The Mysterious Poisoning at the Fountain
A peculiar outbreak of illness in Seattle leaves townspeople baffled after drinking from a public water source.
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.
BOTTOM (near Seattle), April 26—Mr. Benjamin Camlin, of St. Louis, has for the past few days been holding a series of public meetings, which have been well attended. However, as yet unknown persons put into a reservoir of water, which the speaker had placed upon the stand from which he was speaking, a large quantity of croton oil. Several persons drank of the water before the agitation began and became deadly sick, but not knowing the cause of their illness, failed to secure relief from the doctor. The latter during his discourse drank a glass of water and was immediately taken ill. All who tasted the water are today in a precarious condition. The police have been put on the inquiry to trace the source of the poisoning, as it is suspected that they utilized the water to aid the parties who were hostile toward the speaker.
“Several persons drank of the water before the agitation began and became deadly sick, but not knowing the cause of their illness, failed to secure relief from the doctor.”
This incident of tampering with a public speaker's water source reflects the intense social and political volatility of the frontier era. Today, the concern has shifted from individual sabotage of podiums to broader questions of the security and safety of Seattle's public water infrastructure, yet the fear of hidden malice in the commons remains a potent anxiety.
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