The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-05-20
DANGEROUS 70 HANDLE HIDES.
Warning to Those Who Work In Leather
Stores-BlOOd Poisoning.

StOres-BlOOd Poisoning.
The death Of Thomas Young some time
ago. a workman in Spruce street Wholesale
leather house. from poison received In hand
ling hides, has caused talk among leather
dealers William Palen said: Il see that
Young thought that be had been bitten by
some insect that burrowed in hide ! differ
from that | have known OF poisonous in
sects such az the scorpion. to be found in the
hides. but never knew Of any men telng bit
ten by them Young probably raised bun.
die Of hides TO his shoulder and it scratched
his neck. causing an abrasion Of the skin
through which the poison In the hide entered
his system. In my fathers tannery. over
thirty-ive years ago. l used 10 see men with
their arms frightfully swollen through hav
ing been poisoned in handling hides, Ono
man employed here in Spruce street lost an
eye In this way Physicians. in making an
autopsy. may be poisoned similarly II any
abrasion of their skin is exposed 10 the virus
of any diseased organ Of subject they are
examining Lost Of the hides likely 20 te dis
eased come from the East Indies. the Argen-
tine Confederation and other foreign ports
! have never known men 10 be poisoned in
handling our own American hides. which are
pretty sure TO come from stock that has been
killed"
G.. b. Horton said: "There is no more dan
gerous illness that man can suffer from
than that OF blood poisoning from coming in
contact with the hide Of an animal that has
died OF virulent disease. II should be
poisoned IN this way in the head or neck
should so homo and make my will IL
man Is poisoned in the hand his chance OF
recovery Is good; but let him be poisoned in
the head or neck, and it is two TO one that he
dies. have known of half a dozen deaths
in five years, two OF them being OF men in
our own employ, from the same cause that
killed Young Hides include those Of ami
mails that have been killed and whose skins
are healthy. thoso Of fallen cattle. or those
that have been frozen or died of starvation,
whose minute blood vessels, III the neshy
part OF the hide, coaguate and turn the skin
black, and lastly, of those Of diseased cattle,
that also turn black and have patches Of hair
gone IN places OF course, the ordinary
workman cannot make these distinctions, but
they can protect themselves from danger If
they would cover any abrasion OF the skin at
once with court plaster or wear gloves when
at work. There il no danger In handling
our native hides, because the men vest don't
remove the skin from an animal that has
died Of any disease
"The most dangerous hides come from coun-
tries where the workmen are very poor and
labor for a few cents day. Particularly
dangerous hides come from the East Indies
Central America aud Mexico. When one Of
our own men. Samuel McWilliams. died some
years ago from blood poisoning, resulting
from handling hides, it was said that he died
from arsenical poisoning. This was wrong,
as the amount of arsenic used in curing a
hide so that insects can't eat it is infiniteSi-
NAL and could not harm any one. The first
symptom of blood poisoning from diseased
hide that appears in the victim is red spot
with hard white center, similar in appear
ance TO the sting mark of bee. After few
hours the affected part begins to swell rap
idly, and the disease speedily affects a con-
siderable portion OF tho body Handling
hides will continue TO be most dangerous
business until the men learn TO take proper
precautions in their work. New York Sun