The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1885-05-12
PLYMOUTH'S PLAGUE.
ACTIVE MEASURES Foa THE RELIEF
OF A FEvER-STRIcKEN TOWN.
No Doubt OF the Epidemic Being Typhoid
Fever The Origin of the Scourge--
Hospital Established
Help Needed.

WHKEsBARRE, Pa, May 12.-The first
active measures to prevent, and, il possible,
stop the ravages of the fever at Plymouth
were maugurated Monday morning. A
large school house was formally opened as
hospital 1t Is fitted up with ali the nee
essary conyenienceS, and is in charge of a
regular corps of physicians and nurses
wagon load of medicine was for
warded from the Wilkesharre hospital to
Plymouth at 5 O'clock Monday morning.
AS soon as patient is taken sick with the
disease ne is conveyed to the hospital 1t is
hoped in this way to prevent the spread of
the disease. 1t is a fact that out of every
five who die from the disease three die frum
neglect The sick do not get the proper
attention at their homes. 1t often happens
That whole family are sick at time, and
the mother, the only nurse, is the first to fall
victim to the disease The relief committee
discovered many destitute cases again Mon
day morning. Only Sl25 remained in their
posse sion to work with This was all ex-
pended ia a few hours, ard mora help mus.
be Forthcoming, or there will be much suf-
fer1ng. Two deaths occurred Sunday night
and many new cases are reported.
DR.. Davis, one of tue leading physicians
of Plymouth. said several days ago that the
source of the poison Of typhoid fever is hui
man excreta, and cited the case OF man
who lives on the top of Shawnee mountain
two or three miles back of the borough,
on the banks of the stream that supplies the
reservoirs. The man, whose name is d. T.
Jones, was taken sick with typhoid fever in
Philadelphia in the latter part of January
and is not yet convalescent The excre-
ment Of the patient was not carefully dis
posed of, and Dr. Davis declares that it was
woshed into the stream and poisoned the
water.
The epidemic WIS investigated Sunday,
the principal visitors being Police Surgeon
French, of Philadelphia. and DIR. f. 0.
Shakespeare, of the Philadelphia hospital
They carefully investigated the water sup
ply, and verified tine previous report
that the disease originated in the con-
tamination of the stream by the excreta
Of typhoid patient They obtained per
mission TO hold an autopsy on a young man
who had just died, and the result is i'm.
portant, since it was thu first autopsy made
and there was some disagreement among the
resident doctors as 10 tac nature of the dis
ease, some positively refusing to believe
the disease typhoid fever. The patient
was man % years old, sick three weeks
and who died Sunday. He was GONZALES
cent till Saturday night, when he was taken
with severe abdominal pain and his temper
allure rose TO lO4 degrees. nearly six above
the normal. He grew worse. and died il
twelve hours. The post norton revealed
psrforation of a small intestine, abou
| ten inches from fAe cecal valve
with evidence of inten-e psritonitis and very
typical typhoid alterations of Peyer'
patches, the charaoteri tic of typhoid fever
Other autop lies will Iva made to con
firm the rssuit. lest this might be an ex
ceptional case. There wore no deaths Satur
day, though five occurred Sunday.