The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1900-05-25

had this disease called smallpox, and
the. vaccination had taken on fourteen
|of them.
DIR. Cowan of Tullahoma, said that he
hadn't seen any real smallpox since the
''little difficulty" in the 60s, He did
not doubt that smallpox had existed in
the State, and, from what Dr. Porter
had sad, in this county also; yet he
was satisfied that great many cases
had been wrongly reported as smallpox
He had been called to a neighboring
town last year, where much excitement
had been aroused over an alleged small
pox case, and, upon diagnosing the case,
he was convinced that it was not small
pox The epidemic had been prevalent
all over the county, and able men
everywhere had differed in their opin-
ions.
DR.. Mathis made quite witty and
interesting talk He said that in his
county he had run across forty three
cases of this eruptive disease, some of
which had been visited by the health
officers and pronounced smallpox, yet
none of them had any of the character
istic symptoms of the disease. This
skin eruption had occurred in his family,
but after few days the pimples or
eruption began to disappear and the
skin became as clear as before. In other
cases that had come under his obser-
walton the marks left resembled the stain
of berries, and were gradually disap-
pearing He did not doubt there had
been smallpox in the State, but none of
tho cases he had seen were such.
DIR Robert Pillow said that his expe-
rience in regard to vaccination had been
entirely different from that of Drs. She'd
dan and Ragsdale. He haG been care
full TO vaccinate every person who had
suffered from this disease, and in no
case had the vaccination been effective
neither had any person who had been
successfully vaccinated by him contrac-
ted the disease. The mildness of the
type had doubtless caused some honest
mistakes in diagnosis. DR.. Cain he
knew was honest in his opinion of the
case he was called here some time since
to see, yet from that case which DIR. [ ain
pronounced not smallpox the disease
was communicated to boy, who was
effected so mildly that he did not even
have to take to his bed. This boy com
l I
Bruce Cochran, who had a very severe
and almost malignant case. which left
marks that vii be with him until his
dying day. The Doctor also cited an
instance in a negro family, where a
girl had taken the disease in a very
mild form. Her mother refused to be
vaccnated, nursed the patient, con
tracted the disease in a malignant form,
and died. The father also refused to be
vaccinated, and he took the disease from
his wife and died. In another family
where the disease made its appearance
every member was taken i'll except two
children, who had been successfully
vaccinated. "Why," said DIR. Pillow
"don't these Columbia doctors who art
sitting here dumb, get up and tell wha
they have seen and knowf"
DIR. W. X. Sheddan followed DIR. Pill
| low in the discussion. He corroborateC
the statements made by DIR. Ragsdale
and said that in all cases of this so
/ called smallpox which he had come il
contact with, many of the most charac
| teristic symptoms of smallpox had beei
I absent II deny emphatically'' h
said, THAT Bruce Cochran has had th
| smallpox. | was his physician an,
r know" He stated that in this case th
, eruptious had come aud gone in a perio'
: of twelve days, and there was 40 second
ary rise Of fever, both of which are con
: trary to the history in all smallpo
e cases. The marks on the young man
J face did not look like smallpox marks
did not have the same character at all
. There would have been no marks a. a
I il the eruptions had not beel poisone
r by scratching.
ol DIR. Sheddan stated that this sam
I eruptive disease had attacked member
I Of his own family. Including visitor
5 and servants, there were nineteen PEI
I sons 10 the house at the time. and hi
! little baby was the first one taken Il