Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1884-03-05
SEATTLE. T. WEDNESDAY MORNING. MARCH s. 1884

70 contend With. The beat ef The day
y the hest Of the night, and this pef-
aetepoo OF high tompoeature rendeec the
climate very injurious. The coast lands
are low and dat, constituting q wat
plain. This lain, at no point less than
mile In width, IL a eGecsual q barrier
to encr0achment ~ the strongest forts
would b.
The writer vas q member of the S0-
ciety for Sanitary Affairs in HongkonR
while connected With the Chinese navy,
and byv0rd in that society Wa the
expression, 'As unhealthy - tho AnAm
coast" The plain IL % low that the
tide advancss from one 70 six miles in
land with . sweep that moistens the al
luvial land until its mud 10 softeaed.
hen the sun beats down ON the mud,
and 1t 10 soon a. dry as before. The
process Of drving sets free vapors that
are full charged With peetiienoe. Talk
about malaria ! The air 10 full Of those
germs that 70 70 make fool disease.
These germs, inhaled into the sys-
tenn, poison the blood Of those not
used to them. They may enter
between the thick lips and into the ugly
nOetEils Of the Anaman and NO disease
result, bat the European or American
Who breathhs the air of Anam for any
length Of time breathes the air of death.
Dysentefy b the p aRas Of the o0antry,
and of it nine -ssnths Of the fossian resi-
dents are the victims. II, by rare
chance, that disease 10 escaped, and the
visitor 9ets inland he will find himself
tried BY the dreaded wood fever"
most terrible of intermittsnts, with .
hundred terrers to one that ChaRres
fever has. TonQuin, though more
healthy than the south country, II rated
~ bad a. Panama. l think that the
t,ble Of population speaks its oommen-
tary ON the great mortality of the
LOO 600 of inhahitants in the French
colony less than go are Europeans.
A white woman rarely if ever reoev-
srs after delivery in Anam, and the
child always dies. This being the case
in suoh events, how much moro must be
the score of fatality With Runshot
wounds An Anaman will live with
one limb lost, in the exposure to the
snervation Of the climate and its dis
ease germs; and the women Of Anam
will live and their children live,
through thirty or moro o0n6nementa,
but . foreigner, wounded OF in the best
Of health. h doomed to meet disease.
verily, China will have valuable aux
iliary Of defense in the climate, and We
may prepare to hear of great mortality
in case Of var. Disease will pat in its
hand even il the invaders do but bOm-
bard the maritime towns from the SEQ,
for the pestilenoe Of malaria will creep
ont from the land a. far a. fog
can 90. Although l have not seen
it stated what course tho Anamese
Government will pursue in the quarrel,
very we'll know that they will not be at
much pains TO take part in it. There
10 an Anamese army that exists on pa
per, IN army Of 1000 men, divided into
eighty re9imsnts. This army has to do
very little. Its General sees to it that il
% responsible for the maintenance of
Hue fortress, and that 10 about all il
does. There 10 also q marine force of
lt,OOO mon, also on paper, and sfhoered
b. An Admiral, q Vice Admiral and two
Rear Admirals. But there 10 not ship
In the navy, any more than there 10
ordnance in the army. The Anamese
themselves will not seek warfare, but it
is my opinion that il the occasion of
var demands that the Chinese organ
izs this army and navy, the ugly Anam-
ese will do rude and sanGuinary work in
the strife.