The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1876-06-21
.ATERRIBLE A EXPERIENCE.

"'"A TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE. ''
A Whole Family Bitten by n Mad DsE.-
) y Death Of a Little Girl. ..'.. '...
For q long time we have had no such
terrible story of hydrophobia to report
as that which comes to us from Newark
n. J. The family of Mr.. Louis sor-
hagen consists of Mr.. and Mrs. Sor-
hagen and seven children, si1 girls and
one. boy. The dog that bit them was q
black Spitz about three years OF age. q
pot in the family and with which the
children were accustomed to play about
the house and yard. a few weeks ago
the dog suddenly disappeared and 1T
was thought th,it he had been stolen,
but in few days thereafter the animal
returned, much to the delight Of the
children, who, ,;leefully ran in to tell
theft mother: il was noticed, however,
that he acted in 8 strange manner, biting
and swapping st every one who came
near him, which actions were attributed
at first to his having been, u,reated
during his absence. - ,Rt 70 .,7l<,-IEy
=, Charles Sorhagen, the only son, Q fine
lad of fifteen, attempted to pacify the
animal, when it seized one of the fingers
of.hisright hand in its mouth and bit it,.
Blood aowed freely from the wound for
q few moments, but Charley gave the
matter no further thought 8 The Spitz
then took refugein thestable atthe rear OF
the lot, and, Aas2 Henrietta 8 girl OF
twelve, was running through the place,
the animal suddenly sprung upon her
from it's hiding place, and bit her IN the
right heel, inficting q severe wound.
Henrietta ran impihg and crying into
the house and told her mother of what
had occurred. About five minutes after
ward the Spitz ran yelping from the
stable, swapping at everything in bis
way, and before Maggie, q little girl OF
ten, could escape into the house, the
rabid animal had bitten her in the left
ankle.
20 Mrs Sorhagen ahastened' out to see
what was the matter, when the dog
sprung furiously upon her and bit the
fingers Of her right hand, The .Spitz
again ran into the stable and bit Mr..
Sorhagen's horse on the legs, and also
bit another dog that was kept there to
watch. the premises. :, Mr.. Sorhagen,
who chanced to be home at the time,
becoming alarmed at the dogs actions,
though not suspeotmg that ,itlwas mad;
endeavored to, secure it 80 as to: prevent
its doing further harm. He had almost
succeeded in putting o collar and chain
about it's neck, ~hen the dog furiously
sprung upon him and bit him In the left
wrist near the thumb, 'inHicting wound
which bled profusely. After much trouble
he,succeeded in tying the Spitz to its ken.
mel, but during the night the animal
continued to grow worse, frothng at the
mouth and showing other symptoms OF
hydrophobia. Tire next morning the
brute was found lying dead outside of
it's kennek It's mouth was covered wfeh
foam, aud its CLASSY eyes protruded from
Their. sockets, while the sides Of the ken
mel showed marks of the rabid animals
teeth whore it had gnawed the boards in
its agony and death struggles. a!f .s.!.
e, None of, the family, however, felt any
apprehensions regarding the wounds in.
hicted by the dog, or manifested any
signs of illness until Henrietta began
80 complain of, drowsiness. Later the
same evening she told her mother that
the had severe pains in her head, sides,
back and legs, and the psrtswere rubbed
with iniment, the mother thinking per.
haps that she had taken cold: About
midnight she again awoke with a starr
and complained of the pairs in hel
limbs. She had several spasms during
the night, and tossed wildly about upon
her bed. At early dawn, when the
father was obliged to leave home and at,
tend to his express business, he bade
his wife 60 at once for q doctor. Dr.
Voegler was called, and, after examining
the child, said that <he" needed assistance
when Drs. III and Korneman were sum
moned. a consultation was held, and il
was decided to cut out piece q fest
where the hhild was bitten, In hopes ot
saving her life. Medicine was given ant
everything possible done by the physi
clans to alleviate her sufferings. During
the following morning she appeared K
be somewhat better, and was at intervals
quite rational, but toward noon she wa
seized with another violent spasm
Then she relapsed into a ,troublouj
slumber, accompanied with sterteroul
breathing, and would occasio onally star
up in the widest manner, screaming II
agony, and clutching at. the bedelothes
Then she would make a:noise Like tn
barking of q dog and moan and! talk il
q wild, incoherent, delirious way. Mr.
Sorhagen, upon returning home in tn
afternoon. was terribly distressed at hi
daughters condition, and called othe
physicians to see the child. " At sevel
O'Clock that evening Henrietta wa
seized with another violent spasm, an
it became necessary for her father an
mother to hold her in the bed. Sh
tossed her head from side to side, thre'
her arms about and shuddered fror
head to foot when water or other liquid
were applied. The spasms became NOR
frequent during the night, increasing i
violence until half-past two o'clock i
the morning, when death relieved tn
child of her suferings. So. go.
The wounds of the other members
the family were cauterized and every
thing done to save them. The secon
dog bitten went mad and was shot. !
is hoped that none others OF tn
family will suffer.
The Left Wing. ::.'.,.