Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1883-07-26
No 4e


tom 10 elose herd tha stook n. amp
portion Of the rangA There is .
branding roundup in the sprine. .
sssf roundup in the fall. end in Texas
a additional ronndnp pEsparaaoryks
the spring drive Of salabla eatAls -
the northern grazing grounds Dns-
ing the greater portion Of the yenw
the cattle roam ss will. A fsw COW
boys rids the range and pretend 10
keep note Of the localities wAsrs THAR
employers brands are fssdinc. Z
can be easily seen that under ahis
careless management ths loses resula-
ing from the attacks of screw worms
can % quite heavy. and atill ha nn-
known to the owner Of the brand.
When the cattle ars fonnd sufEerinw
from the attacks ofthsss worms, they,
ifthe tunnelling Of the aesh has not
progressed too far. are thrown 10 the
ground, and q rude and generally nm
successful attempt is made to extsr-
inmate the parasites by o free uss of
citrine ointment. This ointment will
destroy the unhatOhed eggs, but its
efficiency in killing the living worm
is disputed.
The screw worm is little over
half an inch long. It is corrugated
and exceedingly hard. When put
under the point of q knife and press
ed upon the worm slips from under
the steel and flies through the air as
though made Of rubber. Imagine O
white half-inch screw having point
ed black head instead of the usual
slotted one. This is fair reprassn-
tation of the screw worm.
For years Texas cattle have been
driven to Kansas to feed on the grass
es of the plains lying in the arid belt.
For years they have been driven TO
the northern portion of the Indian
Territory to Craze on the untaxsd
ranges Of the great grazing land.
Until last year there was no trouble
in Kansas from screw worms. The
stories told by Texas drivers Of the
suffering of the cattle on the southern
ranges made but little impression on
the men Of Kansas. That these flies
would ever follow the Texas cattle up
the trails to the comparatively north
ern country Of Kansas. was unsuspec-
ted by the most gloomy minded of
the Kansas people. Even if suspec-
ted. they never, in the most appalling
flights of their dark imaginations,
thought that the flies would change
their habits, and select the nostrils of
human beings to deposit their eggs in,
but such is the case.
Itisprobable that the long-continued
southwest winds of last summer watt
ed the flies from the vicinity Of the
herds feeding south Of Dodge City
into the more thickly settled portions
Of Kansas. At any rate, the mature
flies were far east of the dead line
and far north OF the Arkansas River
during q portion of last summer.
Several persons were attacked by
screw worms. One of the cases that
terminated fatally was fully reported
in the Kansas and Missouri Valley
Medical Lnder. It is worthy of note.
The patient had long suffered from
ozena. On the evening Of Aug. 20,
1882, this man complained of q tick
ling sensation at the base of the nose,
that was promptly followed by ex-
haustive sneezing. This in its turn
was followed by intense pain in the
region of the eyes and cheeks. Ths
physician in attendance mistakenly
supposed that the pain was the result
Of ozena. The discharge from the
nostrils was puFulent and tinged with
blood. and exceedingly offensive. The
breath of the patient was revolving.
It may be that his condition was so
extrsmely offensive that the attend
ing physician did not make an exami-
nation that would have revealed the
presence Of the disturbing cause. For
two days the man suffered intense
pain. All remedies administered
failed 10 give relief On the evening
Of the Oath Of August there was Q
sudden and -prOfuse discharge from
both the nostrils and the mouth. In
stantly all pain ceased. There was
no longer any involuntary discharge.
The pus was with difficulty szpse.o-
rated. The soft palate had been de-
stroyed, and the tongue could no
longer b used in speech. When this
stage Of the disease had been reached
. screw worm, much TO the astonish-
ment Of the attending physician, fell
from themOuth of the dying man. One
afte. another, in obedience TO the laws
of their nature. full grown screw
worms wriggled from bis nostFils and