The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1867-08-23


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The ChoIe-a-'rerrible Raysges OF the
Disease in Italy-Over $1,000 Cases,
9n.oOU Deaths In Six MOnths-Mid.
night Meeting i'm "a Cemetery, etc,
rIoyelce August, y Correspondence London Daily
News.
From report on the cholera lately pub
li,hed we find that the cases from January
10 Jalv this year have been as many as
&. .376, followed by 32,074 deaths. The
S;ci!ian provinces have been the most
rrieyouslv affected by the malady. In
t;:rccu,i 1904 cases are reported, and
7.&iO deaths In Bari (Neapolitan provin-
ce,l, l,llG cases, and 6,4l2 deaths; at
Ca!,anisctta (Sicilian provinces), 1871
cases, and 4,ll0 deaths. In word, we
find that death followed the attack in
above half the number Of cases. Not one
Of the fortv-uine provinces Of Italy has
been spared, though in some cities, such
as Florence, only couple of cases are
reported. But another alarming symp-
,om-a symptom of moral disease quite
as melancholy as the physical ma
ladv-has been observed throughout
Iialv, especially in the Calabrias and ST.
civ, though even the northern provinces
arc not free from its contagion. This
symptom is the dread Of poison, the belief
in its presence through various malevolent
accutS and nOXious influences. In Sicily
tbs dread greatly cxcites the minds of the
suffering population, and adds to their ca
lamitous state. a thirst for vengeance
upon the soldiers, who are supposed to be
IN some mysterious manner connected with
tie cholera, is felt by the people. The un-
remittiug zeal and kindness Of the officers
aud men in the care of the suffering and
sick have done nothing to calm the popular
feeling. Even when they are assisting the
sufferers. they are regarded with hatred
and suspicion: nay, frequently subjected
TO violence. Some instances of this
nav be cited. At Melilli, near Syra-
cuse. such was the excitement Of the
popu!ace, owing to their belief that poison
had been administered by agents Of the
was held in the dead Of night in the pub
lie cemetery, at which it was resolved
";hat all the Carabiniere and Italian
agents resident in the place should be
Killed for spreading the cholera" The
rIot was fortunately revealed by a woman
T. one Of the intended victims, who tele-
grabbed the news to the authorities of an
adi2cent city, and company of rifles was
sent to guard the public safety. But the
panic shows itself in every form. Some
days ago, on the arrival Of the mail train
from Catania, where the disease is preva-
lent, at Calatabiano, about hundred
armed men were waiting at the station,
and they percmptorily commanded the
driver to 90 back at once without staying
an instant. In vain did the officer in
''cha.ge of the mail, who happened to be
the only traveller in the train, entreat
!or permission to leave the post bag
a, all events. He was not listened to,
and the train returned whence it had
come. Catania itself presents a miserable
spectacle-disease, suffering misery, and
terror are seen under every possible form.
Very few shops-not more, it is said, than
ten in hundred-are open. All who had
the means Of escaping have already aban-
doned the city; prowling dogs and sickly
mendicants have the place almost entirely
to themselves. Even the upper classes are
not entirely free from the common terror
and deIusion. The condition Of the city is
50 sad that the whole active work Of life
is performed BY the soldiers, who too fire.
queutlv fall victims to their arduous and
oyerstrained labors. They nurse the
sick and bury the dead, and in return
for their services are frequently re-
pulsed by the suspicious inhabitants, who
often refuse food and medicine from
their hands, revile them with their dying
breath, aud perish, fully believing they
have been poisoned. The agitation is in
describable throughout the country. At
Bagnara, in Calabria, where cholera is
making fearful ravages, an exciting scene
lately occurred. Four infrmary servants
from an adiacrnt city, who came to aid the
SICK, were believed by the people Of the
place, either through something unprepos-
seSSng in their appearance or unusual in
their dress, 10 be cholera agents. A popu-
lar iumult vas the consequence. Cries OF
"Out with the poisoners )" Away with !
them; "Out, out - and such was the fury
displayed, that in spite OF the strenuous ar
glmentSand explanations offered to the peo-
Pie by the public authorities, it was found
Necessary 10 send the poor fellows away, !
though they had been specially requested !
% come, and there was Of course urgent |
need Of their services. A strong escort .
Lad TO guard them from mischief on the
i!oad. Similar cases, though less violent
10 the North than in Sicily and the Nea-
p3lltan provinces, are, however, reported
IL The vicinity of the polished and enlight-
eAed city Of Milan itself Women oppose
'Ac renoyal from their homes Of cholera
patients into the hospitals through fear of
poison. In fact, in the northern provinces,
as every where else, there is a general ten
Uency TO attribute the malady to indi-
'l1Hal maiignily rather than to any patu-
Id cause. Bergamo, Brescia, Cremona,
"1w y. Como are sorely afflicted.
me MIanese sanitary commission SER
wee has been carried on with great effi-
I'eAcy and assiduity, and the clergy have
Geen ':; interchangeable in attending on the
scK. All, however, have to struggle
against an amount of blind ignorance and
prejudice, WHICH sadly reflects upon the
::uIeiiectual condition Of Italy. The sub
y''. ol cholera is, ct this moment, so ab-
I"1:Oing through the country. and the no.
a: oe oe"oledness Of the Italian soldiers and
yllcers IN the service of humanity has
,s yesh SO much talked of. that, besides an
Maer " OF the day, signed by General Reyel,
~ ~ nose brave men, expressing the graft,
,iue OF the Government for their .beha-