Tragedy in a Tin of Pills
When a toddler in a historic Washington town mistook medicinal pills for candy, a medical error turned into a heartbreak that echoed across the community.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
A peculiar accident occurred at South Aberdeen a few days since. Mrs. Ed Sherman, a widow, was sick, and the doctor in attendance left some pills for her to take, much of the same kind he had formerly prescribed and containing strychnine, but in such a small quantity as to be considered harmless. While the mother's attention was attracted elsewhere, her child, only a year and a half old, found the pills and ate them all, perhaps thinking they were candy. About half an hour after eating them, it was taken violently ill, and in less than two hours it died, despite all its agonized mother’s and frightened relatives’ could do for its relief.
“About half an hour after eating them, it was taken violently ill, and in less than two hours it died.”
This 1899 account reflects the terrifying reality of pre-regulatory medicine, where potent poisons were kept in reach of children. It serves as a stark reminder of how far public safety standards in the home have traveled since the turn of the century.
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