Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1909-12-16
SLEEPING SWEOE
HAS THE DOCTORS
GUESSING
HAS MESSENGER BOY
BEAT TEN BLOCKS
African Sleeping Sickness Be-
Iieved to be Ma|ady Which
Puts Phoenix Man in Arms
of Morpheus for AZ Hours.

Especial Correspondence 10 Morning JournaIl
Phoenix, Ariz., Dec. 13.-The medi-
cal fraternity of Phoenix have been
much puzzled by the sensational
sleeping stunt of Charles Nelson, a
Swede, who after sleeping continuous
~ for forty-eight hours woke up long
enough to turn over n relapsed into
slumber for twenty-eight more hours.
The man is still sleeping and 1t is be-
lieved that he will make Rip Van
Wrinkle look like an amateur before
he gets through. The startling theory
has been advanced that he is a vic
tim of sleeping sickness or African
lethargy, nagana, the Zulu name for
the disease, but described by doctors
as human trypanosomiasis.
This theory, which was at first adj
vanced as to the condition of Nelson,
has been already partly sustained by
an examination of the blood of the
sleeping man yesterday. The exami-
nation was not made under the most
favorable conditions, but it will be
pursued still further today The in
vestigation, though, has disclosed what
Is believed beyond doubt to be the
protozoon, trypanosoma gambiense, in
several drops of blood taken from the
ear of Nelson. A half dozen of these
micro-organisms were found.
There is lacking yet the history of
the man. 1t is only known of him
that he has been a resident of the
vicinity of Mesa and Tempe for the
last fourteen months and that he has
been a sailor. 1t is thought that Neils
Peterson, for whom he worked, may
know something of his wanderings,
and Mr.. Peterson will be in town to-
day. 1t is also hoped that Nelson may
rouse from his strange lethargy long
enough to give some account of his
past life.
If it should be learned that he has
been in Central Africa within the last
two years or that he had touched at
a Central African port, especially
along Sierra Leone, the Gold Coast,
Senegal or along the Congo, the ply
sieians would have no doubt that he
is afflicted with the sleeping sickness. |
Even if this confirmation should
not be obtainable or if it should be
proved that Nelson had never been in
80 pau VI ~ WI W. LitN MOulh /
still not abandon their theory but
would have to look elsewhere for the
source OF his infection.
If Nelson has sleeping sickness, this
is the second ease of it ever discovered
In the United States. The first was at
ST. Louis last summer, The vicum
was never able after his case at
tracted attention to give a history of
himself, but after his death the medi-
cal authorities of this country and
Europe conducted an investigation
which resulted in proof that he had
been in Africa for "A short time, two
or three years previous to the devel-
opment of the disease.
The popular impression is that the
disease is caused by the poison of the
tse-tse fly. 1t has been discovered
That the fly is only the distributor of
the poison in precisely the same man.
ner that malaria and yellow fever are
by the mosquito.
For more than sixty years the fly
mas been associated with the disease
but the original source was not dis
covered until about two years ago.
when DR.. Robert Koch, who spent
several months in Africa, believed that
ne had found the natural habitat of
the protozoon in the blood of the
crocodile, whence it is carried by the
tSe-tse fly, which gathers in great
numbers ON these reptiles. as it does
on the hippopotamus. Previous to
hochs discovery, Castellani had found
the germ in 20 per cent OF the victims
OF sleeping sickness examined by him.
II has been found not alone in the
hood, but also in the brain.
a century ago the disease was con-
iihed to a comparatively small part of
the West Coast, but il has since been