New Orleans daily crescent., 1866-06-08
Cholera and sIi..lssrppl water.
From the Missouri Republicnn |

From the Missouri Republican,
W. Edlor-ln the Monday morning Republican
OF November 18th, 1865, there is communication
on the subject of Cholera and Mississippi |
Water" over the signature of G. - which has |
attracted my attention, and which is worthy the |
most erltlcal investigation aud profound study of |
thinking and scientific men.
trust the author of that communication. who is |
unknown to me, will excuse the liberty I have
taken of making use of his experiment in the
attempt to point out some additional corroboratiye
facts relative to this snbject, with view of direct
ing attention to the results attained by him and to
encourage further investigation into the cause Of
this devastating scourge
The experiment to which refer was made with
water during the prevalence of cholera in this
city in l849, for the purpose of determining
whether the existence Of worms could be de.
tected in it at the expiration of four or five hours
after being placed at rest in the SUMS rays, and
partially exposed TO the atmosphere. Six bottles
thoroughly cleansed were filed as follows:
No. ]. With hYdrant water only. Au
No. 2. Hydrant water, admixed with charcoal
No 3. Hydrant water, admixed with lime.
No. 4. Hydrant water, admixed with wood
ashes.
No, s. Rain water, as taken from the eistern.
:, NO. s. Hydrant water, thoroughly filtered
through sand and gravel.
All the bottles were uncorked with q eauze
covering to protect the necks from the admission
Of insects. +
No. |. Became thick and of dark green hue in
"a hours.
No. 2. The same.
No. 8. Not SO much deteriorated, lasting 36
hours before becoming offensive.
No. 4. About the same as No. 5.
No. o. Became black and putrid in 40 hours.
No. 6. The hydrant water filtered through sand
and gravel was as sweet at the expiration of n
days as when first exposed.
The popular belief in the presence of worms in
water found by experimental to be erToneousU
The writer says
The filtered hydrant water was used excIu.
slvely IN my family during the cholera of
lS49 and 1851, and although lived in a neichbor.
hood where the scourge ragged with great violence
there was not case or symptom OF cholera thai
occurredin my family during that time.n
Now, let US study THESE facts by examining into
the eause OF the changes in color. eonsistence and
odor OF the water thus tested. Evidently thew are
the result of decomposition or decay of animal
or vegetable matter, or of both. Bottle No.
contained simply hydrant water, which became
thick and of dark green hue in "A hours. In
bottle No. similar changes were fonnd to have
taken place In the same period of time notwitb
standing the admiXture of carbon or charcoal In
bottle No. the changes were effected more
slowly y, because of the admixture of lime with the
water which required " So hours,n to become
Offensive" The changes in bottle No 4. which
contained the admixture of g wood ashes - a less
aachTe alksli than lime, were similar to
those OF No. ), while bottle No. g. which
contained rain water as taken from the
cistern, became black and putrid in 40 bours
Ihus the addition of an alkali to the water ra
tarded the progress of decomposition in q ratio
The water taken from the hydrant bottle No /
and with which there was no adrnixture of an
aikali, would undoubtedly have exhibited the same
or similar changes TO those that occurred in the
" water as taken from the cistern.n Bottle No 4
had il been examined at the end Of 10 hoursinstsad
of "A hours, modified by the quantity Of decom |
p0sable matter contained in it, which would have
been determined by the area of surface exposed
10 the atmosphere. The water that had bpen
taken from the hydrant, bottle No g. and NOT sinh /
iected to the action OF chemical agent but which
had been e filtered through sand and gravel n re- /
manned as sweet at the end Of II daysas when
nrSt exposed" and those who mnde rse
of the water thus filtered, notwithstandh o
the ravages of death around them. hn1 me-
tue first symptom y of cholera. 1.-THE iail was
hlied with criminals who drank well water only |
and nota case of cholera occurred among them.
although they were equally exposed to tile same
epidemic influence those who fell victims to it.
That animalCules or infusoria as well as yere
table matter, may be seen ia water after it has
been kept at rest in the suns rays for period of
twenty1our hours and exposed to the atmosphere
may be easily demonstrated by testing the fact
with the microscope; the number Of iniusoTia and
The quantity OF vegetable matter being determined
by surrounding circumstances. But the infusoria
and vegetable existence found in water. when ex
amined under ordinary circumstances is insnfi
cient to explain the changes that take place in If
as stated IN the above table. lfwater be subjected
10 the same test when cholera ii NOT nraeanf
similar changes will take place in ii INT tbe ill.,
required tor such changes will be greatly pro-
l0nged. etS'''J Pt'
Now, whence comes this additional decompo
sable matter proven to exist ia the water bv fha
above experiment, and which is evidently infuso-
Eia-altnough IT IS TO be regretted that no exami-
natlon with the microscope was made to deter |
mine this point
Cholera has always existed in the delta of the
uhhges as an endemic disease, i. e. peculiar to a
certain iocallty-hence the term Asiatic cholera.
Inc topography of the arena of country in which
~ prevails is admirably adapted to the genera
OF the Ganges being low, and the surface of the
country fiat and prolific in the production of
vegetable life, and subject to overflow. The
decomposable animal and vegetable matters ex-
posed to the action of the suns rays upon the subsi
dence of the waters while undergoing drcOmposi-
ton deveope a form Of animal existence SUI Gene-
yiS which, with their oYa eggs. are difilsed ia
the water and the atmosphere, and thus become a |
poison TO the inhabitants. That the introduction
into the system Of deeomposing o7a or eggs and
living and dead anmalcules or insects may be the
cause Of Asiatic cholera, both predisposng and
exciting IS much more probable than that malaria
or marsh mlasmara is the cause of intermittent
and remittent feVers. Malaria has never heen
found to exist IN tangible form, and yet the ex-
stenee Of this vegetable poison, and its agency IN
me pfo9ncuon OF disease is almost universally I
admitted by medical authorities.
A glance al the history of the march Of cbct.a I
Gle my demonstrates that water is the medic by
which it is transported and this fact alonfis suth-
'lent evidence of its agency in tile prediction OF
-he disease. 1t first made its spperanee m aa 3
epidemic form in The province of fengai IN 1917,
lna continued its tour around he &'obe' leaving
It's track marked with death on every continent