The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1895-01-31
EPIDEMIC OF INSANITY.
The Curious Mania Which Swept
Over q Texas Town.
Sane People Organized to Subdue the
Craze Created by . Demented
Preacher Who Did Strange
Things.

wnen tell you that q Texas town was
once afflicted with an epidemic of in
sanity" The speakers remarks were
addressed to a reporter for the Dallas
News. "It was early in the '7Os, in the
beautiful little town of Point Isabel.
/ resided there at the time, and
know, of course, whereof speak.
Among the four hundred inhabitants
OF the Point as we used to call It, was
q Montenegran named Speero, who
went insane over religion. Speero in
sisted that the second coming of Christ
was at hand, and that the event would
be heralded by the appearance at day
break of a white deer on little hill
near the cemetery. Speero, like so
many of his countrymen, was a jack at
all trades. He could shoe a horse,
build boat, make suit of clothing.
cobble old shoes and shingle roof
Thus useful his humble residence be-
came sort of rendezvous, and when it
became known that he claimed pro-
| phetic powers all his acquaintances
| focled around him. He told about
| Jesus and the bees and several other
| parallels which, though not related in
the Bible, enter strongly into the re-
hgious tradition of the people of east
ern lands. Several of the more con-
stant visitors who first pitied the condi-
tion of Speero gradually began to be-
lieve that he was inspired and finally
embraced his doctrines, some of which
were not strictly orthodox. An Italian,
who was prosperous grocer, closed up
his store, paid all his debts and insisted
on giving all his goods to the poor. A
Spaniard named Camisa lost his head
and commenced preaching hurricane
sermons from the housetops. Others
became similarly afflicted and twenty
or thirty began to show premonitions
Of the prevailing epidemic, which con-
sisted in looking for the white deer,
walking through the streets in
gloomy mood and flying into passion
when anybody denied or doubted that
Speero was a prophet. In time the
people of sound mind became alarmed
and forbade their children to approach
Speero's sanctuary.
IA climax finally reached.
Speero had vision that he must take
his six-months-old baby and baptize it
in the river Jordan. Mrs. Speero
whose mind had not given way, OBJ
jected. Speero insisted in proceeding
according to revelation and Mrs. Speero
yelled and alarmed the neighborhood.
Speero and one Of his insane COM
panions slipped the baby into an oys-
J ter skiff, pushed the frail craft out into
the Laguna Marde, set their leg-of-
mutton sail and squared away for the
} Holy Land. A party of rescuers was
, xv,o6o IN Tko1, %or$od ~ Irh%or
. belonging to the Rio Grande Railway
! company and overhauled Speero's boat
, as It was approaching the bar on which
the sea was breaking. They overpow'
, cred Speero and his companion and
/ brought them and the baby back tc
} Point Isabel, where Mrs. Speero was
found walking up and down the beach
, tearing her hair and crying about he,
} baby. The sane men Of Point Isabe
, now took immediate action. They re
paired to the custom house and organ
: lied. An old politician who wrote
!. obituary notices when prominent citi
. zens died offered a set of resolution
> designed to end the craze. Then tn,
t meeting adjourned to round up the in
sane and corral them in a box car
=. Speero was the first run in and thel
a the trouble commenced. Camisa, o,
!, learning that the prophet was pris
i. oner, armed himself with butche
s knife and started to carve the crowd
e but Constable John Whitaker succeed
t ed in arresting, disarming and bindin!
him. There was no trouble in manag
v ing the others. Several of the unto,
O tunates were sent to lunatic asylum
e but Cameron county was hot wit
/. Speero for being the originator of al
the trouble, and he was sentenced t
" the penitentiary at Huntsville on tn
v charge of assault with intent to mul
der, to which he pleaded that he was
I prophet sent to announce the secon
), coming of his Master. The attentio
e of the Australian consul having bee
called to his case, that authority inve;
@ tigated it, had Speero released All
sent home to Montenegro. The actio
J. of the citizens broke the backbone
!. the epidemic and Point Isabel has sine
IL been free from Affections of every sol
Vt save an occasional gulf hurricane.
ir Crew of Deaf Mutes-
A. The schooner Mary and Belle Is prOI