The sun., 1892-08-03
A BOWERY KNOCKOUT GANG
POISON SUPPLIED TO THEM IN TINY
BOTTLES At aS CENTS EACH

| They All Say That They Arc Bakers.
| In a cubby hole In Can't Crosss desk IN the
EldridRe street station lies small vial three.
fourths full OF a colorless and odorless LIQUID.
The cork is partly coated with o whitish
crystal. and at the bottom OF the vial a SUBJ
stance lies which looks like mother OF vinegar.
with little black epecks In II. This LIQUID is
the drug which with tho bottle 10 known to q
certain class OF criminals as "knocker out"
| or "Petcr."
On Friday last Recorder smyth sentenced
Charles Martin. John widner. and Fritz Hotze
| alias Dutch Fritz. to fourteen years and eight
| months ench In State prison for giving a
knock out" dose to young italian in
lInttery Park to stupefy him 40 that they could
rob him easily. On Monday Christian Engel-
hart. alias Newark Fritz. was arrested by De-
tective William J. Mooney OF tho Eldridge
| street station on q charge OF giving Peter"
to a young man named Cramer in the saloon
| at 20 Bowery and then robbing him OF $50. On
EnGelhart was found the vial which Is now in
| Capt. C-osss possession.
Enelehart and the three men sentenced by
Recorder Smyth last weok belong TO gang OF
Peter players known as tho "Tretzel Gang"
Their headquarters are at '' Tho Old Tree" 70
Bowory. where Cramer was drugged. and
| across the street In the "word" pocl
room. 10 Bowery. There they lie in wait
for their prey. A careful watch is
kept on tho passers by until some man comos
along who has been drinking enough to take
the edge OF his caution and who looks MS II he
might have some money about him. Hardly
has he passed the door when two OF the
knockers out" are on his truck. for they
usually work In pairs. After following him
| some distance one OF thcm. as II by accident.
jostles him. Protuse apologies nre immedi-
ately made and tho acquaintance Is begun.
The unsuspecting victim sees In his now COM
panions two pleasant young men. rather we'll
dressed and agreeable totalkto He suggests
three go into somo saloon. Here. II tho victim
gives the thieves any reason to believe that
their. while the ac1unintance terminates with
the M AZ drins: On the other hand: IL IN settling
bills his companions become @ aim ost ailection. n
ate They a paat hin 1o onthe shonIior and tell him
into the back room and sit down." The victim
assents and is soon seated at u table between
tic man has time, to Iiit it to his lips one OF
TIE Peter players, calls away his attention: on
ma s5ni S s@u sde Gs % is s8a 81 the sHs
poison into his glass.
- isw MINUTES after ,n d5ipsing ak tine man begins
himself, he loses control OF his faculties and
very likely his last Vague consciousness is
Three hours later 6e wakes up with a splitting
headache. Il violent dizziness. and only vague
,nI aTs Iis s9%panlons; 6 ,E m bartender k9Sxs
him to 20 o. out G and walk It of ~ 'A' anu ''
such cases are OF frequent occurrence. Ar
made c,ms n to
TsmembsE distinctiy wha.t. happened or 10
BY clever ruse Detective Mooney succeeded
in capturing two OF tho members OF the . Pret;
example OF the gangs operntlons. A number
Of com plants had been made by men who said
% sae SS at e
keynolds and d Harry Albrieht;, ,E whom In he * knew
fo 1hs Rsp OF
II s ss With g
as il intoxicated. He reeled in to the bar and
called everybody up to drink with him.
with he shouted. Come up an drink on
Albright and Reynolds were Interested i'm
medintely. They struck up an acquaintance
With him m and p took him into 81, the ,t back room;
n Ssne in the % middle Albrisht oriered @ beer
When 1t came. he pulled out his watch and said
I've got a pretty flne watch here that I
The man bent over to look at it. but from the
thing into his beer. All three then drank. In
fifteen minutes the supposed victim was un-
scious OF his companions going through his
pockets. At this moment Detective Mooney
and found on them the marked money in
Of glass; all that. remaineI Of the Vial. On
seeing the officer he had crushed the bottle |
between his arm and his body SO that the drug
could not be used as evidence, The Peter
ts t time As for the d"coy. he " awose ,,S IG three
hours Iater, with violent headache 1t was
three dnys before he recovered sufficiently to
What drug is used as a "knocker out is not
he
into bcerto reduce their victims to insens- |
i Gility & but snusf is rather slow and uncertain
.EnGclhnrt.. on whom was found the vial now
fs the ad[dGS street sGSn to
out employed by tho, Irctzcl Gang
d,v Hs sd tod me snid the that the
ned ""s aracm u tho 30 st TE'H and G thSro
wer: four 6 doses in it. lie get it from ono OF
ta h0 whsso Sf i for - In
originally he couldn't say.
;. In my opinion, continued the detective.
small drug stores on tho east, SID They
must be scientilcally compounded. for while
death resulted. The vnls used are of very
s"s tan n1t EASILY s :sus S ys vs hs
his arm SIT lies in his pocket 1t isn curious
fact act that that The & knock ors ont "rS @ all Gcrmans.
|
give their, occupation as bakers. There aro
tTelEe Ei,s @ or fifteen Of them banging about Tho
tine me They make good thing out OF the
DR.. Perry Of Pcrry.s pharmacy. to whom a
description Of tho drug was urpishe!d. said
odorlcss. He thought that 1t was probably
morphine. and. from the fact that 1t crystal
lzed on the vial. that drachm Of It In solution
must Sc contain at least two grains Of morphine:
a grain Of morphine at a. dose" said the Doc.
tor: tor, and and o4e,eighth OF grain is the ordi;
be decidedly 'knocker out and 1t is sur
prising that men nre not killed sometimes By
the knockers out No drug store ought 10 sell
such a quantity OF morphine to any one not
having u Doctors order without careful in
1uiry. but have no doubt that there are
drug tng stores in the city where 1t could be oh
tninod without trouble or perhaps even whore
the dosos aro put up for the trade"
Famine and Drought In Mexico.
OcAMPo, Aug. 81. p. Herman. an American
miner. arrived hero yesterday from Sierra
nj olada He reports finding the hodiaa ~