Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1891-09-29
DANGEROUS TO HANDLE HIDES


Warning to Those Who Work In Leather
stores--Isiood Poisoning.
The death Of Thomas Young some time
ago workman In Spruce street wholesale
leather house, from poison received In hand
ling hides, has caused talk among leather
dealera William Palen said: u see that
Young thought that he bad been bitten by
some insect that burrowed in hide | differ
from that 1 have known of poisonous in
sects, such as the scorpion. TO be found In tho
hides, but never knew OF any men tcing Bit
ten by them Young probably raised a bun
die OF hides to his shoulder and 1t 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 Ave years ago, used 10 sce men with
their arms frightfully swollen through hay
Ing been poisoned In handling hides. One
man employed here In Spruce street lost an
eye In this way. Physicians, In making an
autopsy. may he poisoned similarly II any
abrasion 81 their skin is exposed TO the virus
OF any diseased organ OF subject they are
examining Most Of the hides likely To bc dis
cased come from the East Indies, the Argen-
tine Confederation and other foreign ports.
] have never known men to he poisoned ia
handling our own American hides, which arc
IWttt1 NuiN W tofut fIDtu 9b'th thdt Hah bten
killed"
o. D. Horton said '"rhere is no more dan.
gerots Illness that man can suffer from
than that u blood poisoning from coming in
contact with the hide Of nm animal that has
died Of a virulent disease II should be
poisoned In this way In the head or neck
should go home aud make my will II
man Is poisoned In the hand his chance Of
recovery Ii good, but let him be poisoned in
the head or neck, and IL Is two to one that hc
dics have known OF half dozen deaths
In i've years, two Of them being Of men in
our own employ, from the same cause that
killed Young. Hides include those OF ani-
mails that have been killed and whose skin.
are healthy those OF fallen cattle, or tbose
that have been frozen or died of starvation
whose minute blood vessels, IN the neshy
part Of the bide. coagulate and turn the skin
black, and lastly, of those Of diseased cattle
that also turn black and have patches Of hair
gone Ia places OF course, tho ordinary
workman cannot make these distinctions, bet
they can protect themselves from danger IL
they would cover any abrasion OF the skin at
once with court plaster or wear gloves when
ut work There Ia no danger In handling
our native hides, because the men west don't
remove tho skin from an animal that has
died OF any disease
"rbe most dangerous hides come from coun-
tries where the workmen are very poor and
labor for n few cents a day Particularly
dangerous hides come from the East Indies,
Central America and Mexico When one Of
cur own men, Samuel New illams. died some
years ago from blood poisoning, resulting
from handling hides, II was said that he died
from arsen,cal poisoning This was wrong,
as the amount Of arsenic used In curing a
hide 10 that insects can't eat 1t Ia inflnitesi-
mai and could not harm any one The first
symptom Of blood poisoning from deceased
hide that appears In the victim Is red spot
with hard white center, similar In appear.
ance 70 tho sting mark Of bee After fow
hours the affected part begins to swell rap
idly, and the disease speedily affects u con.
siderable portion OF the body Handling
hides viii continue 90 DO most dangerous
business until tho men learn 10 take proper
precautions In their work New York Sun.