The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1903-02-17
THE HARD LUCK OF A RABBIT.
pyoges alba!"

PyooN ASo
This was the name of the germ that
has been pumped into a rabbit at Da-
wilson, and that rabbit is certainly en-
joying a poor time. For nearly a week
now he has had q temperature of about
100, and a pulse that simply couldn't
be counted. His principal symptoms
are a dropping left ear and a very
surprised, sad look. DR.. Munroe, who
is at the head OF the medical corps
which is experimenting with the rab-
bit, says that rabbit hasn't one chance
in a thousand to recover
No one will be surprised. Those
words, if properly scattered. might
Slay all the rabbits in Australia.
This particular rabbit is the victim
of science. During the illness Of b
two Davidson students. Mcleod and
Boyce. the physicians who were in at
tendance, became very much puzzled
over the germs or microbes that were
found in the blood of the two students;
| and it was declared that a germ that
was unknown in all the medical books
had been discovered.
Shortly after the germs had been
safely corralled a y resentative of the
North Carolina Medical college, at
Davidson, came down here n pur-
chased four fat, healthy rabbits and
took them uD to Davidson for the pur-
pose of inoculating hem with the
germs and then carefully noting the
effects of the blood poison.
The physicians found two distinct
kinds of germs. The one is an old
fashioned microbe, Familiarity known
as,
Stathylococci pyog0s alba.
This was adm; Mustered to one of the
rabbits, and the patient very soon be-
a to throw chills and give other In
dicationS that he was troubled with
SepticO-pyaemia.
Which is incurable even in a rab-
bit. and is all the worse with the
rabbit because nobody has given him
formalin or packed him in ice to re-
duce his temperature. His peculiar
mission is to develop q respiration that
was unheard OF in the rabbit family
and then to be laid on the diSsecting
table as a sacrifice at the shrine of the
great god of medicine.
So far, as has been recorded, only
the left ear of the rabbit has drooped:
this being a flag Of distress that is I'M
portant to nobody except the rabbit,
whose feelings in the matter need not
be considered. He seems to be put
ting up a pretty game sort of a fight
for his life, though if he knew that
those three words had been injected
into him he would probably anticipate
his demise with septicO-pyaemia by an
attack of heart disease.
The other three rabbits eat, grow
fattar and await destiny. They are
being saved to illustrate the operation
of the new germ, which hasn't a name,
but is deadly beyond expression. The
microbes are so poisonous, in fact, that
they eat n another r~avenously and
leave nc trace of themselves. The
physicians have been laboring to find
one of the germs that was not engaged
in warfare, or to separate two of them
that had already locked jaws in mortal
combat, but thus far their efforts
have been unavailing. SO soon as the
doctors attach a new germ which is
infinitely more terrible than the
Stathyllococci pyoges alba
they will inject it into one Of the three
remaining rabbits and then watch him
do about. 1t is not known exactly
what he will have after tho Injection,
but it is definitely settled that this
rabbit will have a worse malady thar
simple
Septico-pyaemia.
And even at this stage in the discov-
cry it is safe to say that the rabbit
droop his ears.-Charlotte Observer