The Portland daily press., 1872-10-28


fully from this visitation, certain kinds of bust
ness being almost wholly suspended and all
others being more or less affected by it, We
doubt if the value of the horse was ever so fnl-
ly realized as now. --.r-
Portland is in a condition to sympathize with
the other parts of the country in their troubles.
On Saturday we gave, in a short paragraph, the
condition of affairs the previous day; and
though the disease has not assumed a more Sc
rious form, it has become more extended in its
limits. The rain of Friday night and Satur-
day largely increased the number of cases, and
we might go on and give the names of a large
number of owners who are deyoting themselves
assiduously to the care of their animals. On
Saturday morning the disease had spread SO
among the truckmen on Commercial street,
that very few teams could be found to do the
regular work. About fifty new cases were re-
ported by the truckmen as having occurred in
their stables the previous night. Some of the
livery and hack stables were then visited by
the disease for the first time. At Davis stable
on Preble street, all the horses were unaffected
on Friday night, but at II o'clock Saturday
morning Is were disabled and at night the re-
LudiHiLS uOZcH were III tile SAINT CUuultlOu NJ
teams nor hacks were sent out during the day.
AT Records stable on Silver street, "a were
sick, some having been taken during the night
Horses driven in from the country, apparently
in good health, showed illness and were put
under treatment. The horses of some of the
marketmen were taken with equal suddenness.
A stable keeper, who has watched his horses
carefully, says he discovered the symptoms be-
fore they showed themselves externally. The
head and nose are hot and inhamed, and the
eyes dull although the creature retains his APP
petite for several hours afterwards. So far no
fatalities have resulted, and it is thought that
every horse will be saved. Disinfectants are
used literally and the most approved medical
treatment adopted.
The effect of the disease upon railroad trans
portation has been serious. Superintendent
Chase of the Portland Saco and Portsmouth
railroad, was directed on Saturday to send no
more freight trains until further orders, as
freight had accumulated in Boston to such an
extent that it impossible to move it away. The
steamers on the Boston line suspended their
trips on Saturday night for the same reason
Oxen are to be used here to-day for ordinary
teaming purposes.
There were good many new cases reported
yesterday, both in public and private stables
The inclement weather of Saturday was bad
for horses, and healthy animals were kept up
as measure of precaution. Some of the horses
in the street car stables were taken sick yester-
day, though there will probably be no Interrupt
ton to ordinary service at present No cars
were run on the Congress street or DeerIng
lines yesterday, owing to the rain People re-
ligiously inclined, therefore, were obliged to
stay away from church OF take long walks for
that purpose. Few teams of any description
were seen during the day. hsa ,-a
In Boston on Friday the disease began to ex
tend, owing to the cold storm which prevailed
The street car companies gradually reduced
their trips as the animals succambed to the
distemper. The lines running to South Bos
ton, Cambridge, Charlestown, &C., were with.
drawn, and residents of those cities doing
business in Boston were obliged to choose be
tween the alternative of remaining all night in
the city or walking home Hacks were moi
to be obtained after six o'clock, and the streets
soon become almost deserted. The different
places of amusement were attended by very
small audiences, and there was a painful de-
preston in every department of business. Ear
ly in the day some of the express companies
refused to take orders and call for goods, and
oxen were brought in from the country to trans
port freight at the depots. The racing stables
were also affected, and quite number of tht
most valuable turf animals are seriously ILL.,
Lynn, Springfield, New Bedford, Newburyport
and Lowell report corresponding state of az
fairs, the disease being attended by great fatal
ity. Sac sa&3-a-ag
AS the epidemic advances, surgeons and nat
uralists are ass igning many causes for it ant
recipes for prevention and cnre multiply Brew
Gen. B. s. Roberts, U. S. A., says the presen
disease is Identical to that which broke GU
among the cavalry horses at Fort Summer, New
Mexico, in 1868, and at first defed all treat
ment. On examining the threats of the deaG
horses it was found that the lining membrane
ofthe larynx was highly infamed and thicken
ed and filed with thick mucus pus, which
caused suffocation. Spirits turpentine thor
oughly rubbed between the lower jaws ant
along the larynx down the neck creating {
counter irritation and blister, relieved the ami
mails and saved their lives. Dr. Augustus LIE
compt, who was in the French army during the
late war, says the symptoms are precisely like
those which afflicted the cavalry, artillery and
other horses in the French and Prusslan ar
miles, and thousands of them persisted before
any successful treatment could be discovered
The condition of things in New York on Sat
urday is stated in the following despatch:
The hor malady has now spread to such al
extent that almost all horses in the city are
said to be suffering in one form or another
from symptoms of the epidemic. There are
thousands which have not yet been put upon
the sick list, but observation goes to show that
many Of these have germs of the disorder in
| their systems. The disease has thus far beer
| rather slow in its development, and it is moi
known yet whether all its stages have been
seen. fA
1t is estimated in the city and immediate vi
cinity that there are from thirty to forty thou
| sand horses suffering from well-developed
| symptoms. The disease has begun to exhibit
new and alarming phases, which are looked on
as highly dangerous. The Inflammation of the
throat extends to the lungs and rapidly grows
more alarming, and the coughngis fearfully
convulsve. The animal pants, and becomes
quite cold at extremites. This seems to be a
warning of the fatal ending of the malady, aud
| if it continues as widely prevalent as it is now
for a few days longer there can be little doubt
that hundreds of horses affected will die.
| The street-car companies. some of the livery
| stable prOprietors and many downtown mer-
chants are still working their diseased horses
and in all these cases the signs of fatality are
| becoming more alarming. In the stables
where all business is suspended Until the disease
| is mastered very favorable reports are made. In
some instances convalescence OF the horses is
very rapid. The trotters and racers in the city
seemed to have nearly escaped the disease.
At least six hundred cars have been with
drawn from the city railroad lines in this
branch alone. Hackmen have almost tripled
their fares for passengers, in utter violation of
law, and refuse to carry those refusing to pay
illegal rates. s...-....-.,t -
The managers of railroad companies believe
that at the present rate their stock cannot hold
out longer than Sunday night. No stable as
yet reports that any horse has been perfectly
cured. 1t is feared that several ocean steamers
will have to postpone sailing owing to the i'm
possibility of getting freight abroad
In Boston on Saturday, the fears of suspen-
sion of local travel and traffic on account of the
malady affecting horse flesh have become re-
aities, exceptioned instances only of continu-
ance of business being visible in the streets
The storm increased the spread of the disease,
and the appearance of Washington street is
conveyed to the mind by the following item
from the Transcript of Saturday:
The number of teams which passed Wash
ington street, near Summer, between II and II
o'clock this forenoon, was as follows: - two
horse teams, % one-horse teams, handcarts,
wagons drawn by men, 3 box-teams drawn by
boys,
But the epidemic has a ludicrous as well as
serious phase, the former relating to the many