Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1893-12-07
A. D. PEOPLES FAMILY POISONED.

Six Persons in All, Including MIR.
Peoples, Were Affected--The symptoms
Were Those of Poisoning, and for
Awhile They Were Very Ill--The AFFAIR
Complete Mystery, to Which Not the
Slightest Clue is Apparent--All Now
Recovering.
The report that Alfred D. Peoples, of
the firm of Fell g. Peoples of this city,
together with other members of the
Peoples family, were lying seriously i'll
at their home in Christana hundred,
caused their friends no little anxiety in
this city this morning, and efforts were
Immediately made to ascertain the truth
of the story.
State Detectives Witsil and McVey
were informed that some one had placed
poison in the well from which the
Peoples family drank, and that as a re-
suit of the alleged treachery they were
rendered seriously Ill and lying at the
point of death.
A reporter of THE GAZETTE drove
out TO the Peoples mansion shortly be-
fore noon yesterday, to verify the
statements Of alleged poisoning. The
house was formerly occupied by the
late John Peoples, cashier of the Central
National Bank, and Is situated a short
distance from the Lancaster turnpike
and mile from Silverbrook station on
the Wilmington & Northern railroad.
1t is about three miles from this city.
The reporter saw Alfred ID. Peoples
and asked him the truth of the alleged
poisoning story. He said that members
of the family had been rendered i'll
from some cause, but 1t was not his
belief that the poisonous substance came
from the well. The other persons who
had been made i'll were: John Peoples,
Jr., Miss Rebecca Dever, cousin;
Augustus Brown, the colored cook;
Charles Harris and Charles Raft, two
workmen.
SYMPTOMS OF POISONING.
They all became ill soon after they
had eaten breakfast Tuesday morning.
The symptoms were those of poisoning.
All were made sick at the stomach, be-
came dizzy and vomited freely. Drs.
Crumbaugh and Greenleaf were sum
moned as soon as practicable, and did
all they could for the stricken family.
The physicians were puzzled in re-
gard to the matter. They weru inclined
to the belief that it was case of poi
soning, but from what source the poison
was obtained no one knew. They were
also disposed to believe that there
was something in the well, but an ex-
animation of the water later in the
morning revealed no trace of poison
having been placed there, although
Harris, the workman, thinks that the
| poison came from this source. The
family have no known enemies and no
one is suspected. .#
THINK IT WAS IN THE FOOD.
The prevailing opinion among the
family seems to be that il was the food
that contained the poison, but what
kind of poison it was is a mystery. The
cook was closely questioned In regard
to every dish prepared by him for the
morning meal, and he was unable to
explain the mystery. He was made
deathly sick himself, and it is regarded
as altogether probable that he would moi
have been guilty of placing any objec-
tionable seasoning in the food even by
accident.
BUT DEEPENs THE MYSTERY.
This assurance, and the belief that nc
poison was placed in the well during
| luo uibuVj lao oiiy eSlfou W luTluel
deepen the mystery and no one is able
to solve it.
| ALL ARE RECOVERING.
All of the persons rendered i'll by the
mysterious article of food or drink, as
the case may be, are on the road tc
recovery, and no serious results are
anticipated. The physicians express
their satisfaction that the case was moi
as serious as the reports at first made
believe.
Mr.. Peoples stated that he would
probably be able to resume his business
at the Market street store to-day
He said he experienced few serious re
suits from the strange illness, and had
almost recovered his former health
Mr.. Peoples drives to this city every
morning and at the close of his dutiet
at night returns to his home in Christi
ana hundred.
All the other members of the family
are recovering and most of them were
able to go about their work to-day.
/ xn