El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-02-07

= outside, and plaster or boards on the inside.
II makes beautiful wall to look at but the
rats can crawl inside the walls and walk
As it is now, according to Dr.. Perry
! GuayaqulI has rats everywhere, and all of
It's rats nave 1leas. The bubonic plague is
I transmitted by these fleas biting such rats
! as have the plague, and then going from
/ them to men, women and children and bif
/ ing them A flea that has bitten sick rat
: VIII carry the plague in its system for ID or
! y days and If it bites you during that time
{ S 1lie prague DaclIn VIII go into your blood
I Lhey viii multiply rapidly, and within five
! or six days the chances are that voI. will
Z die in horrible pain.
Is a Menace to American Cities.
It would be terrible if this plague sbould
be brought through the canal to New Or
leans New York or Boston It is wonder
fully catching, although it can be transmit
ted only by fleas and by rats. Nevertheless
it ragged throughout Europe again and again
in the years between the 9Th and 18th CEN
turies and it is said to have caused mora
deaths than any other epidemic that has
populated human gravey ards
1t was this pest that Daniel De Foe de-
sGrlDed IN ms story OF the great black
plague in London Of 1865 and 1866, and it Is
the same as that which ravaged EuroDe
during the 14th century. Those two plaques
are said to have come from China THE
plague in GuayaQuil was not known unffI
about 1908, when it was brought in some
claim, from Paita, Peru. and others by GER
tain Asiatic ships that called here. The
people were warned Of their danger bv Or
J. 3 Lloyd, the American health officer
who was then stationed in Ecuador, and
Tor time he was allowed to try to control
it. Later on he was repudiated by the
EcuadOrian government and Dr. W M
Wightman was sent in his place. Dr. Wight
man took the yellow fever and died here
That was in 1909.
At that time Col. Gorgas was much
alarmed at the danger Of the pest getting
a foOthOld on the isthmus, and in order to
keep it out Of Colon he had more than a
half million dollars worth of small houses
that were said to be infested with rats
burned to the ground
The danger OF yellow fever getting into
Panama through Guayaquil is a serious one
and this disease, also, viii have to be wiped
out before Americans viii be safe in allow
ing our ships to come here or for trav-
elers to 60 through the canal after ieav-
ing Ecuador Already several AmeriCsns
cases now every day. 1t is not safe for anv
American to settle in Guayaquu to do bust
ness in its present condition.
Another Danger at GuayauuiI
Another danger at Guayaquil is from ma
larial fever, similar to that which caused
so many deaths on the isthmus at the time
Of the building Of the Panama railroad
This, the EcuadOrians call uernfcfosa aD5
it is known to the Panamans as the Cbagres
fever. I had severe attack OF it when 7
last visited GuayaQuiL PerniciOsa comes from
the bite OF the anOphele MOSQUITO which is
very olIIerent from that Of the stegOmyia,
which carries the yellow fever.
The anOphele cannot give you the yellow
fever, and the stegomyia does not carry
malaria The former viii breed in almost
any wet place but the latter is fond n IN
barrels and it does not like dirty water
The anophele has its chief feeding time at
night, and for the fost part it lives ont of
doors. The stegomyia usually bites in the
daytime, although it likes to keep out Of
the sun.
Neither Of these mosquitoes is as big as
the New Jersey variety, nor half as ferO-
clous- DR.. Gorgas once told me that there
were about 200 different kinds of rnosoui-
toes In the world and that they cause many
other diseases than those I have mentioned
Ihere Is one that VIII carry the ELEPHANT
iasis- This is little devil with yellow