The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1872-10-29
THE HORSE INFLUENZA"

THE HORSE INFLUENZA"
IT'S WIDESPREAD RI VAGES-ITS EN-
BARRASSING RESULTS.
The Erie Canal Business Para'yzeo-
Queer Scenes In New York and Boston
-Philadelphfa the Most Southern
Point thus far Attacked-rhe Trouble
Ended In Buffalo.
: If any one had predicted In New York Ci'y
ten days ago that before the close OF OCTOBER
the ordinary everyday traffic upon the streets
nv wheeled vehicles would be seriously ID
terrnpted. and in, some instances totally
stopped. by a widespread, almost universal
d,aease among the horses, he would have
been regarded as but little short OF insane
Yet October is not gone and all this has come
to pass and a great deal more.
What Is now generally described as tne
s.borae disease' made its appearance 10 New
ynrk Civ on Monday last, and, by Wednesday
MON. from FIVE 10 ten thousand horses were
enffsrino from. and TO some extent disabled
hv a s1ecies of .inluenza;;' and, by Friday
| noon, It was estimated that from twenty thous'
and 10 twenty-five thousand horses were al
| tlcted with the disease In some OF is phases.
| Several hundred cars on the various street
| lines had to be thrown out OF use; one entlre
| line of street omuibusses 10 an active part OF
| the city was discontinued as early as Wednes-
| dav: the milkmen, bakers and Ice men had to
dIsappoint their customers; the grocers, pro-
vision men, dry goods dealers and other re-
| tailers were put 70 their wits end 10 denver
the goods ordered home by their palronsi
- 49, ~ Uhn demand nnnn
their casual earnings tor their daily sup
port, were without employment, because
their horses were sick; Tue express
companIes were embarrassed In their
operations; The wholesale dealers and
transporting merchants could not get more
than q fraction Of their ''orders" from the
warehouses to the depots and vice versa, ana
everything which depended, upon horses oa LOT
tinues 80 still. All the great stables are turned
into vast hospitals, and scarcely anything is
heard of on tie streets except surmises as to
the time the disease will take to run Itself out,
the character OF the effects 1t will leave behlnd
after the disease has run its course. tne most
effective remedies to be applied, aud the prop
spread of the disease to all OF the horses In
the CITY, Such are the unfortunate changes
produced by the horse disease In o single city
inside Of tour days.
TIE RAPID SPREAD OF THE DISEASE.
This disease has been prevalent In Canada
for several weeks, It made Its appearance on
our aide of the border line, at Buffalo, on last
Saturday week, October 18th, and IL said to
have been taken there by The horses Of q cir
| Gus company, which were flying from the dis
ease al Toronto, in Canada. Ii soon spread
all over Buffalo, and themes to the cities and
towns along the canal ana railway way , hn = Dc No
ySw York city. III some places, as In Rocnes-
ter, (where it Is still very bad, although 1t has
absted already at Rufialo,) 1t canaed q total
suspeusion of the street car travel, and MADE
It difficult even to get horses for service In
The burial OF the dead. It hos siece its ap-
pearance at Buffalo spread as lar TO
town. In Maine, aud as far west as ct.
LouIs. 1t has appeared In all the New
England States, With. the exception, perhaps,
OF Vermont. From New York city II has ap-
preached Philadelphia. In New York city,
New England, New jersey, and wherever II
| has appeared near the Atlantic coast. 1t has
been the work OF the last iour OF nvs GAYS,
| From this 1t will be- seen that the disease runs
faster than 1t could be carried by horses ira
| yelling at any ordinary gait. Hit 10 comniuni.
! Gated by contact, 1t must have been carried
over these long distances this week BY rail-
| way transit, but this Is quite Improbable. Tne
| more reasonable explanation Ia, that while It
may spread faster by contact after The poison
has once reached q locality, II ID also carried
by atmospheric Influences.
NATURE OF TIL DISEASE.
The disease has been varlously named as
s.horse dHtemper," ''catarrhRl fever" ''epl-
zootlc Influenza y "horse% bronchitis, DO, &c.
It appears. however, to be somewhat akin to
| the malady known as ''ln1uenzs," which, at
some seasons, prevails extensively among the
| human family as an epidemic. The seat Of the
| disease seems 10 be in the mucous membrane
| which lines the inside OF The nostrllS, mouth
| and throat. Its symptoms are o dry cough,
weeping from the eyes, an Offensive dischargs
| from the nostrlls, u dlslnclination for iced,
| chllliness, &C., which are BOOB followed by
| debility, more or less prostrating according 10
| the strength and general condition OF 1.-THE
l horse. In some instances the animals Will
| work along well enough alter q short season
| OF rest and careful treatment. and In others
| they become suddenly 30 weak as to be scarce
" able 10 get back TO their stables. OF the
| vast number of horses now sick from the dis.
ease In New York City, estimated OF from
twenty to twenty-five thousand, q c%onsidera-
able proportion are able to do some
| work without material discomfort; and 1t 10
said that not more than about three
| out of every hundred are IN any danger OF
| death from the disease. Very few have died
| 6nyWnero. as W Iue Causo VI tuo uinoaao We
| may form q conjecture from the experience at
| Buffalo, where 1t has largely abated, although
It ia only two weeks since IL first made Its ap-
| pearanoe In that city. AS to the remedies 10
bs applied, It is best to have the advice OF an
! expeliencedv veterinary surgeon; and for those
having good knowledge of horses to exercise
their Judgment until they can procure such
advice. For the benefit of those who may
have neither medical advice or knowledge Of
their own, we present, In what follows as TO
the later developments OF the disease In New
| York CITY, the treatment in several OF the
large stables there. Its general principles are
| warm wrappings for the suffering animals,
| careful eponglng of the mouth and ~nostrils,
| the rubbing of turpentine or peppermint on
the outside of the throat, or the application OF
mustard poullices to tue same locality, and the
| administration Of %aconite, belladonna and
| similar medicines Internally. Rest Is also said
to be among the best aid TO convalescence.
Dislnfsctants, like carbolic acid, are also used
10 the stables with good effect.
THE LATER DEVELOPMENTS IN NEW YORK.
Under thie head we present some figures
showing the proportiouate numbers Of horses
attacked by the disease as late 0s Friday
morning, in several of the large stables IL
New York city, the number OF the sick which
were tit for work, and the treatment OF the
disease in various large establishments. Or
the Twenty-third street omnibus line the
whole of the horses t475) attached to the line
a. H.. - 49,