Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-10-10
BY RABIES.
HydrOphobia Seizes a Boy Who Was
Almost Scalped by a Dog.
HIS DEATH WILL SOON FOLLOW.
A Strange Case Closely Resembling That Of
Lawyer Bartines,
RECENTLY KILLED BY A CATS BITE
ESPECIAL TELEGRAM TO THE DISPATCH.

ESPECIAL TELEGRAM TO THE DISPATCH.
NEW YORK, Oct 9.-Jimmie Steebe, an
S-year-old boy, is in the hospital at Eliza
beth dying of so-called hydrophobia. His
mother is Irish, his father is a German.
Jimmie is the eldest of five children. The
boy is dying of bite of dog. The spasms
that wrench and wiring the nerves and mus
cles have just begun. Tomorrow and the
next day, perhaps, he will suffer more and
more keenly, and then death will give him
relief. The mother and father think 1t is
| hvdrophobia The doctors say it is hydro
phobia But for all that there are some
things about this case which suggest that it
is the same form of hysteria which killed
Lawyer Richard Bartine, who had been Bit
ten by cat.
This little Jimmie Steebe was in the
habit of running errands for the family Of
a milkman named John Edgewood. Edge
wood keeps two watch dogs. One OF these
dogs was large cur of slate color, short
haired and irascible He was kept chained
in the daytime and was SO tame that the
neighborhood children who knew him made
pet of him. Jimmie Steebe was one of
the dogs favorites.
SCALPED BY THE DOG.
The afternoon of July %, Johnny Edge
wood heard the screams of a child in the
barnyard and ran from the barn to see what
the matter was. The slate-colored dog had
broken his chain; had set upon Jimmie,
and having knocked him down, was tearing
his scalp viciously. Johnny Edgewood ran
upon the dog and kicked it loose from the
child. The child got upon its feet and ran
about the yard with his scalp nearly torn
loose and one ear mangled.
A doctor was called, and in the basement
of Edgewood's house a score or more OF
stitches were put in the child's scalp. Then
an ambulance took him to the hospital. He
lay there for stwo months, or until Septem-
ber q, and was then sent away cured. His
wounds had healed and only few scars,
hidden by his hair, remained. His mother
meanwhile had brought suit for damages
against the Edgewoods. On July % the
dog had none of the symptoms of mad
ness. He played with another child after
injuring Steebe. He was killed neverthe
less.
HYDRoPHoBIA SHOWS ITSELF.
On September 27 Jimmie Steebe went
home to his father and mother. They say
that they never dreamed of such thing as
hydrophobia. The boy heard about hydro
phobia- The doctors say that an 8-year-old
boy is too young to be impressed by such
talk, however. At any rate, last Tuesday
evening Mrs Steebe offered Jennie glass
of water. She says he had been complain
ing of a soreness in his ear for several days,
and that she had thought nothing of this,
although her husband had at once suspected
that it was the first symptoms of hydropho-
bia. She says her husband kept this sus-
picion to himself.
When she offered him glass of water on
Tuesday he pushed it away from her, while
his throat contracted violently. On
Wednesday she noticed other symptoms,
and on Wednesday evening she sent for
doctor from the hospital.
HE REJECTED WATER.
The doctor, DIR. Montfort, the house sur
geon of the hospital, tried to get the boy to
take drink. When the boy rejected it
with contracting throat the doctor at once
saw what was the matter. The boy re-
turned to the hospital On Thurs
day he refused food and drink. He
lay quiet nearly all the time, but
any sudden movement or attempt to change
the bed linen or any such thing would
throw him into highly nervous state. Yes
terday he ground his teeth good deal dur
ing these occasional nervous spells and in
the afternoon he was delirous
The doctors expect death within a few
DAYS. The evidence seems to point to great
expectation of hydrophobia in all the sur
rounding minds. This expectation wonld
naturally seize upon the pain as confrma-
tion, and perhaps the child heard this out
cry, and being at once attacked by hysteria,.
refused water.