The Daily empire. (Dayton, Ohio) 1865-1867, 1866-03-09
Letters on the History and Nature
of the Asiatic Cholera.

propose to furnish your readers with a
fcwApractical thoughts on one of the most
fstai diseases Of modern times, and which
now appears to be rapidly approaching our
shores. My object in furnishing these let
ters Is
FrA. To call the attention of our city
authorities to the speedy adoption of such
sanitary measures and the proper cleansing
of the streets andralleys, that should tue
epidemic revisit our city, its fatal elects
may be very much mitigatcd; and.
Second, To impress, as far as possible, upon
every householder the Importance of re-
moving all filth aud dirt that would in any
way tend to create an impure air apolC
their premises. II IS now, ! believe, tue
generally received opinion OF the medical
profession that the causes Of cholera aud its
propagation. depend upon "local filth and
Impure air. associated with the epidemic
or choleic condition ofthc atmosphere, and
that the cleanliness Of premises aud persons
is of the greatest importance rs prophv-
Tactic remedy; and that witlia proper oD-
servance Of these rules choleric condition
Of the atmosphere may prevail and yet but
few cases of the disease be developed.
Cholera has long been known as a dis
ease in India, but 1t never attracted much
attention until the year 1917 when it broke
out as an epidcmicin Bengal, aud from that
province. as a center, commenced its fear
ful march. which did not cease until it had
tencircled the globe In its progress west
ward, it ascended the Gangcs, and crossing
the mountainous range of the Chants.
established itself in the year 1918 upon the
western coast of the peninsula. The same
year ii made it, way southwark to Ceylon
and also appeared In the Maurtis and In
I the Isle of Bourbon. In 1920 it had at
tackled the Burmau dominluns, invaded
Siam and extended its rayagcs into the
northern parts of China and into Tartary;
and in the year 1921 made its appearance
on the shores of the Persian Gulf.
From this position ii assembled the TigIis
and Euphrates, and having made its way
NOrthward through Persia, reached the
shores of the Caspian sea in 1923, and seized
upon the Russian city Of Astracan Dur
/ ing this time it had traversed the whole
length Of Asia. and was pressing hard upon
the confines Of Europe aud Africa. Here
! It paused for several years before it COM
menced new career of invasion. In 1898
it appeared at Ohrenburg on the borders
of European Russia but did not fairly en-
ter Europe until 1880, when it advanced as
| far rs Moscow, from whence 1t took Wes-
| tern course aud attacked St Petersburg.
Warsaw, Berlin, Hamburg, SC. In 1892 it
reached Paris and London. and in the same
year, overlapping the barrier of the Allan
tic, appeared in the month of June In Que
bee and Montreal, and from thence pursued
n rapid course along the st. Lawrence and
/ the lakes to the valley of the Mississippi.
As it crossed the Atlantic it appears to
have struck the shores of the United States
at New York City. where it made its first
appearance on the oath of June. From
thence it spread, reaching Philadelphia and
Baltimore early in July, and before the end
of the year had visited nearly all the prin-
cipal cities, and portions of the country in
the United States and Mexico.
| From the above brief account of the pro-
gress of the Cholera, it will be seen that its
march was extremely irregular in relation
to both time and direction While confined
to the Eastern hemisphere. it advanced
sometimes with great rapidity, sometimes
Islowly, and anon pauSing for a longer or
shorter period, would lead the inhabitants
of the unaffected districts to hope that its
ravages were stayed and that they would
escape its visitation; and nearly fifteen
years had elapsed from the time it COM
menced its march before 1t crossed the
Atlantic and reached the Western conti-
Inent; but once here, its course was exceed
ingly rapid, and in the brief space of two
years from its advent it had trayerscd the
entire country, and then disappeared from
our shores.
| In general, its progress was arrested tu-
ring the winter, to be resumed in the
spring; though this was not invariably the
case as 1t prevailed in Moscow through
most of the winter of lS30-3l. No barriers
were sufficient TO arrest its progress. OPP
posing winds, quarantines, mountains, des-
Ierts or oceans were unable to cheek 1t in its
onward course; and although generally
| following the course of streams, affecting
low and damp places, and attacking the
filthy and crowded portions of populous
cities, yet it was sometimes found in the
midst of sandy deserts and among the more
scattered inhabitants of the agricultural
districts. Neither was any one class of
persons entirely exempt, while as general
rule its ravages were more particularly
confined to those already pressed down by
the Iniserles of life; still. occasionally the
rich and prosperous were seized upon as its
victims. ~ .......r.s
| In my next | win give some account of
tire epidemic in 1919. and also of its preva-
lcnce in this eity.,,...,...., % tt.f