West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1901-01-03
THE SMALL POx SCARE
An Italian Broke Out at the
County Poor House
And Tried TO Get Away, Dat Was
Headed on and Driven Back.

Poor-liouse near here last Thurs
day by the Ovcrseer of the poor
for Reno district. The patient was
an Italian laborer from the Stone
crusher works at Buckhorn above
Rowlesburg, and il is said that DIR.
Proudfoot of Rowlesburg, was the
physician in charge and ordered
him brought to the Poor House,
which is one thing that makes us
believe that the man does not have
smallpox, because if he had the
County Poor House, filled with
poor unfortunate people, would be
about the worse kind of a place to
send smallpox patient, and DIR.
Proudfoot would have more sense
that to do it. Anyhow the man was
badly broken out all over his body
with the itch or eczema or some
kind of skin disease, and it was at
once reported that it was smallpox,
and DR.. Showalter, the county ply s.
ician in charge of the Infrmary,
went out Friday morning and made
very careful examination of the
victim by having him to strip off
entirely naked and stand in his room
while the doctor stood out in the
hall and peeped in through a crack.
He refused to go into the room at
all, but declared it small pox and
ordered the place closely quaran-
tined, which was done. George Golf,
who was here in town, was gobbled
up and compelled to go into close
confinement, which is very hard on
George, and seriously damaged his
religion.
The Steward in charge out there
handed in food and medicine to the
man through window, which was
not fastened down, and ladder up
to it from the outside, so that night
the man broke out and ran off. This
was duly reported to town by tele-
phone, and next morning DIR. Sho-
walter, with special deputies d. r.
Jackson and c. w. Dering, were
after him, and overhauled him
about three miles from town. 1t
was all right to pursue him and if
they had kept it up for two or three
days, our people would have highly
commended them for it, but the
idea of their being so foolish as to
overtake the man and bring him
back subjects them TO criticism.
But they headed him off and by
making threatening gestures with
rocks, clubs etc. succeeded in turn
ing him and driving him back to
the Poor House.
1t is said he had been sick for
three weeks before he was brought
here. If so it has not been hurting
him much, when he was able to be
brought here in buggy across the
country, over bad roads and in bad
weather and then get out in the
night time and run off.
1t is claimed that he was all broke
out before he came here, but wheth-
er he was or not, he did break out
sure enough after he was brought
here. A man from Rowlesburg told
US yesterday that the fellow had
been afflicted with this same disease
for two years, so if it is the small
pox, it must be the seven year var
iety like the seven year itch.
The fellow is a Dago and can't
talk English and no one here can
understand him and we havn't been
able to find out his name even.
Stafford, the Overseer of the Poor,
who brought him mere, drove over
from Function in a livery team
and they told us up there yesterday
that the authorities had ordered the
proprietor to burn his buggy, lap
robes, harness etc. He wanted to
know if he should kill the team also
and how much money they had to
invest in it, The matter dropped
at that point.
The doctors have been busy vac
cinating people and there are lots
Of sore arms around. As matter
OF fact, we have no idea at all that
it is the smallpox and il it is, il is
OF such a mild form, that it is not
half as dangerous as typhoid fever
or diphtheria and but little worse
than the measles, so our people
have no occasion whatever for
alarm. It IS all we'll enough 70 ex-
ercise care and caution and try to
nip these things in the bud and pre-
vent the spread Of any contagious
diseases, but il is not necessary TO
be ridiculous or scared 20 death be-
fore you are hurt.
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How much man Is like his