Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1903-03-27
STRANGE CATTLE DISEASE
Governor cummins Urged 70 Order
Investigation.

governor Comnono OT0So " SS"
Investigator.
Des Moincs, March Ex-Governor
Cummins has been called upon to send
the state veterinarian into southern
Iowa to investigate strange disease
that has been killing cattle by the doz'
en-, and whose rayages the veterinari'
ans In that section or tine state have
been powerless to check. Wayne AMI
Decatur counties have been most dis
astrOUsly affected. The township
trustees at Humeston, Wayne county,
have united In demand that the
state veterinarian be sent to the scene
of the trouble under the section OF the
code which makes It the veterinarians
duty to visit any part OF the state up
on the written request Of majority
OF the county supervisors, township
trustees or city councilmen inter.
ested.
Tho new disease has many symp
toms similar to those Of hydrophobia,
DR.. John j. Repp. a professor at the
state college at Ames. who is also one
of the deputies of the state veterinar
ian, has been called upon for an opin.
ion by the farmers whose cattle have
been infected by the disease. From
a description given him Professor
Repp decided that the disease might
be rabies, but advised that an official
Investigation by the veterinarian be
asked for.
"A local veterinarian at Garden
Grove, Decatur county, pronounced
the disease brain fever. The cattle
frothed at the mouth, bled from the
nose and were very fierce. They
refuse to eat or drink after being
taken with the disease. One man re.
ported that COW that he had had for
years tried to climb into the wagon to
get at him when he drove through
the barn yard. The local veterinarian
recommended the application of tur.
pentine to the backs Of the infected
animals to stimulate the circulation OF
the blood and take it away from the
brain. POst-mOrtem examinations OF
the bodies of two of the cows were
held and the investigators reported
that there was no excess of blood at
the brain. no signs of poison in the
stomach, and no other condition that
explained the cause of death.
Captain ]. S. Clark of Des Moines
has lost ten cattle already by the raw
alges of the strange disease. Captain
Clark's farm is near the county line
between Wayne and Decatur, and ad.
Joining the Burlington railroad. "One
of my men writes me that the people
there are unable to solve the mystery
of the disease" said Captain Clark.
The trouble was first reported to me
a month ago. At that time three cows
had been killed by the disease. Since
then ten more have been killed and
there is no let-up. My man reports
that the disease is prevalent in other
localities in that part of the state, and
that the farmers and stock men are
very much wrought up. He says that
the cattle act very much as If they
were mad. They run about in fur
ious state and pay no attention to
fences, running over or through
them invariably. One of them attack
ed him in the yard and he had difficult
ty in escaping unhurt. The cattle live
only about twenty-four hours after
they have been taken with the dis.
ease. There has been mad-dos
scare in that section of the state, but
no one knows of any cattle having
been bitten, and it Is not known how
the disease could spread among the
cattle. They don't bite. though they
are very ferocious. They refuse TO
take food or water"