THE STORY OF AN ENTOMOLOGIST 



could readily see how I had fallen into the error. I showed him 

 the manuscript of my Review of Reviews article, which he 

 approved. A litde later another article of mine (illustrated this 

 time) was published in the Century Magazine for October, 1903, 

 entitled "Yellow Fever and Mosquitoes," in which the statements 

 were based on exact information that Dr. Reed had given me. 



The truth is that while Reed and his Commission were at 

 work in Havana the Surgeon-General of the Army and I met 

 almost daily at the Cosmos Club and talked over matters of 

 common interest. In fact, I talked often with the General on 

 this subject of the carriage of disease by mosquitoes, and, since 

 I was busy that summer working on the insect fauna of human 

 excreta, with a special reference to the carriage of typhoid, we 

 had many discussions on the subject of typhoid in the army 

 concentration camps in 1898. I naturally assumed that Dr. Reed 

 had had his definite instructions from the Surgeon-General. 



Just here it will be interesting to quote a letter received from 

 Dr. Reed and dated January 13, 1901: 



DEAR DR. HOWARD: 



I enclose a copy of the Order relating to the Protection Against 

 Mosquitoes. Of course you have already heard from Dr. Sternberg of 

 our complete success in repeating our former observations. The mos- 

 quito theory for the propagation of yellow fever is no longer a "theory," 

 but a well-established fact. Isn't it enough to make a fellow happy? 

 Anopheles and Culex are a gay old pair! What havoc they have 

 wrought to our species during the last three centuries! But with 

 Howard and kerosene we are going to knock them out. 



With best wishes, 



Sincerely yours, 



WALTER REED. 



P. S.— Major J. R. Kean, Surgeon, U. S. A., was the Acdng-Chief 

 Surgeon of the Division of Cuba at the time this Order was published, 

 and it was he who drew it up and recommended it to General Wood. 

 He should have credit for it. 



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