The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-04-22
DEALERS OF KNOCKER-0UT.
PETER PLAYERS, THEIR DRUss. AND
UoW THEY work THEIR VIC1IkfS.

NOW THEY WORK IHEiH VlC1AhA
,r,.,rh Addicted 90 Csrtsin CHARTERS, They
AGO Hsunt Respectable Drinking Places
,oi,u.tous OF Bsrtssdsrs-A Detectives
r,s.rteuee with Two Players"
70 ,ould be hard to md = lower class Of
..,roin,l. in this city to-day than the cownrdly
,,,ousnters Of the Bowery. who nightly secure
.ictin,s through the medlum Of what Is known
4, polIcs patlancs as "knocker-out" The
ar.ratcrs OF this deadly drug represent the
ioNe., order OF criminals. also the most dan
y.rous. as 1t Ia next to imposslbls to break
hsm up They are known to the police as
"reter players" because the pioneer OF the
,usins.. in this country was old Peter Sawyer.
"a desperate a crook as ever got in the hands
NJ the police Of this city
The resorts Of burglars. sneak thieves. pick
pocsets and confidence men have one by one
b.en broken up by the authorities, aud the
crooks scattered all over the country. But the
~pster players" still flourish. and will continue
"a do SO Just as long as chloral hydrats IL as
.,sy to obtain as II IL as present and intoxi-
e.,sd men will consent to drink with strang-
an. The resorts Of Peter players" cannot be
broken UP because they are the SWEETEST and
most respectable places in town. A crook will
sdminister the "knocker-out" In q respecta-
bic place az readily as he will in some Bowery
dive, ana therein lbs tne uhnBeT.
There used 10 be regular hang outs for the
-Peter players" probably the most notorious
Of which was the old Tree Inn on Chatham
square. Dozens OF them used to loiter around
there day and night selecting soldiers and
s.llors for victims. Another notorious resort
Was . saloon on Worth street. kept By q man
named Smith. There were dozens OF other
plsces around Chatham square where the
Peter players" used to work with the pro-
ptietor Of the house. but most Of them have
been broken up within the past two years.
Now the Peter players" work anywhere
where they can obtain privacy. They will
administer the "knocker-out" at the bar Of
some respectable place and then walk the
victim to O SPOT whore they can rob him
st leisure. or else they will secure a
private room in some swell cai6 and when
the victim has fallen prey to the drug relieve
him OF his valuables and leave him there.
Fully half q dozen Peter players" are ar
rested in this city every month. On some the
drug 10 found. and In these cases q conviction
Il invariably secured. but most OF them manage
TO destroy the only evidence against them
selves after arrest. Tho drug Is always carried
in q small vial OF VERY thin glass. which 10
usually placed In the vest pocket where IL can
be got at in an instant One slap at the vest
pocket will break the vial into q hundred
pieces and cause the evidence to suddenly dis
appear. A police Captain who was for many
years In command OF the Elizabeth street sta
ton told Sun reporter the other day that in
seven cases out OF ten bits OF glass were found
in the Peter players" vest pockets after
they had been arrested. The damp condition
OF the pocket would account for the broken bits
OF glass.
just what drugs are used in tho manufac-
turs OF "knocker-out" has been q matter Of
discussion among medical men and the au-
thoritles for a long time. Samples taken from
the persons Of prisoners have been handed
over to chemists and druggists time and again
to be anayz ed. but somehow or other no two
OF tho perts aRreo as to what II really Is. Ono
reason for this 10 that the most expert OF the
Peter players" mix in other light drugs with
the main ingredient OF "knocker-out" In
order to render tho poison obscure. Few
Of tho men who operate with Knockers
out" know Just what they are handling.
What they do know. however. is Just how to
administer the drug and just how much to
give In order to bring about tho desired result.
Old Peter SAWYER. the first crook to- use
dsay n sn Would Tfh NIX m S
with the yictim,s beer and then Patiently wait
howrye-. was that 1t was difficult to tell how
much to give a man. Mems stomachs are DIFF
S6si make nG him sss got before tore m SS It
at b s9 hsesPy s9s woad
that ronu ne Enocker-oat" is Maie1d it
solution Of morphine. but this is a mistake.
BY Peter players' Choral hydrate is the
drug that is ed to-day by crooks. and al
with It. It is not TO weaken or strengthen the
drug. but simply TO prevent chemists from
finding out what the main ingredients of the
Charles Heyman. better known as Diam ond
Charley, used 70 manufacture the smoker
10 still in this business or NOT. however. is not
known. He lived in Harlem and used to buy
drugs, which he mixed and sold in small walls:
Some crooks made their own knocker-out."
q rheT cost %hS
than three cents. The medicinal dose OF chlor-
el hydrate is from hiteen to thirty grains. while
knock;o purposes. The drug is Compounded
cd in the proportion OF one grain TO a drop. and
dose a glass OF beer. Sometimes the knock
sTEIt II made "a h SO fSwsrfqi that four or Ave
grains without Deing affected. II 10 dangerous
to get shove forty drops as the drug is apt to
A form OF administering "knocker-out"
which came In after Peter Sawyer's snufI game
stSns Ths Stone was s Worn H inside the hsRd
the plain oand Of tho ring betting the, outside
as sds s ssai
conceal morphine or opium pill, which they
would drop into a glass of beer or whiskey.
This game was not always successful, how
ever, as the pill would not always dissolve. and
the drinker, II he didn't accidentally swallow
T. would spit i out. Its discovery was apt to
bring on fight. too. which Is something the |
Peter player" always wants to avoid. |
o., hnock out men always travel In pairs |
Thsy pick up q victim on the street II he 10 |
drunk or in some resort II he is sober. The |
acquaintance OF u drunken mhn 10 easy to Sc |
cure on the street, while sober man must be |
Aceosted In a different fashion. Brushing up |
against q drunken man, then Apologizing,
and then inviting him to have = drink or ac::
ospting his invitation TO drink Is one way OF |
securing a victim. A saloon is visited. a prl- |
yats room 10 suggosted. and drinks are served. |
The victims attention is distracted for a
moment. and in that momsnt the drops Of
he drinks. falls asleep. and wakes up hours
later sick and with splitting headache. his
money and Jewelry. rs we'll as his mpAn Ions
gone the place is q hang. out for Peter
plains to tho bartender II It is a respectable
house he gets plenty OF sympathy and possi-
bly, a few dollars from the proprietor, who
foes not want the reputation OF his place sulied
by the making public OF the occurrence.
sober men are worked In other ways. Ac-