Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1883-11-15
DREADFUL DEATHS.
A Whole Family of Children Attacked
by Garden snafls, Which are the
Product of n Filthy Soil, and Two OF
Them Die-EHects of the Bites.

NEW i ORk, November l0.-1tenry Key
nolds, the seven-year-old son of Mr.. J.
Reynolds, of No. 112 North Seventh street,
Williamsburg died last Sunday morning
from cause which mystifies the doctors
who have attended him. The boys death,
following that of his sister Lizzie's, twenty
months old, who died last Tuesday, to-
gether with the sickness of his other sis
ter, Mary, and his brother William, who
exhibit the same symptoms as those which
marked the fatal sickness that brought
death to him and his paby sister, have
alarmed the neighborhood and created
not little discussion among the doctors
OF the vicinity. The house is a three
story brick building with basement. 1t
is one of the oldest structures in the
block. Mr.. Reynolds and his family re-
side in the basement, whose floor is only
two feet below the level of the street, but
there is no cellar. Everything about the
house is in good order and clean. Mr..
Reynolds has his name on the basement
door. "There is my boy" he said to re-
porter yesterday, as he pointed TO the
coffin in the clean, well-furnished base
ment, land there are my other two chill
dren," he continued, entering the back
basement and pointing to the bed in
which they lay and over which his wife
stood crying. About the room were
seated number of men and women dis
cussing the cause of the death and sick
ness OF the children. about four months
ago we moved into this house," Mr.. Rey-
nolds continued. "There is no cellar
under it, and the landlord put down a
| new floor and boarded up that side of the
room" pointing to the wall opposite the
| door. "He did that to keep out the snails
and other creepers that infest the place
but it didn't keep them out, for, see here
see how they come out of these cracks.
| The reporter noticed glistening dots, about
one-thirty-second of an inch long, on the
boards. These dots he traced from the
cracks in the boards across the ceiling. On
the white ceiling these dots glistened. "Now
| look at this hat" said Mr.. Reynolds, show
ing black felt hat. About the rim on the
| top and sides of the hat were streaks about
an eighth OF an inch wide, which looked
| as if they had been made by some thick
dark-colored liquid. "When my baby
was taken sick, sore spot appeared on
the back of her head, and one night, while
sitting up with her, / noticed an animal
about an inch in length crawling up the
boards to the ceiling and then i thought
that maybe one of those things had bitten
my child and poisoned it. That was about
four weeks ago. The sore grew larger un
til she died. week after the sore wa:
noticed on the baby, Willie, who lie,
there dying, was taken sick, and sore
like that on the baby showed itself on hi:
forehead. Willie is thirteen years old
Then Mary, who is in the bed with him
took sick the other day, but no sore hai
yet appeared. She took sick after Henry
who is in that coffin there, was stricken
down. A week ago to-day he was in tn,
street playing, and he came to his mothe
holding up the little finger of his left hand
saying that it panied him very much
There was a small hruise on the finger
DIR. Lang attended the baby wht
was first stricken down, and when tn,
others were taken sick / called in DR.
Murphy, who summoned DIR. Dugan, DR.
Sweeney is now attending the two childreI
who are sick. Two children Il had six
are yet free from the complaint. whateve
it is. l kept telling the doctors that
thought my children were dying from tn
bites of some poisonous animals, and tn
other day, after the death OF Lizzie, Dr
| Murphy asked me to catch some of then
for him. Not until after midnight do the
show themselves. l caught some of them
They are of grayish color, about an incl
long when crawling, but are able to stretcl
themselves out twice that length and +
contract themselves into ball. They hav
two small horns on their heads. 1 CAV
/ what caught to DR.. Murphy" DR.. Mul
ply when questioned about the death an
sickness of the children, said: 'The css
is a very remarkable one. The things Civ
en- to me by Mr.. Reynolds were commol
garden snails. l do not know that the
viii bite people or that their bite is POI
sonous When / was first called though
the sickness might be the result OF sewe
gas, but as the parents and the other chil
| dren did not manifest any srmptoms an
as never knew a sore such as they had t
be the result of breathing sewer gas, wa
at fault. A brown scab covered the sors
When this scab was pressed a thin aui
came from its margin. This fluid CAV
! forth a sickening odor. Another strang
, thing is the places where the sores brok
l ont