, 1868-08-28
The Cattle Plague.

among the cattle in Illinois and Indiana, OF
which the telegraph has given US hints dur
ing the past few days, turns out to be even
more serious and alarming than at first sup
posed. Its malignity seems toincrease rather
than diminish, and no light has yet been
thrown. upon its origin and cause. Many
suppose it to have been imported to the
West by the herds of beef cattle from Texas
as its ravages have hitherto beeu confined
to counties where these imported cattle have
been domesticated but, on the other hand,
the Texas cattle themselves exhibit but little
Of the malady, its destructive effects being
almost entirely confined 10 the native aniN
mails. 1t may be, however, that the hardy
cattle Of the plains, accustomed from birth
to fight their own way through life, are en-
abled, by their superior vitality, to throw
off the infection under which our more
dehcately bred native animals sink. The
stock dealers and drovers of Chicago and
other Western cities are alarmed by this
new and terrible visitant, whose cause they
cannot explain, and against whose ravages
no remedy thus far tried appears to be ofany
avail. The Pittsburg journals say that ex>
eitemont prevails there, occasioned by the
belief that number of cattle which had
died on the way from Chicago to that place
had been dressed and sold to the butchers
there, and that others had been killed to
prevent their dying of the disease and also
sold in the market. The Chronicle says {:
con Friday last a drove of 200 cattle
were skipped to this point by prominent
Illinois stock dealer, and of that number 80
died on their way hither, and 81 perished
10 the East Liberty stock yards. Of small
ler drove shipped to Pittsburg a number
died on the way, and ten fell victims to the
fatal disease at East Liberty on Saturday
last, while, with not single exception, the
animals embraced in the drove were more or
less diseased. A lot owned by Mr.. Alex
ander, Of Illinois, one of the heaviest stock
raisers in the West, arrived here yesterday,
and in one car only three, beeves were liv-
ing, the remainder having died between this
city and Chicago"
The Pittsburg Gazette says:
awe learn that three carloads Of the
specially affected lot. of 300 spoken of yester.
day were shipped East before the railroad
company were apprised of the true state of
things. To what point eastward these cars
have gone we do not learn. There were
some transactions in cattle yesterday at the
yards, but confined wholly to droves not be.
lieved to be infected Some dealers, not
finding market here, have started their
droves eastward by the turnpIkes"
The officers of the Pennsylvania Central
railroad, on learning the facts as here re>
corded, promptly ordered that no more droves
among which any signs of the disease had
appeared should be shipped over their road;
but before this preeaution had been taken,
several carSloads of infected animals had
reached this city, and had been sold to the
butchers. A gentleman who visited one of
the principal cattle yards of this city, yes.
terday, informs us that of drove of nearly
100 head that was shipped from Chicago to
this point nearly one-half died before coming
here, and the remainder were hastily slaugh-
tered and sold to the butchers
The symptoms are thus described The
animal at first becomes stupid, which is
followed by constipation of the alimentary or
urinary canals. By straining and over-exerr
ton they seem to rupture themselves intern
ally, and blood is discharged. The animal
subsequently swells up and dies. Nearly
all of these cattle are literally covered with
species of insect resembling the wood tick,
but much larger, being nearly half an inch
In length and about quarter of an inch
broad and of gray color. They bury
themselves in the skin of the animal, es-
pecially in the inside of the fanks and at
the other points where the hide is thinnest.
They glut themselves with blood, and then
drop off, unless they are well gripped in che
skin. When they drop off they leave the
spot swollen and inAamed. In shipping by
rail from Chicago to this city the catte are
kept forty-eight hours without water, and
some of the drovers think the crowding
together and the pain which they suffer from
the attacks of the ticks and the want of
water cause the disease. Others regard it
as form of murrain, which is rapidly COM
municated from one to another =.