The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1898-08-10
Fever and Canned Salmon.

mighty careful in their way Of Living,
need not necessarily be yellow to give
'em a hard tussle for their lives, said
an ex-sailor of the United States navy,
now living in Washington. "There S
plain, old fever down there that had
lot Of the men aboard my ship guess
| ing when spent a couple of weeks
in Havana harbor six years ago. L
had good chance to size up the bad
breaks I'd made through life myself,
for was one of the first of the crew
to be carried into the sick bay with
the fever. I had put in both OF my
previous enlistments on the Mediter-
ranean station, and consequently l
was not used to feverish climates.
I had never been in the genuinely low
latitudes and hot waters before we put
into Havana harbor on this cruise, on
our way to the South Atlantic station.
We hadn't been swinging to our mud
hook in Havana's filthy harbor for
twelve hours before [ began to feel
lottery around the knees, and in the
middle of the same night the two
men who swung their hammocks next
to mine pounded me awake. They
told me had been raving in my sleep.
I was too weak to fall out of my ham
mock, and one of the men went aft
and got the surgeon. [ was carried
aft to the sick bay, pretty Eighty in
the head, and the surgeon told me |
had the fever.
"'Yellow ? 1 asked him.
'"No, said he, you've got a plain,
every day case of fever, and yourtem-
perature' 1O6 in the shade. You're
in for a dose all right, and you want
to mind the apothecary and do every
thing he tells you to do.
sThere were three or four more fell
lows alongside me that had also been
taker to the sick bay with the fever,
and cne of EN- was delirious. During
the next couple of weeks about two
dozen of the crew crowded the sick
bay and the alleyways, all down with
the plain fever. 1t was about as hot
feeling as I ever experienced, but
after the fourth day [ went out Of my
head. I didn't come to for two weeks,
and then the apothecary told me that
four of the men had died alongside of
me, and that my squeak was one OF
the narrowest. [ went down from 18O
to 135 pounds. I began to convalesce
as soon as 1 got my head back, and I
was as hungry as a wolf. But they
wouldn't feed me anything but beef
tea, mutton broth and that sort of
stuff. I got SO I hated the thoug ht of
these things, I wanted solids, aud !
wanted em bad. But the apothecary
told me they would kill me if | ate
'em.
"'All right, my boy thought af-
ter he told me this one day, I'm not
going TO die hungry. anyhow, not by q
d-m sight, and l watched for good
chance to sneak something to eat. My
opportunity came one evening when
all hands, including the apothecary
were on the main deck at evening
quarters. The sick bay WASH t far
from the mess table of the chief pet
ty officers, and the supper was smok-
ing hot on the table, awaiting the re-
turn below of the men from quarters.
[ toppled out of my cot and crawlcd
to the mess table on my hands and
knees. Then [ dragged myself to a
mess stool. In the centre OF the ia
Bile was fine, big mound of canned
salmon, swimming in platter of nice
ly prepared cream gravy. Well; l
jabbed a spoon into shat, and | guess
[ must have eaten about four pounds
of it before there was Gathering on
the ladders. and the chief petty off
GERS collared me. The apothecary
looked at me and then at the dish. and
he went white. He rushed aft and
told the surgeon what | had done.
was toted to the sick bay, and the sur.
geon came alongside my cot.
"My boy said he, have you got
any messages you want to leave {?
Nothing in particular | said
picking my teeth comfortably. | felt
immense. why 2
"'Becausc you're dead man, said
the surgeon.
"Oh, | guess not, said l. I've
got no kick a-coming, anyhow. I've
had a feed