Daily camera., 1898-04-29
MEN DIE LIKE SHEEP
Spinal. Meningitis Becomes Epi-
demie in Skagway.
HunAreds Of Gold HunterA SuesuAh
to tAA IneaHable MalaAy-LarGe.
IL Due to CafelsssAess
Of the Aen.

A prominent physician Of Portland
Gays, concerning spinal meningitis:
1.-The disease runs in epidemics, and is
due mainly to bad sanitary conditions.
It's al inflammation Of the membranes
of e ths spinal cord and Of the brain,
and ID. accompanied by terrible head
aches and pains in different parts OF
the body. Young. healthy persons
are more liable to it than any other
class, and it attacks male and female
alike. The disease is accompanied by
breaking out of purple blotches all
over the body, and for this reason is
sometimes called purpuric fever. There
is no known cure for the disease, and
nine out Of ten persons attacked die
in "a hours, and sometimes in third
Of that time. If one does happen to
recover, he is left deaf Or blind, or
afflicted in such way that it would
have been better if he had died.
.'Phe sanitary conditions in Skagway
are very bad. There is no drainage
whatever, all slops, ETC., being thrown
ON the ground. The water is very bad,
as the creeks are full of dead horses
by the hundreds. Then the cold wealth
er compels the inhabitants to keep all
the windows tightly closed, shutting
out all ventilation and adding to the
general bad health. It is very ter
rible thing, and nothing on earth could
induce me to attempt to do any busi-
ness in the town. While it is probably
not contagious. the conditions that give
it to one person will give 1t to another
Just as we'll"
There is no doubt that the cold of
the Alaska climate renders men easier
prey to the disease.
Up to the latter part of January the
winter, from the Arctic ocean to the
Mexican line, had been exceedingly
mild. Since then the Alaska coast has
been constantly swept by icy gales,
which have been destructive alike to
lif and property. During this period
the Clara Nevada has been driven to
her destruction in the Lynn canal, the
Oregon has been blown ashore, other
vessels have had minor accidents, and
many people have died at Skagway
and Dyea and on the mountain passes
leading out of those towns to the Klon-
dixie gold fields.
Strong indeed is the constitution that
escapes ills in the northern regions
at this season Of the year. Few of
the many thousands who have left Port
land, Seattle and San Francisco for the
north since the first Of the year can
truthfully say that they arrived at
Skagway in perfect health. All COM
plained Of some ailment--cOld In the
head, stiffness Of the limbs, sore throat,
backache, etc. The long steamer trip
is not conducive to bodily comfort.
Seasickness is anything but pleasant,
and lack Of exercise causes languor
and failure Of the excretory organs to
do their duty. Scrupulous attention to
the. functions OF these organs is an
essential in the treatment of cerebro-
spinal meningitis, butwhether it avails
as a precautionary measure is for doc
tors to say.
AS the majority of the north-bound
people come from south Of the fiftieth
parallel, they do not have any great
difficulty in acquiring q cold after the
steamer passes the northern point of
Vancouver islands and pokes her nose
into the waters Of Queen Charlotte
sound. In Alaska it is not considered
good form to "kill" q cold with whisky.
The main reason is that whisky in the
northern regions does moro harm than
good. Another reason IL that the whisky
of commerce, considered as q stimulant
or as a medicine, is pure rot and is of
no value. One drink Of Alaska whisky
will make man yesrn for the return
of his money; the second will cause
him to tell all he knows to anyone
having time and patience to listen to
him, and the third will cause him to
arm himself with tomahawk and go
on a murderous hunt for his wife's re-
lations.
Exposure to cold, in Alaska, es-
pecially when men know what the re-
suit will be, is due largely to careless,
ness. Men will hug red-hot stove
for hours and toast their shins to per-
lection and then venture into the icy
wind with the hat on the back of the
head. the coat unbuttoned, or the neck