The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1902-08-20
The Fatal Cattle Fever Dreaded in the
Seutf..

'"S satoi NeStG SCScI Dteducu III tue
Seuth..
To the Editor Of The State:
Cattle fever is the general name Of o
disease among our cattle that the
stock raisers Of this State are only too
familiar with, it occurs every summer
and fall and is known by several
names, the principal being Southern
fever. Texas fever, Spleuetic fever,
Red Water and Tick fever-Southern
fever because it originated only in the
southern States, Texas fever because
Texas is the greatest cattle raising
State aud the most southern, there
fore has more cases than any other
State; Red Water fever because Of the
hemorrhages from the kidneys during
the last stages Of the fever; Splenetio
fever because post mortems show tho
spleen to be exoessi. elJ enlarged and
discolored; Tick fever because the
United States bureau Of animal indus.
try insists that the cattle tick is re-
sponsible for the disease.
The bureau has issued many bulle-
tins and cited many instances to prove
its theory, but, unfortunately for the
southern cattle raiser, all treat Of the
disease in the territory lying north
of thesquarantine line, and nearly ell
the Investigations Of the bureau have
been confined to the territory affected
by the transmitted disease and not in
the territory Of original infection.
We do not deny that the tick transmits
the disease to northern cattle in north
ern territory and to Q certain extent
in southern territory, but the expert
ence Of IL years Of close study in the
home Of the disease proves to us that
the tick is not responsible for the dis
ease in the southern States. The
writer has inspected many herds Of
| cattle an this State and has found the
fever raging in herds that never car
ried tick. and, vice versa, has found
herds, every head. OF which was cover
ed with ticks aud fever never prevail
ed. In one herd Of Chester county
the loss from fever each year for q
number Of years was from FIVE to If
teen head and there was not single
tick to be found; close study Of this
herd was made, individual animals
were noted as they grazed and record
kept Of where they grazed mostly; six
cows were noted as going to a certain
place in the pasture (pasture contain
ed about 300 acres) every morning and
grazing until satisfied, and these were
the first to contract the fever and had
the most violent attacks, three of them
dying. This spot of about an acre in
extent was fenced out of the pasture
and not another case occurred that
year, 1890, nor has case occurred in
that herd since, though the same pas
ture is used year after year.
This led to the theory that the germ
was received from the soil and the
same measures of prevention have
been used dozens Of times all over the
State and have not failed single time
in II years. Herds thst were visited
every year by the plague have been
free from it since the pasture was in
spected and the poisonous spots fem
ced out, some herds carried ticks and
some did not, some have them now
and some have not, but none have
fever.
The disease is more prevalent this
year than usual and promises to be-
come raging later in the summer and
fall unless conditions change mate
rally; the object Of this article is to-
bring to the attention Of the stock
raisers Of this State the fact that
nothing is being done by us or by the
government to lessen the losses or to
prevent the annual occurrence of the
fever. The governmentehas devoted
practically all efforts to the north
ern territory where the disease never
originates but is always transmitted
and has done very little, if anything.
for the south where the disease orig
mates but is transmitted 20 very
limited degree. We find the north
ern cattle protected by set Of strin-
gent quarantine laws which prevent
the northern movement of southern
cattle except during a'few certain
months; this is fair for the northern
cattle raisers, but it is most unfair to
the southern raisers for it leaves him
to the tender mercy Of the fever with
out the knowledge Of how to fight it
and ct the same time shuts him out Of
the northern markets and deprives
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