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Whodunit: Death by Hunters Pudding

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Loyalist Dave

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So here is an image of a newspaper report from 1829 where at least one fellow died after eating Hunters Pudding....,
Now the question is..., was this murder, or accident?
The proper ingredients for the Hunter's Pudding are listed within the article.

HUNTERS PUDDING DEATH.JPG


Did the water have the deadly substance, and transferred it to the pudding OR did the pudding have the deadly substance, and transferred some of it to the water?

I wonder how long it took for somebody to take a sample of the water? Would they have kept the water in the kettle after boiling a pudding? Nobody else got sick from any food made after the party got ill.

LD
 
It's not uncommon for naturally occurring arsenic to be found in alluvial groundwater and the levels can fluctuate depending on conditions. It wouldn't surprise me if these people had been consuming arsenic contaminated water for a while and finally received a high dose that had concentrated into their well water.
 
And maybe the arsenic is a red herring. It’s natural and may have been high enough to do the job, especially to the pudding that may have been boiled in the bad water for five or six hours.
Some anaerobic bacteria that can handle boiling? Another toxic ground water element.
It made all sick but only the one died, his perfect health may not have been so perfect?
I am taken aback by the ending. This food killed one, made several sick let’s give it to the kids and see how they handle it.... whoops made them sick too😳
 
It's tough to diagnose, given just one symptom. Since it was 1829 I'm sure they employed all the latest technology; blood-letting, leaches, etc.
 
I wonder if one of the "members of the select vestry who had not regularly attended the meetings" was a cook at the public-house called Naylor's Green and was upset at being charged a fine for not attending the meetings?
If he knew of Mr Booth's fondness for hunters's pudding, it would be a simple task to drop a bit of arsenic into the mixing bowl with the flour and raisins.
So, several of the group might like hunter's pudding? All the better. Several birds with one stone, so to speak.
After all, "All of them were guilty of charging the fine." might be the thoughts of the culprit.
 
I wonder if one of the "members of the select vestry who had not regularly attended the meetings" was a cook at the public-house called Naylor's Green and was upset at being charged a fine for not attending the meetings?
If he knew of Mr Booth's fondness for hunters's pudding, it would be a simple task to drop a bit of arsenic into the mixing bowl with the flour and raisins.
So, several of the group might like hunter's pudding? All the better. Several birds with one stone, so to speak.
After all, "All of them were guilty of charging the fine." might be the thoughts of the culprit.

YES that was another possibility too..., vestry members get fined, then the folks in the Select Vestry have a party on the proceeds ???

in another decade the problem of Select Vestry being so totally corrupt would require (finally) Parliament to reform the system.

OH and not to get too far from "camp cooking" but the possibility of arsenic back then, and now, PLUS other toxins today for those of us who trek today in the modern world..., just be careful of your water sources. It's not just biological contaminants that one needs to avoid, eh?

OH and don't take a position as a member of a Vestry....

LD
 
I am taken aback by the ending. This food killed one, made several sick let’s give it to the kids and see how they handle it.... whoops made them sick too😳
It doesn’t read like that to me. It was common at the time for the staff of such establishments to eat leftovers. Might have been street urchins being done a kindness, too.
Now I wanna make a hunter’s pudding...
Jay
 
Except for the arsenic detected my guess would be food poisoning also. The symptoms are right. Meats weren't as fresh in those days and could have gone bad and not been cooked well enough. We often hear of people getting seriously ill eating tainted vegetables from the market. The turnips or carrots may have carried botulism. But the arsenic gives it a twist.
 
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