The Failed Poison Dinner of Seattle
A meticulously planned attempt at mass murder by a man named Perry Dunfield was thwarted when his intended victims missed their appointment—but the tragedy still unfolded at home.
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.
The recent attempt at wholesale slaughter by Mr. Perry Dunfield was at the time regarded as a sort of spasmodic attempt resulting from insanity. Later developments prove that there was method in all of the details of the plot. Mr. Dunfield was incensed at Mr. S. Sloan, a man who delivers wood and bark in the city, because some time ago he refused to go security on a note. Dunfield later told a man he was going to kill Sloan, and also Frank McCombs, whom he disliked. He also had a difficulty with Robert Knipe about the use of a stable. Last Saturday, Dunfield invited these men to his home on Sunday evening, claiming his family would be leaving for California on Monday and they should part as friends. He even visited Sloan to ensure he would attend. When the men arrived, they were intended to drink a 'last friendly glass' of strychnine and whiskey. Fortunately, Sloan was called away on business, Knipe refused to go despite his wife's urging, and McCombs was similarly delayed. When the family returned from church, Dunfield attempted to force others to drink the poison. He attacked his family, and though he did not release his daughter, Eliza, her elder sister assisted her to escape. We are still of the opinion that Dunfield’s mind was deranged, though some of the intended victims assert there was no insanity about it.
“Had these three men kept the appointment and drank a last friendly glass of the strychnine and whiskey, the result would have been still more terrible than it is.”
This 1877 account captures a chilling domestic tragedy, revealing the volatile intersections of social pressure, financial grievance, and mental health in the early days of Seattle. It highlights that even in a rapidly growing town, the lack of institutional support for the mentally ill led to horrific outcomes that reverberate through the history of the frontier.
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