The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1867-05-11

number of popular errors respecting
this terrible disease, which it may be
worth whileto try to correct. In the
first place the very name ofithe malady,
SO far at least as it refers to dogs, is not
merely entirely inappropriate, but is
the cause OF very dangerous misap.
pretensiOn. The word means fear of
water; and tits commonly supposed that
a dread OF waterfs the great distinguish
ing symptom OF canine madness. and
and that a dog who will drink must be
safe. Nothing can be further from the
| truth. The iudetinable and terrible
dread of water which charaCteriZes the
later stages of hydrophob in man, Is
not noticed in the dog in one case out
OF fffty on the contrary, one of the
| principal symptoms is bUI1iIng and
7iHquenchd6le thirst. Why there should
be such a remarkable difference be-
| tween the manifestations OF the disease
in man and brute, no one knows; but
1t is important that the difference
| should be borne In mind.
Another great mistake is in attribu.
ting hydrophobia to the heat ofthe
"'dog days." and we dare say there are
many people who suppose that the
warm Summer months receive that
popular name because it is in them that
dogs run mad, But in point of fact,
July and August are. just the period
when hydrophobia is least common;
and whatever may be the cause ofthe
malady, nothing Is more certain than
that heat is not the cause. In the burn
\ ing regions of Equatorial Africa, where
all the villages are overrun with dogs,
Mr.. Du Chaillu remarks that hydro
phobia is unknown even by report. 1t
is unknown in Cyprus and Egypt; 1t
used to be unknown in Jamaica; and 1t
has never been seen in the Island of
Madeira, where cnrs of every descrip-
tton abound, tormented by diseases,
| insects, thirst and famine. The cruel
experiment has been tried of chaining
dogs to wall under a burning sun
until they died of thirst, but they show
| ed no symptoms of rabies. Careful
records of canine madness are kept at
the veterinary schools of Abort, Lyons
and Toulouse, in France, and from
these 1t appears that the majority OF
cases ocrur not In the hottest, but in
the ICetteSt months. There are twice and
three times as many IN April, HoVem-
Der and December, as in June, July and
August. Probably no accurate register
has ever been kept in this country, but
we make no doubt that the disease is
more prevalent in the wet spring
months than at any other time Of the
year.
Bearing this in mind our readers can
appreciate the folly and brutality of
our dog-law, which condemns to inlis-
criminate slaughter every dog found
running loose during the very period,
when, If there is any truth in statistics,
his running loose is attended with least
danger. We dare say that very few of
the animals which are killed in the
streets under the suppositIon that they
are mad, really have bydrophobia, the
popular idea, of what constitutes mad
dog being far from acurate. The synap-
toms, however, are unmistakable 10 an
experienced eye. The dog actually be-
gins by being sullen and restless. He
betrays extraordinary anxiety about
trivial or imaginary objects. He is sub
iect to strange hRllucinations, some
times of pleasant, but oftener of a
fearful nature. His appetite is depraved;
he refuses to take his usual food, and
is eager for anything that is filthy and
horrible. His limbs fail him; he has
sudden and violent itching OF the ear;
he paws the corners of his mouth; he
seems inseDsible to pain, so much so
that mad dog has been known to
seize and hold with his mouth a
red.hot poker, and another to gnRw
his tail off close to the base. The
voice changes in a very remarkable
manner. There is a foaming at the
mouth, but 1t is always less than it is
in epilepsy and nausea, and never lasts
long. The stories OF mad dogs covered
with foam are fabulous. Dogs recoV-
eriDg from or attacked by a fit are
sometimes seen in this state: but fits
have no relation whatever to madness.
Then we have the violent thirst which
we have already mentioned. Unless
the animal is naturally ferocious, he
shows no disposition to bite until he
reaches the last and violent stage Of the
disease; and, indeed not always then.
On the contrary his affection for his
master seems to be increased, rand he is
incessantly attempting to lick the hands
and face of the person he loves. This
Is propensity which must be carefully
guarded against. 1t is not the bite of
the mad dog that is poisonous, but his
saliva, which may be introduced into |
the system through the mucous mem |
brane of the lips, or any little abrasion |
of the skin, as well as through the |
wound made by the animals teeth.
In man, IA dread ofwater is an inva- |
riable symptom. The terror increases |
with the attempt to swallow, and some |
times the mere sound of liquid falling |
in a vessel, or, the sight or even the |
mention Of it will produce the same
effect. A dEaught Of cold air, or the |
sight Of a mirror has also been known |
to produce parOxysm. And it Is quite |
certain thai these distressing symp-
toms are not the result of Imagination, |
for they have been noticed in young |
children aud idiots who could never |
have heard of hydrOphobia, Gnor, of |
course, have had any preconceiVed mo- |
tions about it. At the same time |
thnPn Ia Nyinlant fhfRaf Fr1,a %aI
annoyed by the secretion of thick Wis |
cid saliva, and tries to free himself |
from 1t by blowing and splitting. There |
Is a painful stiffness in the back or the |
neck; the breathirgis hurried; delirium |
or mania often, but not always, comes |
on, and death ensues commonly on the |
second or third day. There is no |
authenticated case OF cure on record. |
Death alone puts an end to the suffer- |
ing. ti s4s--g fl.=, 7.ss.fgg5 d. -.ss-y-y
The newspapers recently have given |
elaborate accounts of supposed case |
of hydrophobia in Hamilton county, |
Indiana, in which the patient, a young |
woman, Is said to have been cured by |
bromide of potassium. But from the /
published reports It Is by no means |
clear that the disease was hydro
phobia at all. The young woman had |
been bitten by a mad dog about two
hOuLnS pelQre.3 - me atLack peRau Qy!R |
repugnancet to water, but there were no |
very severe symptoms until the third
day, when she suddenly began grind:
ing her teeth, and then fell on the door,
foaming at the mouth, gnashing her
jaws, and horribly convulsed. She bit
furiously at every one who came near /
her. A second spasm came on soon
afterward, during which she is describ-
ed as ''snappiug, snarling and yelp-
tng,n like a cur dog, She bit her hands
terribly and bit pieces out Of the bed
clothes. The paroxysms lasted five or
six days, after which the disease yield-
ed to treatment, and in ten days or a
fortnight, the patient was pronounced
F'is 5t-Fi uii rs.f .isl 20 '-.s'.'