, 1842-02-05
From the Louisville Journal.
HydrOphObia.

& i Is " ~ " W
i who narrowly escaped an attack of thi
o frichlful malady. that. ever afterwards, il
approaching the subject in his public lectures
he manifested such Il keen sense OF ITS hor
! rors as 10 give rise 10 the opinion, anon!
!, some Of The ~fanciiul Greeks. that lie actually
suffered an attack of the maladv as often a
lie Iectured upon it. Something akin TO thu
must be experienced BY every man OF strong
sympathy who has witnessed Il case OF by
drophobia. We feel it strongly in undertaking
10 describe the mysterious and uncomfortable
power. As we approach the subject, the assem-
blage of horrors in Mr.. Moor's case rises fresh.
" and wildly before us. Never before have We
known the a~tiliction of an individual to call forth
such a deep and enlarged sympathy. From an
early hour of the day of the attack, his case
seem to absorb almost every other consideration.
Anxious crowds passed through the streets, in
quiring as to his condition; and the busy citi-
zen retired to his couch at night, musing upon
the awful visitation. An hour after midnight,
the deep tones of the fire-bell announced the
terminationof the Eisease in death and a gloom,
like a iineral-hall, seemed to be thrown over
the city. When the minister of religion, on the
following day, entered Upon the solemnities ofthe
funeral rites, so immense was the concourse of citi-
LtiS. tlldi IL Il Oullu HcCcSSdIN " duIOuTn from
the dwelling-house of the father of the deceased
10 the Brook street church, where the solemn
obsequies were performed.
From whence arises this profound sympathetic
feeling in reference TO hydrophobia? Undoubt-
eddy from its inscrutable mystery, its horrible
symptoms, and its certain mastery over all the
avenues Of life and strength. 1t has ever been
thus appalling to man. While all other dis
eoSnS boyn upHarrnDa Snpo cbannac on1 Mons,
that were once incurable have become managea-
Bile, This has remained, u~naltered and unconquer-
ed. The very symptoms and their unmitigated
progress TO certain death, that presented them
selves to the Greek physician twenty-five hun
dred years ago. Show themselves now TO the
medical men on the banks of the Ohio. and bid
defiance 10 all their skill and science. While
" hope springs eternal in the hectic breast" the
pail of despair covers the victim of hydropho-
bia.
The first question for consideraiion is as 10 the
cause of hydrophobia in man. The testimony
have collected from many authentic sources
~iusti!ies the conclusion that the bite of a rabid
dog or cat is most general cause. These are
carnivorous animals; and, from their very ma !
ture, they are more combative aud ferocious than
the herbiyerous, such as the horse, COW, &c.
1t is not by any means certain that the bite Of
latter animals in a rabid state is not capa-
BILE of giving the disease to man but, as VIC
have already remarked, the dog and cat are the
most common agents in producing the disease
in human beings. We shall devote most of what
have TO say on this point at present TO the
of the rabid dog.
The question has been mootcd whether it is
absolutely necessary TO tie production of hydro
phobia in man, that the dog shall be rabid. Ex-
%periments have been cited 10 show that it is not
but we think that 4 comparison Of established
Facts. with the experiments, ~nullitics the ~conclu-
sion. The experiments alluded TO consisted in
confirming dogs until after the persons bitten by
hem showed hydrophobic symptoms, without
The exhibition of anything of the kind by the
dogs. To these experiments, there are two OBJ
which are fatal 10 the conclusion drawn:
first, while it is well known that the virus may
lie dormant in the dog as it does in man, it is !
well established, that, if a dog, with the
virus in this dormant condition, bite another, the
bitten dog frequently ma, ,nydropno66ia Sometime J
before its development in the animal that inflic-
cd the bite. The second objection is quite as
strong as the other, if not still more so. 1t
5, that no one knows, or pretcnds 10 know, how |,
ong the virus may lie dormant in the dog; con-
'equently no one can say how long the animal must :
De confined in order to enable us to say that a ,
log not rabid may, by his bite, produce the dis
In man. 1t is established, beyond contro- !
'ersy, that in man the virus may be latent from !
me or two days up TO twcDty-four months but
10 such point is established, upon credible tes-
imony, in regard to the canine race.
Before describing the appearances of the dis )
'ase IN the dog, we must dispose of another ,
notion it is, that a rabid animal does not
ssail with fury, hut merely snaps and passes |
N without attempting to fight. We have heard ;
his idea expressed by some medical men, and !
is quite a common one with the public. Our !
medical friends, who entertain the notion, have a
lot read their professional literature with much |
ttention. DR.. Rush says that huntsmen divided ]
he disease, as exhibited in man, into suHen ra-
les and furious rabies, one arising from a mere '
nap ofthe dog, the other from a furious assault. |
his shows that Il portion of Il non professional d
had observed the truth accurately. L
Dr.. Hamilton, of Edinburgh, relates a case of a a
ydroPhodlc patient, where the front ofthe wind d
ipe was laid bare to 4 considerable extent, the 5
heck lacerated by another bite, the mouth en-
Urged an inch by another, the chin torn by an Il
lher, and the upper part of the throat by still S
mother; proving beyond contradiction. that the a
og had several times changed his hold. In the
of a man, named Oldknow, the dog bit him $
l the thigh, the scrotum, and the hand. These r.
ises clearly show that the rabid animal does. d
ngGa.I h.- -. ii