The Green Forest tribune., 1893-01-05
Is 1t Cholera?

A special from Little RocK
dated January |, states that the
scare over the recent alleged pois,
ening Of the convicts Of the state
penitcn,iary has somewhat subsid-
ed, but much anxiety is still felt. AT
the time no new cases were report
ed and those who were stricken. Sat
urday were improving. Tho bod
les of two victims we're then lying
IN the dead house awaiting the set.
tlement of a dispute between the
city and the .penitentiary officials.
The city would not allow the bodies
to be inferred within tho city limits
ana the State has made no provis
ions for a cemetry elsewhere. Un-
less the dispute was settled before,
the bodies were cremated Mon
day.
DR.. J. A. Dibrell, prominent
physician, submitted Il report Of his
work to the State board of com mis-
sioners. Among other things he
said: 81 am visiting the prison by
authority Of the penitentiary board
in the character Of consulting ply
sician, v ish the special duty of try
ing to determine the cause of the
fatal sickness prevailing among the
convicts. l saw the deceased,
George Long, yesterday morning
at 9 o'clock, in company with DR..
+. T.. French. He was then in a
collapsed condition. moribund, and
he died, | am informed, short
time atterward. This was the first
acute case that [ have seen. | have
had much difficulty in diagnosing
,bis trouble. My first visit was on
Wednes day al 8 O'Clock p. m. The
opinion prevailed that it was an in
stance of wholesale arsenjcal pois-
oning. This view was supported
by the statement OF Il druggist at
Helena that he had found Il quanti-
ty of arsenic IN the stomach OF one
OF the dead convicts sufficient to
kill fifteen men: that trace OF ar
snic was found in The stomach Of
another by Prot. w. 2. Baker of
this city, and the alleged confession
7 of The colored cook OF the convict's
camp near Helena. The cock is
represented to have confessed that
friend gave linn some medicine
to put in the TODD, destined to pro-
duce sickness that wonld compell
the return Of the convicts to the
State prison very carefully and
thoroughly interrogated q number
OF sick and c.nvalcscent patients
in regard to their symptoms sand
sanitary surroundings. | found that
the most prominent and character
istic symptoms OF arsenical poison
ing WAS wanting in every case. |
refer especially to the violent burn
! ing nain in the stomach, tho absence
OF MI uous or blood in the deIccta,
or blood in the eiec.a, and the en-
I tire absence Of irritation Of the
bladder and less pronounced symp-
toms of arscnical poisoning In the
case OF the man Long, now under
Investigation, I only saw him after
he had reached the collapsed con-
dition described, but I saw his de-
/ jccta. They were the characteris-
tic rice water discharges Of cholor-
old diseases. These discharges were
thin, copious, frequent and were
expelled with force. Vomiting
had also been frequent, but had
ceased on my arrival. In my opin-
ION the deceased died from choI-
oroid diseases, and in the absence
fany known or probable source
Of cholera injection, was doubtless
due to some such canse as pollution
of drinking water, diseased meat
etc. The symptoms were identlcal
with those OF cholera, and they
could not be differentiated from
those of cholera, unless there vas 4
known source Of infection or by
meteorological iigalion.