The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1911-02-04
SMALL POX PANIC
rEoPLE REFUSED TO GO NEAR
I, VICTIM OF DISEASE.
White Doctors Had to Lay Dead Me-
gro Away Because Negroes Would
Mt M rtS :.t ~

gro Away because negroes Wouitl
Not Do It:
One lone case of small pox seems
.to have almost thrown the little
.ty of North into panic. A; negro
died there on "Wednesday with the
disease and no one could be found
ir the place who would assist in
hurying him Had the victim been
!. white person, the whites. would
having buried him, and being a ne
sro, they rightfully thought 1t was
the; duty of his own race to lay him
|.away. E, z.t:. K; .yT5 Il
But the negroes were panic strick-
eE and refused to go near him. They
even refused to dig a grave over a
mile from where the victim died, SO
panic stricken had they become for
fear Of catching the disease. Not
even a negro preacher went near the
poor unfortunate man, either during
his sickness or after. his DEATH. Fin
ally, Dr.. T. A. Jones, who had been
very kind to the sick man, with the
assistance of DR.. c. F. Williams.
State health officer, and Mr.. Fl. D.
Tyler, laid him away when he died.
They put him in the coffin, carried
him to the. graveyard, where they
cug a grave and buried him out of
sight. The white people of North
can hardly be blamed for not WISH
ing to expose themselves to the dis
ease to bury negro, when hundreds
Of his own color were there and
should have given him attention.
both while he was sick and after he
had died, but they refused to go near
I'm while sick. and after he died.
Z. In speaking of the matter The
State says DR.. C. F. Williams re-
turned to Columbia Thursday night
from North, where he acted in part
as undertaken, as grave digger and
rs priest at the burial Of a negro who
Tad died unfriended and almost de-
serted on account of small pox. The
State goes on to say:
Il Cdr. T. A. Jones Of North cared
for the negro. in his illness Of two
iveeks and Dr.. Williams highly COM
ulenGs the work of this devoted ply
sician. Food was sent from the
:,ome of DR.. Jones for the negro and
lis family. The home OF the negro
was isolated, and the members Of the
family werc yaccinated as soon as
diagnosis Of the case was made and
the disease was pronounced to be
smallpox. None of them has as yet
evidenced symptoms of the disease.
"The negro was porter on the
s.eaboard and there is no telling
where he contracted the disease.
His name was Vastine Brimfeld. He
died Wednesday morning at 2
o'clock. All day Dr.. Jones endeav-
cred to get men to bury the negro,
but the community seemed to be in
mortal terror. DR.. Williams was
communicated with. He went to
North on the afternoon train. A sad
state 1of affairs was revealed. No
cne in North would assist DR.. Jones
t., bury the negro. s.:
cdr. Williams and DR.. Jones, with
their own hands placed the body in
the coffin and placed it upon a wag-
On. 1t was with great difficulty that
tile wagon was obtained. No one
would show them the way to the
negro burying ground, fully a mile
end half away. Finally Mr.. H.. D.
Tyler volunteered his services and
assisted the two physicians to take
the body to the graveyard. @
"The terror Of the negroes was so
intense that they even refused to dig
a grave, although the body was over
!, mile from the burial place, and the
two physicians and Mr.. Tyler there
in the night dug a grave and placed
the coffin therein.
''Dr. Williams is grateful to DR..
Jones and 10 Mr.. Tyler. The fact
that none # the members Of the ne
erc's family has developed smallpox
seems to be giving the people of the
eighborhood more confidence in the
efficiency of vaccination.
Good Roads Help.
The prosperity of our country de-