning
Mrs.. MONT hesitated q moment and the tall man
~ did not say that,n answered Mrs. Mofllt.
having evidently been c0gitating what she should
answer. 1.-THE child was in house up town, H. is
true, hut ! suppose he took something that dis
agreed with him.
add you not say he had been dosed with arsenic,
or did not the doctor say that he had beena'
s'NOt"
sDid yon not soy that FIVE others had been also
POISONED Pr
iN0, ] did not.n
"Did you not say that You were told TO keep it
3uiet and that you were afraid to tell the facts OF
''No; nothing OF that sort took place. I,euppose
zen learned all this from an old man who came
you such lkes.n
.Then you mean to say all the story about the
poisoning II untrue2''
'Yes; nothing Of the kind happened"
tell