The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-11-01
KILLED BY A FIELD PLANT.
TWO BoYs POISONED 4 MT IN TOWN
BIZ THE UNISON WEED.

Not Made ni-Round the Plant In an Open
Lot ON Riversiao Drive, and sltstook the
FEDS Containing the Seeds fer Chestnut Burrn
Three little west side boys, while playing on
Riverside Drive on Saturday afternoon. wan.
dered into an open lot on tho east side Of the
street, and finding in the underbrush what they
took to be chestnut burrs, picked some, cracked
them open, and ate the contents. Tho supposed
chestnut burrs wero pods from datura plants,
commonly known rs Jamestown, or Jimson,
weeds, which contain a large percentage Of the
poison known to medicine as stramonium. One
OF tho boys died after hours Of pain early yester.
day; another is now lowering between lifo and
death. while the third, who says he spat out
most OF the seeds and swallowed only o few, has
not been affected at all as yet by the poison.
The dead boy was Charley Gerber, 4 years old.
son of n butcher at 464 Amsterdam avenue, who
lives at 202 West Eighty.fourth street. His
companions were Willie Roth. 9 years old, of
400 Amsterdam avenue. and Edward Clausen.
8 years old, who lives in the same neighborhood.
Roth is the boy who is still lingering between
life and death.
The three boys had been playmatos for some
time, hut their parents rarely allowed them to
wander of Of the block on Amsterdam avenue,
between Eighty.third and Eighty-tourth streets.
Occasionally, on Saturday afternoons. thoy had
been permitted to go over to Riverside Drive to
play, and these little excursions were great
treats for tho youngsters.
The Gerber boy got permission from his grand
father. who was in the butcher shop on Satur-
day afternoon, to go over to the drive for an
hour or 80. On the way he picked up Roth and
Clausen, and the three won't to the drive to-
gether. They frolicked around for q time, play
ing tag, hide and seek, and other games, and
finally decided to take q walk. They strolled
olnr- ~, thA r;,a- Ia - A. .z.l .-.t, 49,
reached Seventy.ninth street, when one of the
boys said:
Lets go over and play in that lot"
The other boys hailed the suggestion with
glee, and oil three crossed over to the east side
Of the drive and plunged into the heavy weeds
In the lot at the southeast corner. The datura
plant grows very thickly In the lot, as 1t does in
a number of other lots in the vicinity. 1t has a
white flower, and o number of the plants in the
Seventy-ninth street lot are in blossom. The
other bows say that the little Gerber boy was
the first to discover the burrs. They arc about
but could not DO mistaken for the latter by an
older person, because the prickles on them are
bush, and, holding it up, exclaimed;
Heres ChesnutS, boys; let's cat them"
Neither of the other boys had any doubt that
number of the burrs, they went to the edge OF
the burrs open and extract the seeds. There
was no reason why the children should have
after opening the burrs. for the seeds are small
and lie in rows in a greenish pulp.
seeds. his companions say. Roth didn't eat SO
much and Clausman still less. After their poi
sonous feast the. three boys started for home
Eighty-ihird. street at about 5 o'clock. three
hours after they left their homes.
Charlie Gerber had at that time felt no i'll
C1eCtS from the POISONOUS seeds, He was very
much frightened at having been away SO long.
however, and afraid of being whipped. He ran
after s%colding. him. his grandfather Get him at
work separating SIS in nickels.. dimes. and
him home.
The lad alto his dinner and had just started to
After vomiting, the boy was attacked with vic.
lent, cramps. Between his screams he told his
had found in a lot during the afternoon. Less
than hIteen. minutes later he was raving in
G. H Grub Mrs e G s6s TS sent E Ri mssse3Ge5 for Dr.
and in the meantime applied n number of simple
remedies without any effect.
those of poisoning, and, although he thought
him beyond medical aid. applied remedies
3A.N NJ. yesterday he died.
The Roth boy went home Mt about the same
time rs young Gerber, but he WAS not taken i'll
until about an hour later. 1t was about 8 o'clock
when he complained to his mother that he had
u stomachache. Nothing was thought Of the mat.
ter until the boy began to cry out with pain and
gave him castor oil; but it had no effect: 80 she
third street. DIR. Bell applied remedies. and at
;.hout 3 o'clock IN TIE morning the Roth boy fell
term terooo NAH AID bnnaInc deijr ImoNe hast m niy Inc u al.
conscionsness alternatcd with delirium.
The Clausman hoy was badly frightened when
he heard what had happened to his companions.
His parents sent for a physician and had him ex-
anined. but there, were no evidences of poison
about him. Tho physician said that it was not
surprising that q few OF the seeds had failed TO
do any damage.
DR.. Gruber was m~ystiied at the description of
the nuts that the lads had eaten which was
furnished by C%lausman, so he took the boy to the
Seventy. street lot and made him point
The doctor recognized them as the Daturd
strdm'0nium,
said DR.. Gruber toa Sun reporter. "They are
deadly poison, and grow in great numbers in
found II number OF them at Eighty-fourth street
and the Drive, From the seed a poisonous drug
is extracted. which, while it does not resemble
helladonna at all is used for similar purposes.
Crushed in alcohol, 1t IL made into q ~tincture,
which is largely used in the treatment of asthma.
The Gerber boy had taken so much OF the poi
son and it had had 80 much time to spread about
his system that there was no hope for him..
The weed Is n very common one along River
side Drive, and is a constant menac" to the chill.
dren who play along that thoroughfare. A ply
stefan said toa SUN reporter yesterday that it
was criminal for tho authorities to allow tho
weed to flourish in the city. So far as he had
been able to find out. there was none of IL along
II u proper VI Oh INC west 81 10, Wnlcl is
under control or the Park Department. In
many OF the vacant lots. he said, It fourished to
a greater extent than harmless and more COM
mon weeds.
the Datura:
1T is n genus Of rank, poisonous, narcotic
plants. having snowy flowers. some OF which
possess fragrance as well as beauty. . . . The
most common Is an Asiatic or perhaps tropical
American species, known as thorn apple. found
about, waste grounds. near dwellings. This is
considered rs a variety of Ddturd strdmonium,
whose blossoms arc white. and growing near the
seashores. From the green capsules and ripe
seeds an alkaline extract is obtained. . .
This Is very poisonous. Stramonium produces
delirium. and even maniacal BY mptoms.'
OUR sEACOAST DEFENOEs.