30 
U'ilson and Chowning (190da. p. 3:2) refer to having seen 10 cases 
personally in 1903, and to having collected data from 2 cases vrhich 
they did not see. To these 12 cases. T deaths, should be added the 
following: 
1903, August-Sejjtember. — R. B., telegrai^h operator, was at Woodman, on Lo Lo 
stream. Was taken sick with a chill Saturday evening (August 29), and brought to 
Missoula Monday morning August 30), where he later died. He was aware of the 
‘‘tick theory” which had been pubhshed, but claimed that he was not bitten by 
ticks. Mr. and ^Mrs. George Kieth say positively that there was no history of tick 
bite in this case. He was seen by Doctor McCullough and Dr. Parsons. 
1903. August-Septemher. — J. G. W., 24 or 25 yeai-s old; so far as he knew, he was 
last bitten by a tick in July. About the last of August he was taken sick and saw 
Doctor McGrath, who made a diagnosis of “spotted fever” and sent him to St. Pat- 
rick’s Hospital in Missoula. He reached Missoula September 1 and was treated by 
Doctor Mills. The case, which was “typical,” ended fatally on September 5. 
Dming the season 1904 there occurred in the Bitter Root Valley 11 cases, with 9 
deaths. Thus we may complete the above table (p. 29) as follows: 
Date. Cases. Deaths. Lethality. 
Per cent. 
lS.S5tol902 114 80 70.17 
1903 - 14 9 04.29 
1904 11 9 81.82 
Total Bitter Root Valley. 1S85 to 1904 139 98 70. 5 
Gates’s cases near Bridger. 1894 to 1904 17 3 17. 6 
CoMPAEisox. — In bovine pirophtsmo-sUs large numbers of animals may be affected in 
the same season. In some years 20 per cent of the sheep in the swampy islands of 
the lower Danulie are destroyed by carceag. 
The occurrence of a large number of ca.ses of a plroplasmatic infec- 
tion in a given district is natural, when we consider how very prolific 
an animal the tick is. A female tick lays hundreds of eggs, and it is 
the next generation (developing from the eggs of an infected female) 
which carries the infection. Accordingly, for every infected female ] 
which lays eggs, there may be hundreds of infected individuals of the 
next generation, hence piroplasmatic diseases are apt to attack large 
numbers of patients at about the same time in the same locality, and 
if •• spotted fever" is a piroplasmosis. transmitted by a tick, we should 
expect a large number of cases to develop in any locality in which one 
case develops. This, however, is exactly what we do not find in 
•’spotted fever." and this was the first point to lead me to seriously ; 
doubt the tick hypothesis. AAilson and Chowning lay considerable 
stress upon the point that, according to their studies. ” in no instance 
have two or more persons with the same food or water supply been 
simultaneously stricken with this disease." 
LOCALITY OF IXFFXTIOX. 
Idaho. — Several Idaho observers speak especially of the fact that the disease is i 
found in the valleys: and Collister (1896, p. 63) says that it is rarely found in high 
mountains. Maxey (1899, p. 434) states that in his opinion it is contracted while 
