Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-12-20
CONVICTS "DOPED."
Alleged Poisoning Case in a
Railway Camp.
FOUR MEN DEAD AND THREE DYING

Dozen Others Very sick-Two Causes
Suggested for the Sickness, Arsenic and
Bad Sanitation-The Symptoms, How
ever, Those of Arsenic-Suspicion Cast
on the Free Labor of the Yicinity-The
Coroner Investigating and u Chemist at
Work
HELENA. Ark, Dec 20.-There is great
excitement here over the sudden and unex-
planned death of -four convicts and the
probably fatal sickness of dozen more, all
in the camp of 5. NJ Apperson, contrac-
tor who is doing work here for the St
Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern rail
way. About 40 convicts were brought
here Dec. IL under charge of Captain Dud-
ley, who is boss for Contractor Apperson
The men, under the escort of dozen armed
guards, have been at work all the week
throwing up the road bed for the new
tracks of the railroad.
The Unemployed Protested.
There are large number of unemployed
laborers in and around the city and they
protested very strongly against the intro
duction OF convicts to do this work when
they were all idle, and numerously
signed petition WAS presented to one of
the county officers, but of course he
could do nothing. The matter was
thought to have about died out. when no
less than eighteen of the convicts were
suddenly stricken Sunday morning with
an illness which is said to present strong
evidence of arsenical poisoning. Four OF
them are now dead and three others will
he dead before long.
Believe the Food Was "Doped."
Mr.. AppersOn was telegraphed for and
arrived yesterday. He at once had the
stomach of the first man who died re-
moved and will subject it to a chemical
analysis to determine whether death was
produced by poison. Conversation with the
convicts reveals the fact that two theories
are entertained by them. The first is that
the kettles in which their daily food is
cooked and which are just outside the
guard lines and near the public road have
had arsenic thrown into them by some dis.
satisfied negro laborer Of the city or by a
confederate in the convict camp
May he Bad Sanitation.
The second is that impure water, imprep-
er food. miserable sanitation, and the bad
weather of the past few days have brought
on q contagious disease. All of the couvicts
are negroes except three or four, and they
are excited over the trouble The men have
been working ankle deep in mud for the
past week. They are housed at night in
four or five box cars, fitted up with with
hunks and provided with stoves Another
box car serves as dining room and still
another as a kitchen. Meals are served on
an improvised table of boards which stands
on the ground in the mnd along side the
cars. The food is coarse but plentiful. 1t is
said TO he very poorly cooked
The Coroner Investigates.
So far as the means provided go. Captain
Dudley appears to have made his men as
comfortable rs possible, but the surround
ings, a. they presented themselves yester-
day afternoon in a fearful downpour of
rain, were such rs to appeal to the sympa-
thies of the most callous-hearted. The
names of the dead men are: Il. Lane, sent
up from Monroe county for nine years on
charge of assault; Riley Hayes, Louis
Lawrence and Henry Wicks, ali negroes.
The coroner yesterday began an investiga-
ton of the cause of the deaths and impan-
eled jury, but adjourned to await the in
vestigation of the chemist who is analyz-
ing the contents of the stomach of Robert
Lane, the first man W no died. $500