The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-03-31
T IS PRONOUNCED
 REAL HYDRPOHOBIA
Si JemiSon'S Symptoms Are All
 UnmiStakabIe
THE NEGRO BARELY ALIVE
Physician Discusses the Case Fully and Points Out Many Interesting Facts-Third Case in His
 tory of Birmingham.

si Jemison, the negro at the city jail, who Is dying from hydrophobia, was bare ly alive at a. m It was not believed that he would survive the night.
 Some doubt has been expressed in Bir- mingham about this being a genuine case of hydrophobia. but all the physicians who saw Jemison and studied his con dition agree that beyond a doubt the ne- gro had the disease.
 From the very first signs of the malady the symptoms have been similar to those in other cases noted here and elsewhere. This is the third case of hydrophobia on record in Birmingham in twenty years and is therefore attracting a great deal of attention Several physicians have called at the city jail to see the man, and many have watched the progress of the disease with great interest.
 Drs T. l.. Robertson and T. D. Parke were the first physicians to see Jemison after he showed symptoms of hydropho- bia. On last Tuesday the matter first came to the attention of persons who knew the negro. It was seven weeks since he had been bitten, and all thoughts of hydro phobia had died out. Yesterday afternoon Dr. Robertson said:
 Physicians Statement.
 "On Wednesday morning I was sum moned and the negro showed all the pre- liminary symptoms of hydrophobia. He could not eat or drink, the sight of water caused him to feel peculiar, and when it touched him 1t threw him into convul- slons. He was unable to swallow at the time, and had not had food or water for twenty-four hours He complained of an aching in his arm near where the dog bit him, and had that sense of impending danger which eharacterizes the first stage of the disease.
 Usually 1t requires about six, eight or ten weeks for the incubation to take place after the bite. It was seven weeks in this case. All medical authorities agree that death will ensue in less than seven days, and this negro cannot live but a few hours. The negro showed the second stage of the disease just as all authori- ties indicate.
 "A draft of cool air was painful to him on Thursday when I saw him last An unusual sound would cause a reflex action of the muscles and bring on spasms A sense of suffocatlon and also abject fear of water was apparent dur ing a spasm.
 Fear of Water.
 "It is this that gives the name to the disease The Greek words mean fear of water A drop of water on the negro would start a spasm at once. It lasted only a few seconds, but was very pain ful. Nausea also accompanied the att tacks, which was another symptom of hy- drophobia.
 Tt is usually thought that persons suf- fering from the disease are wild and out of their head but this is true only when there Is spasm. At other times they are rational until the third and last stage, which is insensibility and mania. The negro is now in the third stage, and his death Is only a matter of hours.
 "Hydrophobia is a disease the germs of which are not known. It originates in dogs, wolves, cats and even cows, and may be transmitted to man by inocula- ton. It is very common, according to some authorities, In Northern Russia, England and France. but appears but seldom in Germany. It Is more frequent In the United States than Is supposed.
 "The disease does not originate in man, and he gets it only by inoculation. It Is found only in the saliva. and as far as has been discovered the germs do not exist in any other part of the body. It effects the tlroat and the muscles of the neck. It also causes an unusual flow ot saliva, as in the case of this negro, who has not touched water for six days. but who has a flow of saliva greater than that of any man under ordinary ercum- stances. A/y one bitten by mad dog can be prevented from having hydro- phobia fly taking the Pasteur treatment, but after the disease makes itself evident there is no known cure.
 Incubation.
 "The period of incubation Is shorter in children than in grown people. In other words, the disease shows itself in a shorter length of time. It seems to lie dormant in the wound made by bite for several weeks, and then to cause certain death. The disease is sometimes hard to distinguish and frequently nervous dread of hydrophobia causes people to think they have 1t, and to act and suffer very much the same. but that is nervous breakdown and not hydrophobia.
 "Very little is known of the disease, ex- cept the results. As I have said, the germ from which 1t originates and the l manner of it's origin has not been dis covered It is known, however, that 1t Is more apt to originate in dogs than in other animals, and that from them most of the cases originate"
 It is said that Hugh Flowers, carpen- ter or machinist, died from the disease a number of years ago, and that about seven years ago Dr. Posey of Mount