Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1866-05-09

body needs the basis OF food less than at any
other time, they eat the least. Our food is a
meaus to an end. 1t is simply the fuel with
which are to raise steam for carrying on
the purposes of life.-Hen'y Ward Beechsr.
How Cholera is PrOpagated.
growing opinion Is that the use OF this
disease Is an atomic particle endued with llte-
power, that ls, to convert healthy parts of the
body into its own elements or into like atoms,
from which tn disease originated. In chol-
era, and perhaps In hog cholera, this atomic
particle cannot produce Itself unless 1T ELECTS
d lCdgment IN the stomach, but when there 1t
rapidly converts the watery particles into
numberless atoms like itself, and these, as In
the fermentation of yeast, are endued with
a similar power Of self-prOpagatIon. They
draw to themselves the watery particle of the
blood in the veins, and the blood robbed of
this water becomes too thick to circulate.
Coldness ensues, cramps follow, until lite Is
destroyed.
The atomic particle of disease in the cattle
plague and smallpox Is inhaled into the lungs,
where it mixes with the blood and converts it
into its own particles. And this it does for
some days, called the incubation of the dis
ease, unnoticed for it is unmarked by any
outward indications of It's presence. The an
lmal. gives no evidence that IL is not IN good
health. But disease Is antagonistlcaI to lite,
and when these diseased atoms become so nu-
merous as to interfere with the proper action
OF lite, then the struggle commences between
these opposing forces. One must overcome
the other. Nature endeavors 10 throw from
the blood these atoms of disease in the cat-
tie plague OF typhus lever tney are forced
upon the internal surface OF the stomach and
bowels OF lungs; in the smallpox, upon the
pV nall rt,4fya nR SIX N eff IF IN
throw off the disease nature often SINKS from
exhaustion.
Whatever may be the character of the
germ OF these diseases, whether poison Sill
ply, or IN Inc nature OF an Drum or egg, from
which, cell-like, 1t rapidly multplies itself, We
know from facts that here are agencies by
which this germ Is conveyed into the healthy
body. The following statements IN regard To
the propagation Of cnolera we take from the
London SOCIAL Scaenoe Reuie,c, edited by Ben
]amln W Richardson, III. ID.
- There seems to be three distinct modes by
which the cholera poison enters the human
body. Ia the first place, the poisonous cells
may be disseminated on articles of clothing IN
The dried form, and may thus be conveyed
long distances without losing their peculiar
properties. Carried In this manner, some
person who undertakes the cleansing OF these
articles becomes exposed 10 the poison as 1t
emanates In the drled and ranulaI form from
the injected material The poison Is thus
lodged III the nostrlis mouth, mixes with
the secretions there, is swallowed, enters the
allmentary canal, finds there the situation tor
rapid grow h, robs the OlooQ OF Its watery
parts tor Its own support, and gives rise 10 the
disease.
A second mode by which the poison travels
is by direct conveyance OF the polsons thrown
off by the sick To the bodies OF the healthy,
IA ON uncieanliness Oh Ihe part OF attendants,
the poison adherIng 10 the vessels used by the
patients, or To me hands vi the attendants,
ana being thus conveyed. We ourselves knew
instance where wife was clearly poisoned
WIZ cholera by drinking lrom basin into
which her husband, who was suffering from
cholera, had yomIted, The basin having only
been rInsed with cold water. The symptoms
IN this case were clearly traceable 10 the
swallowing OF the poison, as though it had
been arsenic or antImOny.
We add To Ihe above remarks the fact that
an assistant IN the hospital at Berlin produced
cholera In himself by tasting the excret8 OF
cholera patient, and thar the symptoms
were Induced within six hours.
In the course of great epIdemics, these two
methods OF taking cholera are by no means
uncommon and, indeed, the propagation OF
cholera from country to country as frequently
by direct personal intercourse at the same
time the progress of the disease would be very
slow IT 1t depended on these methods alone.
The great means By winch cholera poison Is
propaga Led 10 communities at large, ls by the
water supplied Tor The domestic wants OF such
communities cholera patient is imported
into d country he s yielding the poison and
eliminating II freely. From him it con-
veyed TO the sewer, and through the sewer to
the we'll, Or 1t may be direct into the river
that supplied every household with water.
Thus the poison ls uIsse minated at large, each
new case ding to the ;lIscnIef, and al last a
universal and decmatIng plague prevail un
I'll l5 can find no more victims on which To
dispUrG itself. For the discovery of the fact
OF the communicate OF cholera by water 4,
the world is indebted 10 one OF the most illus
trIous men of our time-the late Ur. John
Snow.
The proof OF the communication by the
means stated was aft forded by DR.. Snow 10
various ways Thus, in 1854, he showed that
of 2S6 fatal attacks of cholera occurring In
the south districts OF the mefropohs, where
one water cCInI any the Southwark and Naux-
nall, supplied water charged with London
focal impurities, and another company, the
Lambeth, supplied pure water, the proper
ZION OF fatal cases to each lO, 900 houses sup
Piled By these waters was to the Southwark
aud VauxhaIl Company's water Il 20 the
Lambeth ). But there was another fact OF
singuelr interest brought out By DIR. Snow
during this epidemic. In the latter part OF
August, 1854 d terrific outbreak OF cholera
commenced In London in and about the neigh
borhcod OF Broad street, Golden square.
Within two hundred and fifty yards OF the
spot where Cambridge street joins Broad street
there were upwards oil 500 fatal attacks OF
cholera in ten days. DIR. Snow at once deter
mined that pump in Broad street was the
source and centre of the calamity. He found
that case of cholera had originally been
brought TO an inn close by the pump; he
carce to the conclusion that the sewer rom
the inn had a connexion with the well, and
that the water OF the we'll was thus directly
poisoned. He recommended the vestry oi the
parish to remove ihe handle OF the pump,
wherein pom the pes Hence ceased 10 spread, and
afterwards, when all was over, committee
of inquiry found that there was a direct COD
nection betw cen the sewer and the We'll, and
that the water Wa. inpregnated, with the
sewerage from that particular publlchouse and
with that of several adjoining houses. An
other important fact was eliclted in connexion
with the Broad street epidemic, which if we
were supersttious, we would say was almost
in tended to prove the origin of the disorder.
An old lady rho had once resided IN Broad
street had retired to Hampstead. For some
years, however, she had been in the habit OF
sending daily to the Broad street pump for a
keg of water for drinking. She had never
suffered before she drank of this water after
i1 had become impregnated with the cholera
excrete, contracted cholera and died. Her
niece crank of the same, and also took choi-
era, but recovered. These were the only cases
that occurred in that district. .''-MOnthiy
(WashsnRtOn) Report.