Show Cats Spread Diphtheria eria Disease Carried by Felines to Other Animals f Wh Communicated It I to Indian Hunters of the bubonic That Tat the te microbe across seas by been carried plague has is a fact demon demo demonstrated board ships rats on to be e said 0 strafed by science It I Is also fever is malarial demonstrable that Inhabitants of ot disseminated among the mosquito lands by the tropical bluebottle fy fly IY cheerfully buzzing The d conveying g blO blood has been accused of ot carcasses to h hu human human hu- hu from poison polson man beings But It is not s so Generally Diseases of humanity humanity hu hu- known that many of ot the by the favorite fa favorite Ia- Ia be contracted manity may animal domestic of all our al and friends the sleek and purring cat ct communicated through It to human be be- be ings Canada where a a In one locality In quickly fatal type type of diphtheria was wa prevalent the spread of the disease exceedingly puZzling puzzling was for a long time to those who engaged in n fighting widely scattered scattered scattered scat scat- community was It H. As the and the popular fear of ot the disease disease dis dis- ease was very great It might appear to have been easy eY to avoid contagion But Bu t day after day new cases appeared appeared ap ap- ap- ap peare In houses houses' separated by long distances di- di dis dis- set In and until a kind of panic shut most of the uninfected families I themselves up mp P In their houses houses and d re refused refused refused re- re fused all al communication with friends freds strangers or visitors Still Sti the disease continued Its r ravages ray ray- v- v with deadly effect until a clue ag ages wih was accidentally given by a I young young WOman woman woman wo wo- WO- WO man who called caled across the front garden from the doorway dorway of her home to a passing traveler to inquire about the diphtheria epidemic There was no other house within a mile mie or two wo the road was little u used and the family had so far tar escaped the plague Its Is as lonely onely as can be the young woman declared We go nowhere and nobody comes here The Te only excitement excite excite- excie- excie ment mont Is over the eats cats cat for old Jim is very vary sick and the little Manx tortoiseshell tortoise- tortoise shell shel is dead We Ve cannot think what in inthe inthe the world is the matter mater with them The words came back to her friend as ashe ashe ashe he stood at her graveside two days later and heard that two lads of of the household were also in the grip of diphtheria Then a woman of me means ns In a Q neighboring neighboring neigh neigh- boring bring house asked ake the advice of the local practitioner respecting her he Angora Angora An An- gora which had a sore throat trot On general principles he refused refuse to have anything to do with wih but advised advised advised ad ad- doing away with wih it at once Instead of at following the advice the woman vainly attempted to save her pets pet's life by blowing sulphur down its throat The Te next day she developed diphtheria and within the week week her baby w. w was was' buried burled and she was fighting between life and death from which struggle she escaped escape a physical wreck After that the cats were looked after ater when to the general surprise it I was wa discovered that very few were to be found Those Thoe that remained had ha short shrift of it I but were sacrificed to the public good When the plague plaue subsided subside there was not a pussy in the community and it i was a long time before lefore the settlers setter began began began be be- gan Importing them Evidence and subsequent result appeared to prove conclusively that the cats had been among the most potent factors I spread of the te disease And the theof theof f for of or their sickness was farther reathan mathan rea ma re than could have been Imagined Dead foxes faxes began to be found a athe the stone piles pie In the fields felds an auw ant turkeys and chickens were not mol by these hese sly thieves The word around arund that was kiln noticed that farmers' farmers wives the 3 y foxes A connecting link was disco when an Incredulous trapper along and was heard lamenting i lack of cats cat wherewith to bait bai hi taps traps i Noting Nothing will draw a fox like Ike a ahe ahe a said divulging what was he sid evid one of the secrets secrEts of the trade very few people had heard of si au thing thin before Then it was wa remembered ed that rule the bodies of the cats cath cat hat hai been found around the farm bul build bulli the suffering creatures having g gally gally galy ally aly crawled away to die In the woods So it ceased to be a w WI that the foxes of the country passing away But Bu t the effects of ot the mor mort among the cats did not end there I Ithe the Indian reserves to the north the th information that the Indians made requisition upon the Depari of the Interior through their agent for winter supplies leaving for their hereditary hu hUt grounds as usual usual inquiry showed that the young f of the tribe had unexpectedly ai ar fright returned from the prelim spying out of ot the trapping route the winters winter's work with wih the intern Inform that they found the martens fishr the mink dead in all aU directions Thi four bear skins ski and one lynx skin sith brought brought back which they had sir sti from the animals found dead li it Ir bush Some sickness was about about that thai clear cear Two of the young hunten hunter become possessed by something i took them by the throat Inside strangled them and these the hu huha had ha left lef dead behind them The d Matche Manitou was Manitou in It all was al or I Iwas was something wrong about charms it was bad medicine to t 1 the woods the Indians said sid So the hunters determined to nat meat n me I at home and to set the medicine to work upon a a. new set of and to alo allow v the Government to them that winter Beyond a dent doul fatal sickness had ha spread from th the theto theto to the wild wid animals of ot various over a a. good god many square miles o ti or until at last last it reached hum hum again gain in the persons of ot young youn I Ii I runners During the last epidemic of ot the here some cats were noticed by observers f familiar with wih the above I as a being being- with wih an illness Ines I 1 symptoms not unlike that which so many people by bythe the heels he Te Thee r spread of that disease may have hart due to some extent to the visits o of O domestic pet to cat friends suit BUr from its is ravages It I might be wise to subject pu pa visiting list to strict times times' Ures of sickness and Knowlton Can Correspondence York Yok Sun |