The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1877-10-24
4 WOMAN'S TERRIBLE AGONY.
Fearful Scene ut the Deathbed Of n Hydro
phobin Victim.

Fearful Scene ut the Denthbed Of u Hydro
phobin Victim.
The death of Mrs. Lizzie Webber from
hydrophobia in the Boston Hospital was
attended by most horrible symptoms.
On the 31st day of July she was
bitten through the nail of the middle
finger of the right hand by her pet dog,
Il black-and tan. Some boys i'll the
street were worrying and teasing the
dog, until at last the animal, gonded to
anger, turned and bit six persons, four
adults and two children. Five of them
promptly had the bite cauterizel, and
the sixth is unknown. Mrs. Webber, to
punish the dog, grasped him and cufied
his ears, when he bit her finger as stated.
Three hours after the inaiction of the bite
she went to the Massachusetts General
Hospital to have the same operation per-
formed, but the doctors told her it was
too late to be of any service. She
thoughtno more of the matter, and expert
enced no i'll effect, until a recent Friday,
when she had a severe headache, and
the next day she experienced a severe
pain extending from the right shoulder
down to the hand-which she thought to
be a touch of rheumatism. On the sue
ceeding Sunday she vas chilly all day,
and at night experienced n violent heart
beating, and great difficulty in breathing
the breath coming in short. quick
gasps. Two prominent physicians were
i'll attendance, but she could not take
their medicine. They decided the case
to be a bad cold. Monday the patient
kept her bed-the breathing difficulty
increasing, with great nervousness.
The slightest noise, such as the closing
of a door or the moving of a fan, or
sound of a footstep, would cause her to
jump violently to the floor, and it re.
Quired the united efforts of, her attend
ants to quiet her. She began to show
great aversion to water but the doctor
bad no suspicion of the real nature Of
the disorder, which gradually grew
worse and worse. She expressed a de-
sire for various articles o food and drink,
but when they were offered to her she
found herself utterly incapable OF eating
or drinking anything ; in fact, from Sun
day morning until the hour of her death,
Tuesday afternoon, she ate and drank
nothing. At times, Tuesday afternoon,
she felt quite easy, and. the next mo-
ment the severe gasping for breath
would com on, and she would Jump up
and down and dash wildly about. She
would grasp her attendants by the dress
and thrust as much rs she could into
her mouth, telling them at the same
time, however, that she would not bite
klor-. Cl>o r-o ,>o,E c,s1o1 With oax,ara
and .unmistakable commissions, accom-
panied by frothing at the mouth. Nor
phine was given. Then a pail of scald-
ing hot water was procured, and the pa
tents feet placed in it. One Of the
lady attendants poured hot water upon
the head of the victim, all of which she
bore without flinching, in fact she de-
clared it made her feel better. At times
she would stamp her feet upon the floor
so rapidly and violently as to shake the
house, aud in the meantime her difficult
ty in breathing increased. Another trial
of the water pail caused her to bound
back to- the other side of the bed, and
experience a severe CONFUSION. She
was taken to the hospital, in a sort of
ambulance, held by fastenings around
her body. On the way she made a growl-
ing or barking noise. At the hospital,
where, about three-quarters of an hour
after her arrival, she was lying appar-
emily comfortable, she suddenly gave
her arms and feet q violent twich, her
countenance turned black, aud she
breathed her last. After her death a
consultation was had by the physicians
at the hospital the best authorities upon
the subject of %hydrophobia were looked
up and quoted. and it was unanimously
decided by the physicians that it was "a
genuine case Of hydrophobia."