Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-03-19
TEN THOUSAND LEECHES LOOSE.

Hundreds OF Them Invade a Tenement to
the Great Discomfort of the Occupants.
From the San Francisco Examiner.
People in the western addition have slept
soundly for years in ignorance of the fact that
at any moment a plague worse than the locusts
OF Egypt might come crawling into open
windows and under loosely hung doors-a
plague of fierce blood-hungry leeches.
There il an extensive leech farm at 1125
Bush street, where 10000 of the reuulsive
monsters are confined awaiting purchasers.
The farm is one of two in the United States.
the other being in New York. and there at
times 900 leeches squirm ceaselessly about.
over and through swamp muck. constantly
searching for some hapless animal that chance
may have mired down to furnish feast for the
insatiate annelid.
The leeches at the San Francisco farm broke
away the other night and overspread the neigh
boring tenement in very short time. Hun
dreds of them crawied up the walls and tried
every window and crevice. But a minority
found their way into the sleeping rooms-not
more than a thousand-but even that number
Of snaky greenish-black creepy worms suffced
to terrify the occupants almost into fits when
they felt the eager suction of the leeches and
awoke to find themselves festooned with the
ugly products of the swampy ooze of Bordeaux.
The first to awaken WAS young lady. and
she was not long in announcing her distress
IL
house, only to find that each Of them had for
room companions from a score to hundreds of
the leeches.
Brooms were savagelv piled in every corner
and under every piece of furniture. Bed
clothing was shaken and closely examined.
Leech bites were dressed with soothing appli-
cations. and after several hours of ACTIVITY the
household again settled down to rest.
Next morning an examination of the prem
| Uses and those adjacent WAS made, and when
the leech farm was discovered the secret was
out as well as the leeohes.
The worms are brought from France, where
about Bordeaux there wide areas of black
light ooze in which leeches of the tiercest sort
multiply unstinted The ooze fairly heayes
with their writings at the season of the wear
when they are most active, and then one of the
| cruelest sights possible may be seen.
Old horses. worn out in faithful service are
driven into the marshes and are soon covered
with the hungry lecches which fasten to lips.
eyelids nose or any ether tender part. and
hang on until glutted with the life blood of
their victim, or until the wretched horse weak
ems under the drain and falls to suff ocate in the
slime Of the ieeeh morass.
When leeches are desired TO send to New York
or San Francisco men are hired whose poverty
c1mpeis them to accep: any chance. The men
walk barelegged into the borders Of the leech
swamps and are Immediately covered by the
repulsive crawlers. but before they can more
than pierce the skin of the men with their
sharp seml-lunar teeth they are swept off into
pouches from which they are counted ont TO
beds OF wet moss and boxes of ;heir nati1e
ooze, embedded in which they are sranspo- ted
safely any distance.
The large leeches, such as those of Japan,
which reach two feet in length. are not in
common use, nor are certain poisonous sorts,
such as the small black leeches of Australia
Iho thick, fat, fierce worms OF Hungary,
Sicily and France are preferred by practition-
ers who use leeches, and it is from those coun-
tries that the rest of the world is supplied.
The San Francisco leecL farm is formed by
placing quantities Of the ooze of the Bordeaux
swamps especially imported for the purpose,
in large boxes with tight covers. The leeches
bore about through the muck until wanted for
sale. when they are counted out, washed and
hang on until they are swollen to eight or ten
times their ordinary size. Then they drop of
and lie dormant until assimilation shall have
been finished and hunger again arouses them.