The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1882-04-19
Texas Siftings.l
San Antonio's Death Rate.

San Antonio's Death Rate.
In the weekly mortuary reports Of San Anto-
MO, the Latin and Greek names of the diseas-
es are given. This is an excellent idea. Ii
member of family dies, 1t is consoling to the
survivors to read in the mortuary report that
it was not all jaundice, but icterus acutus fe-
Drills apaticus Nobody could reasonably ex-
pect to survive all that. When person reads
that, be is astonished that the patient did not
die sooner and more frequently. Again, 1t
fiatters common folks to read that some poor
devil has died Of disease with name a mile
and half long, while in the same mortuary
report perhaps some wealthy banker had been
called hence on disease of only two syllables
Over in San Antonio the people die OF icterus
senilis of seven kinds of tuberculosis, of cterus
amennorrhea, intestinalis pulmonalis, and i've
other kinds of icterus. They can alone die, II
they want to, of anenisma, colica fatulenta,
biliosa-particularly when complicated with
atrapia medulla spinalis, or marasmus infanti-
UNI, caused probably by too much vox populi,
nux vomica, pluribus unum, etc., particular
ly etc. Nobody in San Antonio asks: "How is
your prickly heat coming on?" The Alamo cit
izen asks: "How is your eczema solare coming
on7" to which the sufferer replies: Much bet
ter, thank you, it was not the regular eczema
solare at all, but only eczema impetigion oides,
complicated little with chloasma ephelis."
Nothing is more common than to hear even
colored people oonversing somewhat in the fol-
lowing style: 81 say, Uncle Nose, how's yonr
chile comm on? heered you was up all night
wild it, dat it had de wussest kind OBJ peretonit-
Il OBJ de muscous membrane mixed up wild yom-
titus cnronicus, and a misery in de chstt." To
this Uucle Nose responds: "De chile has done
got ober all dat, but dis mornin' hit was all
broke out wild epilepsia thoracica, but has
strong hopes OBJ hits gettin' well ef laryngoste-
nose don't sol in. Use had a tech myself OBJ de
rheumatismus paralyticus running up nay lef
leg, bnt jess knocked de stiffness out OBJ hit
wild Buffers liniment" Not long since, in
CHANGING over the San Antonio papers, we were
surprised to learn that somebody, for the first
tins in many years, had died OF an Ineligible
malady. 1t read that "Mr. Blank, aged thirty
six, malarial intoxication." jess so. That's
plain enough. Mr.. Blank, while suffering from
malaria, tried to cure it with sour mash whis-
key, and between the malaria and the remedy
the poor man failed to survive. 1t was great
source Of satisfaction for us to know precisely
what one person in San Antonio really did die
Of. It was not of too much gastroataxia sabur-
rails, or even of b@maternesis, or of cardia po-
dogracia, or any of those ordinary modes of
shutting off the mortal coil, but simply mala-
rial int xication. Our satisfaction that people
over at San Antonio had returned to the old
fashioned diseases was of short duration, for
the very next day our eye was riveted in its
socket BY card from DIR. Menger, the city ply
stefan, in the San Antonio Evening Light, say
ing: "The technical meaning of the term in this
case Is not intoxication,' nor toxicohGmia,
but 'toxicohamia,' from the Greek or Latin
'toxikon'-a poison, and 'hemia'-blood."