The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1908-05-15
THE DEATH GRIP.
1eFror.Stricken Plague City Has
Been Cut Off From
REST OF THE WORLD.

Nho"n as the Bubonic Plague
People Fleeing From the Country
The Death Rate Very Heavy.
La Guayra, Venezuela. is a CITY or
oeath The plague is spreading there
The inhabitants are 6ehtine q sa
'icuiiy' alone and unaidcd. From the
rest o. the world they are cut ~
On one side by the sea, on all others
by military patrols under orders to
Shoot fugitives on sight.
News from the town is hard to Oh
tam, SO strict is the quarantine but
enough has leaked out, however ~
prove the spot an inferno
BUSINESS Is practically suspendad
stores closed. and residences shutter
ca. None venture abroad. excent nm
DER absolute compulsion. Food q,
hardly to be had on any tern,. WI
e'cr VIII may enter with supplies.
out having entered. none can leave
even Tor the enormous prices offered
Tor provisions, few Will accent tbe
certainty OF imprisonment and the
risk Of death.
from miles away the smoke can be-
seen by day and the flames by night
ol blazing houses where the nIague
mas been, of burning lumber piIes
from which the people are trying to
drlve the disease-laden rats. and or
the fires in the oil flooded streets q
plan adopted by the authoritis as the
GG10lPSt
dlng the community Of the accumuIo-
'ion Oh hlth which probably was
mainly responsible for the epidemic.
Most of the workingmen, who, pan
lcked Dy lear of the plague and rem
dered 'desperate by famine, broke
through the iniiiiless,y Gordon and
scattered through the surrounding
country, have been herded together
and driven back by the troops.
The terrified villagers and country
people among whom they sought ref
ugc did everything in their power tn
aid in the hunt. Dr.. Gomez Peraza.
of La Guayra, who first diagnosed
the disease as bubonic plague, and
was thrown in prison by President
Castro, only to he released later when
1t became evident that his Judgment
was correct, is leading the sanitary
workers I'm their efforts to stamp out
the epidemic.
Except for few persons who rush
cd from the city before the cases
became numerous, the only ones who
have escaped have been those rich
enough to pay the shippers Of small
craft to smugglc them from the har-
Dor and land them surreptitiously at
distant places on the coast
President Castro has declared
blockade at the port. and regular
shipping is suspended Even the
blockade runners are few The prices
they charge for the supplies they
bring in. and the passengers they
take out, are enormous, and only the
most imminent risk of death at tho
hands Of sanitary guards are they
able to break the embargo. The La
Guayra railroad has ceased oper-
atiOnS.
The rate Of mortality from the dis
case is enormous and those who sue
cumb are said to do SO in the ma ior-
ity OF eases I'm about twenty four
hours from the time they are strick-
en-
There have bee few cases of the
disease outside of La Guayra, but tho
government is making herculean ex-
ertions to prevent the disease from
getting a foothold, and the sanitary
precautions promise to accomplish
the desired result
Foreign residents and wealthy Ven
ezuclanS who are able to leave their
businss are quitting the country In
large numbers, however. lest the cpl
demic spreads.