New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1882-01-25
NEW ULM REVIEW, "WEDNESDAY; JANUARY Is, 1882
DEATH FROM TRlCHlNA.

DEATH FROM TRlCnlNA.
Three Deaths Already and Others At
fected.
For the first time since the settle.
mentof southwestern Minnesota, we
record the deaths IN our midst OF hu.
man beings from the presence OF tri.
china.
AS strange as this statement may
appear to be, it is nevertheless true,
and when we say that the parasites
were communicated to the victims
with. meat from a hog raised in Lyon
county, our readers may wonder still
more. 1t has been generally supposed
that Minnesota pOrkers were free from
trichina, but If all the facts in this
case are true that theory is dispelled
for once and forever. The facts in
the case, rs near as we are able to OBJ.
tain them, are as follows:
A young man named Jos. Wilfart, of
'Sigel town, this county. recently
bought out saloon business at Mime
ota, Lyon county, adjoining which was
a butcher shop. On New Years eve
a number of the butchers friends con.
ceived the idea to steal a ham from his
smoke.house, by the way OF . joke,
take it to Wilfart's saloon and then
invite him 1.-THE butcher) in to share in
the feast. The plan was carried out
to the letter. The ham was stolen,
taken to Wilfart's saloon and cut up,
and seven of them, including Wilfart.
the butcher and Fred Pregger, the lat.
ter well known to many OF our citizens
as a former barkeeper in LOUIS Eel.
kel's saloon, partook heartily of it.
In a short time thereafter all those
that had eaten of the meat began to
feel sick, and few days later were
laid up in bed. Mr.. Wilfart came
down to New Ulm on the Sd inst, and
complained to Jos. Vogel of feeling
very sick. On the day following he
rode out to his parents house in Sigel
town, in neighbours team. The next
day he took to his bed and was for
several days treated by his mother,
who supposed him to be suffering
from bad cold. On the 9th inst. he
had grown so much worse that it was
thought best by his parents to call i
doctor, and DR.. Carl was summoned.
Up to this time the sufferer had never
mentioned the matter Of eating raw
ham, and that all those who had eaten
IF the same piece were sick, and the
doctor after making careful diagnosis
of the case pronounced it typhoid fever
and commenced his treatment accord.
lngly. A few days later young WI.
fart spoke to his mother in a casual
way about eating some raw ham and
that he felt sick ever since, but
she thought nothing of the matter and
did not mention it to the doctor. viii.
fart kept growing worse daily in spite
Of all the attending physician could
do. The symptoms all indicated
typhoid fever, except the patient now
and then complained of terrible pains
in the muscles, which had also become
badly swollen. On Friday evening,
the Goth inst. young Wllfart died, hav-
ing suffered terrible agony curing the
twenty -four hours proceeding his
death. On Saturday, FIR. Burg returned
from the west and mentioned to Drs.
Muller and Carl the circumstances of
the ham affair at Minneota, and subse-
quent sickness of all the parties there
in concerned. The doctors at once sur
missed the true state of affairs-that
young Wilfart had died from trichina.
On Sunday, when the funeral c0rtage
reached the Catholic church in this
city, DR.. Carl quietly cut a piece OF
flesh from the muscle of the dead mans
arm, which, when being placed Under
the lens Of the microscope, gave con.
elusive proof that the doctors sur
misses had been correct. The piece of
flesh was found to be alive with para
sites, the number in one square inch of
flesh being estimated at from 5000 to
5000. DR.. Carl exhibited the curiosity
to hundreds of our citizens on Monday
and yesterday.
We have also learned that Fred.
Pregger and another of the victims
have died at Minneota, and that the
other four are not expected to live.
The doctors of Marshall and MinneOta
were also misled into the belief that
the men were Frustrated with the ty-
phoid fever, but during the latter part
Of last week the true state of affairs
also dawned on them and they are now
making herculean efforts to save the
lives of the other four; but when the
parasites once spread from the intes-
tnies to the muscles the patient is be-
You'd all human help. This will be a
dire warning to those who are in the
habit of eating raw pork.