Conditions before Sanitation 265 



countless breeding places in and about the houses, 

 with climatic conditions particularly favorable 

 to rapid and continuous development of insect 

 fatma, and yellow fever foci at the very threshold, 

 what would be the expectation for rapid spread of 

 yellow fever were a large non-immune population 

 introduced into Panama, Colon, and their vicini- 

 ties? A glance at the ciirves on the chart will 

 furnish a basis for an estimate. 



These curves were plotted from the figures 

 published by Colonel Gorgas in a pamphlet issued 

 in 1906, entitled: "Population and Deaths from 

 Various Diseases in the City of Panama, by Months 

 and Years, from November, 1883, to August, 1906.. 

 Number of Employees and Deaths from Various 

 Diseases among Employees of the French Canal 

 Companies, by Months and Years, from January, 

 1881, to April, 1904." The number of employees 

 given is nearly correct, but the number of deaths 

 from yellow fever is probably much below the cor- 

 rect number. The only mortality statistics availa- 

 ble are those of Ancon Hospital, and many cases of 

 yellow fever never found theirway into thehospital, 

 either dying before they could be sent there, or re- 

 maining outside because the contractors were more 

 or less reluctant to pay for the treatment of their 

 employees. After carefully investigating various 



