The San Francisco call., 1899-04-10
MUSHROOMS
MAY HAVE KILLED
MRS. McNALLY
Wife of an Attorney
SuCcumbs.
AN AUTOPSY WILL BE HELD
FINGERED A WEEK AFTER THE
MEAL WAS TAKEN.
Relatives Suspect That Poison From
a Previous Illness Became Active
in the Blood and Caused
Death.
AN AUTOPSY WILL BE HELD
FINGERED A WEEK AFTER THE
MEAL WAS TAKEN.

The wife Of Frank H. McNally, an at
torney residing at 723 Cough street, died
yesterday under circumstances that lndl-
cate she was a victim of poison introduced
into her system through the agency or
mushrooms. The matter was reported to
Coroner Hill, under whose instructions
DR.. Zabala will hold an autopsy this
morning Mrs. McNally was "a years of
age and was the mother of two children
She was formerly a Miss Schaefer of
Marysville.
The Coroner was informed that the
mushrooms to which the death of Mrs.
McNally may have been traceable were
eaten a week ago yesterday at the Nevada
restaurant on Geary street. The husband
and wife took dinner there that evening,
and among other things Mrs. McNally
partook of the fungi. No evil effects were
felt from them during that night or the
next day, and it was not until Tuesday
evening last that Mrs. McNally COM
planned of being i'll, not sufficiently so,
however, to necessitate a call for ply
sician. She suffered considerably Tues
day night and Wednesday morning, but
no suspicion was entertained that poison
was undermining her life.
Mrs. McNally continued to grow worse
as the week wore on until Saturday mght
her condition was alarming. 1t was
then thought that she had d return OF
peritonitis, which nearly caused her death
a year before. On this belief application
was made to a druggist in the neighbor-
hood, who gave prescription intended to
relieve her pain. She took the medicine,
but it did not have the desired effect, and
it was decided finally to call in physl-
clan.
DIR. ]. H. Barbat was summoned at mid
night Saturday and prescribed for the SICK
woman. He made second call yesterday
morning at o'clock and found his patient
dead, after having suffered great agony.
He notified the Coroner OF the circum-
stances, but that official, at the request
OF the relatives, allowed the body TO re-
main at the home.
The lapse of time from the partaking
of the mushrooms till the first symptom OF
illness and the gradual sinking from
then on until death week later makes
the case appear a strange one at first
glance, yet it is stated that such cases
are not absolutely unknown. me Tela-
tives of Mrs. McNally do not believe
that her deatn was caused in that man
ner. They believe that If any toxic
lain dormant in the blood for more than
a year, when Mrs. McNally suffered from
peritonitis. While Coroner Hill seems
inclined to think the same way, ne says
that ii might have been possible for Mrs.
McNally to have eaten the mushrooms
last Sunday, as stated, and not suffer
from them other than she did.
Muscarin, narcotic alkaloid. is -t the
active principle of poisonous fungi. The
symptoms of its presence are usually felt
within few hours after the mushrooms
are eaten but may not show themselves
for a considerable time. When the poison
does manifest its presence, however, it
is with considerable Violence-SeVere
Vomiting and a violent collie. Great
mental excitement is noticeable in the
sufferer. almost invariably followed. by
coma. 1t is generally believed by medical
men that until the poison gets into the
circulation no great harm can be, done.
Once in the blood, however. death in
Variably ensues
Whether or not Mrs. McNally died as
a result of muscarin poison, the state
ment that she ate the mushrooms con-
Sunday is denied by the proprietor, N P.
Loupy He says that mushrooms were not
on the bill Of fare at any time last Sun