The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1903-01-22
4 TOWN RUINED BY A kiss,
SOME REMARKABLE STORIES OF
BLOODSHED AND PLAGUE.

Village in Cuba-A Kiss Practically
DepopuIated Eden, Town Of 1,4oo
Inhabitants in Queensland.
| Red ruin ran like fire over the little
| town of Curara, in Cuba, as the result
| of a kiss, and depopulated the place
within a few hours. A Spanish trad
ing vessel chanced to anchor in the
| small natural harbor adjacent to Gu
rara to kill time before proceeding to
Havana, at which port she was not to
arrive until certain date. Leave was
given to the crew to land and they
went off in a body to Curara.
1t was a rough crew picked up from
the very scum of Spain's refuse popu'
lation, and included two or three
| Asiatics who had been taken on to fill
gaps. Naturally, the first thing these
men done was to push their way into
! a wine saloon. where they drank until
they could pay for no more.
There was young Cuban girl in the
saloon and her pretty face attracted
| the attention of more than one mem
| ber of the crew, and conversation soon
circled round her. Finally one of the
sailors rushed up to and embraced
her before she was aware Of his in
tention. The next instant he had paid
| the price, for the girls lover, who
chanced to be present, without mo-
ment's hesitation struck him dead with
knife.
The death of their brutal companion
kindled all the fierce passions in the
sailors, viii we're already mad with
| liquor, and they dashed forward to
kill the lover. Other men in the sa-
loon, however, who had witnessed
| the tragedy, drew knives to defend
the murdered against the sailors, and
a pitched battle ensued. The sailors
were victorious and put to flight those
men they did not kill or MAIN. Then
they rushed out, attacking every one
| they met, men, women and children.
The news spread and the townspeo-
| pie fled in terror before the blood
| thirsty sailors away to the neighboring
plantations, without stopping to think
what they did. Not caring to follow
the fugitives for fear Of meeting police
or soldiers, the crew kept to the town
and hunted high and low fer any one
upon whom they could pour out their
hatred. They found but few and those
they killed. From first to last four
teen men and two children fell their
victims. Their own losses we're but
| three.
Not content with their revenge they
set fire to every house, which, being
| lightly built of wood, burned right
lnerriiy. Within a few hours of their
| landing Curara was in ashes, deserted
| but for it's dead. And to this day the
name of the ship and the crew are
| unknown.
It was a kiss which practically de-
populated Eden, town of some 1,4OO
inhabitants, in Queensland. A stranger
| tramped into the town one day, and,
| after refreshing himself at little eat
ing house, insisted on kissing the wife
of the proprietor The latter was pres
ent and laughed heartily at what he
| considered a fine joke, for his spouse
was past her prime and far from at
tractive. The straDg ger passed on
along his way inland.
Next day the woman was taken Ill;
within forty-eight bours she was dead
and her husband and two children
were dying. When-news~ went around
that a violent disease had broken out
| in the town most of those people who
| could leave hurried away at once.
Some struck toward the coast, others
went inland. A few of the latter pass
ed oo their way the body of the
stranger who had come into Eden
and kissed the innkeepcr's wife.
| Of those Edenites who chose or were
| forced to remain more than one hun
dred lost their lives through the
strangers death dealing kiss. It was
many months ere the epidemic passed
away altogether, and numbers of peo-
pie will still travel miles out of their
way to avoid the town, which is even
now practically deserted.
A similarly terrible kiss was given
some years ago by sailor to his
sweetheart, who lived in Candalo, a
small port in Florida. Plague broke
out on the sailors vessel few days
before it reached Florida. and, as it
was flying the yellow flag when it ran
into Candalo, it was put in quarantine
and all leave was forbidden. But it
happened that one OF the crew who be-
lieved himself to be in the best posi-
BILE health had a sweetheart in the
town, and he determined to resist or
ders to go and see her.
He managed to steal one Of the
ships boats and got ashore. But it
seemed as if he had risked all for
nothing, for he had not found her
when it became time for him to re.
turn to his ship if he wished to escape
detection by his officers. Fate was
Llaying a hand in his game, however.
for on his way to the spot where he
had moored his boat he ran across his
sweetheart He kissed her and told
her what he had dared to have one
word with her; and when she heard he
had come from the ship in quarantine
she fed from him in terror. But she
fed too late; for in the single kiss her
lover had conveyed the fell disease to
her, even though he was unaware he
had it.
The girl died and the disease spread
on the four winds over the town. With.
In a terribly brief period more than
two hundred persons in Candalo had
died of the disease. Fear seized upon
the townspeople and hundreds of them
fed away from the stricken town
which at the time Of the plaques
height was little better than city oi
deserted dying.-San Francisco Call.