The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-09-18
TIE LATE PROF. PROCTOR.
A Friend of tbe Dead Scientist Says He Did
Not Die of Yellow Fever.


A Friend of tbe Dead Scientist Says He Did
Not Die of Yellow Fever.
New York World.
MIRA Richard a. Proctor, widow OF the
tronomer, author and lecturer, arrived here
from Florida yesterday morning. From jersey
City she sent tidines of her arrival to DR.. Cyrus
Edson and to the health department. coupled
with the request that her address should not be
published. To save her from possible intrusion
or annoyance the ladys stopping place in this
city il withheld.
On her sad and weary journey from Florida
Mrs Proctor was accompanied by Mr. George
w. Wilson, On old and intimate friend of the
Proctor family. MIR. Wilson is a journalist.
scientific student and a man Of influence 10
Florida State politics. He is positive that Mr.
Proctor did not ole of yellow fever, and in sup
port of this he said to a World reporter:
previous to starting North Mr.. Proctor was
stopping with me at Oakawn, my private estate
on Orange Lake, Florida. 1t is 100 miles away
from the infected sdstrict. have known or
there being in the vicinity number OF local
cases of bilious, remittent and pernicious
malarial fevers- They common in the
Southern country, and not contagious. /
have known personally of cases where black
vomit, yellow skin and other alarming symptoms
were developed in patients who were not suffer
ing from yellow fever. Professor Proctor had
OeeQ trOuOleO Win nalorlai poisoning ociofo no
came here. On the Friday before be left he had
all the symptoms noted by the New York ply 81
clans. The quarantine regulations are very
strict, and he would have bsen unable 20 leave
the South if the symptoms had been interpreted
by the Southern health officials as o case OF yell
low fever. Cases such as Professor Proctor's are
more or less prevalent each year, and the doctors
there will all say that the symptoms are not
those of yellow fever.
"a local physician said To- me only day or
in
epidemic: We have fever here, with black
vomit, but that don't amount to anything The
idea that yellow fever 10 contagious is almost
certainly fallacious Mr.. futile, who recently
died Of yellow fever. had twenty or more people
who came to see him during his illness. Neither
Of them nor any OF bis nurses or attendants took
the fever. l had an interview with DIR. Edison,
OF the Health Department. to-day. In which he
fever When told him knew Prof. Proctor
had not suffered from yellow fever he said it
must have been yellow fever because of the
blood discharge by the patient. / told him that
had had that symptom without having yellow
fever and that hundreds of others in the South
would say the same thing.
yellow fever" continued NJ. Wilson. "Is
well known 20 be continuous fever Tor three
days. with no remission. Prof. Proctor was
feeling badly on Wednesday, and on Friday be
was attacked by high fever and vomiting. Sat
urday he was well, and walked to the railway
station, showing that he had remittent fever.
The fever struck him again Sunday, as the
conductor on his train will testify, and there
was more of the vomiting He was all right
again Monday. and was once more stricken with
fever on Tuesday. These facts are sufficient %
convince even a tyro in medicine that his was
remittsnt fever. The fset is that the doctors
who called on Prof Proctor did not know case
of Southern malariAl fever when they saw il,
and did not know that yellow fever u not remit
tent in any degree.
"Ths health officers could easily have isolated
d. -
son. "snd should have done 90, because, il he
had the infection with him, he had already, dur
ing the twenty-four hours he had been in the
hotel, infected his room to its utmost To re-
move him WAS simply to spread the infection,
and from their own standpoint too, was dan.
gerous to the community. To Professor Proc
tor, who il q state of collapse, it meant
certain death whether he had yellow fever, or
bilious remittent fever, perncious malarial
fever. To remove him in his condition at mid
night, and during rsiE -storm, was certain to
be as fatal as shooting him through the head,
and any sanitary officer well knows that in the
case of the infectious disease the whole vru-
lence of the germs in expended during its fret
stages, and that 1t Is safer TO isolate than to re-
move
The whole thing said Mr.. Wilson in con
clusion. in my opinion, amounts to this-that
the health officers were only too anxious to pro
nounce 1t yellow fever that they got their disR
noss from the hotel clerk, and that they wished
TO display their briiiapcy to the New York pub
lie in stamping out an alleged case of a disease
which they knew perfectly well could not 90
tain the slightest foothold in the city. il no
| precautions were taken"
Ii Was rumored yesterday afternoon that ar
autopsy was to be held secretly on Professor
| Proctors body last evening, aud that Dr. Bry
| ant was to have it in charge The Doctor wa:
| found at the house of friend last evening, ant
| said: 1.-The proposition to hold an autopsy i,
| under consideration. An autopsy will be held
| If the relatives Of the deceased desire it A Rep
ressntstive of the family called at the Office to
day, and from what transpired / Judge an au
topsy will be asked for. The body is low o,
ice, and will be cared for till the relatives ant
| friends reach some conclusion.