The West Virginia journal. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1864-1877, 1866-01-31
Cholera.

Last january, as the uiscipics OF Mohammeu
we're preparing for their annual pilgrimage to
Mecca, tho Cholera made its appearance
among them. On the voyage, on one vessel
not less than eighty deaths occurred. The
effect Of orcr-crowdinS, combined With im-
proper dict and the exhaustion Of travel,
rendered the condition Of the pilgrims ripe for
disease, from which they always suffer in a
grcutee OK less degree. About tho first Of
May, nearly thrce.fourths Of q million Of hu.
man beings arc congregntcd about Mecca,
Mount Arurat, and other holy places. Among
them. lRtle attention is paid to the rules ofhy-
gicnc. Thay arc exposed not only 10 excess in
heat, scarcity Of water, but many other ele.
meuts OF the worst hygiene; aud dis added
to the vast amour. Of spinal matter in the
state Of pu,rc{action-for there are an i'm.
measc number Of animals sOcrifcel--ras
enough to spread disease among any people
oTen those who observe the rules Of health
carefully, and fenr death more. BY these pill
grims death is rather courtel than fearcl-
for each ono dying here, is sure Of q safe
passage to paradise. or Tie six or seven
hundred thousand pilgrims, it is said ono.
sixth Of the whole died With cholera.
From Mecca it crossed the Red Sea, and
made its appearance in Egypt. Here, too, the
people pay little attention to the most common
rules Of health, aud ore thus rendered more
susceptible to any, aud particularly 10 an cpl.
sour milk and unripc is nsed in preference TO
ripe fruit, MS it is thought TO posscsSa finer fla
vor; watcr-mclons, which are considered quite
indisestible, arc freely used. The murrnin
was rife among the cattle, and the locusts Ind
deso.a,cd tho country. Panic sczed the pco.
pic, and Tho cities were left Inhabited only by
those who we're not able to move TO tho noun.
.ains. Ships were forcibly seized by the
panic. stricken people. In Cairo md Alex
ac,iria, it carried away thousands OF those not
able to leave the cities. Steadily II moved
along the basin of the Mediterranean, visiting
places where before il hns been unknown: /:
In July, i. made its appearance Mt Cyprus,
Smyrna and Coustantinop1e, also in many
informed: ate towns and cities. 10 August 1t
reached Italy. Sicily and France. In Mar.
settles, over fifteen hundred deaths occurred
in about month; ut Toulon, seventy died
Dor diem, and in. Paris. three hundred. In
Spanish cities and towns,it made fearful
havoc. Iu Madeira, inro ono day, there were
between fire and six hundred deaths. Many
hoped that It would con6ne Itself to the ba-
sin ofthe Mediterranean; hutin October, near
Southampton, and in London, several cases
occurred. and about the same time fcW
cases wore, lau,led in New York. In Deeem
her, am told, by one who ought TO know
three deaths occurred in Cincinnati, from
we'll marked cholera. -, tc}rrsl
We see by tho above TINT cholera travels.
8 this by cont.gion? This by many ply
sicisns is readily answered in the negative,
n. i, has heretofore ,baeu. In Paris, which
seems 10 be the medical head for the world,
tho 'aboro opinion il. undergoing quite /"
change, MS particular pains were taken to
ke.p cholera patients separate from all others
Il must be, caused by some poison that is
Gamble of;traveling;@ and this must have
,ome mean. Of transportation, either in the
air or by nm individual, or clothes worn BY
cholera t,atieptz. y . 2 & =
From ,fi. one would readily say il !. just
a, contagious rs smallpox; but 10 the latter
disease tho System isslvASs csusecPuole-.t
GO. prevented by vaccination !, in cholera IT 10
not. Let q man 30 TO- the mountains with
smallpox, and he will impsrt his disease 70
nina.tenths Of his: ATTENDANTS not .prot
by ~acci nation :: bat with cholera. this would
no. be the case, and probably not. one Of the
attendants would take the disease.
Il is clear thst thc poison Of both diseases
travel, and it 10 equally clear these troisons
mus. have'A prepared recipient or they be-
comesipae,!ve.; Ehatythi recipient -, ma!
be = hard que,tion'to ans Her, but from where
it comesis not % difficult T. =: sH'
There mist be in tho system, material or,
rather an immatsriat some hing that furnishes
food or fucc' for the poisons Of both disease, {;
ADJ 7rt are quite sure they arc by no mss .
identical. For small .poz, it naturally Ell SITS
and is capable OF dsstruetioni or exhaustion,
by vaccination, which protects, against the
travelling .peisouisf spslEpox. ThiiisROt the
case in cholera. Z Thu recipient does not
iGakhfst1y1 exist In Ae bystslu, bat IS acquired
non idrfoun dius circumstances. md thare
Il does, s1is. L. not capable Of destruction BY
any procets air,ilar TO vaccination: Now,