The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1895-03-26
EPIDEMIC OF INSANITY.
Tho Curious Mania Which Swept
Over Texas Town.
Sane People Organized 10 Subduo tho
Craze Created by n Dcmcrted
Preacher Who Did Strange
Things.

You will doubtless feel incrcdulous
when tell you that Texas town was
once afflicted with an epidemic of in
sanity" The speakers remarks were
addressed to a reporter for the Dallas
News. ut was early in the rios, in the.
beautiful little town of Point Isabel
1 resided there at the time, md I
know, of course, whereof | sneak
Among the four hundred inha bitants
OF the Point as we used to call it, was
Montencgrnn named Spcero, who
went insane over religion. Speero in
sisted that the second coming of Christ
was ut hand, and that the event would
be heralded by the appearance at day
break of white deer on littlc hill
near the cemetery. Speero, like so
many of his countrymen, was jack at
all trades He could shoe horse,
build boat, make suit of clothing,
cooble old shoes and shinglo q roof.
Thus useful his humble residence be-
came q sort of rendezvous, and when it
became known that he claimed pro-
phetic powers all his acuuaintances
locked around him. lie told about
Jesus and the bees and several other
parallels which, though not related in
inc Blole, enter strongly into the re-
llSlous tradition of the people of east
ern lands. Several of the more con-
slant visitors who first piticd the condi-
tlon OF Specro gradually began to be-
Hevc that he was inspired and finally
embraced his doctrines, some of which
We're not strictly orthodox An Italian.
who was prosperous grocer, closedup
his store paid all his debts and insisted
on giving all his goods to the poor.
Spaniard named Camisa lost his head
and commenced preaching hurricane
sermons from the housctops. Others
became similarly afflicted and twenty
or thirty began to show prenouitions
OF the prevailing epidemic, which con
SISTED in looking Tor the white deer,
walking through the streets in n
gloomy mood and flying into passion
when anybody denied or doubted that
Specro was 4 prophet In time the
people OF sound mind became alarmed
and forbade their children TO ar1proacb
Specros sanctuary.
"a climax was finally reached
Speero had Il vision that he must take
his siX-inonths-old baby and bnptize il
in the river Jordan. Mrs. Snccro
whose mind had not given way. oh
Jected. Speero insisted in proccedinn
according to revelation and Mrs. Specre
yelled and alarmed the ncirhborhood
Specro and one of his insane com.
panions slipped the baby into an oys
ter skill, pushed the frail craft out into
the Laguna Mardc, set their ler--of
mutton sail and squared away for the
Holy Land. party of rescucrs wa.
made up. They started in lirhter
belonging to the Rio Grande Railway
company and overhauled Spccro's boat
as it was approaching the bar on which
the sea was breaking. They ovcrpow
cred SSpeero and his companion and
brought them and the baby bacl, to
Point Isabel, where Mrs. Speero was
found walking up and down the beach
tearing her hair and crying about her
baby. The sane men of Point Isabel
now took immediate action. They re-
paired to the custom house and organ
lied. An old politician who wrote
obituary notices when prominent cit.
zens died offered set Of resolutions
designed to end the craze. Then the
meeting adjourned to round up the in
sane and corral them in a boz car
Speero was the first run in and then
the trouble commenced Canisa, on
learning that the prophet was q pris-
oner, armed himself with butcher
knife and started to carve the crowd.
but Constable John Whitaker succeed.
ed in arresting, disarming and binding
him. There was no trouble in manap
ing the others. Several of the unfor-
Inmates were sent to lunatic asylum.
but Cameron county was hot with
Spcero for being the originator of all
the trouble, and he was sentenced to
the pcnitentiary at Huntsville on tho
charge of assault with intent to mur-
der, to which he pleaded that be was n
prophet sent to announce the second
coming of his Master The attention
OF the Australian consul having been
called to his case, that authority inves-
tigated it, had Speero released and
sent home to Montenegro. The action
OF the citizens broke the backbone of
the epidemic and Point Isabel has since
been free from Affections of every sort
save an occasional gulf hurricane.
a Crew OF Denf BYutes.
The schooner Mary and Belle is prob
ably the only vessel in the world +b,+