The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-05-15
MANY DEATHS CAUSED
BY PECULIAR MALADY THAT At
TACKs cows AND OTHER ANIMALS.
Secretary Hurry VIII Go to Winamac,
Ind, to Investigate an Alarm
ing Report.

DIR. J. N. Hurry, Of the State Board Of
Health. was advised yesterday of a Pc
culiar and fatal malady which is caus-
ing much concern to the people in Fulton.
Starke. Marshall and Pulaski counties. The
advice comes from Winamac. Ind, in the
immediate vicinity of which several peo-
pie have died recently from the strange
disease. DR.. Hurry will leave at once to
investigate the conditions there.
Regarding the matter he said the reports
of physicians of those counties contained
no reference to any unusual or mysterious
diseases or deaths. and though he had been
surprised at the large number of deaths
reported from that section, most Of them
were attributed to pneumonia, typhoid and
similar diseases common in such localities
in the springtime. He therefore thought II
nothing strange. The letter stating the
conditions there was as follows:
For several months past a mysterious
and fatal malady has prevailed in the
northwestern part of Fulton county, near
the junction of Fulton. Pulaski Marshall
and Starke counties, and extends over an
area of about one square mile. During the
last few months large number of horses,
cattle, hogs and sheep have fallen victims.
Recently the people residing in that imme-
date neighborhood have been affected.
1.-The first announcement of the present
outbreak was made in December last, when
the disease appeared among the live stock
on the farm of William O'Keefe. Nearly
all of his stock died, and the disease
seemed to spread to that on adjoining
farms. The first stages resembled those of
acute poisoning. There was extreme ner-
vousness and rapid twitching of the mus
cles. The animals would shake as if suffer-
ing from a chill. This was followed by
general exhaustion, and a few brisk steps
sufficed TO make the animal pant for
breath and fall to the ground. A few of
the attacks were slight and scarcely per-
ceptible Such cases were usually those of
cows giving milk. Physicians claimed the
system was relieved of the poisonous mat
ter by the milk secretions, and 1t was thus
comm nicated to persons using the milk.
Persons when attacked were similarly 'af-
fected.
Soon after the appearance of the dis
ease among the O'Keefe stock the fourteen
year-old daughter of Henry +. Long was
taken i'll and died of what was supposed to
be the same malady. At the same time
Long and his wife were taken Ill, and just
before the holidays their eighteen-year-old
son was seized with an acute attack. With
in a week all were dead and were buried
in one grave. A married daughter who was
caring for the stricken family died in jan
uary from a similar complaint, and on May
4 Sadie Long, seventeen years of age, died.
Her death was exactly similar to that of
other members of the family and to that of
the live stock on the O'Keefe farm when
IL first appeared.
1.-THE deaths were thought to be due to
poison of some sort, but no one has been
able TO locate its source In the same To-
cality during the last fifty years thousands
of animals have died, and at least seventy
five people have met death from the un-
known cause. 1t has been variously
charged to a vegetable and mineral bog
iron and to a gaseous substance arising
from the swamps in the timber lands. No
scientific investigation has been able to
shed any light on the matter. Numerous
experiments have been made, and recently
dog was permitted to eat of the body of
colt which had died from the strange
disease. Soon after it displayed all of the
symptoms and died short time after"
DR.. Hurry thought ii very strange that
the death of five members of one family
within such q short period and the death of
hundreds of animals In the immediate vi
entity and from an apparently common
cause, similarly affecting animals and per-
sons, should not have been reported to the
State Board of Health before, and by ply
sicians. He remembered scientific in
vestigation with which the board had any
knowledge or record