The Cairo bulletin., 1912-07-18
STRANGE DISEASE
KILLS 10 PERSONS
ON ILLINOIS farm
Man Latest Victim Of Malady that
Doctors Near Mount Verneu
Cannot Explain

Mount Vernon, H., July 17.--Jot
Alderman died last night on tho
Godfrey Palm farm, a mile from
; here, Of the same mystegius malady
that caused the death last week OF
John Alderman and the deaths OF
eight other persons on the farm
within the last rs years. Physicians
are unable to determine the cause of
Joe Aekerman's death, as they were
unable to account for the deaths of
John Alderman and the others. Ami
mails also have been affected In the
same way and persisted as the 10
persons have.
The deaths of all 10 are believed
to have been caused by drinking the
water Of polluted we'll and the
| milk OF cows that drank the i'm
pure water, but the nature of the i'm
purity and the disease that it pro-
duces have not been determined.
An entire family, composed of FIVE
persons, is said TO have persisted on
the farm about twenty-five wears
ago. Up to seven or eight years age
the farm was unoccupied and was
regarded with awe by the people OF
the neighborhood. Then Godfrey
20 m hnt q h
house and built new one and went
there to live
Called Milk Sickness.
In 1906 he was stricken with a
disease which was said to resemble
the one that had killed the other
family a quarter of a century be-
fore. He became so weak that it
was necessary for the neighbors to
look after his crops. His wife and
two children, boy and girl.
were stricken with the same all
ment. DR.. Wilcox diagnosed the
disease as milk sickness. He had
the well water analysed by the State
Chemist, who pronounced it Tim
pure but not dangerous.
On the doctors orders the family |
stopped drinking water from thu
we'll and using milk from the COWS |
pastured near it, and their health |
improved. Later, however, Palm |
and his wife and daughter resumed |
the use of the water and milk and |
their condition again became |
serious. Palm died Nov %, 1906. His
wife died eight days later, Their
daughter died in May, 1907, The
son. who had not resumed the use
of the water and milk, regained his
health entirely and is still living
When John Alderman moved on
The farm he RETAINED from drinking
the water from the we'll, but permit
ted the cows to drink it and used |
their milk. few months ago he |
developed symptoms like those that
had attended the illness .of the |
Palms. He died last week. Joe
Alderman developed the disease
about the same time and he sur
vived John Alderman only a few
days.
= Joe Alderman was cutting oats |
when the Illness with which he had |
been suffering for several months |
became acute. He. left his binder |
standing in the grain and went |
home, whore he died few hours
later.
All the persons who have died suf- |
Tered the most intense pain and had
/ high temperature. The animals |
that died had the same symptoms.
SulphurouS Mist Rises.
At sunrise the mist which rises |
rom the damp earth on the affect
ID farm has the odor Of sulphur 1t
has been found that when animals
are killed for food purposes on the
farm, the meat becomes spotted One
theory is that the infection came
from diseased meat originally.
The malady first shows its pres
ence by severe cramps that have
their beginning In the lower limbs
Then follows q high fever After
the fever the victim IS once more
attacked by the cramps, These
spread to the upper Limbs, and after
the body has been made rigid, death
relieves the sufferer Within a few
minutes after death the badly relaXes