— 17 — 



from the dairy ranch became affected, while those from the Penasquitos 

 ranch remained healthy. Three died at Penasquitos ranch. The 

 remainder were started to a mountain range — the Cuyamaca; seven 

 head died on the way, and the remainder within three weeks. Three 

 hundred and five head of cattle were driven from the Cuyamaca range, 

 which has an elevation of between 4,000 and 5,000 feet, starting on the 

 5th of January, 1889, reaching the Penasquitos ranch on the 8th of that 

 month. The cattle began to die on the 24th, and at the time of my 

 visit to the ranch some thirty had been lost. Running with these cattle 

 were seventy head belonging to Mr. Taylor, and raised on the ranch. Up 

 to this time they had remained pefectly healthy. 



" From San Diego I went on to Kern County, examined many of the 

 large ranges, and made inquiries of the inhabitants and of the County 

 Physician. I saw many herds of cattle, but could not find or hear of 

 any disease among them. During the early part of the fall several 

 hundred head died, and from the description of the disease, as given by 

 the cattlemen, I think it was anthrax." 



While Mr. Mercer was in California in 1888, the question of the in- 

 fection of the State with Texas fever was discussed in the newspapers, 

 and also at meetings of the San Francisco Board of Health. Articles 

 on the subject will be found in the " Morning Call " of October 9th and 

 10th. The following interesting extract is taken from an interview with 

 Mr. Mercer, which appeared in the " Chronicle " of about that time, the 

 exact date not being noted: 



" Texas fever has been known to exist in the southern portions of the 

 United States for upwards of a century. There is no known remedy for 

 the disease. The Colony of Virginia, previous to its State organization, 

 passed laws prohibiting the bringing of cattle from the south into the 

 Colony. For nearly one hundred years subsequently, but little was 

 heard of this fatal disease. Early in the fifties, however, as Texas began 

 to fill up with cattle, and cut for them a northern outlet, large numbers 

 of native cattle along the trail in Missouri, Illinois, and other States 

 began to die of a strange, and in that region, an unheard-of disease. 

 Hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of cattle perished annually for 

 a number of years previous to the breaking out of the war, and after 

 careful investigation by drovers and scientific men, the origin of the 

 disease was traced to Texas cattle. An autopsy of the diseased animal 

 exhibits a greatly enlarged spleen — in some instances its length amounts 

 to thirty inches. The splenic pulp consists of a disintegrated mass, 

 which has lost all consistency, the contents resembling black currant 

 jelly. The liver is also enlarged, and changed from its normal color to 

 a bright brick-red. The third compartment of the stomach, or many- 

 plies, is found impacted, and has the appearance of a charred black 

 mass. 



" The disease may be known from the red color of the blood and its 

 ready coagulation. It is only imparted by cattle coming from below 

 the line of permanent infection; where that line is located, west of the 

 Rockies, is a matter for future determination. In the Eastern States, 

 after years of investigation by the Government, this line has been 

 determined. It extends from a point on the Atlantic coast near the 



2— TF 



