Arizona republican., 1895-04-12
EPIDEMIC OF INSANITY.
The Curious Mania Which Swept
Over a Texas Town.
Sane People Organized to Subdue the
Craze Created by Demented
Preacher who Did Strange
Things.


Preacher Who Did Strange
Things.
"You will doubtless feel incredulous
when [ tell you that Texas town was
once afflicted with an epidemic of in
sanity" The speakers remarks were
addressed to reporter for the Dallas
News. at was early in the '7Os, in the
beautiful little town of Point Isabel.
I resided there at the time, and l
know, of course, whereof | speak.
Among the four hundred inha bitants
of the Point as we used to call it, was
a 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 jack at
all trades. He could shoe a horse,
| build boat, make suit of clothing,
cobble old shoes and single a roof.
Thus useful his humble residence be-
came sort of rendezvous, and when it
became known that he claimed pro-
phetic powers all his acquaintance
| Hooked 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-
ligious tradition Of the people of east
ern lands. Several of the more con-
slant visitors who first pitied the condi-
ton 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 a
gloomy mood and flying into passion
when anybody denied or doubted that
Speero was prophet. In time the
people of sound mind became alarmed
and forbade their children to approach
Speero's sanctuary.
"a climax was finally reached.
Speero had a vision that he must take
his six-months-old baby and baptize it
in the river Jordan. Mrs. Speero,
! WIN nd 6saI ~
.ected. 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-
ter skif, 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
made up. They started in lighter
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 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 citi-
zens died offered a set of resolutions
designed to end the craze. Then the
meeting adjourned to round up the in
sane and corral them in box car.
Speero was the first run in and then
the trouble commenced. Camisa, on
learning that the prophet was pris-
oner, armed himself with butcher
knife and started to carve the crowd
but Constable John Whitaker succeed.
ed in arresting, disarming and binding
J him. There was no trouble in manag-
ing the others. Several of the unfor.
Inmates were sent to a lunatic asylum
but Cameron county was hot with
Speero for being the originator of all
the trouble, and he was sentenced to
the penitentiary at Huntsville on the
charge of assault with intent to muir
der, to which he pleaded that he was q
, prophet sent to announce the second
coming of his Master. The attention
J of the Australian consul having beer
called to his case, that authority inves
/ tigated it, had Speero released and
t sent home to Montenegro. The actor
of the citizens broke the backbone O.
] the epidemic and Point Isabel has since
been free from Affections of every sor
save an occasional gulf hurricane"