Emmons County record. [volume] (Williamsport, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1884-current, 1909-09-02


in the whole category of ailments
has been getting uncomfortably
close to this part Of the world dur
ing the last two on three wears.
Last year in Yankton and one or two
adjoining counties of South Dakota
anthrax obtained a strong foothod;
and, had il not been for the strenu-
Gus exertions of the federal inspect
ors, backed by the state authorities
to certain dergee, it would UNI
doubtedly have soon spread to other
regions of the Northwest. At the
present time there are cases of the
disease over at Bowman, on the Mil
waukee Railway S coast extension, lin
the extreme western part of North
Dakota; but there, also. the govern
ment inspection force is making a
winning fight against it.
Saturday evening last, DIR. Treacy.
the well-known federal stock-inspec-
tor, was i'm town on his way to the
Standing Rock reservation. The
writer had read frequently of an
thrax. disease invariably fatal to
human beings, as we'll as to all kinds
of brute animals such as horses, cat
tie, hogs, sheep, etc. and inquired
about it from the doctor. He said
that the disease is practically incur
able, as the victim dies before there
is time to attempt to do anything
for it. The only way to stop its
spread is to burn every carcass. II
the body is buried the bacilli i'm
pregnatc the soil forever and, COM
ing to the surface. are carried by the
heavy rains to regions considerable
distance away. Nothing but burning
will kill the anthrax bacillus. If the
bodies of its brute victims are bur-
led, the farm on which they are in
tered, and the surrounding farms.
are practically ruined as a valuable
asset, for live stock cannot thereaf-
ter be safely kept thereon. In the
western part of South Dakota, last
year, there was an outbreak in a
neighborhood where the disease had
prevailed several years before, and
where the bodies had not been
burned One of the carcasses had
not even been buried. All of it of
tleshy nature had disappeared, ex-
cept a small strip of hide at the base
of the horns. The doctor put the
strip of hide under the microscope
and found a considerable number of
live and active anthrax bacilli upon
it. Asked as TO where enough fuel,
could be procured in prairie coun-
try with which to consume the car
cases of large animals, DIR. Treacy
said that there was a very simple
way. A small armful of wood is
placed against the body, and, after
the wood is burning we'll, the body
is covered with green horse manure,
the manure gradually drying and
burning, and consuming the entire
carcass, except the teeth. This
knowledge would be valuable to any
one ignorant of it in the past whose
duty it might be to destroy the body
of an animal that had died from old
age or for any other cause, as the
law requires the owner to make
away with animals which have died
from other than infectious or con-
tagious diseases.
This is disease, as above stated,
that can be communicated to HUI
mans as we'll as To the brute crea-
ton, and il is said 10 always kill.
A friend in Bismarck recently sent
to the editor of the Record copy of
Canadian newspaper the Morris
burg (Ontario) Leader which has
the following paragraphs regarding
anthrax. Now that the dread dis
ease anthrax has been recently dis
covered iii this country, it will be
we'll for those handling the affected
animals to be very careful, as the
disease is contagious. We print
below clipping from an old coun-
try paper, giving an account of how
seriously they look upon il there.
The item reads: An important am
nouncemen was made at the annual
meeting of Woocompers at Brad
ford with regard to the dreaded
disease anthrax. which has caused
the death of hundreds of employees
in the wool-combing industry. The
chairman, Mr. w. Dale Shaw, said
that they had spent 1000 pounds
sterling on experiments which they
hoped would result in absolute pre-
vention being perfected.
Elsewhere in the same issue the
Canadian paper says:
"In another column we give an
account of the alarm felt regarding
the dread disease anthrax in the old
country. To show that the disease
is contagious to human beings and
that it should be handled with great