Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-02-02

formation.
I did catch q stoker, once, on one of his
periodical visits to the ship-to keep the fires
up, suppcse-and he told me, in fair English,
that we were sailing right away"
At 2 O'Clock in the afternoon, when had
reached the point of seriously considering the
idea of returning to Highland Falls, where
knew that there would surely be some cold
turkey and cranberry sauce left from Christ
mas dinner, the captain, the officers and the
crew arrived. AL were in high state of alco-
holic exhilaration and set joyously to sea.
Six days later the Erna arrived at her desti-
nation and fortunately for me found Nor
wegian cattle steamer that took me to Puerto
Colombia. The war that was going on was no
comic opera revolution It was a compound Of
ghastlinesS and horror and untrustworthiness.
For four years it ragged and in that time ESQ.,
900 people persisted. Towns were RACED Every
crime on the calendar was a matter Of almost
daily record. Yellow fever killed thousands.
Starvation or near starvation affected whole
districts. Business declined. Morals seemed
almost to have been utterly forgotten.
Just where the current notion Of South
American revolutions originated cannot imag-
inc. Why it Is that SO many people imagine
that the opposing armies Just squib of their
muSketS and then call the battles over is too
much for me. OF course there Is probably no
worse shot than the average revolutionary South
American. But they have other means of kill
to be their enemies-than with guns Practi-
caly every man in Colombia, for instance car
ries machete. These heavy, sword-like knives
have blades from 18 inches to feet in length
They are heavy and sharp, and, except for the
fact that they are usually single-edged, they
are not greatly different from the short sword
that was used so effectively by the Roman
legions in their conquest of the world
AT Barranquilla, which was a sort of con-
centration point for the Federal army, got
commission as q medical captain almost by
asking for it,
1ornbian army affairs, that would be put on
the pay roll had no idea what to expect In
the way Of pay, but anything would do so
asked no questions and plunged into work at a
makeshift hospital. Fifty or sixty poor devils
lay there amid the clouds of swarming flies in
that dim and evil smelling place and every one
Of them had yellow fever.
1t must be remembered that this was early
In 1900. Already as a result of the American
occupation Of Cuba, a suggestion had been
made that mosquitoes were responsible for
carrying the dread disease, but that theory had
been laughed to scorn by all but handful of
thoughtful men. And here was Ia youth who
knew nothing even Of the MOSQUITO theory
who had never treated case Of yellow fever in
my life, nor even seen one-called upon to at
tend the dying struggles of a building full of
pitiful ignorant, fever-ridden "voluntarios"
HERE were no hospital attendants, and the
place was almost constant pandemonium
filled with the mumbling of delirious patients
the shrieks of the dying, and the constant series
OF cries for Aqua! Aqua! Por ell amor de
Dios!"
For three months I threw myself into that
terrible task with all the strength that could
muster. It mattered not at all that we knew
nothing OF how to cure yellow fever. We do
not know yet. Now We can prevent it, it Is
true, but even today, in many places in South
America. the patient i'll with the disease is
treated much as We treated those poor devils
more OF whom were brought in to us every day
from the barracks of the city.
AT times We had as many as 200 soldiers at
once, and dozens-Scores-of these died every
day. Then two of my colleagues sickened and
died. Two more-young chaps from the inte-
rior, just as ignorant of this dread disease as
I-were brought to take their places.
One night three months later as stood at
the hospital door, sick man was being carried
in Shrieking. 1t was usual sight. His words
were usual. But this night the words burnt
into my heart.
Not to the hospital" he was crying. 'Por
Ell amor de Dios, not to the hospital! They'll
kill me there"
I stood aside as they brought him in and
dropped him rather abruptly on the brick floor,
where he still moaned and cried out against
being left in that CHASTITY place.
I knew the dread of hospitals that ignorant
people often have. but I suddenly wondered
whether or not we were killing these poor
devils. We did not know the cause of the
disease and more than that we knew no cure
Lime juice and castor oil were all we ever gave
them. We sometimes prescribed other medi-
cineS but we couldn't get them. so our pre-
scribing went for naught. Sometimes we
couldn't even get lime juice and castor OIL
But 1t suddenly dawned on me that, despite
our labors. which sometimes kept us busy with