Raleigh, July 10—Found naked and nearly dead from exposure, his bed a pile of branches and dead leaves, Sidney Jeffries, aged negro who was taken to a hospital when found living in a savage state in a deserted section of woods near Raleigh, has died as the result of his experiences. He was taken to a hospital here, but medical science was unable to bring relief.
It is not known how long he lived in the semi-primitive hut he had thrown together in the woods, but evidently for some time. The negro was very old, and those who knew him said that of late yeas he had avoided all contact with other people, eating food friends set out for him only at night. It is thought his mind was affected and he reverted to the savage type as a result.
From the front page of the Concord Daily Tribune, Saturday, July 10, 1926
newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn92073201/1926-07-10/ed-1/seq-1/
Editor's Note: I'm offended by the use of "savage" to describe this aged man who could no longer work and was reduced to making a bed of branches and dead leaves. He was old and dying. He did what he could, and I don't see that the civilized people who were around him were taking him in and making him comfortable. The story of his discovery, exposed and dying, was told more sympathetically in the Smithfield Herald. You might want to read that story below.
Find Aged Negro Dying from Long Exposure. . . Help for the Aged Negro Appeared to have Arrived in Nick of Time. . . Will Probably Recover
Apparently dying by degrees, Sidney Jeffers, an 81-year-old negro, was found lying under a clump of trees yesterday not a stone’s throw from the new Western outlet highway north and the State College Experimental Farm. Jeffers, a former employe of the State College Farm, had been in such a helpless condition for more than two weeks, according to W.F. Hunter, a white farmer residing in that section.
Help for the aged negro appears to have arrived in the nick of time, physicians stating that he probably would not have survived another 24 hours exposed to the elements and ravages of insects. He was unclothed when found.
A structure resembling a pigsty and an improvised lean-to constituted the old negro’s only home. The hovel lacked flooring and was without a single window, although large slits in the roof and walls provided ventilation and ample room for rain to enter. It appeared as though at any moment it might collapse.
Odd bits of clothing, specimens which even the most commonplace rag dealer would distain to handle, broken pieces of crockery, a pair of rusty bed springs, several old boxes all infested with bugs, lice and a legion of other insects, were found inside the dreary hovel.
Exposed to Elements
Two weeks ago, Sidney, bent with the infirmities of old age and disease, crawled about five yards from the dilapidated hovel to a clump of trees, it was learned. Here, with nothing to cover him but the stars, and where rain had beaten into his face, he had fought off the Grim Reaper, probably hoping against hope that a deliverer would come.
Yesterday, Mr. Hunter, who said he had been sending the negro food for weeks, reported the case to Perry O’Kelly, head of the O’Kelly Training School. O’Kelly in turn reported the case to Lieut. Lawrence A. Oxley, colored, of the State Board of Public Welfare, who immediately took steps to get the octogenarian into St. Agnes hospital.
Sent to Hospital
With the assistance rendered by Mr. Hunter and Professor O’Kelly, Lieut. Oxley had the old man removed to St. Agnes hospital. His condition was such that extreme care had to be taken in transporting him from his hovel of a home. He was unable to sit upright in a car and a truck was used to bring him to Raleigh. Attendants at the hospital believe the oldman will live, but he will never be able to do any more work.
Prof. O’Kelly stated to newspapermen that while during the last 20 years he had seen old man Jeffers at odd intervals, he was not aware of the ?? state the negro was lying in when he was found yesterday. He stated that Jeffers a number of years ago had eked out his living by doing odd jobs for people living in that section of the county. He had also worked a small garden and sold the truck [vegetables he grew] in the city, but this year there was no garden. Where the garden was, the weeds now grew.
Mr. Hunter stated that he had been . . . . St. Agnes Hospital,” said Lieut. Oxley last night, implored them to take care of him for the night. There is no fund set aside by the county for care like this, and it is a question as to just what will be done. We are hoping for the best, when the County Commissioners meet this week.
He pointed out that county welfare officers ae only given a “discretionary fund” with which to supply to such cases. The County Home, he added, is filled to capacity, and that fact prohibits the old man from becoming an inmate there.
From the front page of The Roxboro Courier, Wednesday evening, July 7, 1926
newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn92073208/1926-07-07/ed-1/seq-1/
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