Iowa Old Press
Hawarden Independent, Sept. 22, 1904
ATE POISONED CHICKEN
As a Result One Child is Dead, Two More Will Die and Others Are Critically
Sick.
LeMars, Ia., Sept. 21-One child is dead, two will probably die and a dozen
more are seriously ill, from the effects of ptomaine poison at Seney and
vicinity. Physicians from LeMars are busy attending the sick.
The doctors trace the poison to pressed chicken served at a birthday party
at the home of Arthur Reeves in Seney. The 6-year-old daughter of John
Osborne is dead and her 10-year-old sister is in a precarious condition.
Wallie Reeves, aged 9, will probably die. The other cases though serious
will probably recover.
Among the sufferers are Jessie Reeves, aged 17; two children of George
Reeves; Mrs. John Osborne; two children of Ed Hughes; members of the family
of Grant Chapman, Elam Chapman, C. W. Cook and Elmer Austin.
The chickens were killed in the morning and served in the evening, after
being boned and pressed.
The general store of Jonathan Alderson at Seney was burglarized yesterday
and 500 cigars and a quantity of handkerchiefs and jewelry taken.
Alton Democrat, Alton, (Sioux), Iowa, Saturday, September 24, 1904,
Page 4, Column 5:
A Fatal Party
A children's party at Seney south of here on the edge of Plymouth
county ended disastrously last week. Half a dozen children were poisoned by
pressed chicken and one has died. Others are dangerously ill. The six year
old daughter of John Osborne was the victim. She was a niece of Billy
Sardeson who formerly lived at Alton. Billy gives this version of the
poisoning. The chickens from which the poisoning was received were killed
by Mr. Osborn (sic--Osborne) on his own place shortly before they were
cooked. Mr. Sardeson explains the origin of the poisoning as having been
due to the fact that the kettle in which the chickens were boiled was left
tightly covered and set away to cool. He believes that under such
circumstances, decomposition begins to take place and that ptomaine's then
are formed. Several other occurrences of the same kind have come to Mr.
Sardeson's notice and he is satisfied that allowing any meat, especially
fowls or game, to cool in a closed vessel after cooking will make them
dangerous.