The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1866-07-21
No. 48
Triehiniosis in Iowa.

TrIchlnlOsls IN Iowa.
We have already published an account Of
the death Of several persons in Iowa from
the trichinG Of pork a Chicago correspon-
dent of the New York News tells fright
ful and highly improbable story in regard to
the manner In which the disease was intro
duced into Iowa. We give 1t for what it Is
worth:
The writer says that a man named John
Clapson, Of small means and less conscience
but Of great business acuteness settled down
in Iowa as a drover, dealing principally in
hogs, and gradually making money.
One day German emigrant came along
and asked CIapsOn to employ him. He was
engaged to work on the farm during the
/ season. He had just arrived from kiel
/ Germany, and was a well educated, phile-
/ sophie, but poor man. Among his effects was
/ q small microscope and some hog meat (part
Of a ham) filed with tricHiHi spjralis, the
/ dreaded worm which terminates equally
we'll iu the muscles Of hog or man. The
microscope can detect these, 1t Is said, at the
/ rate of two hundred thousand In a cubic inch
! The German explained to Clapson the cases
/ which he had seen In Germany, and mem
! toned incidentally that the German authori-
/ ties had offered a reward equal to about
| seventy-fiye dollars for every hog found to
contain trichinae.
| Clapson examined the piece of pork aud
! Immediately LAID out his plan of action fer
| one OF the most viliainOus schemes that ever
! entered into the brain Of man. lie bought
/ five hundred hogs, cut the trichinasis pork
/ into small fragments, and gave these frag-
ments to his hogs taking care that every hog,
as far as possible, should get portion Of the
! infected meat. The result was In less than
! two months the muscles of each hog were
thoroughly infected.
! 1t may be incidentally mentiOned that all
pigs, as soon as born, were killed, and thrown
/ to the hogs as food, thus spreading the worm
! horror through the whole drove
! About the lst Of June, the fend John
/ ClapsOn, let out that he was willing to sell
! few hogs cheap for cash, to his neighbors, as
| he did not have room to keep the large guam
/ tity he had on hand. This soon became
nOised about, and great many families
| bought one and two hogs each, and killed
| them for family consumption.
The result is too well known. Death has
| already come into one or two families, and
! large numbers of men, women and children
| are suffering most terrible pangs, and long
ING for death as q relief from this terrible
| horror-a slow consuming, unreachable and
! insidious foe.
The appearance Of those attacked is most
| terrible. just before death the victim writhes
in agony; his body swells to twice its natu-
raj size, and cracks burst open IN his flesh.
After his death he Immediately becomes one
mass Of putrelaction
The author Of all this was patiently wait
ing his time. He expected that the State
authorities would Immediately offer a large
| reward for every infected hog, as the authori-
ties did in Germany, and then his last spec
ulation would prove the most profitable one
| he had ever entered upon.
But he waited in vain. The Agricultural
| Society of the State have not sent out one
| word in fact the State has not officially re-
cognized the existence of the horror in any
way. Pork is tabOoed by everybody, and
the pork market has not q single demand for
its product.
The German whom Clapson employed be-
gan to have suspicious that all was not right
in the conduct of his employer. He made
examinations of the hogs that Clapson had
on hand, and became convinced that every
one was infected. On further investigation,
he found out from one of the children that
Clapson had cut the ham brought from Ger
many, and had given it to the hogs.
He Immediately accused his employer, but
Clapson laughed at him, till the chain Of
proof became so strong that he was forced
TO acknowledge the deed. He offered the
German Balf his farm, and all the drove of
hogs, If he would keep the affair secret lie
undoubtedly thought If the German would
accept the drove, he could make him the
PRINCIPAL Of the hOrrid crime, and thus es-
cape the vengeance which would otherwise
| fall on himself But the German refused all,
and Immediately informed the authorities
J what had been done.
, Clapson, fearing this, in the meantime ran
! away His actions and fight were screened
from the public in order that the authorities
} might not overtake him. But there is ru-
, NOR that he is caught, and ere this reaches
you he wiz probably be in the hands of the
officers or else far beyond pursuit.
The tidings Of his devils work and escape,
on becoming known, caused the most intense
excitement and It was feared for while that
his family would become victims to the fury
, Of popular opinion But fortunately the
citizens restrained themselves from any dis
graceful action against the guiltless family Oi
, the incarnate fend, and the property re
? mains untouched, excepting the hogs.
n These infected animals were mercllulIy
slaughtered by large crowd of men anc
BOYS, who, after killing and wounding two
0 or three hundred by their rifles, jumped into
n the incIosUre and killed the remainder with
axes Theyw then buried IN deep trench
/ on Clapson's farm, and care taken that othel
animals do not wander in the vicinity Of thf
terrible and infected spot As soon az suf
= / ficient lime can be procured the intention i
\ to have the bodies Of the hogs consumed.
y -s,-@
Soft words soften the soul Angry word
+ are fuel to the fame Of wrath and make !
blaze moro freely. Kind words make othe
people good-natured; cold words freeze pee
d pie, and hot words scorch them, and bitter
E words make them bittor, and wrathful word
. make them wrathful There is such a rus
= Of all other kinds Of words in our days, tina
y ! itsecms desirable to give kind words "a chanc
among them. There are vain words, an
, idle words, and hasty words, and spitefy
words, and silly words, and empty words an
profane words, and boisterous words, an
warlike words. Kind words also produe
their own image on mems souls and a beal
tiful image 1t IS. They smooth, and quiz
and comfort tho heaTer They shame hil
,e out Of his sour, and morose and uukind fec
ings. We have not yet BEGUN to use lSin