Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1893-03-30
SUICIDE, OR A MISTAKE p
John Devine Comes to His Death in
a Singular Manner.


lie Was Ignorant of the Effects of the
Salt, or Wanted to Die is a Mystery
Conflicting Statements
The mysterious death Of John Devine,
| aged % years, at his home on Buttonwood
street near u, in South Wilmington, early
/ Sunday morning is under Investigation.
| An autopsy upon the remains BY DrS.
Baird and Harris Sunday afternoon
revealed the fact that death was due to
| arsenical poisoning contained in 4 tea,
! spoonful of Cobalt salt swallowed by
| Deyine before retiring Saturday night.
| neNine was puddler at the rolling mills
| of the Diamond state Iron Company.
According to the statement OF his daughter
aud Mrs. Deyine, the deceased complained
OF pains in his bones Saturday afternoon,
| ana declared his intentions to procure
some salts at the drug store. as was his
| custom, lie had been in good spirits all
| day and spent part Of the afternoon in re-
| pairing the fence about the house. which
the wind had blown down.
About 3.30 O'Clock Saturday afternoon,
Deyine started tAll town. He first went 10
! Third street market house, where he pur-
chased some meat and then procured
! quantity of tea at Bright's tea store. Ile
next proceeded to the drug store of Y.
James Belt, where the fatal drug was plIr-
chased. The clerk who sold him the
Cobalt salt was Frederick Moore, who
ton clerk. if it was all right to sell the salt
The reply was in the affirmative and Moore
weighed the salt and gave it to Deyine
Clerk Moore placed OIL the package a
label which read, Cobalt Salt lie also
insists that he put on the regulation poison
label, With the skull and cross. bones, and
the word Poison" in four different
places. Devine secured tho package and
left the store.
lie arrived home about $50 o'clock,
somewhat later than usual. When asked
by his wife why he was so late, Devine
sad he had met a man named Patrick
Hayes, and they had several beers together.
lie added that Hayes was coming to see
| him AT his home in few days. Devne
ate his supper and then read the papers for
fully an hour and half. About 1890
| o'clock he declared his intention OF going
to bed. He first asked his daughter to mix
some of the salt he had purchased.
Ellen Devine opened the package, and
was surprised at the color of the salt She
said; Why, pop, this isn't like the salt
You have been getting" His reply was
That is a new kind"
Deyine drank the salt and retired about
0.3D o'clock. lie had not been in bed long
however, when he began to experience
unpleasant symptoms. He vomited ire
quently. lie dressed himself and came
down stairs, his daughter says. He sur-
fered much pain and his head was very
dizzy. Ills daughter remained up until
10 o'clock and then retired, leaving her
father and Mrs Devinc downstairs
Mrs. Devine stated that she remained up
with her husband until d o'clock in the
morning, when she wanted to send for the
family doctor and the priest. Her daugh-
ter got up at q O'Clock. Her father was
very weak and could not sit up By this
time William Devine. one of the deceased's
sons, arrived and helped to carry his
father up stairs. Word was sent to DR..
William q. Pierce, but when the latter mr.
rived Dcyine was dead. Dr. Pierce took
charge of the package that contained the
poison ana the labels, including the one
marked poison" that were on it. They
were subsequently handed TO the coroner.
Captain Evans and State Detective Witsl
began an investigation of the case immedi-
ataly, and secured the package and labels
from DR.. Pierce which they gave to the
coroner.
Clifford MeCannOn, night clerk at Bclt's
drug store tells this story of Devines com
ing to the store for the salt: "A man
came in here between and 6 O'Clock last
night and asked the young man here for
Cobalt salt. The young man got the bottle
down for him and the man said That is
a little darker, Isn't it2 The young man
said; That is the right color, if that is
what you want He said That's what |
want--t'Obalt.'
1T was wrapped upand labeled Cobalt,
and poison label was put on it, and the
man went out. He got out before tho clerk
could get his name,
This morning word came that man
had taken something and died and we
looked 1t up. Cobalt is what we call fly
stone, and il was duly registered in the
book. 1t Is used to kill vermin
The poison registry book at Belts drug
store contains this entry; "5-25-CObalt,
o., 10 cents
The salt is of dark composition, rescm-
bling pulvcrized gunpOwder and is a me-
talllc substance, having arsenic AS its
essential principle. The drug is almost
inrhssOlubc
DR.. William g. Pierce has been the
family physician for the DEFINES for sew
eral years. lie -nid in relation to the case
Sunday evening:
u was called this morning about 40
O'Clock and ! reached the house hurriedly
in coach. met the daughter, Ellen, at
the door III tears and she said Oh, doctor,
you have come too late ! said. What
the matter? lie hasn't been sick She
SAID No, he has poisoned himself
81 went upstairs and found that he was
dead. The family said he had gone up to
Belts drug store the evening before to get n
new kind of salt lie told them he wanted
to take il because he wasn't feeling we'll
He had been feeling stiff in the legs
lie began preparations for retiring
At the usual time. ! suppose ii was be-
tween 1910 and II O'Clock when he took q
teaspoOntul, and they said he had not been
long in bed when lie began to complain
lie continued TO grow worse, vomiting and
purging, and was in state of collapse
They sent for the priest and the doctor,
but both arrived too tate"
Devinc daughter denies that there was
any poison label on the package when
handed to her by her father or SHE would