In the article on Sons of DeWitt Colony Texas, French Exiles in Texas 1818: The Colony Le Champ D'Asile, there is reference to the desperate exiles eating a poisonous lettuce-like plant---
They had taken provisions for only two days; on the third and the fourth, hunger made itself felt desperately, and each sought means of satisfying it. It was thought that a precious and healthful discovery had been made in a plant which looked much like lettuce. It was cooked and eaten; scarcely was this done when the dangerous results were felt---it was a violent poison. A half-hour after this fatal meal all those who had partaken of it lay stretched upon the ground, wracked by the most terrible convulsions.
Does anyone have an idea what this plant in the East Texas countryside might be and is there an antidote for it? Darlene
They had taken provisions for only two days; on the third and the fourth, hunger made itself felt desperately, and each sought means of satisfying it. It was thought that a precious and healthful discovery had been made in a plant which looked much like lettuce. It was cooked and eaten; scarcely was this done when the dangerous results were felt---it was a violent poison. A half-hour after this fatal meal all those who had partaken of it lay stretched upon the ground, wracked by the most terrible convulsions.
Does anyone have an idea what this plant in the East Texas countryside might be and is there an antidote for it? Darlene
