The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-02-21
HAS NO PROVISION ID STOP SMALLPOX County Cannot Fumigate the
 Houses Infected A MYSTERIOUS DEATH Health Officers Fear That Negroes With Man at Beverly Station May Spread the Disease to Other Sections
 of the District
MYSTERIOUS DEATH

the county nus no pfoNiSlon Ior tHe lulli- gating of houses in which there have been smallpox patients and persons with other dangerous contagious diseases. This was brought to light Saturday by the death of a negro from smallpox at Beverly station on the South Besse- mer car line, a short distance beyond the city limits. The death of the negro was reported to the city health depart ment who in turn reported it to the county authorities, asking that the house in which the negro had died be fum- gated This was greeted with the infor- nation that the county. had made no provision for this work. While it was outside of the corporate limits of Blr- mingham Chief Sanitary Inspector Burson sent men to the place and fumisated the 1 house.
 Outside of the question of the county fumigating the house there is also a llt- tie mystery in the case, it being believed that the negro died somewhere in Besse- iner, his body being placed in a trunk and carried to Beverly on an electric car. Some negroes brought a trunk up from Bessemer to Beverly on the day the death was reported, and passengers on the car noticed that the trunk ap- peared to be exceptionally heavy when the negroes took it off.
 The body was buried the night of the day on which the death was reported and the arrival of the sanitary officers at the house found it empty of humans. An effort to find the negroes who were ia fp1 it being feared that they may have re- ceived touch of the disease and will spread it.
 That the county has no arrangements for fumigating such places was the cause of many expressions of surprise. The house at Beverly In which this negro was is nothing more than a shack and there was no way of sealing it up during the process of Immigration. The sanitary officers were of the opinion that it should be burned down, but as 1t was outside Of the city limits nothing in this direction could be done by them.
 ~------------~~----~-~--- about 1t. She boarded an East Lake car and reached the city about 12:3O.
 In the meantime MT. Smiley and MT. Jopes had decided to go to East Lake to see Mrs. Lytle. They boarded an East Lake car about 12:30, and someone leaned over to MT. Smiley and spoke and asked him where she could find that MT. Daniel Jones'" It was Mrs. Lytle, and MT. Jones was in the same seat with Smiley. The three then went to the Birmingham hotel parlors where the Jamaican official quizzed them both and became assured that Mrs. Vester was the person for whom he was looking. As they were the first to get him any really tangible information he decided to divide the $1oOO reward be- tween them.
 Found By Others
 But there were many others on the trail of that reward. Probably no less than 50 people had located the heiress more or less definitely before the day was over. Among them was City Detective Burge, who located her through Mrs. Whitson. who lives at 2523 Thirtieth avenue, North Birmingham. Mrs. Whitson is the widow of physician who was practicing in Bir- mingham in the early nineties. Miss Clark at that time was working in laun-
 
 which her ankle was broken. Mrs. Whit son took her to her house until she was | well, and it was here that Miss Clark be- | gan work on her wedding clothes and Mrs. | Whitson assisted her. Very soon after ward, however, Ennis had his trouble and had to leave. and the marriage was in- definitely postponed. Mrs. Whitson knew that she had been married and that she lived in Nashville.
 Mrs. Vester also has a number of rela- lives in various. parts of north Alabama, several of them living in Birmingham. w. c. Prickett is a cousin. Another cousin named Prickett is teller of the bank at Ashville, Ala. He was in communication by wire with The Age-Herald and with Mrs. Vester yesterday. The Age-Herald telephones were busy all day answering calls from people who had suggestions to offer as to how she could be located.
 Early Poverty of Mrs. vester
 Among the most interesting features in connection with the case is the early pow erty of Mrs. Vester. c. O. Watkins, who is now president of the Birmingham Laundry company, states that Miss Clark worked for him in the ironing department of his laundry in.1S92.
 | Afterward Miss Clark became a private nurse, and it was while thus engaged that | she began to save little money. "She was a very poor girl and had a | hard struggle" said c. c. Bates, an ad- juster of claims. who has his office at IA North Twenty-first street. last night. Tn | 1896 and 1897, while she was working as nurse she came to me with her savings and asked me to keep them for her. Later | she went to Nashville and married this man Vester.
 | "Afterward she wrote me that she had purchased little home and wanted me to send her money so she could make . payment on the property. I sent her the money and a few years later when l happened to be in Nashville. called by | to see her. She told me that after going to Nashville she had taken employment l in some kind of public institution; think | 1t was an asylum for the blind. It was probably here that she made enough money to feel that she could invest in q | home.
 when she lived in Birmingham she | used to attend Sunday school at the Cum berland Presbyterian church. She was at one time a private nurse in one of the homes on Highland avenue"
 Mrs. Vester is expected to reach Bir- | mingham some time today, although an anonymous telephone message to The Age-Herald last night stated that Mrs | Vester was not in Nashville now, or at | least was not there three weeks ago. Her | Birmingham relatives, however. feel con. fident that she is at her home in that