Pawtucket tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1890-189?, 1895-07-03
.kN0Ck-0OI drops
Latest Device Employed by Crooks To
Fleece the Unwary.
Dose of Chloral In Beer Does
the Business.
Victims Recover Consciousness and Find That
They Nave Been Robbed.

BOSTON, July 8.-When the police ar
rested two men Monday night on the
charge Of administering what Is commonly
known as Knockout drops" to Pliny II.
West, they did not know that anybody
else had taken the same sort of drops and
been robbed In Boston In years. Now IL
appears that somebody has been putting
knockout drops" in beer and other liquor
which Boston men have afterward taken
and lapsed into state of unconsciousness
while the thieves relieved them OF their
valuables
The men arrested on the charge OF rob
bing Mr. West gave the names of Linsey
g. Boyd and John j. Martin. Yesterday
woll-known Boston business man read
the account OF the arrest, and then went
TO police headquarters and told IA story to
Inspector Watts that made the capture OF
the men seem more important than IL had
up TO that time. The man was asked to
look at the alleged robbers, and he ut once
identified them as the ones who robbed
him on June 49,
How tho Trick Is Done.
He said that he met the men on Court
street. They seemed respectable, and
when one OF them suggested that the en-
tire party take drink, the business man
agreed, and they stepped into q saloon.
The business man took beer. It had no
sooner reached his stomach than he began
to feel as II he wanted to go to sleep, and
protty soon he became unconscious. The
next thing he knew he found himself In
the Quincy House, with his money and
watch gone.
When the police came to lock mp the REQ
ord Of Boyd they found that he Is wanted
on the charge Of robbing William H.
Walker of Canada at Hotel Thorndiks
last August Walker met Boyd on tho
Public Garden, and the two went over to
the Thorndike to take drink. They be-
came very well acquainted In q little
while, and then Walker lost conscious
ness. When he came to, his watch and
1888 in cash were missing.
The police have lot Of pawn tickets
which were found in the possession of the
men when they were arrested and with
these they hope to recover q large guam
tity Of property which it is thought was
stolen from persons In this city by the
use of knockout drops"
About the Knockout Drops.
The drug used by these men was chloral.
and in all cases SO far developed IL has
worked very successfully for the law
breakers 1t was only month or two ago
that eminent chemists In New York came
forward and said that no such thing as
Knockout drops"-that is, preparation
that would deprive an intended victim
temporarily Of consciousness and action
without resulting in any serious injury
was in existence.
They told the New York police, who
were discussing the matter, that prepara-
ton that would accomplish what was in
tended, would also cause the victims
death. The police responded by bringing
a patrolman who had taken dose OK
something described as "knock out drops"
and after losing consciousness and power
of action, had remained in that state for
about two days, at the end Of which time
he became himself again, with no trouble
some results.
During the late discussion, moreover, a
New York police officer offered to give
800 to any man who would take dose
of "knock-out drops that the officer had
In his office. No one was willing to try
1t, and when it was tried on animals it
made them unconscious temporarily, but
left them at length unharmed.