Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-05-07

MoMBASA. British East Africa. satur-
day, April 3.-The sleeping sickness COM
missinon is hoping that Theodore Roose-
welt will pay a visit to the expedItion's
camp at Sesse. Uganda, where Sir David
and Lady Bruce are in charge OF the seq
regation hospitals.
The governments Of Germany, France
and Belgium. as well as the government
of the United Kingdom, are loyalty work
ing together endeavoring to find a cure
or preventive for the sleeping sickness.
Altogether seven European doctors have
succumbed TO the fatal disease since the
attempts to cope with the evil were COM
menced.
Governor Sir Hesketh Bell in appealing
to the millionaires OF the world and 9TH
ers benevolently disposed for money gifts
to enable him to purchase slaughter
stock to crafty the one and only craving
of those whose sufferings is so intense,
which is summed up in the word meat. "
describes his latest visit to the camp In
part as follows:
Symptoms of Disease.
'"The patients were lodged in large
matched bandas and were divided accord
ing to sex and the various stages of the
disease. In one enclosure we saw a num-
Der OF infants in whom the first outward
signs of the scourge we're just appearing,
Unaware Of their impending doom, the
little black mites played and romped TO
their hearts content in the shade OF the
banana grove and only the swelled glands
at the base of their necks showed that
their fate was sealed.
In a row sheds surrounded by the ba-
mana groves which supply the. food for
the patients, we saw numbers of those
who had reached the second stage Of the
disease. Most of them appeared to be
suffering acutely. They seemed to shuu
the cool shade of the broad thatcheo
roofs, and preferred to sit or lie in the full
blaze of the MONDAY sun. Even there
many of them shivered almost constantly
THE drawn features and haggard eyes
testified to the gnawing pains that al
most constantly afflicted them, and the
unhappy creatures appeared to have spe'
cial dread of being touched. Many Of
them were in the peculiar state OF leth
argy which has doubtless been responsible
| for the misleading name by which th'
disease has become commonly known
Many Commit Suicide
unfortunately, sound sleep rarely
comes tn the relief OF the doomed ones
and the torpor in which they lie comes
from the constant strain of never-eeaslne
pain. Many Of them, in an unguardeS
moment, put an end to their miserable
lives. and II wonder that more Oh IheH
do not do likewise.
Further in we come TO those who were
in the last stages of the disease. Lyint
about on beds or withered leaves, they
had reached g degree of emaciation tina
was horrible TO see. The unhappy Great
ures looked like skeletons and only theil
doIeful moaning indicated the presenc'
of lie.
1T Is generally accepted that varie
" OF the tsetse fly. the glossina falpalis
] is tn eprincipal, II not the only agen
1 for the transnission of the disease. Thii
ay exists in enormous numbers on tn
shores OF the Victoria Nyanza. and ais
on the borders OF some other lakes anC
/ rivers of Uganda. Its inhabitation, how
| ever is restricted 10 a narrow growth
/ adjoining water and a width OF two miles
is believed to be the limit Of the infest
ed zones.
Victims Number 100000
"out of some 100000 souls inhabiting tn,
shores of Victoria Nyanza and the is
lands in the great lake. over 10000 hay
| already been swept out of existence, AM
| il remains to be seen whether the remain
der can still be saved.
1.-The determination of the tsetse ap
pears to be a hopeless task and it ha
therefore been decided to- remove all tn
surviving population out of the reach o
the fatal fly.
1T is estimated that over 10000 sicl
now remain to be dealt with. and the,
are being located in large camps ca
pable OF accommodating about 1000 at
time"