Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1915-04-26
TERRIBLE SCoURGE or
TYPHuS IN SERBIA


of typhus In Serbia.
There are no figures to tell what
proportion of the people have been
down, but out of unit of twelve
| American Red Cross nurses and SIN
doctors, all the nurses and four OF the
doctors have heen seriously i'll. One
doctor died. The low rate of NOR
! tally is due to the care they took OF
each other. Among the population
there are nearly as many deaths as
cases.
| II was in Salonlkl that We learned
also of the prevalence of vermn ana
! that they were not only nasty but
deadly
Lice are the carriers of typhpus
! just MS mosquitoes are the carriers OF
yellow fever.
Lice are easily removed each night
as they have none of the agility OF the
| flea. Regularly and thoroughly each
| morning and evening the body and
clothes must be searched And the skin
| bathed with SO per cent alcohol.
But even this is not sufficient, The
vermm must be kept off, not taken
off. Therefore, new arrivals put in
sect powder in their shoes and on
their wrists and with n grimace sprin-
| lsle a little around his neck. The res
ident pours box of IL Inside his col
lar. Bug powder Is one reason &c
wear khaki They are the same color
| No sooner were we In the train
! bound for Athens than we were driven
our by the fumes of formaldehyde
with which the ear had been dlslniect-
ed. Later with our windows open
| wide and with the draft from the
moving train. We were fairly comfor-
table Whenever It stopped our eyes
! filled with tears, our nostrils ran, oui
| Threats ached.
A party of French doctors and
nurses, more used to fOrmaldehyde
! and less used to air, got on with the
| window closed. From them we learned
! that Il would be wise TO sleep In al
/ our clothes and not to wash except In
| boiled water.
! During daylight we travelled through
! territory captured from the Turks
| Minarets were everywhere visible, but
no church spires were seen.
! As in old Greece sheep herding
seemed to be the chief occupation
Men and boys in skins carrying shep-
| herds crooks led flooks of goats and
sheep, as they did in Homer's time,
| but they ran along the track ana
I IlOIilti illNldhS HNhNNs
The train ran through many noble
| gorges and past high mountains. 10
my surprise, the higher we went the
more cultivated became the country
| Indeed, as we neared the Bulgarian
| border we might have imagined our
selves in western Europe If II had not
| been for the very wide costumes OF
! the people. a
Arabic land Is valuable and all IN
use. Every stream, no matter OF what
size, is carried within banks. Hy-
| draulic engineering also furnishes a
primitive water supply.
Streams are tapped and artificial
bitches carry water past the houses.
Some of these works are quite pre-
tentious, even Unnellng the rock. Just
now the rivers are in flood and the
water is as yellow as the water supply
at Chester, ILL., ! am told that the
streams are generally clear.
| 1t was at Uskut that | met John
i,Meslich. John is a Serbo- American
and now he wishes he was just plain
American. John was in America earn
ing union miners wages, which are
equal to a Serbian coloners pay, when
the call of patriotism came upon him.
He took his American earned saw
ings and bought a ticket to Greece,
With more of his savings he lived
high and waxed wat with patriotism.
He still had money left when he
signed his name to the muster roll,
but not enough to procure release,
SO much wanted few days later
John was given a uniform taken
from a defunct Serbian. According
to the pessimistic Mestich, the de-
oaaaad xr,ae not in lifa man pf mar
ticular habits and the uniform had
not been cleaned or disinfected
John was given a ration of bread
made to keep the rats out and fairly
liberal supply of onions. He was told
that he would get a franc a day to
buy the rest of his food, but the franc
never came. Then he was put to work
repairing the railroad for which SER
vice his experience as a miner had
excellently fitted him.
His eXpostulations that he had come
to fight his country's foes fell on un-
needing ears and as his falling enthu-
siasm and weakening physique. due to
native diet, began to show in his
work, he became the recipient of con-
siderable abuse.
Finally one day he found himself
shoveling stone beside a day laborer
who was receiving the regular rail-
road trackman's pay of two francs a
day-about thirty-six cents American.
This was too much. John threw
down his spade-and was promptly
arrested for mutiny. He had already
failed to buy or brlbe a release, but
his sergeant, with eastern European
ideas of value, released him and for
got his offense for a days pay of an
American miner He was seldom
cleaned and never bathed.
When he had partly recovered he
saw several men die unattended on
the bare floor and lie for hours before
removal.
No one listened to his tales of stolen
money. Finally with his SO bill he
bribed an attendant to bring clothes
and help him escape. He is sallow,
emaciated, and shaky. How he lives
on his bread and onions / cannot
imagine.
He was certainly delighted with the
cold chicken I was able to give him
and said he felt more natural with
money in his pocket again. Even now
he cannot get a discharge, but after
the war he intends TO return to Amer
ica
AS we parted I said, "The Japanese
are likely to make war on us one OF
these days, and then your experience
will come in handy"
20, no." he replied, mo more war
for me; I'm going back to Colorado
ur.y-t..,. Cano ~ .I,o CbtId.au