New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-07-07
POISONED BY ICE-CREAM.
SEVERAL PERSONS FRUSTRATED.
A FOURTH OF JULY EXPERIENCE IN BRooKLYN-
THE CAUSE UNDISCOVERED.

THE CAUSE UNDISCOVERED.
Serious sickness has resultedinone part OF Brookyn
from the ice-cream indul ged In on the ourtnol
Ali the cases occurred from icee SJe E1u ny
Brooklyn, who has been III the business for twenty
five years and has many customers. On the Fourth
made nj his place of business On saturday ms
store was crowded with persons who complained
that the cream had made them or their trends
SICK lie had already found 1t out for his wlie was
also sick with the same symptoms of vomiting and
purging. 1t was at first thought tha' copper
had caused the poisoning of the 60 cream ami
milk in to make it. With this idea
what was left of the cream was tested but no
trace of poison was found i'll IT.
Mr. Gerkin was found at his place of business yes
terday by TRIBUNE reporter. Some persons were were
eating cream III his parlors undeteTred ny Vie s'A
ness that had been caused lie said that he was .!
n loss TO explain how the cream came 10 cause III
effect All the difficulty had occurred WIN . tne
ice-cream made from the last Two cans ol sWe Ce
cream that he used on Friday. mat cream was
made in inst the same manner as what Idu pcen
sold in the earlier part OF the day. AooHt =
O'clock on Saturday morning his wife was taken
VIOLENTLY i'll Dr. T. H. KretZschmaT was called
IN and he attributed the sickness to the cream; Us
he had already had several patients on frluaH
evening affected in the same way MI. Herkeh SHIu
thot the loss TO his business was nothing TO the
fact that his patrons had suffered SO muGh' As
soon he heard that some physicians lnougn' VIZ
there was copper in the he sent samples Oh III,
bv the advice of Dr. krctzschmar, to competent
chemist who tested it, and found no mineral POI
\
possible the cause of the sickness.
As near as could he aSceItained upward
of 100 persons were affected, ana SOME uI
them were badly prostrat" ed. but none dangelou5N;
DIR g. f. GriswOld. of No. AZ Gold-st, atleIdet
several Of thccascs, and hc sgid that he attributed
ell The difficulty to acetate "t copper Nhich s mu1'
iarity with sulphatc of copper, which he used as
remedy in group TO produce vomiting. Inc hlSt
c,se 10 which he was called was in tho family OF
William H. johnson, a Sandy Hook pilot, OF, No
di8 Carton-aVc. Mr.. johnson sent to Gcrken ;
shop on FRIDAY evening aud got quantity OF
cream which his family and bis sons family ate
All were taken sick about two hours att'Iwald
DR. Grswold found them pro@ratCd ana unable 10
do anything for each other ihoy hao SYMPTOMS ~
mn irritant poison. one young woman hau
chlls and fever, aud was 80 sick as to I've uh4he 10
speak Remedies were applied and all were helped
in short time lgNetdaV an me'e SvJuS y ,,,,,
still IN bed. Dr. Griswold was of the opinion mat
ii any person In Ill health had eaten the cream 1t
wonld haze proved fatal ~
One of the victims of The cream was DR.. Ilipha-
LET Mott of No. 1903 Cariton-ave. lie said that ne
ate more tlJu usual of the cream ON rrloay' am
shortly aftcrwaId said, II believe that cream Wlll
Nil M, a. l.c lex" Two hours later ne was taken
wi severe itugaud purging. iicdd not go out
until saturday afternoon. His sister VINO was taken
sick AZ the same time, was sun IN pea YESTERDAY,
An of HIS symptoms, including cramps III inc
etomac h ard shoot ng pains IN Tue legS, were Hul-
CatIe Of a violent lIrltaut poison, elther copper vi
arsenic lie thouglt il must be the former as cop
per vessels were used in making zee cream. Wien
Told that no trace of copper was found in the sam
account for the symptoms.
Dr. Kretzschmar, of No $50 Clermont-2vc sald
that he had eight patients VINO we're alit'tcb ~
the cream. No had any symptoms OF
mineral poisoning. All were violently SICK
for a little time, but no relapse ch GGi
eleven months Old who given some o. the
cream. lie had carefully Inspected MI. Gerhehs
vessels and methods Of making cream ana l0und
everything clean and sweet. Tncle was 10 way
that copper could have got i'll 1t. The chemist VINO
tested the samples found no trace 81 "copper" l|tu,
tin silver or arsenic. The only poison thSi ne had
not tested for was autimOny or tartar cmetlc, one
grain Of which would make man Nonlt uNtI ne
Thought lie had not friend III kietz'ch,hSr S',lu
that he was entirely at loss to account i"I me
trouble unless some one had thrown some emeilc
In the cream, or that there was Oigaic
disease ia the cows nom whose
milk it was made. If the latter, probably II would
be never found ont. -,
cream Mr.. Gerken's worAmen sali th3t the Heam
could not have made any one sick, and 10 prove
their words each ate pint of IT, The result was
that they were seized with the same symptoms as
the others. Two kittens, to whom Nj 6erNen5
fed some Of the cream as test were sick 10 sad
that he had kent samples of the cream ard WOuid
send il 10 the Board of Health to aDIly2c. lie got
his milk from man who had dairy IN orange
County. and hi, milk was OF the best.
The village OF Jamaica, too, iseXclted over SeNeIai
evening Of JUIy I, 4. j. Wilkinson. an einpoye OF
the Ntw-YOIk Custom House. took home from a
village confectionery store quart OF Nahlild re-
cream, Of which lie, with ms VIE ana 1hIcc
children partook. shortly alerward al' OF them eN-
cent the Youngest child were takcasick Wit cramps
III the stomach and pT0tTactcd vomiting. lie same
evening several per- Ous who ate vanilla cream
at q festival at the First Methodist Chuich c&pe-
Tiencei tho same unpleasant cEects with similar
symptoms.