The San Francisco call., 1896-01-26
ARSENIC IN THE TROUGH
Some One Tempered With the
Drinking Water at the Arc
tic Oil Works.
MANY ATRoCIoUs CRUELTIEs
Evidences That Point to the Manner
of the Deed, but No Clew to
the Perpetrator.

There has been no substantial clew to
the poisoner of the Arctic OIl Company's
horses discovered yet, and the theory that
some perverted monster, who finds pleas
ure in the infiiction of pain upon horses,
is responsible for this as we'll as the Jessie
street outrage is gaining ground among
veterinary surgeons and horsemen who
have given the matter thought.
The analysis of the stomachs of the dead
horses has not been made yet, but from
such post-mortem examinations as Drs.
Masoero and Robin have been able to
make they have come to the conclusion
that the poison used was arsenic.
DR.. Robin said yesterday that a good
many things seemed to point to the theory
that the illness of the twenty horses and
the death of eleven of them were due to
arsenical poisoning, and that the arsenic
had been placed in the drinking trough.
When the stomachs of the deceased ami
mails were taken out they were found to
exhibit symptoms of arsenical poisoning.
The tissues were very well preserved, even
in the animals that had been dead several
days before examined under the knife.
All the horses at the Arctic Oil Works
yard are watered at one long trough. 1t
is thought the arsenic must have been
placed in this Sunday evening or after
noon. The animals that drank first and
most died first. Those that drank last are
still alive, and it is expected that all but
one of them will recover. 1t is the custom
to fill the long trough and then lead the
horses up to drink. While they are drink
ing the spigot is left turned on, so that
the trough remains nearly full of water
even after the last horse has had his I'LL.
One animal in particular, big mare, had
| the reputation of being the heaviest
drinker in the stable. She stuck her nose
in the water deeper, was more eager for
| her drink, and the last to be appeased.
| Sunday evening she was led to the trough
! first, and she was the first of the horses to
! die.
AS near as the stableman can remember
those horses that were led to the trough
first were those who have since died.
Those occupying the farthest stalls, and
consequently were the ones last taken to
! drink, are the ones that survive.
| Among the lot is big mule. Although
he drank from the same trough and ate
the same food he is as well to-day as ever.
"You can't poison a mule" SAID DR..
Robin, laughingly, unless you feed him
on sulphuric acid undiluted.' 1t is rather
a surprising fact that this particular mule
ness from the very start.
One of the circumstances that seem to
strengthen the belief that somebody tam
pered with the watering trough last Sun
day evening is the fact that on Monday,
when the stableman went to turn on the
faucet that empties a stream into the
trough, he found it would not work
readily, and he had to get a wrench to
turn H. This was quite unusual, for the
spigot turns very easily at ordinary times.
Now the stableman believes that some one
was tampering with it Sunday evening
and screwed it too tight. This also points
to some one outside of the yards-to one
unfamiliar with the spigot.
Already eleven of the horses have died
and one is now III what appears to be the
very last stages. DR.. Masoero thinks the
other eight VIII recover and be well enough
to work before the end of the week.
In the last few years there have been a
number of atrocious cruelJies pract1ced op
dumb animals in this CITY, particularly
upon horses, and yet it is unfair to pre-
sumo from this that San Francisco is any
worse than other large cities in this re-
spect. In fact the public sentiment against
cruelty to animals is stronger here than in
many other cities. This is shown in the
fact that for an equal number of arrests
made in several large cities, the percentage
of convictions, both by iuries and courts,
is much larger.
secretary CudrleS hOlDrook OF the SOcl-
ETY. for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals recalled yesterday a rather
peculiar case of horse poisoning that
occurred only few DAYS ago. Two horses
belonging to j. Bradbury, in the stable on
Broderick, near Pine, were taken ill very
suddenly. DR.. Egan, the veterinary sur
geon, was called in, and succeeded in
saving one OF them. The other died,
manifesting every evidence of poisoning.
DR.. Egan examined the feed and water,
and came to the conclusion that the dis
order was caused by a poisonous weed he
found In the hay.
About a year ago or less an Italian scay-
enger threw some kind of acid on the head
of horse belonging to his ex-partner.
This caused a painful sore, or rather a
great many of them. DR.. Masoero minis
tered to the animal, and finally saved its
life. But the horse suffered intensely for
several days. DR.. Masoero thought it was
carbolic acid that had been used.
A similar case came under the observa-
tion OF DR.. Greeley some time ago, when
horse used by Young's bakery on McAllis-
ter street, had Yitriol thrown over its back,
causing horrible series of wounds. An
other very aggravated case of cruelty came
under DR.. Creely's notice not long ago.
A horse belonging to George Howell was
stabbed furiously in the abdomen several
times until the intestines were exposed.
| Luckily the ounds were sewed up, and
after a long time the horse recovered.
Again, this case has nearly parallel in
that wherein Mr.. Holbrook secured con-
viction recently. McCarty, Eureka Val
ley grocer, stabbed dog furiously thirty
two times. A jury found McCarty guilty
and lined him 500. January Is of this
year, one of Isador Gutte's drivers was
convicted of beating one of his horses with
huge plank, torn up from the sidewalk
by the angry driver. There is, in truth,
quite list of cruelties to the lower ami
mails, but they have been inflicted by diff
ferent persons, and usually either out of
revenge to the owner or in a momentary
fit of fury.
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