The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1865-08-23

History of Cholera.

sore in the province of Bengal,it appears.
to be Indigenous and permanent. In
| 1851 over thirty thousand of the natives
lof Hindostan perished from its ravages.
In 1920 it scourged the presidency of
| Bombay, carrying off one hundred and
| fifty thousand persons. The next year
6fty thousand fell victims to it at Basso-
ra. 1t had now set out on its travels to
the countries of the Mediterranean, fol-
lowing by the commercial thoroughfares.
In 1880 it devastated Russia.
In October, 1881, it reached the North
of England. The atmosphere at the time
was singu1arly stagnant, close and hot for
many weeks afterward In Europe all
great epidemics have occurred in periods
of prolonged drought; violent and copi
ons rains checking, and gentle rains diff
fusing them.
Cholera appeared at Dantzic on the 9th
of May. 1885, and on the 10th of June
Field Marshal Diebitz, commanding the
Russian army in Poland fell victim
The Grand Duke Constantine also died on
the 9th In Austria 97.770 persisted, land
100000 in Hungary. The mortality in
Paris was 1S,402, and in England over
10000. In 1882 it crossed the Atlantic
hurrying from city to city, and sweeping
down the Gulf of Mexico to Yucatan and
Campeachy.
The rate of its mortality was uniform
in every part of the world. The period
of the epidemic seems to have controlled
lit. At the first outset nine-tenths of all
attacked became victims; then seven
eigbths, fve-sixths, three-fourths, one
half one third, &c. The feeble, the sick
and eonvalescent were surest to die.
In 1916 the choleraic tendency again
prevailed, and in 1849 the scourge of the
east again visited this country. 1t seems
to have been somewhat more controllable
by remedial agents; but nevertheless
maintained its ralseyerity. 1t broke
out again in 1854; and during the Crime
an war it was particularly mortal in the
allied armies. Itseems to have been COM
municated to them by camping on ground
which the Russians, who were suffering
from the pestilence; had previously occu-
pied.
THE CHOLERA IN ARABIA AND EGYPT.
The annual recurrence of the May
festival of the Mussulmans at their holy
city has proved to be the occasion of me-
nacing Europe and America with another
visitation. According to the accounts,
about one hundred and fifty thousand
pilgrims had repaired from Egypt to Nee
ca to celebrate the Kurban- -Bairam. They
were free from contagious disease till their
numbers had been increased by others
from India. Then the pestilence appear
ed in the milder form Of cholerine, carry
ing off about three hundred victims daily.
The dead bodies were left to rot in the
streets unburied, the person employed by
the Turkish Government to inter the dead
and remove the decaying refuse, neglect
ing to perform his duty. This tended fur
ther to propagate disease, which soon as
sumed greater virulence. On their return
to Egypt the pilgrims were compelled at
Suez to remain at a distance from the
city, and to report without delay every
case Of cholera occurring among them
At Alexandria they were compelled to
encamp on the canal and railway. In that
part Of the city the pestilence was most
severe. 1t was conveyed to Cairo and
other towns, where at latest advices it was
still raging.
De Foe relates that when the great
plague ragged in London, in 1865, many
we're silently infected without perceiving
it, till they fell into swooning and faint
ings, and death without pain. Very sim
liar to this is Eugene Sues account of the
perishing of the two children in the chol
era hospital at Paris. The blood, imme-
diately after it is poisoned by the deadly
contagion, parts rapidly with its oxygen,
| leaving lifeless carbonic mass.
The pestilence attacks insidiously, and
fixes sudden hold upon the vitals. The
patient, often seeming just before in ro-
bust health, assumes shriveled, death
| like aspect; the surface of the body be-
comes cold, giving to another sensation
| like contact with the skin of frog; and
the face, hands and feet quickly put on
the purple of imperial death. DR.. Milroy
relates that when the cholera prevailed at
Kurrachee, in 1845, ''within little more
than FIVE minutes hale and hearty men
were seized, cramped collapsed and died. y
At Teheran, the capital of Persia, multi
tudes who were attacked dropped down
suddenly in state of lethargy and ex-
pired. In Muscat, Arabia, ten minutes
often did pot elapse from the first appar-
ent seizrre till the fatal termination.
But when travelling westward, the pes
thence has exhibited other phenomena,
taking more time to accomplish its fatal
work, assuming numerous symptoms not
here instanced, often passing from chol-
era into typhoid fever before finishing its
fatal task, and often apparently permit
ting favorable reaction and yielding to
the action of medicine. In each recur-
renee of the epidemic al its symptoms
appear to become mitigated.
A Castle of lndOlence.