Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1912-07-04
STRANGE ILLNESS TAKES
FIFTH CHILD ON FIFTH YEAR

Camden. N. Disqualification was
added to the grief of John Baumeister
and his wife when they sat at a little
cot in Cooper Hospital in this city and
saw their ~fve-year-old daughter die.
the little n writhing in just such con-
vulsions as had killed o u other of
their children, all in the last -four years
and all c%urlously, just as they had at
tanned the age of five years.
From the bed of the e child, Rose.
they turned to yet another cot where
another OF their children, Alice, only
three and a half years old, was also i'll
OF the strange commissions. And in
dumb wretchedness they awaited the
coming of her death also. But little
Alice was spared to them for the time
at least. She had so far recovered to-
night that the physicians gave her
parents permission to take her home.
But the man and his wife, as they sat
in their comfortable home at No. 267
Ka1ghn avenue. both wept as they adj
mitted hat they had little hope that
Alice would be spared to them long.
w have had seven children" the
us-Alice, the little girl, who nearly died
today, and III son. He we hope n
believe to be out of danger. He was our
first child. and is a strong, healthy boy.
He has never been afflicted with the
commissions that came upon all his
SIX SISleIS"d SIIdI6 IIOuOlCs 0OIIlO
of the doctors have said that there
must be some hereditary failing, but
neither my husband nor myself can
understand that, because there is no
history of anything like these convul-
sions in the family of either of us"
Mr.. Baumeiter said that the Attic
ton was almost too hard to bear. The
| children were always healthy in APP
pearance. he said. but experience had
taught the parents that these outward
signs were not dependable. One after
another, while in seeming good health.
r-osy-cheeked, bright-eyed. full of ac-
tivity and laughter, the little girls
were stricken and puzzled doctors
worked to cure them in vain.
AT most, 1t would be a matter of
few days and the child would die. AL
ways, the fatal attacks had come upon
the children in their fifth year.
I'VE have dreaded that fifth year in
their lives" said Mrs. Baumeister, re-
covering from her tears. w have
carefully watched and nursed the chill
dren. We have been careful of their
diet. careful that they did not fall n
any e-xcitements; we have had them
examined by physicians for any signs
of chronic ailments that might bring
on commissions. But always it was the
anne.
Our babies would seem to be in
perfect health and then-at play, at
the inner table, or in a crib at night
would come a scream or a little
grasping cry and we would find our
child stiffened or writhing with
clenched hands and vacant eyes in the
grip of the strange sickness. They
would pass from one CONFUSION to an
other and die while we n the doc
tors stood helplessly watching them"
Little Alice, who survived an at
| tack of the commissions. had been at
tackled at an earlier g han any Of
her five sisters who have been killed
by them. But the parents could not
be induced last night to believe that
the attack would not recur In her fifth
year and place the child beside the
other five graves in the family GENE
| tory Mot