Los Angeles herald., 1909-05-06
10000 PATIENTS
NEED MEAT DIET
FUNDS NEEDED TO PURCHASE
SLAUGHTER OF STOCK
SLEEPING SICKNESS CAMP is
CROWDED WITH DYING
African Disease That Claims 100000
vistlms Is Transmitted by the
Tsetse FIy-RooseVeIt May
Visit Hospital
ERx Assoclated Press

LBy Associated Press.l
MOMBASA, East Africa, May g.
The sleeping sickness commission is
hoping that Theodore Roosevelt will
pay visit to the expeditions camp
at Sesse, Uganda, where Sir David and
Lady Bruce are in charge of the seq
regation hospitals. The governments
of Germany, France, Belgium, as well
as the government of the United King
dom, are loyalty working together en-
deavoring 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 commenced. Governor Sir
Hesketh Bell, in appealing to the mil
lionaires of the world and others be-
nevolently disposed for money gifts to
enable him to purchase slaughter OF
stock to crafty the one and only
craving of those whose suffering is so
intense, which is summed up in the
word meat" describes his latest visit
to the camp in part as follows:
1.-THE patients were lodged in large
matched bandas and were divided ac-
cording to sex and the various stages
of the disease. In one Enclosure we
saw a number of infants, in whom the
first outward signs of the scourge were
just appearing. Unaware of their i'm
pending 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. 1t was sad, in
deed, to think that in short time
those merry peals of laughter would
gradually become more and more rare
and that all those poor little creatures
T.. iCxr Of 1ifp wa g strong
would after year or two of misery
be laid in the crowded cemetery that
could just see between the trees.
Sick Prefer Hot Sun
I'm row of sheds surrounded by
the banana groves which supplies 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 intensely.
They seemed to shun the cool shade
of the broad matched roofs and pre-
ferred to sit or lie in the full blaze of
the MONDAY sun. Even there many
of them shivered almost constantly,
and drew about their emaciated limbs
the brown rags of bark cloth which
partly covered them. Their drawn
features and haggard eyes testified to
the gnawing pains that almost con-
stantly afflicted them, and the I'M
happy creatures appeared to have spe-
cial dread of being touched. Many or
them were in the peculiar state OF
lethargy which has, doubtless, been
responsible for the misleading name
by which the disease has become com.
monty known. Unfortunately, sound
sleep rarely comes to the relief OF the
doomed ones, and the torpor in which
they lie comes from the constant strain
of never-ceasing pain.
"Many of them, in an unguarded
moment, put an end to their miserable
lives, and it is a wonder that more OF
them do not do likewise
"Farther in we came to those who
were in the last stages of the disease.
They were lying about on beds OF WITH
cred leaves and reached a degree OF
emaciation that was horrible to see.
The unhappy creatures looked like
skeletons, and only their doleful moan
ing indicated the presence of life IN
the Wretched remains. A few, in whom
nature was struggling hard, had gone
raving mad, and in spite of the fact
that the poor creatures had perforce
to be chained to the heavy logs TO
prevent their doing harm, one almost
envied them their insensibility to the
tortures that afflicted their fellow VIC
tins. The frenzied laughter of these
unfortunates seemed particularly
QTedQlul that eIOOOC VA oNAASAAA5 NAAN
death.
over 100000 Are Dead
at is generally accepted that a
variety of the tsetse fly, the CESSNA
Falpalis is the principal, if not the
only agent for the transmission of the
disease. This fly exists in enormous
numbers on the shores of Lake Vic
toria Nyanza and also on the borders
of other lakes and rivers Of Uganda:
It's habitation, however, is restricted
to a narrow growth, adjoining water,
and width of two miles is believed
to be the limit of the infested zones.
Out of some 100000 souls inhabiting
the shores of Victoria Nyanza and the
islands in the great lake, over 100000
have already been swept out of exist
ence, and it remains to be seen whether
the remainder can still be saved.
1.-THE determination of the tsetse APP
pears to be a hopeless task, and it has
therefore been decided to remove all
the surviving population out of the
reach of the fatal fly.
at is estimated that more than 10000
sick now remain to be dealt with, and
they are being located in large camps
capable of accommodating about 1000
at a time
"Cattle. sheep and goats are cheap
in Uganda, and a comparatively mod
erate sum Woulu eHdple US 70 prONlue
now then meats for the unhappy in
mates of the sleeping sickness camps.
| Unless a cure be soon discovered they
will not long remain a charge to u.s.
and If my readers could have seen the
intense delight that transfigured the
faces of the inmates of the refugee
camp at Kissubi at the prospect of
meat they would think a few shillings
we'll spent in that direction"