The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 1899-09-08
How Nature
Gave Science
A Pointer.


::"*x*''*'"*x *"'*''* *s'*'"* xa"'s:
"I've been reading in the papers
about disease germs-bacilli, bacteria,
microbes or whatever You call them,"
said a passenger on one of the Pontiac
cars the other day. II don't know
much about the science of such things,
but I've had lots of experience, and
very peculiar experience too. Talk
about your antitoxin for diphtheria and
such things. It isn't circumstance to
what I've had in my time.
The speaker was a tall. rather spare
middle aged man. with dark brown
hair. mixed with gray. and full beard.
cropped short. On the whole. he was a
rather pleasant appearing fellow and
disposed to be sociable.
"You know how a fellow feels when
he shakes. do you-when your bones
all ache and cold streaks run down your
back every time you move and your
teeth chatter till you think they will
all come loosef Then you burn up with
fever after the chill is over. and your
head aches, and you hope you will die
before another chill comes on. You
know all about that. do your Well. so
do l. But 1 was Cured Of 1t many years
ago, and I've never had it since.
"How were you curedf" / asked.
with some interest. and some of the
other passengers began to lean over and
try to catch the conversation.
81 was inoculated.
"You see. was living on a farm
down along the Wabash. in locality
where everybody had ague nine months
out of the year. It was a regular breed
ing place Of malaria. where everything
that lived and breathed had the shakes
The papers used to have great stories
about the shaking in that country. and
guess most Of them were true. though
suppose there was a little exaggera-
tion sometimes. Irecollect reading once
about how it affected the wild pigeons
When they settled on the ground in
search Of beechnuts and other stuff to
eat, they covered acres and acres az
thick as they could stand. Well. there
was a story that the pigeons got the
ague when they lit in that locality and
shook all their feathers off Then spec
ulators came and shipped thousands OF
'em to market. They couldn't fly be-
cause their wings had no feathers to fly
with. and the speculators gathered up
| tons of the feathers and sent them east.
| It was a good story. but l always
| thought it was stretched a little
| ''But whether the story is true or moi
I had the ague for months at time.
and no quantity Of quinine or othe,
stuff would do any good. just SHOOK
| and shook and burnt up with fever til
| was a shadow and could hardly walk.
I had given up all hope Of ever getting
any better unless went to some othel
place. but I had spent 80 much money
for medicine that I hadn't enough left
to get away with. and had to just
shake and stand it.
"One day found squirrel In 6
trap had set in the woods He was &
fine looking fellow. big fox squirrel
and hated to kill him. 80 took hin
home in the trap and made a cage fol
him. He soon became quite tame. ant
l could handle him as pleased. On,
day noticed there was something tn,
matter with the squirrel He seemed
mopish and had no appetite. which wa
something unusual for squirrel 81,
kept getting worse and soon grew al
thin as was
Zone day the doctor was passing by
and called him in to see my pet. H
looked him over and said it was cleal
case of ague. That seemed queer to me
and laughed at the idea-said hai
never heard of such thing He ex
planned it was because the squirrel wal
confined in a cage where he could no
get his natural remedies. The wild ami
mails. he said, ate certain things whil'
in the woods that kept the malaria from
affecting them. But this one was pre-
vented from getting them and was suf
fering the consequences.
81 watched the squirrel the next day
and, sure enough, he had a regular
shake. juet as l did. He curled himself
up in ball, as small as he could. ant
shook like sixty. Then be would stretcl
himself out at full length and lie for al
hour or two as still as mouse. fel
his poor little body and found he wa
burning with fever.
81 was going to turn him loose in tn
woods and save the poor little fellow
life, but the doctor said he would lik,
to study the case for the sake of science
So kept him and let him shake. w,
tried to give him quinins, but b.
wouldn't have 1t after the first dose
But after few weeks he quit shaking
and began to fatten again. Then b.