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VICTIM OF MAD DOG.
? V ? ? ?
BX-SOXMEiB raES OP HTDKO
MHHODIA. AJTTER BEENG CHRTI
w mi - CURED.
A fortunately rare case of death try
hydrophobia was on ! April 2 brought
'before a cproner's jury at Hackney.
The victim was George Edgar Sea.
«man. ;a straDDinsr.younsr fellow of 24^
Vh'o had' been a soldier in the Norfolk
Regiment Lately ho had resided at
?Paragon-road, (Hackney, and had been
,a 'candidate, for 'the city police. AH
constables appointed to this force have
to undergo a. searching medical ex
amination, and the Irony of it all was
that the 'doctor, discovering nothing of
'the latent poison in his system, had
reported most favorably of him. In
fact he was to have been formally ac
,cepted in a few days. However, symp1
toms, of .-hydrophobia showed them
selves/ and he died a terrible death.
The infecttion from a dog could be
traced as far back as last September,
.when, a^ .a soldier,, he was quartered
at Gibraltar, and' ' there savagely atl
tacked by a mad 'dog In the streets.
For some time. he and a comrade
fought with the dog, and tried to kill
it, and eventually rt was shot by an
other soldier, but both the men were
badly bitten, one of them two or three
.times in the hand and face, and Sea
[ man through the 'flesh at the bottom
I of the thumb. Every medical atten
[ tion possible was given to the poor fel
lows, but the case was considered so
serious that it was decided to send
them to the iPastear Institute in Paris.
That was done the day after the bite
took place, to three weeks the second
soldier succumbed to the dread com
Pla'mt. Seaman- however, appeared to
mane an excellent reco-ery, and was
eventually dls.-iarged as cared. He then
came home to London, -when be was
granted a month's p™ha±Ionary leave
to enable him to get into private life.
?Giving evidence, the mother of Sea
man, a Mrs. Mary Barker now, said
that no symptoms of illness showed
themselves until March 19, who, ne
said he did not feel well. He com
plained of pain in the elbow of the
same arm that was bitten. The pain
spread to the shouiaer, and then to the
back of the neck.
'The Coroner: was it a cramping
pain in the back of the neck?— It was
a very violent pain.
Was he in fear, of it; was he worry
ing- about it?— 1 don't think so. -
' Vi ' ' ' Absurd Theory.
The 'Coroner: Some people say that
you never do have hydrophobia, hut
that you worry yourself Into imagin
ing It; but, of course, that is very
absurd. iA death from hydrophobia is
almost rare thing indeed in England
since the passing of that very wise Act
01 .rarHament, the Muzzling Act, that
stamped out rabies. This case should,
however, act as a warning to people
to make sure that a dog that shows
the slightest symptoms of madness
should be kept under control. At
Gibraltar dogs are allowed to wander
fabout at will.
'The mother went on to say that ,on
the Monday deceased's condition be
came very desperate, he being so vio
lent, and next day he could not swal
low, and said he was going mad. At
six o'clock he became so bad. that a-
constable 'had to be sent for to re
strain him, and he was then removed
to the Hackney Infirmary.
A letter was produced which Sea
man 'wrote to his mother at the time
of the bite, in which he saidj 'You
say you have heard I am lying seri
ously ill m Paris, suffering from hy
drophobia, but you have made 'a mis
take; it was iny mate, he is now
dead.' ,
IPolice-Constable . Walter Nicks
S02J, said he was called to the house'
and Seaman told him of the bite he
had had in September, and said he be
lieved he was going mad also. He
asked to be taken somewhere at once
and witness walked him -through the'
streets to the Hackney . Infirmary
There was no order for his admission
but directly the facts were *old to the'
authorities a bed was provided.
Dr. John Joseph Gordon medical
superintendent of the infirmary was
then caUed, and said that Seaman was
very violent when he was admitted
Ho waa,a man of splendid physique
ocn complained of having to die 'so
young from the bite -of a dog. He
was put into the bath, but jumped
out- irkB a ? cat He ordered Ma at
tendant to put him in again, but again
he jumped out, and sat on the edge of
the bath and cried. ' He was suffer
ing (from a frightful thirst, and wit
rcss gave him a glass of water. He
had no sooner got the glass into his
hf-ad than he had a terrible spasm of
the muscles, and jumped Into the air.
From that time onward the mention
of water was sufficient to give him
other spasms, and a slight draught
under the door had the same effect
Cried for Death.
1 Witness heard that he had been
treated at the Pasteur Institute, but
there was a delay in getting him there.
;as the North German Lloyd Steamship
Co. refused to take him, and he had
to ^ wait for the P. and O. Witness
was awfully sorry for the poor fellow's
agonies. Seaman cried 'like a' child
because Dr. .. Cowell, his' assistant,
would not cut his throat and end his
sufferings. He . said he' could: trot
breathe, and if (hey -cot his throat toe.
could breathe. Eventually, the poor
man's ^agonies became so terrible that
they had to inject morphine to quieten
him. He died at 4.30 in the morning,
after an awful night's suffering. Wit
ness-bad made a post-mortem, but
Ifound nothing except a little inflamma
tion of -the- brain and kidneys.. From
the symptoms he concluded . deceased
diedifrom hydrophobia.
The Coroner: That is one of - the
peculiarities of this terrible Complaint.
'Although it is so rapid and so horrible
there is no characteristic to be found
after death.
Witness: It is 'peculiar so long after
the bite.
' The Coroner: They say you are never
safe; that you may; die from -.it years
after.
Witness: The last case I 'had in
Hackney, was twenty-eight years ago;
and then the patient came In supposed,
to be suffering from tonsililis. , . :
-The Coroner: It is a terrible sight
to see a .man suffering from hydro
phobia. 1 remember one in my medi
cal student days, and the sight wHl_
never be effaced tfrom my memory. In
olden times, it is said that they used
to put them under a feather bed anil
smother ttiem, but nowadays a doctor
'must not do anything to wilfully in
jure anyone. This Is a ?horrible case
any way.
The jury returned 'a verdict of
'Death from' hydrophobia, and. from
accidental causes.'
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