Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1892-04-29
cLAMMY LeEcHEs.


What Happened When a Farm Of Them
Broke Loose in California.
Persons in the Western addition
have slept soundly for years in ig-
norance Of the fact that at any mo
ment plague worse than the locusts
Of Egypt might come crawling into
open windows and under loosely
hung doors-a plagueof fierce, blood
hungry leeches. There is an exten-
sive leech farm at 1, 1875 Bush street,
where 10000 of the rcpulsive mon
sters are confined awaiting purchas-
eis. The farm is one of two in
the United States, the other being
in New York, and there at times
$4,000 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 annelidal
The leeches at the San Francisco
farm broke away the other night
and overspread the neighboring tene-
ment in a very short time. Hun
dreds of them crawled up the walls
ind tried every window and crevice,
seeking an entrance because of some
instructive knowledge that in the
house they could find succulent pas
tu1age upon the forms of sleepers
who rested without knowledge of the
threatening danger.
But a minority found their way
into the sleeping rooms-nOt more
han 1. l.000-but even that nuinaer of
maBy, greenish black, creepy worms
sufficed to terrify the occupants al
most 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 a young
lady. and she was not long in an
nouncing her distress and arousing
her fellow occupants Of the house,
only to find that each of them had
for room companions from a score to
hundreds of the leeches.
Brooms were savagely piled in
every corner and under every piece
of furniture Bedclothing was shaken
and closely examined. Leech bites
were dressed with soothing applica-
tions, and after several hours of ac-
tivity the household again settled
down to rest.
Next morning an examination of
the premises and those adjacent was
made, and when the leech farm was
discovered the secret was out as well
as the leeches.
The worms are brought from
France, where about Bordeaux there
are wide areas in black, light ooze in
which leeches of the fiercest sort
multiply unstinted. The ooze fairly
heaves with their writings at the
season of the year when they are
most active, and it is then that one
of the c1uelest sights possible may be
seen.
Old horses worn out in faithful
service are driven into the marshes
and are soon covered with the hun
CRY leeches, which fasten to lips,
eyelids, nose or any other tender
part, and hang on until glutted with
the life blood of their victim, or un-
til the wretched horse weakens un-
der the drain and falls to suffocate in
the slime of the leech morass.
When leeches are desired to send
to New York or San Francisco men
are hired whose poverty compels
them to accept any chance. The men
walk barelegged into the borders of
the leech swamps and are immedi-
ately covered by the repulsive crawl
ers, but before they can more than
pierce the skin of the men with
their sharp semilunar teeth they are
swept off into pouches, from which
they are counted out into beds of
wet moss and boxes of their native
ooze, imbedded in which they are
transported safely any distance
San Francisco Examiner.