A PEDICULOUS VAGRANT

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 198, 30 November 1910, Page 5

A PEDICULOUS VAGRANT

INDESCRIBABLY FILTHY,

By Telegraph.—Press Association. Christchurch, Last Night. Some shocking features were present in the case of a man who was arrested for vagrancy in Hagley Park this morningl. A constable was on his way, to the city, when he happened to notice a man who had been frequenting the park for the past three weeks. His condition could only be described as filthy in the extreme. The man, whose name is Jos. Scott, had been making a habit bf sleeping in the park for some weeks past, his couch being under the trees near Victoria Lake. He lay on the ground with only a grass clod'for his pillow. His elothea were absolutely rotten, nnd crawling with vermin. His body was in a frightful state of filthiness, and his shoulders were raw from attacks of vermin and his retaliatory scratching. His hair and beard were matted with dirt, and his face, blackened with dirt and grime, could hardly be recognised as human.. Neither the man nor his clothes could have made the acquaintance of soap and water for months past. His condition was such, to piit it plainly, that he was almost unapproachable by anyone whose olfactory nerves were ordinarily sensitive.

The police officer to whom it fell to take charge of Scott nt the police station had a most unpleasant task. Every Stitch of the man's filthy clothing had to be removed and burnt.* Scott was then taken into the open and washed with a strong solution of water and Jeyes' fluid. 'The officer used a soft long-handled mop, which he dipped into a bucket and then applied to the man's body. This was followed up by several buckets of a milder solution of the same sort, and finally by some buckets of pure water. The frightful state of the man's bead and shoulders was revealed in all its horror by the cleansing process. He underwent the bathing ordeal without a word. In fact, he seemed to enjoy his al fresco sousing.