Who Brings the Cholera?

The Filipinos, being for the most part ignorant of the laws of hygiene,

attribute the cholera to any cause rather than the right one. In

general, they believe it to be caused by some evil-minded men, who

poison the wells, or, sometimes, by evil spirits, as the following

story will show.

Tanag was a poor man who lived in a town in the interior of one of

the Philippine Islands. He had nothing to eat, nor could he find

any work by which he might earn his food, and so he determined to

emigrate. At that time the cholera was at its height.

As Tanag was rather old, he walked so slowly that in a day he had

gone but three miles. At sunset he was crossing a sheltered bridge

over a smooth brook near the sea, and determined to rest and spend

the night there.

During the early part of the night he was all right, but later it

occurred to him that he might be seen and killed by the ladrones,

who often passed that way.

Below the bridge was a raft of bamboo poles, and he thought it would

be wise to get down there, where he could not so easily be seen. But

there were many mosquitoes over the water, so that he was unable to

sleep. He determined, however, to stay there until day dawned.

At about four o'clock he heard a heavy step upon the floor of the

bridge, and by the moonlight he could see that the new-comer was a

huge giant with a long club.

A little later another giant came, and Tanag, full of fear, heard

the following dialogue:--

"Did you kill many people?"

"Yes, I put my poison on the food, and in a short time those who ate

of it were attacked by the cholera and died. And how are you getting

along yourself?"

"At first I killed many people with my poison, but now I am

disappointed, because they have found out the antidote for it."

"What is that?"

"The root of the balingay tree boiled in water. It is a powerful

antidote against the poison I use. And what is the antidote against

yours?"

"Simply the root of the alibutbut tree boiled in water. Luckily,

no one has discovered this antidote, and so many people will die."

In the morning Tanag saw the giants going to the shore, where many

people were fishing with their nets. The giants flung their poison

on the fish, and then disappeared from Tanag's sight.

Tanag believed that the cholera was caused by the two giants, who

poisoned the food and water by sprinkling poison on them, and he did

not doubt that the roots of the balingay and alibutbut trees would

prove to be the antidotes to the poison. So he gathered the roots

and cooked them and advertised himself as a doctor.

In fact he cured many people and earned so much money that he soon

became rich.