Drinking wood alcohol caused the deaths of three men and one woman at South Fork and another man is likely to die. The dead are Lawrence Smith, married, aged 42 years, and leaves a wife and four children; Peter Brock, son-in-law of Smith, aged 30, leaves a wife and one child; Joseph Polozinski, aged 19, unmarried, and Mrs. Polozinski, his mother. The men had been drinking on Sunday, when they concluded they ought to have some more alcohol and Smith started after it and soon returned with a bottle of the death dealing liquid. Grain alcohol is used by many foreigners when diluted with water, for stimulating purposes, but wood alcohol is poisonous and is used entirely for mechanical purposes and in the making of liniments. Smith got the wrong kind of alcohol and as a result four are dead and another, Joseph Smith, is very sick and may die. The parties are all Polanders. |