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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (April 16, 1905)
April 10, 1808 TIIE OMAHA ILLUSTRATED BEE. Extent of the Malady Amongst the Inhabitants and What is Done o Keep it in Check v Yellow Fever on the Ten Mile Strip f Copyright. IMS. by Frank Q. Carpenter.) TprA.NAMA, April 13 (Special Cor J I respondent of The Be.) I want health condition of the Isthmus of Panama. MoM peop'.e think there In only a chet of brown paper be Iwfn t hi;: place and hades, and that our l.ff !b made up of a continuous fight with "i'.c climate. The truth Is Panama would L a paradise tf it were not for the fevers. The- i;'r here la as soft and sweet as that of Ohio In Jure. Tha Isthmus Is only aivr.'t forty miles IUe and the breezes from the Atiantlo and tha Pacific are at aya blowing this way and that. Wo go about In our rummer clothes, but tho av ernsc temperalura Is about 80, th nights arc cool, and tuwurd morning one needs an extra.' cover. At Culebra and In the other mountains of 1'nele, Sam's sone It is till colder and tha air Is ctlll fresher. Then conditions prevail about nil the yesr round. It Is never aa hot as our central state In midsummer and there Is seldom a night when on Is not able to sleep. And still the Isthmus or Panama. Is not and never has been a health nsort. The lowlands are swampy and there has been much m4larl.1l fever. About half tha American employes have at one time or another been on the pick list and about 3 per cent of the 4.000 men at work here ate now In tha hospitals. We have had between thirty or forty case of yellow fever dur ing the last 'sr, and about one-third of the yellow fever patients have died. This Is not a high yellow fever death rate in a population of 40,000 or SO.OOO, and alto gether the conditions are not bad consid ering the fact that wo have lust begun to wipe out the mosquitoes and to Improve the sanitation and water supply. The per centage In the hospitals at present la not as large aa at most of our army poets, and the malarial fever here Is not to be. com-, pared In Its injurious effects to the grippe, typhoid or pneumonia, which they have at home. - 6- LeoklitK for Troakle. Indeed, tho man who cornea to Panama Is liable to get tha fever from fright. The moment he leaves New York the passen gers condole, with him upon the awful con ditions. They go over the yellow fever cases of laat year, and the men who have been on the Isthmus tell stories of the ieaths of the past. They relate how when e Panama railroad was building the mortality was so great that a man cneu for eath tie in the track, and some, pe.r riips, say that the funeral trains still move In and out carrying the dead to Monkey Hill. The truth Is, there have been no such trains tor many years, and the tie story is of doubtful authenticity. The pas senger, however, dow not know this lie grows more and more alarmed aa he lands t Colon and Is handed a circular of Jicallh rrnlngs by the quarantine officers. This circular la Issued by the Canal com mission. In capital letter the word MALARIA stands out In the first para graph, and below it are directions how to escape It. The directions say that ma laria comes from the bite of a female mosquito and thoy urge everyone to use mosquito bars and take three grains of quinine each day before going to bed. The circular Is signed by Colonel Oorgas, the chief danltary officer. I received such a circular on landing. I heard more fever stories when I went to the Washington house for my dinner, and as I crossed the Isthmus on the railroad a ghoulish friend pointed out Monkey Hill cemetery aa my future resting place and remarked: "That little station further on Is known as Mstachoin, a Spanish word meaning "dead Chinaman," because 2,000 Chinese died there. Fear of Yellow Fever. My fears increased as I approached Pan ama City and were by no means allayed by a conversation I had upon arriving at the American legation, which has formed my home for a part of my stay. Our minister to Panama, John W. Bar- ' rett, while he apparently has no fear of the fever himself, going1 everywhere and almost dally visiting the yellow fever wards of tho hospitals, believes In being careful and In trying to frighten every American with whom he comes in contact Into doing likewise. When I entered the legation I found him as solemn as the traditional owl and as serious as on" looking on the dying face of his best friend for til last time, lie took mo Into his office and sat me down between him and a pot of Persian insect Vi powder, which burimd away, filling the 3toom with a not unpleasant but pungent smoke. I afterward learned that this was Ji ' to stupefy the mosquitoes or kill them on ine wing. Before I could ask him to what Joss he was burning incense, he began about the fever, asking me If I were afraid of It. I replied that I was. but that he who was born to bo hanged would never be drowned. and I doubted whether Yellow Jack waa to be the cause of my taking off. " "I hope not." said the minister, "and, In led, I don't want to alarm you, hut a liman had the yellow fever In that bulld- Wf to the rlirht. A mnn hum 1ut (nlt,n t t to the hospital from the building over there. and a third party Is ailing below where we are sitting." Aa he said, this I felt my fnce growing yellow. The minister continued: "Still, the danger la not very great. It will only occur In cut you are bitten by a female stegomyla, that has already fed upon a yellow fever patient. If its bloody jaws get Into you, you are gone." "A stegomyla," said I, inquiringly, think ing of the panthers, tigers, painted rabbits. Iguanas and other dangerous beasts of the Isthmian Jungles "a stegomyla! What Is a stegomyla? I never heard of it." "The stegomyla la the yellow fever mos quito. It Is about one-third tha sis of the Jersey mosquito. It la black and white, with aebra stripes upon Ha body and legs. If a female of that breed bites a yellow .1 ' r sir --Sim i j? , if " a-ernH II . II -.-... -- dS V SWift -v w L .-f .jfit. r m ."if! ; nil ' t.ii' r . '.' . 'Lia;li:; !llll;ii.!i;.iiLi-.. Do N'ot V'ait Till Tomorrow. A Day May Develop Dire Results Months May Not Remedy. Go to Yor.r Druggist. Get a Rottle. Take Oiomulsion Today and You'll Feel Better Today. DO YOV KNOW That Physicians tvervwhere use And nrtscribe in their Private and Hno5taI Practice al a sure: cure Throat affections, BronchitiU nd particularrf FOR CATARKIi fMt,.vfJsties1 Hefrve t fi MAt3t beAUS Beitef S.11 Known Tried Remedies. The Only Lung-Food Tonic .. 1 GENERAL. VIEW OF THE ANCON HOSPITALS. fever ptlent Its blood become inoculated wiiu yellow feter bacteria, and in case she then bites you, you will have the fever ure." Vlrtaes of Cltronella. . "But. by the way," the minister con tinued, "have you any cltronella oil? The mosquito duel- not like tho small of that, and if you u?e It It will keep her away." "Yes, I have some, Mr. Minister," said I. "But have you rubbed It on you?" "No, not yet." "Well, you must attend to that at once." And with that Minixter Darren went with me to my room and aided me In my anoint ing. Said he: "You want a good lot on the tips of your ears, on the backs of your hands, about your ankles, where your legs Join the shoes, and you had better put some on your hair and the bald spot on your head, if you have one. Iet us do It right now!" I took the bottle and went through the motions, even to the bald spot on my head, which Is as big as a quarter. The result was, when through, I was perfumed like a country barber, and that Is my condition as I write this letter. The odor, on the Whole. Is not unpleasant. I have been here several . weeks and so far no moxqultos have touched me. I put on the oil twice a day and carry a little bottle about in my vest pocket ready for another anointing when the mosquitoes are bad. 80 far I have not had a bite. You may Imagine, however, that this re ception did not soothe my troubled mind. I went to sleep that night under a mosquito net, and dreamed of little di-vlls with zebra stripes of black and white about their bodies and legs, and Secretary I.ce, who was in the next room, said I talked In my sleep, saying, "Go away, stegomyla! Go away!" I awoke at 3 a. m. and took a lamp Inside my mosquito netting to see that no stegomyiss were lying in ambuwh. At the same time I called myself a fool for coming away from Washington, whore there are no diseases more dangerous than grip, typhoid fever, pneumonia and housemaid's knee. Indeed, I longed for the thrill of again chasing myself from under the wheels of the senatorial automobiles and the Capital Traction cars, and had what Is vulgarly known here as an attack of "cold feet." The feeling, however, left me as the day broke, and since then 1 have gone on. like the fatalist, using clt ronella. taking my three grains of quinine at bed time, and being careful of my eat ing and drinking. As a result. I have never been In better health, and I thor oughly enJo,y life on the Isthmus. I am. however, under great- obligations to Minis ter Barrett, whose emphatio lesson mndo me take care of myself. If others will adopt the same precautions they will re duce the percentage of disease here by several hundred per cent. Mosqaltoes of Panama. The chief diseases of Panama are, so tho doctors say, all caused by moaquitoes. These dlseues are yellow fever, malaria and elephantiasis. Kach disease has Its own peculiar kind of mosquito, and the fe male In every case does the work. I had a talk with Colonel W. C Gorgap, the chief sanitary officer here, about mos quitoes. He Is the man who cleared Havana of yellow fever and who has been brought here to do the same for the Isthmus. He tells nte that theve are about S00 different kinds of mosquitoes in the world, each having Its own character istics. None of the three I have mentioned Is half as large or ferocious as the Jersey mosquito, and they are altogether not one tnthas numerous. Each lias Its own customs and habits. The stegomyla us ually bites In the daytime. It avoids bright light, and if a person's hand is on the table it will try to crawl under the hand and bite there. It often breeds in rain barrels and does not like dirty water. Tha malarial monquJto is known aa the anophele. ,It la dark in color, with four golden spots near the outer margin of the wing. It bites during the day, but its ohlef reeding time is at nigbt. It Is an out-of, door mosquito and Is found especially In and about the swamps. - The elephantiasis mosquito Is known as the culex fatigans. It bites night and day and is common In both town and country. This mosquito has a yellowish body with six silver bands on the abdomen. Ele phantiasis Is caused by a blood worm, and when the mosquito bites a person so dls-' eased she sucks into her stomach blood containing such worms. The worms develop In her and finally reach her salivary glands so that when she bites another person the worms go into circulation and he has ele phantiasis. The doctors know all about the habits of each of these mosquitoes and they are do ing everything to destroy them and their breeding places. For this reason they ure draining the towns, cutting down the vege tation along the lines of the railroad and the canal, Covering up the water barrels and putting oil on ponds. The swamps are being drained and every bit of stagnant water In and about the cities Is taken away. Precaution Against Yellow Fever. The greatest precautions are taken to keep the employes from being bitten hy mosquitoes of any kind. Every man Is furnished with a mospuito net, and every American Is supposed to sleep under a moaquito net at night. The yellow fever patients of the hospitals are kept Inside wire cages In rooms, the windows and doors of which the covered with wire net ting, and every houso which has the yel low fever Is disinfected. Indeed, the whole city of Panama Is being gradually thus treated. I dally pass through street after street the houses of which show the marks of disinfection by the torn paper which has been pasted upon their doors and window cracks before fumigating. The other day a yellow fever case developed In the Grand Central hotel at Panama. This Is the big gest hotel on the Isthmus. Every room of that hotel had to be fumigated in conse quence. This dlgusted many of the women guests, as it neeensituted their moving out for the day and endangered the beauty of their clothes. Indeed, I um surprised that the Ameri can women here show so little fear of Yellow Jack. We have receptions und din ners, Just as you do In the 1'nited States, and at the dinners the women appear in low-neck dresses with their urms and shoulders bare, thus giving the mosquitoes a better chance to feast. 80 fsr I have not noticed the odor of cltronella about one of these decollete dresses. There Is this difference between malaria and yellow fever. The man who has yel low fever and gets well need not feur hav ing it in the future. The malarial patient may be attacked again and again, but the dtHuttse is seldom fatal. Malaria succumbs quickly to quinine, and It will be greatly reduced by wiping out tho mosquitoes. The doctors tell me that there are ma larial germs In the blood of 70 per cent of tho Panama people. One of our doctors on tho canal sone has a passion for Investigat ing such matters. He grabs every mun he meets, American or native, und tukos a drop of blood out of his ear. He analyzes tho blood, and in seven cases out of every ten ho flnrta malarial bacteria. In Borne of the natives the blood Is so infected that they oro Just able to crawl ubout. A gocd course of quinine, however, uauullly cleans up their systems and makes them well again. Another doctor exumined forty four children of a school at Bolilo and found twenty-nine to have malaria organ isms in their blood. He gave each of these children six gruins of quinine night and morning for ten days, and then tapped their ears for 11 second examination. At this time only rive were found to have malaria. In other wm-ds, by that course of quinine he cured twenty-four out of twenty nine cases of miliaria in ten days. This work of the doctors Is going in among all the employes of the canal and other natives of tho xone. The health organization is ex cellent, and if congress Is more liberal In its appropriations the wiping out of the various diseases will be even more rapid than It Is. Oar Hospitals at Panama. Tho hospitals here will soon be among the finest of their kind. The French spent t-uormous sums in putting up buildings for the care of the sick, both at Colon and at Ancon, on the edge of 'this oity, Their buildings were in bad repair at the time we took , hold, but the supervising architect has taken charge of them end they sre now in excellent condition. The French hospital at Colon is built on con crete foundations, upon a coral reef out over the sea. The patients can walk down the steps right Into the sea, and the salt water breezes blow freely all the year through. This hospital has about S0O beds, and there are more in the Panama railroad hospital nearby. At Ancon there are already 500 beds and the arrangements arc such that It will be possible to increase these to 700 on short notice. An ice plant and cold storage rooms are to be put up there and also a central steam kitchen, which will feed 1.000 persons. . Indeed, I doubt whether there Is a more beautiful spot In the world than Ancon hill, on the slopes of which the Panama hospital is situated. The hill rises almost straight up from the sea on the edge of Puna ma City, commanding a wide view of the Pacific ocean and the Culebra moun tains. Its top Is wooded and its lower slopes were laid out by the French In a great landscape garden. Beautiful drive ways shaded by royal and encounut palms wind their way from level to level, and along them, surrounded by grassy lawns and tropical flowers and plants, stand the forty-odd cottages which make up the hos pital. The houses are all of one story, roofed with red tiles. They have high ceil ings, wide doors and many windows. They aro surrounded by verandas, and are so situated that the winds from the ocean and mountains blow through them day and night, year In and year out. The air Is never hot at Aneon, and the windows and doors are so covered with netting that they can be always left open. I spent some time going through the hos pital. Many of the wards have1 patients convalescing. Here the boys sit on ,the beds and chat with one another, or move about from place to place. In other words, they are kept apart, and In the yellow fever ward each patient lies In a bed In side a wire cage about ten feet high, eight feet wido and twelve feet long. Thia Is to keep tho patients away from the mosqui toes, and the mosquitoes away from the pa tients. The precautions are such, I ain told, that not a mosquito has been found In the yellow fever ward since the first yellow fever patient was brought there months ago. This hospital and all the hospitals are In charge of efficient doctors and of American trained nurses. FRANK G. CARPENTER. The Cod Liver Oil Food-EmuUton,"PAf-lUceflncet, the t additional life-avine elements UiniGuuIacol,GIycine, , the Hypophosphites of Lime and Soda Write and eet a TRIAL BOTTLE FREE te Oto.VlXSioS CO., rtae .. 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