December 17, 2020 • 9 mins
Just about anything can be poisoned, ruining a good thing. But if these two tales are any indication, there's always room for hope.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to Aaron Menkey's Cabinet of Curiosity is a production
of I Heart Radio and Grim and Mild. Our world
is full of the unexplainable, and if history is an
open book, all of these amazing tales are right there
on display, just waiting for us to explore. Welcome to
(00:26):
the Cabinet of Curiosities. The attempted murder by poison case
grabbed the nation's attention in nine. In fact, even the
most seasoned investigators in Austin, Texas had never seen another
case like it. The victim, simply referred to as Treaty,
(00:49):
had been one of Austin's oldest and most beloved residents,
the last living survivor of a legendary council. The intended
victims spent their days in the city's historic district, where
they stood witnessed to a lot of history over the years,
from the rebuilding of the state capital in eight or
the Austin Damn failure, to the construction of several bridges
and an airport, and the first days of the Dell
(01:10):
Computer Corporation. And throughout it all this elderly citizens served
the community well. In the early years, negotiations and other
pivotal meetings had been Treatise thing, hence the nickname. Although
to be fair, councilman and other leaders weren't the only
ones to sit in the company of such an esteem citizen,
Rain or shine, heat or cold. Austin's oldest resident was
(01:31):
always there for the people of the city. Try as
they may, no one could figure out why someone would
want to poison such a truly outstanding member of society.
Investigators couldn't ask, either, because Treaty was dying and incapable
of talking. As the news spread, get well cards from
children poured in. Small gifts began to pile up. A
(01:51):
local spiritualist even tried her healing powers by transferring positive energy,
during which time she claimed that Treaty had once, in
another life, been in a Egyptian woman named Alexandria. Lacking
scientific or spiritual abilities of their own, most citizens just
wished Treaty a speedy recovery. Others sent in chicken soup.
Texas resident and industrialist Ross Perot wrote a blank check
(02:14):
for all care and treatment, as well as funding for
the investigation, telling officials that no matter how much it
cost or how long it would take, to just send
him the bill with a generous funding. Specialists were called
in and extensive round the clock work began. Nationwide News
reports sparked outrage across the country. An innocent victim was
barely clinging to life. The story even appeared in People magazine.
(02:37):
As words spread, so too did offers to help. The
manufacturer of the chemical used in the poisoning offered a
ten thousand dollar reward for the capture of the assailant.
On June twenty, police arrested Paul Cullen, who had been
bragging about the attempted murder. And while we might imagine
he'd poison treaty because of an outcome of one of
the many negotiations in the past, Cullen said it had
(02:59):
to do with a spell. He'd been in love, you see,
and no not with the elderly resident. It seems that
he'd been infatuated with a drug counselor who hadn't returned
his affection. Treaty was just available. After the poisoning, Cullen
returned to the scene of the crime. To him, watching
his victim fade represented the death of his love for
(03:19):
the counselor. While heroic efforts were underway to save treaties life.
Jurors in the case debated on life imprisonment for Cullen,
although they eventually agreed on just nine years. He'd go
on to serve three of those and paid a one
thousand dollar fine. And while it seems justice wasn't served,
Treaty not only survived, but also managed to outlive Cullen,
(03:39):
who died a few years later. Of course, healing took
a lot of time, as you might imagine, a powerful
poison had been used, an herbicide, in fact, enough to
kill one trees. Today, Treaty is thriving, in fact, for
the first time since the poisoning acorns have been gathered.
You see, Treaty is an oak tree, more inappropriate, a
(04:00):
species called a Texas live oak, and, according to the
National Forestry Association, the most perfect specimen of that type
of tree in North America. Austin's oldest living resident is
over six d years old. Treaty and another thirteen Texas
live oaks were once called the Council Oaks and were
the sacred meeting ground for Native Americans long before settlers
(04:21):
took over the region. There's no doubt that the attempted
murder case is certainly bizarre. In fact, I can't help
but agree with the people of Austin. Why would anyone
want to kill the treaty oak? And why couldn't they
just leave them alone? At Victoria found herself in a scandal,
(04:51):
there would be others, plenty of them. In fact, the
first involved her marriage, or more appropriately, her divorce. You see,
in eighteen sixty four women men who divorced their husbands
were not only blamed for the marriage failing, but they
were also socially shunned. It didn't matter that Victoria was
the sole financial supporter while her husband spent his days
either drunk or womanizing. So with two children in tow,
(05:14):
Victoria divorced him, leaving a trail of gossip behind her.
The talk didn't bother her, though she had grown up
with worse. Her father had been an abuse of con artist.
But instead of going along with the social norms that
women didn't disclose such things, Victoria talked. Women's rights became
her passion, and she believed women shouldn't have to stay
(05:34):
in abuse of marriages, and that their role in society
was far more than wife or mother. She married again
a couple of years later. This time to a former
Union Army colonel James Harvey Blood, who was also a freethinker.
The two settled down in New York, where he introduced
Victoria to others also taking part in reform movements. So
in Victoria's sister, Tenny, also moved to New York. Women's
(05:59):
rights were the only objects near and dear to the
two sisters. Hearts, though they also believed in equality and
were staunchly antislavery. Victoria quickly became interested in politics and
attended rallies, where her own speeches of equality were considered radical.
By eighteen seventy, Victoria and Tenny were also well known
for spiritualism, soon becoming mediums for the wealthy. Cornelius Vanderbilt,
(06:22):
the railroad tycoon, was so taken with the two sisters
that he set them up in their own business, a
stock brokerage firm, making them the first women stockbrokers in America.
And here's the thing they were good at it. Vanderbilt
made millions from Victoria and Tenny's recommendations. It made them wealthy,
to prompting the New York Herald to call them the
Queens of Wall Street. The idea that women were holding
(06:45):
down such a position, much less outdoing their male counterparts
didn't go over very well. Soon men's journals published articles
depicting the two as immoral, unschaperoned women. They underestimated Victoria, though,
and she decided to fight fire with fire. That's when
the sisters sold the stock brokerage firm and founded their
own newspaper. Aside from women's rights and suffrage, they printed
(07:08):
controversial articles on spiritualism, human rights, birth control, and even vegetarianism.
Mostly though, the paper set the stage for Victoria's run
for a higher office, the American presidency, and this was
well before women were even allowed to vote. Outrageous for
the Times, sure, but Victoria was just getting started. Victoria
(07:29):
chose a running partner that most of us would recognize today,
Frederick Douglas. But in a world where the public feared
the mixing of black and white citizens, a woman running
for president had to be one thing. Choosing a black
man for a vice president sent much of the public reeling.
Friends and supporters of incumbent President Ulysses S. Grant quickly
(07:49):
attacked her character. Victoria Woodhull was wicked, they said. One accuser,
prominent minister Henry Ward, Beecher claimed that aside from being
twice married and a promoter of free love, Victoria had
also engaged in numerous affairs with married men. When Victoria
learned that Beecher himself had been having an affair with
a married woman in his congregation, she exposed the minister
(08:10):
as a hypocrite, publishing the details of the affair in
her own newspaper. The story quickly became a national scandal,
and as a result, Victoria was arrested her crime publishing
obscene content. She was eventually cleared of all charges on
a technicality. By then, though the election was over and
all the controversies surrounding her had inspired Harper's Weekly cartoonist
(08:32):
Thomas Nast to publish a sketch of her. It showed
a woman carrying multiple children and strapped with an angry,
drunken husband on her back as she struggled to walk
up a treacherous mountain. In the sketch, Victoria holds a
sign up that reads save yourself with free love, and
the caption beneath it read I'd rather travel the hardest
path of matrimony than follow in your footsteps. Nast had
(08:55):
depicted Victoria as the devil incarnate, spurring another nickname Mrs Satan,
although today we might call her something else, a trailblazer.
I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet
of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn
more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com.
(09:19):
The show was created by me Aaron Manky in partnership
with how Stuff Works. I make another award winning show
called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, and television show,
and you can learn all about it over at the
World of Lore dot com. And until next time, stay curious.
Welcome to Aaron Menkey's Cabinet of Curiosity is a production
of I Heart Radio and Grim and Mild. Our world
is full of the unexplainable, and if history is an
open book, all of these amazing tales are right there
on display, just waiting for us to explore. Welcome to
(00:26):
the Cabinet of Curiosities. The attempted murder by poison case
grabbed the nation's attention in nine. In fact, even the
most seasoned investigators in Austin, Texas had never seen another
case like it. The victim, simply referred to as Treaty,
(00:49):
had been one of Austin's oldest and most beloved residents,
the last living survivor of a legendary council. The intended
victims spent their days in the city's historic district, where
they stood witnessed to a lot of history over the years,
from the rebuilding of the state capital in eight or
the Austin Damn failure, to the construction of several bridges
and an airport, and the first days of the Dell
(01:10):
Computer Corporation. And throughout it all this elderly citizens served
the community well. In the early years, negotiations and other
pivotal meetings had been Treatise thing, hence the nickname. Although
to be fair, councilman and other leaders weren't the only
ones to sit in the company of such an esteem citizen,
Rain or shine, heat or cold. Austin's oldest resident was
(01:31):
always there for the people of the city. Try as
they may, no one could figure out why someone would
want to poison such a truly outstanding member of society.
Investigators couldn't ask, either, because Treaty was dying and incapable
of talking. As the news spread, get well cards from
children poured in. Small gifts began to pile up. A
(01:51):
local spiritualist even tried her healing powers by transferring positive energy,
during which time she claimed that Treaty had once, in
another life, been in a Egyptian woman named Alexandria. Lacking
scientific or spiritual abilities of their own, most citizens just
wished Treaty a speedy recovery. Others sent in chicken soup.
Texas resident and industrialist Ross Perot wrote a blank check
(02:14):
for all care and treatment, as well as funding for
the investigation, telling officials that no matter how much it
cost or how long it would take, to just send
him the bill with a generous funding. Specialists were called
in and extensive round the clock work began. Nationwide News
reports sparked outrage across the country. An innocent victim was
barely clinging to life. The story even appeared in People magazine.
(02:37):
As words spread, so too did offers to help. The
manufacturer of the chemical used in the poisoning offered a
ten thousand dollar reward for the capture of the assailant.
On June twenty, police arrested Paul Cullen, who had been
bragging about the attempted murder. And while we might imagine
he'd poison treaty because of an outcome of one of
the many negotiations in the past, Cullen said it had
(02:59):
to do with a spell. He'd been in love, you see,
and no not with the elderly resident. It seems that
he'd been infatuated with a drug counselor who hadn't returned
his affection. Treaty was just available. After the poisoning, Cullen
returned to the scene of the crime. To him, watching
his victim fade represented the death of his love for
(03:19):
the counselor. While heroic efforts were underway to save treaties life.
Jurors in the case debated on life imprisonment for Cullen,
although they eventually agreed on just nine years. He'd go
on to serve three of those and paid a one
thousand dollar fine. And while it seems justice wasn't served,
Treaty not only survived, but also managed to outlive Cullen,
(03:39):
who died a few years later. Of course, healing took
a lot of time, as you might imagine, a powerful
poison had been used, an herbicide, in fact, enough to
kill one trees. Today, Treaty is thriving, in fact, for
the first time since the poisoning acorns have been gathered.
You see, Treaty is an oak tree, more inappropriate, a
(04:00):
species called a Texas live oak, and, according to the
National Forestry Association, the most perfect specimen of that type
of tree in North America. Austin's oldest living resident is
over six d years old. Treaty and another thirteen Texas
live oaks were once called the Council Oaks and were
the sacred meeting ground for Native Americans long before settlers
(04:21):
took over the region. There's no doubt that the attempted
murder case is certainly bizarre. In fact, I can't help
but agree with the people of Austin. Why would anyone
want to kill the treaty oak? And why couldn't they
just leave them alone? At Victoria found herself in a scandal,
(04:51):
there would be others, plenty of them. In fact, the
first involved her marriage, or more appropriately, her divorce. You see,
in eighteen sixty four women men who divorced their husbands
were not only blamed for the marriage failing, but they
were also socially shunned. It didn't matter that Victoria was
the sole financial supporter while her husband spent his days
either drunk or womanizing. So with two children in tow,
(05:14):
Victoria divorced him, leaving a trail of gossip behind her.
The talk didn't bother her, though she had grown up
with worse. Her father had been an abuse of con artist.
But instead of going along with the social norms that
women didn't disclose such things, Victoria talked. Women's rights became
her passion, and she believed women shouldn't have to stay
(05:34):
in abuse of marriages, and that their role in society
was far more than wife or mother. She married again
a couple of years later. This time to a former
Union Army colonel James Harvey Blood, who was also a freethinker.
The two settled down in New York, where he introduced
Victoria to others also taking part in reform movements. So
in Victoria's sister, Tenny, also moved to New York. Women's
(05:59):
rights were the only objects near and dear to the
two sisters. Hearts, though they also believed in equality and
were staunchly antislavery. Victoria quickly became interested in politics and
attended rallies, where her own speeches of equality were considered radical.
By eighteen seventy, Victoria and Tenny were also well known
for spiritualism, soon becoming mediums for the wealthy. Cornelius Vanderbilt,
(06:22):
the railroad tycoon, was so taken with the two sisters
that he set them up in their own business, a
stock brokerage firm, making them the first women stockbrokers in America.
And here's the thing they were good at it. Vanderbilt
made millions from Victoria and Tenny's recommendations. It made them wealthy,
to prompting the New York Herald to call them the
Queens of Wall Street. The idea that women were holding
(06:45):
down such a position, much less outdoing their male counterparts
didn't go over very well. Soon men's journals published articles
depicting the two as immoral, unschaperoned women. They underestimated Victoria, though,
and she decided to fight fire with fire. That's when
the sisters sold the stock brokerage firm and founded their
own newspaper. Aside from women's rights and suffrage, they printed
(07:08):
controversial articles on spiritualism, human rights, birth control, and even vegetarianism.
Mostly though, the paper set the stage for Victoria's run
for a higher office, the American presidency, and this was
well before women were even allowed to vote. Outrageous for
the Times, sure, but Victoria was just getting started. Victoria
(07:29):
chose a running partner that most of us would recognize today,
Frederick Douglas. But in a world where the public feared
the mixing of black and white citizens, a woman running
for president had to be one thing. Choosing a black
man for a vice president sent much of the public reeling.
Friends and supporters of incumbent President Ulysses S. Grant quickly
(07:49):
attacked her character. Victoria Woodhull was wicked, they said. One accuser,
prominent minister Henry Ward, Beecher claimed that aside from being
twice married and a promoter of free love, Victoria had
also engaged in numerous affairs with married men. When Victoria
learned that Beecher himself had been having an affair with
a married woman in his congregation, she exposed the minister
(08:10):
as a hypocrite, publishing the details of the affair in
her own newspaper. The story quickly became a national scandal,
and as a result, Victoria was arrested her crime publishing
obscene content. She was eventually cleared of all charges on
a technicality. By then, though the election was over and
all the controversies surrounding her had inspired Harper's Weekly cartoonist
(08:32):
Thomas Nast to publish a sketch of her. It showed
a woman carrying multiple children and strapped with an angry,
drunken husband on her back as she struggled to walk
up a treacherous mountain. In the sketch, Victoria holds a
sign up that reads save yourself with free love, and
the caption beneath it read I'd rather travel the hardest
path of matrimony than follow in your footsteps. Nast had
(08:55):
depicted Victoria as the devil incarnate, spurring another nickname Mrs Satan,
although today we might call her something else, a trailblazer.
I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet
of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn
more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com.
(09:19):
The show was created by me Aaron Manky in partnership
with how Stuff Works. I make another award winning show
called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, and television show,
and you can learn all about it over at the
World of Lore dot com. And until next time, stay curious.
Aaron Mahnke's Cabinet of Curiosities News
Host
Aaron Mahnke
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