Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1866-05-23
The Cholera.

It is quite probable that the Cholera VIII
visit California the coming summer. II
has been moving Westward the last year.
and for several months we have been look
ing for the commencement OF its ravages
in the United States. AT present but very
few cases have been reported, and these
were emigrants newly arrived from Eu-
rope. It is perhaps a matter Of doubt IT
the cases reported were in fact the Cholera,
as it is quite natural, with an epidemic in
the vicinity, to ascribe to it all the doubt
full cases, Of whatever kind. The fact that
the disease has staid so long on our bor-
ders is an indication that its force is spent.
The Cholera, no more than q hurricane,
cannot last forever. 1t has never yet put
a girdle abou, the earth, nor over that por-
ton of it that offers food for its hunger.
It seems to be governed by some kind Of
laws, although we may be in Ignorance OF
their nature and working. Still 1t is quite
probable that the Cholera will claim some
victims in California the coming summer.
The habits Of life followed BY a large por-
ton of our people invite the disease. As
a rule, we are not a temperate people. We
are not abstemious in any respects. We
are negligent Of the rules Of health, and
almost disdainful of disease. We are
more in the habit Of satisfying our appe-
,ites than Of calculating the probable dura-
ton OF our lives. With most Of us the pres
snt is everything; the past we forget, the fu.
ture we care little about. With the Chol-
era raging in our midst we might pay
some little attention to the admonition Of
physicians, but not until the monster had
approached so near that we could measure
its proportions. We are not in the habit
of being frightened. Earthquakes disturb
our ~equanimity for a moment, chiefly on
account of the insecurity they attach to
real estate. The Cholera may sweep of
the people, but it will leave the soil. If
we die by that disease we die rich, and
leave respectable names on the tax list, If
nowhere else. It is better to be too reck-
less than too timorous; and there is no
doubt but the man who holds his life
cheaply enjoys it more than one who is
frightened by shadows. Still there is q
golden medium which is better than either
extreme. The united testimony Of all who
have had professional experience with the
Cholera, places the utmost stress on tenn
perance in diet and in drinking. A large
proportion Of all cases Of Cholera are
caused by the incorporate use Of ardent
spirits. DR.. Hamlin, during several years
q resident of Constantinople, and a prac-
ticing physician in that city during three
v,sitations Of the Cholera states, in a letter
to the Christian Mirror. that of a hundred
cases he has personally investigated,
seventy-fve could be traced directly to
improper diet, or to intoxicating drinks,
or to both.
Admitting his Investigations to be a
fair test as to the cause of the disease, it
follows that It Is in our power to rob the
Cholera of three-fourths Of its power.
No reasonable human being should invite
disease and death by sensual indulgence,
especially at a time when a ready and ter
rible agent Of punishment stands at our
doors. The habit Of life that might be
followed with impunity in ordinary times,
when there is no seed of disease in the
air, would now be attended with immi-
nent danger. 1t behooves us, therefore,
to place a check upon our appetites, since
we thereby place a check upon the Chol-
era. A little abstemiousness in the mat
ter of whisky is certainly a cheap insur-
ance against this dreadful disease. Among
other causes Of Cholera, DR.. Hamlin men,
tions suppressed perspiration as one, next
10 intemperance in eating and drinking, OF
the most fatal. Drinking largely Of cold
water, when hot and thirsty, is another
cause, but one not likely to have a wide
effect in this city. Great fatigue, great
anxiety, fright, fright, fear, all figure
among exciting causes, and according to
DR., Hamlin, if one can avoid all these he
is as safe from Cholera as from being
swept away by a comet.-Golden Era